GUNS/RLTD Lever gun hunting rig overview

tm1439m

Veteran Member
Hey guys! We made a new video talking about our 30-30 hunting rig. With deer season just around the corner, I thought some of you might enjoy this video. My son Brian discusses the upgrades that were done to the rifle and the benefits of each. There will also be an action smoothing video coming soon! Smoothing the action is like putting 30 years of good use on it and making it run like butter.

I know many of you are traditionalists, and we love our traditional lever guns as much as the next guy (they will never get upgraded). However, we decided to delve into new areas and are really enjoying upgrading these newer models. Don't knock it until you try it :D

Hope you guys enjoy it!

Time: 10:59

View: https://youtu.be/YLELzlvyc8o
 

GammaRat

Veteran Member
LOL... Tacticool bipod.. Tacticool picatinny rail..

The Marlin 30-30 is an EXCELLENT rifle, and doesn't need all of the extra crap.

The only thing I'd add was a scope with see through rings, and hunting sticks.
51U3wlPZZCL._AC_SL1200_.jpg
 

Red Baron

Paleo-Conservative
_______________
My first rifle was a .30-30 Marlin 336 bought new at a K-Mart for a whopping $88.00 USD in 1976.

At the time I had an early Fred Bear compound bow that I had paid $175.00 for. Special ordered the compound bow from a shop in Chicago and waited a couple of months for it to arrive. I lived in the far western suburbs then and had to drive all the way into the city to pick it up. Excited to get the compound bow home. Got home, unpacked the bow. Read the instructions and drew the bow back. One of the cables snapped and the bow blew up. I returned the bow, got a refund, and got out of bow hunting when I saw the Marlin for $88.00.

Being 1976, it was an "original" Marlin rifle. Original Marlin quality? Guess what, the chamber/barrel had excessive headspace that allowed the fired primer to protrude a full .010 inch. That had to get repaired at the factory.

I added sling swivel studs and a trim low mounted Bushnell 2.5 power scope on Weaver rings and bases. The Marlin turned out to be a good shooter. It would easily average 2" groups at a 100 yards with factory loads and 1-1/2 groups with 170 grain reloads. The low mounted scope allowed a good cheek weld and consistent hits on a 12" steel plate at 200 yards were relatively easy with a little Kentucky windage when shooting from prone.

Overall I liked the .30-30 Marlin back then. Inexpensive to purchase, cheap factory ammo, easy to reload for, and compact. I wasn't a fan of carrying a loaded rifle with a hammer at half cock however. I could see newbies getting into trouble with that?

I did sell the Marlin when I got "Magnumitis" and moved on to 7mm Remington and .375 Holland and Holland.

Now I wish I did have my Marlin, in it's original configuration.

Nothing at all against the OP but personally I am no fan of mounting large variable power scopes on a lever gun. Nor am I a fan of all of the current "tactical" doodads cluttering up a classic lever action rifle and jacking up the price to almost absurd levels.

Lastly, I would tread very warily with a newer Remington built "Remlin" lever gun. They are way too pricey given the build quality IMO.

YMMV
 

tm1439m

Veteran Member
LOL... Tacticool bipod.. Tacticool picatinny rail..

The Marlin 30-30 is an EXCELLENT rifle, and doesn't need all of the extra crap.

The only thing I'd add was a scope with see through rings, and hunting sticks.
51U3wlPZZCL._AC_SL1200_.jpg
The Bi-pod was acually just for that photo, we don't actually use it. We do content creation for a few companies and that is what they wanted. It looked great to the people seeing it and got a huge positive response so we decided to use that photo for the thumbnail of this video.
 

tm1439m

Veteran Member
My first rifle was a .30-30 Marlin 336 bought new at a K-Mart for a whopping $88.00 USD in 1976.

At the time I had an early Fred Bear compound bow that I had paid $175.00 for. Special ordered the compound bow from a shop in Chicago and waited a couple of months for it to arrive. I lived in the far western suburbs then and had to drive all the way into the city to pick it up. Excited to get the compound bow home. Got home, unpacked the bow. Read the instructions and drew the bow back. One of the cables snapped and the bow blew up. I returned the bow, got a refund, and got out of bow hunting when I saw the Marlin for $88.00.

