"Off brand" guns

[mtnbkr]

Well, duh. :)

There are many other problems with barrels besides being "shot out".

Chris

[De Selby]

Yeah, but the ammo is "cheaper" (about the price of rifle ammo a few years ago  ), the magazine holds more rounds, it can be significantly quieter, and it interchanges with my sidearm.

On the flip side, the difference in purchase price would buy quite a bit of ammo, and I suspect this will not be a plinker anyway.  I have a .22 for that.

I've always wanted to try a Marlin 336.  The ones I've handled seem quite a bit smoother than the Winchester 94.

The 336 is fantastic - I had an old pre-safety one. .30-30 is probably the most practical deer round.  Low noise, adequate power, easy to find, and can be fit into a really handy rifle.

[Tallpine]

My point is to double up on calibers/platforms, so either 30-30 or 357 would work.

I suppose it's okay even as miserly as I am to blow a buck to kill a porcupine once in a while.  A 22 mostly just makes em mad, anyway 

[PTK]

There are porcupines in MT? This, I did not know.

[41magsnub]

There are porcupines in MT? This, I did not know.

Lots of em..  one of the deals out hunting on one of the ranches I have access to is to pop coyotes and porcupines on sight.

[Scout26]

No joy on anything at this weekends Kane County Show.  Only a couple of lever guns, none in .357 and only two in .30-30.  One was a pre-1936 they were asking over a g-note for, and the other was a pre-64 they wanted $800 for.

OUCH !!

The few wheel guns I saw were all junk and only two 870 barrels, both 28" looking to get $150+.

What else was I supposed to be looking for again ?

[charby]

Most successful deer hunters I know own rifles that might do 3.5MOA on a good day..........

Yep and they can kill a deer at 150 yards off hand.

[Tallpine]

No joy on anything at this weekends Kane County Show.  Only a couple of lever guns, none in .357 and only two in .30-30.  One was a pre-1936 they were asking over a g-note for, and the other was a pre-64 they wanted $800 for.

OUCH !!

The few wheel guns I saw were all junk and only two 870 barrels, both 28" looking to get $150+.

What else was I supposed to be looking for again ?

Thanks 

We've had other stuff going on here, so I've been a little out of the gun loop.  Spent Saturday looking at horses, and now we're going to rescue another Arab mare.  Then I had to trim a neighbor's horses Sunday, and now I am working again and it is pouring rain.

So maybe next weekend I will hit used gunstores in Billings looking for a decent used lever rifle - probably .30-30 as the pistol calibers are all gold plated.

[seeker_two]

Yep and they can kill a deer at 150 yards off hand.

Very true.....it's the artist, not the paintbrush..... 

[Tallpine]

Last deer I shot at about 50 yards 

[mtnbkr]

Last deer I shot at about 50 yards 

I haven't shot one yet over 50yds.  The last one was about 20yds away.  I passed on the only deer I saw last season because, at 50yds, he was on the very edge of my comfortable handgun range (could probably do it cleanly, but didn't want to risk a wounded animal).  I was happy enough to have still hunted that close without him noticing.

The Virginia woods are like that, not many long shots...

Chris

[Tallpine]

Went to the dump today, so stopped in at the two gun shops in the local county seat.

Only lever action 30-30 was available was an early 1900s Winchester, half magazine, no bluing left and no finish left.

Would be a perfect knock around gun except for the price: $800 

I suppose that is cheap for a collectors item, but for a little more than half that I could get a new Marlin 336 and beat it up myself.

Someday maybe I will hit all the little gun shops in Billings, if I ever have the time...

[Boomhauer]

Went to the dump today, so stopped in at the two gun shops in the local county seat.

Only lever action 30-30 was available was an early 1900s Winchester, half magazine, no bluing left and no finish left.

Would be a perfect knock around gun except for the price: $800 

I suppose that is cheap for a collectors item, but for a little more than half that I could get a new Marlin 336 and beat it up myself.

Someday maybe I will hit all the little gun shops in Billings, if I ever have the time...

Outside of the very occasional private party sale, you might as well forget any Winchester leverguns or most older Winchesters...

[KD5NRH]

The last one was about 20yds away.

Last one I almost shot strolled out of the bushes at about 25 yards while I was moving to a new spot.  I froze, cocked the Blackhawk, and had it about halfway up when he moved enough that I could see what I had thought was antler was actually a mesquite branch, and his real antlers were under legal width.

[mtnbkr]

Outside of the very occasional private party sale, you might as well forget any Winchester leverguns or most older Winchesters...

JamisJockey bought an older Winny 94 in 30-30 here in Northern Va shortly before moving to Texas for less than $400.  I've seen a few since for less than $450.

Dunno why they're so expensive in Tallpine's neck of the woods.

