"Well, I hope Santa does not have a problem coming down my chimney with a Miroku -1892 -357 in one hand and a pre-64 Winchester 1892 -30/30 in the other."

If Santa finds you an 1892 chambered in .30-30 he is a magic old elf, indeed.

I still love my Marlin Guide Gun in .45-70. Short, handy and can pack a wallop. .45-70 has got a lot of versatility if you handload.

quote:

Originally posted by armored:
Well, I hope Santa does not have a problem coming down my chimney with a Miroku -1892 -357 in one hand and a pre-64 Winchester 1892 -30/30 in the other.
My lever action craving will then be satisfied.

He will with the pre-64 Winchester 1892 -30/30. The 1892 was only chambered for pistol caliber rounds (.44-40 and .38-40 initially). It took the 1894's improved and stronger mechanism to handle the power of the Smokeless .30-30.

I’m glad I’m not the only one with the itch. I’ve been doing modern firearms for a while but always wanted some lever guns. Unfortunately I’m going to have to get a ‘66, a ‘73, and a ‘92. You know, because.

Rolan, I really want one of the new Winchester ‘66s. Can they handle .38 +p loads? Wouldn’t do many, but always curious.

I also have a Winchester 94 Buffalo Bill .30-30 with the 26" octagon barrel. My father purchased it back in the mid-60s. It is in pristine condition and has never been fired but it has very little collector value. Seems that they mass produced the hell out of them.
And I do believe that there are better editions of the Winchester 94s out there to be had.

My next purchase will be a Original Henry Rifle model in .44-40 made by Henry Repeating Arms. I just haven't pulled the trigger yet.

quote:

Originally posted by Nosigforyou:
Rolan, I really want one of the new Winchester ‘66s. Can they handle .38 +p loads? Wouldn’t do many, but always curious.

Nosigforyou,
I'm not really sure. I haven't seen one in "the wild" yet. I CAN tell you that they are a lot more difficult to take down than an 1873. The side plates are dovetailed into the frame, whereas the 1873 has removable side plates.

I like my Marlin 336ss, but wouldn't consider it for HD unless I lived out in the middle of the woods. I can say for certain my Mrs. wouldn't like the recoil, and it's not much fun beyond the first 20 rounds or so at the range.

I remain on the hunt for an 1894 in 357mag. :/

A few issues with a 30/30 for home defense...

-They are loud like a high powered rifle and recoil is definitely more than a pistol caliber.
-Capacity isn't great (usually 6 or 7.)
-Big one for me for all leverguns: Needing to manually lower the hammer when the threat is over while your adrenaline is pumping.

I am sure the last one could be overcome with training, but it requires some dexterity and the hammer has been known to slip from the grasp of the thumb and discharge. It happened to me when I was a boy. I was practicing letting the hammer down under supervision of my Dad, in order for me to use it deer hunting. The gun was pointed in a safe direction, etc. Perhaps it kind of scarred me from really wanting to fool with lever guns a whole lot. Some newer models may have hammer blocking safeties that I'm not aware of that can prevent this.

quote:

Originally posted by sigfreund:
I don’t have extensive experience with the model 94 in 30-30, but the ones I have fired had some of the most unpleasant recoil I’ve experienced.

I've fired a bunch of different calibers and the 30-30 is definitely not the worst I've ever fired. I would place the No.5 jungle carbine at the top of my list along with the .444Marlin or 45-70 and a .458 Ruger that knocked the ear protectors off my head. IMHO.

I have a model 1894 in 44 Mag. I keep a few rounds, and it is almost as close as my pistol. From the forum members who have shot it, and seen what it does to blocks of clay, I have no problem with it being my home defense gun. It makes thumb size holes going in and thigh size holes coming out.

quote:

Originally posted by blasto:

quote:

Originally posted by sigfreund:
I don’t have extensive experience with the model 94 in 30-30, but the ones I have fired had some of the most unpleasant recoil I’ve experienced.

I've fired a bunch of different calibers and the 30-30 is definitely not the worst I've ever fired. I would place the No.5 jungle carbine at the top of my list along with the .444Marlin or 45-70 and a .458 Ruger that knocked the ear protectors off my head. IMHO.

I have no doubt, but I’m not going to fire those cartridges in a lightweight rifle or carbine to find out.

My comment was to address the original question, not to introduce new topics to the thread.

I just got a new Henry big boy in 44mag. It will also shoot 44 special..it is a beautiful gun brass receiver. It came with a cantalever style rail to mount the scope

quote:

Originally posted by YellowJacket:
A few issues with a 30/30 for home defense...

It happened to me when I was a boy. I was practicing letting the hammer down under supervision of my Dad, in order for me to use it deer hunting. The gun was pointed in a safe direction, etc. Perhaps it kind of scarred me from really wanting to fool with lever guns a whole lot. Some newer models may have hammer blocking safeties that I'm not aware of that can prevent this.

I did that once, with a .45/70, strolling through the woods thumbing the hammer back and lowering it. Yes, stupid, I know...

That was a mistake I did not need to make TWICE, shooting a .45/70 one handed.

quote:

Originally posted by YellowJacket:
Some newer models may have hammer blocking safeties that I'm not aware of that can prevent this.

Many revile the safety on modern 336's to the point that they make replacements for the safety that make it function like a classic, but it does block the firing pin making thumbing the hammer down safer.

quote:

Originally posted by tigereye313:

quote:

Originally posted by YellowJacket:
Some newer models may have hammer blocking safeties that I'm not aware of that can prevent this.

Many revile the safety on modern 336's to the point that they make replacements for the safety that make it function like a classic, but it does block the firing pin making thumbing the hammer down safer.

Yeah I'm kind of a paradox... I don't like lowering the hammer but I also don't want a safety on a lever gun. Best compromise is probably one of those hammer extensions that sticks out to the side and gives a better gripping surface.

I agree as well, but it doesn't bother me to the the point of replacing it.