Being 1976, it was an "original" Marlin rifle. Original Marlin quality? Guess what, the chamber/barrel had excessive headspace that allowed the fired primer to protrude a full .010 inch. That had to get repaired at the factory.

I added sling swivel studs and a trim low mounted Bushnell 2.5 power scope on Weaver rings and bases. The Marlin turned out to be a good shooter. It would easily average 2" groups at a 100 yards with factory loads and 1-1/2 groups with 170 grain reloads. The low mounted scope allowed a good cheek weld and consistent hits on a 12" steel plate at 200 yards were relatively easy with a little Kentucky windage when shooting from prone.

Overall I liked the .30-30 Marlin back then. Inexpensive to purchase, cheap factory ammo, easy to reload for, and compact. I wasn't a fan of carrying a loaded rifle with a hammer at half cock however. I could see newbies getting into trouble with that?

I did sell the Marlin when I got "Magnumitis" and moved on to 7mm Remington and .375 Holland and Holland.

Now I wish I did have my Marlin, in it's original configuration.

Nothing at all against the OP but personally I am no fan of mounting large variable power scopes on a lever gun. Nor am I a fan of all of the current "tactical" doodads cluttering up a classic lever action rifle and jacking up the price to almost absurd levels.

Lastly, I would tread very warily with a newer Remington built "Remlin" lever gun. They are way too pricey given the build quality IMO.

YMMV
I bought a Winchester Model 94 30-30 in 1974. Still own it. One of my favorite rifles. We love our traditional rifles but after doing these builds we are also a big fan of basically what we did here. I was not interested but my son wanted to do these upgrades. Now I like them :)
 

tm1439m

Veteran Member
That is a VERY nice gun. However, I cannot get behind lever actions. Just me.

Thanks.

I guess watching lots of old westerns growing up gave me a fondness for lever guns. We only had 3 channels that half way came in half of the time but we lived across the lake from Chicago in Michigan and WGN came in loud and clear at night so that is what we watched and old westerns were their thing on weekends back then.
 

ShadowMan

Designated Grumpy Old Fart
For folks living behind the Left Coast Socialist Curtain the lever action is a real rapid fire great alternative homeland defense rifle. Doesn't have the look of an Evil Rifle, but has the hitting power of one. Remember we're trying to avoid hurting anyone feelings out here....[/sarc off].

Sure it's not magazine fed, however with practice it is DAMN FAST, can be reloaded on the fly and comes in calibers you don't want to get hit with, up to knocking buffaloes on their arse. They are as accurate and hard hitting as any modern battle/assault rifle. Remember that Levers were the guns that won the West, although I'm sure against an Indian raiding party an AR would have be awesome!!
 

Publius

TB Fanatic
I have a 336LTS trapper carbine it's one of 2000 production from the very late 1980s and in 30-30Win. For a long time I have kept an eye out for a marlin 336 chambered in 35Rem but they never show up locally anywhere new or used and for some odd reason the 35Rem or 35 cal bore altogether has fallen out of favor with American hunters and why I have no idea.
 

Dozdoats

On TB every waking moment
When I was little, my grandfather had a Winchester 94. I thought the cartridges looked like artillery rounds :D

I bought my own .30-30 as an adult - a Marlin. Great knockaround all purpose bigger-than-.22 rifle. A low mounted 2.5X scope is a big help to old eyes, and as quick on target as anything else. Good solid sling swivels and a comfortable sling is about all I would add beyond that. Maybe a Lee Loader and components to reload for it.

YMMV of course.
 

BV141

Has No Life - Lives on TB
For folks living behind the Left Coast Socialist Curtain the lever action is a real rapid fire great alternative homeland defense rifle. Doesn't have the look of an Evil Rifle, but has the hitting power of one. Remember we're trying to avoid hurting anyone feelings out here....[/sarc off].

M1A, Garand, SKS or MiniRuger if you want to avoid and AR or AK with Kydex grip wrap.
SCR rifle also (AR upper on a monte carlo lower. )

Calguns.net has a TON of CA legal firearms photos.
 

tm1439m

Veteran Member
For folks living behind the Left Coast Socialist Curtain the lever action is a real rapid fire great alternative homeland defense rifle. Doesn't have the look of an Evil Rifle, but has the hitting power of one. Remember we're trying to avoid hurting anyone feelings out here....[/sarc off].

