hornetguy

...for light and handy, I think the Win 94, or any of the Rossi/Puma/Navy Arms copies of the 92 would be the best way to go. Also the Marlin 94.. If you are going for deer and hogs, I agree with Eldeguello (again) get one of the 92's or 94's in 45 Colt. You won't have quite the range the 30-30 will, but we're only talking probably 50 yds or so less.. the 45 ought to be plenty good out to 100-125yds, I would think. And, if you loaded it with a good hardcast heavy (300gr+) bullet, I think it would shoot through any hog that walked..... and punch a 45 caliber hole doing it. I've got a Win 94 in 375 Winchester, and it's a pleasure to carry. I haven't taken any game with it yet, but I plan to very soon. My dream rifle is probably the Marlin 94 in 45 Colt, and stainless steel, ballard rifling, NO PORTING... although I would be tickled silly with a stainless Rossi 92 in 45 Colt, also.

"Progress, far from consisting in change, depends on retentiveness..those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it." Santayana

propmahn

a pistol caliber carbine sounds like a solution to me

propmahn
save the world, reload your brass

gobuffs

Thanks for the posts, some great ideas....
Here is my problem...I've got a Cabelas credit card, have built up $750 in store credit on it. I already have a 25 year old remington 700BDL in 30-06, a perfect gun for all the hunting I do. So now I need a toy, was thinking a new SS Browning or Winchester (or Tikka now) in one of the WSM's, but that rifle won't do anything my 700 won't...so now I'm thinking something completely different. The BLR seems too similiar to what I have, a big rifle....so small and light is the way to go and has to be available at Cabelas. So, Marlin 336 or Win. 94??? And in 30-30, 35 Rem or ????? Its time for a shopping spree

jed

no one has mentioned the Ruger model 96 in 44 mag. Another rotary mag Winchester also has the lever 410's now. 410 slugs for deer in close, shot for birds. Sounds like my idea of fun. Also the marlin guide gun in 444 is pretty sweet.

sam 444

You can't go wrong with a lever gun. I have them chambered in 250-3000,284 win,357 magnum,444 marlin,32-40, and 30-30.The one I shoot the most is a marlin 1894 in 357 magnum.This gun is just fun to shoot.

Bloodnativ

I'm surprised that nobody mentioned the 45-70 though I think the 30-30 is just about perfect here. It has better trajectory than the 35rem, 44mag, and 45-70 just in the event that a longer shot came up. It has more power than the 44mag or 35rem though I or anybody else would argue their effectiveness in this situation. As far as the 45LC, I just wouldn't feel comfortable with it in this situation. JMHO. If I had to pick one for this situation I would say go with the 30-30. Very little recoil, can be very accurate, and ammo is only about $10.00 a box.

Mainehunter

We don't have too many of those hogs up here in Maine so I can't say what would be the best for the job. I have heard however that they can be kind of hard to kill so maybe something more potent than a 30-30 would be in order. I know several people claim to use the 45-70 for them but if you want smaller maybe the .35 Rem would be better.
Any way you go those Marlin lever guns are great firearms.

hornetguy

Mainehunter... hogs are not bulletproof, but sometimes it almost seems that way. In my somewhat limited experience with hogs, I've almost come to the conclusion that you should use either a hard-cast bullet, or a premium bullet designed to penetrate, such as the Nosler partition, or the Fail-safe.... Hogs are just amazingly dense.. heavily muscled.. and the larger hogs develop a layer of gristle over their shoulder and upper rib area, which can cause premature expansion in a "standard" bullet. I've seen a 250lb hog stop a standard 30-06 150gr bullet at about 45-50 yds... killed the hog, but the bullet didn't make it all the way through. A premium bullet more than likely would have... a 45 Colt loaded with a hard-cast, or quenched heavy bullet would more than likely shoot through any hog... penetration usually means success....

"Progress, far from consisting in change, depends on retentiveness..those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it." Santayana

nightmare68

I feel as if the greatest and most fun gun to shoot is the marlin model 1895 g 45-70. it's a short easy to handle gun which out of the box was one of my most accurate guns. there is a limited variety in ammo but you can get it in 300, 405,500, 550 grain to the best of my knowledge. I have killed many deer with it and 1 hog. shot placement is crucial because it will damage meat if not placed correctly but that is with all cal. just about! my 185g. i equipped with a Leuplold 3x9 scope and if i had to give up al of my guns but one, i would keep that one, but that will never happen as long as I have breath. good luck in your quest and i hope i helped you!

SnoBall57

I haven't owned many lever actions over the years, but I can honestly say that one of the sweetest shooting and handling rifles I ever owned was the Marlin in .44 mag. Just a joy to haul that piece through the bush here in PA.
I also owned a Savage 99 takedown in 250-3000 that was sweet, and an old marlin in .35 Rem. Probably one of the worst weapond that I ever owned (for a VERY short time) was a Browning BLR! That rifle shot so poorly, I spent God knows how many dollars trying to work up a .308 load that would shoot better than a 4" group at 100 yds., and never did succeed. I don't know if I just got a lemon or what, but I even had some of the bullets keyhole in the target. This was a brand new gun out of the box. It got traded in real quick!
I'd look into the Marlin or Winchester in .44 mag. caliber. A real fun gun to shoot with enough knockdown for deer and bear, with the proper bullets.