Chris

[Tallpine]

Outside of the very occasional private party sale, you might as well forget any Winchester leverguns or most older Winchesters...

I'd really prefer a Marlin, just to see how they compare.

[Tallpine]

JamisJockey bought an older Winny 94 in 30-30 here in Northern Va shortly before moving to Texas for less than $400.  I've seen a few since for less than $450.

Dunno why they're so expensive in Tallpine's neck of the woods.

Chris

I really haven't looked that hard yet.

Two shops in a little town of about 1500 people.

Trouble is that it's an hour and a half each way to Billings, so any shopping at all pretty much kills most of a day. 

[Perd Hapley]

On the Taurus revolvers:

A friend of mine bought a Judge/Public Defender about three weeks ago, and he (we) got to about fifty rounds or so, before the forcing cone started to look all out of shape and the cylinder had lock-up issues. The gun store folk said it was the second Judge they had seen with such problems. Also, they showed us a new Public Defender that had rust and pitting under and around the rubber grips.

Not that the OP is looking for a Judge, but it has made me leery of buying Taurus products, especially revolvers.

[Tallpine]

No, I'm not too crazy about buying a brand that means "Bull" - makes me wonder what the other half is ... 

And the "Judge" ... don't get me started on that one.  I'm sure it is just perfect for something, but I'm not sure what  


I want a .357 lever rifle to match my daily sidearm, but will probably eventually end up with another .30-30 just because they are cheaper/more common.  This would be intended as a daily knock-around hiking and saddle gun.

I've also sorta got my eye out for a .38[.357] snubbie (5 shot, 2" barrel), but I'm just not willing to spend $500+ 

[Boomhauer]

On the Taurus revolvers:

A friend of mine bought a Judge/Public Defender about three weeks ago, and he (we) got to about fifty rounds or so, before the forcing cone started to look all out of shape and the cylinder had lock-up issues. The gun store folk said it was the second Judge they had seen with such problems. Also, they showed us a new Public Defender that had rust and pitting under and around the rubber grips.

Not that the OP is looking for a Judge, but it has made me leery of buying Taurus products, especially revolvers.

If I was you, I wouldn't buy a Taurus anything if I was going to depend on it for SD/HD. Their QC record is not very good at all.

I've also sorta got my eye out for a .38[.357] snubbie (5 shot, 2" barrel), but I'm just not willing to spend $500+

Keep your eye out. There are older Smiths out there for decent prices...main thing is you have to have the cash in hand to jump on it and it's best to know what you are looking at as far as what shape it's in (this is a good place to start: http://thefiringline.com/forums/showthread.php?t=57816)

[Matthew Carberry]

So we're off "off brand and into Smith/Ruger/DanW only territory?

The new Charter Arms have been getting good reviews.

http://www.gunrunners.com//index.php?a=2&b=4058

This is a good site to visit by the way, Marine buddy's shop.  Lots of inventory movement.

[Tallpine]

Sagebrush Trading had a Charter something(?)

When I get back down there, I will see if they still have it.  At the time, I couldn't remember if Charter was good, bad, or indifferent.  I was actually in there looking for a good deal on a shotgun barrel, so I didn't look much at their guns except that most everything seemed to be new prices or higher 

[Matthew Carberry]

Sagebrush Trading had a Charter something(?)

When I get back down there, I will see if they still have it.  At the time, I couldn't remember if Charter was good, bad, or indifferent.  I was actually in there looking for a good deal on a shotgun barrel, so I didn't look much at their guns except that most everything seemed to be new prices or higher 

i think they are indifferent plus.  Not necesarily pretty but will work every time.  No personal experience though.

I have owned two Taurus 85s and one had to go back to the factory almost immediately, they fixed it for free (new cylinder fitted).  That was in '92 (steel gun).  Had my Ultralite Ti for (I think) half a decade now and haven't had any problems with even the 135 gr Palmbusters.

If I get the urge for another and can't find a cheap Smith (don't want to learn a new cylinder release) I'll probably try one of the new Airweight Charters.

[RoadKingLarry]

I'd really prefer a Marlin, just to see how they compare.

I've had both and I consider the Win 94 and Marlin 336 to be an apples to apples comparison. The Winchester I owned was a pre-angle eject, pre-safety. It was a well made rifle with nice walnut. Accuracy and reliability were perfectly acceptable.  It was a PITA to take down the action or cleaning and far more complicated than is necessary nor did it feel as solid as the 336 action. Being that I was at the point where my eyes were starting the middle aged slide the Lyman 66 sight was fast becoming less attractive than optics. Being that Marlins are drilled and tapped for a scope from the factory it won out and the Win 94 was traded for the 336 I posted earlier in this thread.

[AZRedhawk44]

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