Sure it's not magazine fed, however with practice it is DAMN FAST, can be reloaded on the fly and comes in calibers you don't want to get hit with, up to knocking buffaloes on their arse. They are as accurate and hard hitting as any modern battle/assault rifle. Remember that Levers were the guns that won the West, although I'm sure against an Indian raiding party an AR would have be awesome!!

One advantage you can add to its usefulness is that anyone can be taught with little effort to shoot/use a lever gun. Its a pretty simple operation.
 

tm1439m

Veteran Member
I have a 336LTS trapper carbine it's one of 2000 production from the very late 1980s and in 30-30Win. For a long time I have kept an eye out for a marlin 336 chambered in 35Rem but they never show up locally anywhere new or used and for some odd reason the 35Rem or 35 cal bore altogether has fallen out of favor with American hunters and why I have no idea.

Yeah the 35 is hard to find. We see them online every once in a while but you better order it asap because it won't last the day. We hope to own one some day. You might luck up a a pawn shop.
 

tm1439m

Veteran Member
I just bought a Henry lever in .357. Very happy to finally join the Lever action world.
We have a marlin .357. The nice thing about that gun is its easy to shoot and you can load it with .38 rounds and a child or woman can handle it with no problem. The recoil is almost non existent.

We put a suppressor on ours once and shot .357 through it. It made about as much noise as a pellet gun. The hammer slamming was louder than bullet going off.

Its an all around great gun to go out and play with.

ETA: hoping to add a Henry to our collection one day!!
 

tm1439m

Veteran Member
When I was little, my grandfather had a Winchester 94. I thought the cartridges looked like artillery rounds :D

I bought my own .30-30 as an adult - a Marlin. Great knockaround all purpose bigger-than-.22 rifle. A low mounted 2.5X scope is a big help to old eyes, and as quick on target as anything else. Good solid sling swivels and a comfortable sling is about all I would add beyond that. Maybe a Lee Loader and components to reload for it.

YMMV of course.

The scope really helps make an ethical shot on a deer when you have those cloudy or foggy dusk or dawn days and that big buck you have been waiting for finally shows up.

My son passed a couple nice deer because you just can not see the iron sites under those conditions and we don't "shoot in the dark". If we pull the trigger its gonna be a pretty sure bet that deer is going down.
 

DryCreek

Veteran Member
My 336W took some time to slick up the action.
I wouldn't be averse to a trigger replacement.

Looking for something really quick? Try finding a pump-action Remington 760. The 7600 is OK, but just not the same. Either way, they are available in several caliber choices.

I'd like to have an old Colt Lightning though. Uberti make a reproduction chambered in .357/.38.
 

mecoastie

Veteran Member
Had a Marlin Marauder in 35 Rem. That was a cool little rifle. 16-1/2" barrel. Picked it up for $350 at a pawn shop in VA. Sold it for $1600 and part of me still regrets that. Got a bunch of Marlin levers. They are hard to beat. I have to say that is about the ugliest forend I have seen. I am a diehard wood on lever guns guy.
 

tm1439m

Veteran Member
My 336W took some time to slick up the action.
I wouldn't be averse to a trigger replacement.

Looking for something really quick? Try finding a pump-action Remington 760. The 7600 is OK, but just not the same. Either way, they are available in several caliber choices.

I'd like to have an old Colt Lightning though. Uberti make a reproduction chambered in .357/.38.

My son has not yet slicked up the action on this rifle but has done others. It really makes a difference. The trigger upgrade takes out that rattle you get from a factory trigger. Worth the time and investment in my opinion.
 

tm1439m

Veteran Member
Had a Marlin Marauder in 35 Rem. That was a cool little rifle. 16-1/2" barrel. Picked it up for $350 at a pawn shop in VA. Sold it for $1600 and part of me still regrets that. Got a bunch of Marlin levers. They are hard to beat. I have to say that is about the ugliest forend I have seen. I am a diehard wood on lever guns guy.


At least you made a good profit. I personally can not sell guns, ha ha only buy them. Its a curse I have.

As far as the ugly forend I did agree with you until we did this gun and now I absolutely love it. Feels great in your hands and a much better grip than the factory stock forend. Its not traditional by any means but we are going more for a tool than a classic here. Had a lot of people asking for something like this. I guess to each his own. Some are gonna love it and some hate it. :D
 

NoDandy

Has No Life - Lives on TB
45-70 I made into a takedown. Easy as pie. My daughter made the pie, I dont cook.



