Lever Action Rifles...

bought a Marlin M1894S, after 8,000 rds through it, it broke a firing pin. I love the quality Marlin builds in. That said I do have a 1906 manufactured Winchester M92 Carbine and a 1913 manufactured Winchester M94 rifle in .38-55 that i can't say enough good things about.

I agree Garand the older Winchesters are gorgeous rifles. The new ones don't do much for me however. They are noisy, loose and just don't seem durable. Somehow though IMHO Marlin still makes a reasonabley priced rifle that lasts like ones of days gone by...
 
my preference for deer is an 1894 trapper in .44 mag - hot loaded - mainly for the short barrel. I'd love a marlin in the same caliber (or .45 colt)- barrel length combo if it was available.

For moose, my lever is a marlin guide gun- not as short, but I can run stiff 45:70s through it.
 
If you go the win 94 carbine route, look for a pre-64. If you might find bear, consider .38-55 over the .30-30. Bigger holes are generally better when bear hunting, with the exception of high velocity magnum-type rounds, which the .30-30 is not.
 
Salty said:
I agree Garand the older Winchesters are gorgeous rifles. The new ones don't do much for me however. They are noisy, loose and just don't seem durable. Somehow though IMHO Marlin still makes a reasonabley priced rifle that lasts like ones of days gone by...
In 1985 I picked up my first store-bought rifle at Smalleys Cigar Store in Collingwood,Ont.(a m94 Trapper 30-30) It cost $275 with 2 boxes of ammo.This gun has a hard life,eg.hunting in rain,dogging bush,swamp etc. and it hasn't given me any trouble.The overall quality(smoothness of action,finish,wood,etc.)isn't even comparable,though,to my m1894 38-55 circa 1899 or my m1892 38-40 circa 1902. The stock on the trapper almost looks plastic! Its bluing hasn't stood up to well either:(
Regards,Jed.
 
I like my Sioux Carbine win 94 lever action.

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I will get beat up for posting this, but if you want a good lever do yourself a favour and by a Browning BLR. The BLR is by far the best lever gun built in the last 30 years and you can get almost any caliber you want. I also own several win 94's in everything from 30-30 to 38-55, any my 94's have a use in many different ways. The best lever gun I own is a near mint original 1892 in 44-40 that was built in 1896, took a blackie with it a few years ago, killed the bear deader than a maggot at 100 yards. No matter which gun you buy, the best guns on the planet have a lever.
 
why has no 0ne mentioned the savage 99 yet- there's still a few of those around esp in 308- if you can find 1 in 358 you've got the best brusher made- some of them are real sweet in the accuracy dept too
 
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