View attachment 220819

View attachment 220821
I have a Marlin 30-30, and I have a Marlin .44 mag. Like em both. I have always had an itch for a Marlin in 45-70. I really have no need for one. But have the itch. Probably will never get one. My 30-06's should take care of anything the 45-70 can.

Yours looks sweet.

The pie looks EXCELLENT !!!

Congrats !!!!
 

Dystonic

Senior Member
30-30 was my first rifle for deer hunting. In the beginning I wanted something bigger and “cool” like a 30-06 like some of my friends. It didn’t take long for that stubby lever action to win me over. I soon felt like the cowboys in the old westerns and it became natural in no time.
With age and eyesight I had to add a scope out of necessity. The only thing I’ve seen as an improvement was when they came out with 125 grain ammo. My hands have gotten shaky but I can dial in my shots with the newer ammo.
 

emiliozapata

Senior Member
surprised nobody has mentioned the 444! A true beast that I always wanted but I settled for a .35 Remington, check into the Leverevolution ammo, makes these things legit battle rifles IMO
 

Creedmoor

Tempus Fugit
Lots of lever Guns here. A somewhat uncommon caliber but fun and plenty of power in my Marlin Cowboy is 38-55 Winchester. (.378“ dia. 250 gr. pills). Basically a scaled down 45-70. Mostly a hand loading proposition though.
 

ShadowMan

Designated Grumpy Old Fart
M1A, Garand, SKS or MiniRuger if you want to avoid and AR or AK with Kydex grip wrap.

True, but it's only a matter of time out here behind the Socialist Snowflake Curtain before all "Semi-Autos" are outlawed in some way or another.....and yes I could move, but to where? This progressive limpdick candyarse crap is happening EVERYWHERE!!
 

WalknTrot

Veteran Member
I bought my Winchester model 94 .30-30 used when in my late teens. Quit counting how many deer I'd taken with it about 40 years ago and it's put plenty in the freezer since.

More than enough fire-power for the kind of hunting we do up here in the north woods, but yet not so danged heavy for a lady to carry trekking in the deer woods all day. Still my go-to....feels like "home" every time I pick it up. First thing we did was put a side-mount scope on it way back when...I still like my open sights for close work.
 
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BV141

Has No Life - Lives on TB
True, but it's only a matter of time out here behind the Socialist Snowflake Curtain before all "Semi-Autos" are outlawed in some way or another.....and yes I could move, but to where? This progressive limpdick candyarse crap is happening EVERYWHERE!!

Not with the lawsuits that are in play at this time. And not with the 5 MILLION new gun owners this year (many flipping to the republican party. Communism and lawlessness pushing soccer moms to arm themselves
 

tm1439m

Veteran Member
I bought my Winchester model 94 .30-30 used when in my late teens. Quit counting how many deer I'd taken with it about 40 years ago and it's put plenty in the freezer since.

More than enough fire-power for the kind of hunting we do up here in the north woods, but yet not so danged heavy for a lady to carry trekking in the deer woods all day. Still my go-to....feels like "home" every time I pick it up. First thing we did was put a side-mount scope on it way back when...I still like my open sights for close work.
I was 14 when I bought my Winchester model 94 .30-30. Still my favorite gun of all.
 

ShadowMan

Designated Grumpy Old Fart
Not with the lawsuits that are in play at this time. And not with the 5 MILLION new gun owners this year (many flipping to the republican party. Communism and lawlessness pushing soccer moms to arm themselves

As much as I would like to believe that things will change for the better......I'll believe it when I see it. I totally understand that all these laws (federal, state and local) are absolutely and totally UNCONSTITUTIONAL!! Beyond question, but that doesn't help the folks that have been imprisoned and lives ruined because of the cowards in the Supreme Court that have failed to stand up and slam all these bogus laws and restrictions as is their responsibility and duty.....and OATH!!
 

tm1439m

Veteran Member
I wonder how long before the 350 Legend will be available as a lever action round?

I think a lot of those rounds are pointed and that does not work well in a lever tube fed gun. There is concern that recoil could cause a round to discharge in the tube or so they say because the pointed tip is up against the primer of the next round.
 
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