Does anyone use say a Marlin 336 or Winchester 1894 as their home defense long gun instead of an AR?
Been thinking about going the old school route instead of getting an AR-15. Just curious if anyone else has done so as well.
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thought about it, but as I do not own a lever yet Iāve stuck with the AR, shot gun, and pistol.
I dodged levers for AR early on in favor of reported recoil reduction.
(Still on the punch list tho. )
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I seem to recall this fella used a lever action for home defense with great successā¦
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Indeed he did! I was just thinking that itās a way to have a long gun in the house and not cause any panic in the neighborhood if someone sees it in my house or as Iām transferring it to my car to go shoot since itās not one of those āscary black .50 cal shooting assault riflesā.
Ammo can get to be expensive at timesā¦but I need a new hobby when I retire so maybe Iāll just hand load the .30.30 rounds I need. I also heard they make hollow point rounds in .30-30 too which seems intriguing as well.
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Go for it!!
Iām like @CHRIS4ā¦I donāt own oneā¦ā¦.YETā¦ā¦.I donāt own one YETā¦ā¦(a lever action is definitely on my short wish list)
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I actually purchased a couple weeks ago a Marlin 336W .30-30. My intent was for deer hunting, but the other thought was āifā the Left were to get into the White House, andāor take over the Senate and keep the House, that ātheyā will come after ARās, AKās and any other military type of weapon people owned.
I personally grew up with a .25-20 Winchester, hex barreled, lever action rifle, so it was nice to get back to āold schoolā after carrying an M16A1 for 20 years. I dontā know if I would grab my Marlin first, because the Mossberg also carries 6 rounds, and 00 Buck would be a bit more forceful than a .30 caliber round, especially in a close-in situation. From what Iāve read, most āin houseā defensive shots are less than 15ā, and thatās why I consistently practice at 5-7yds on the range.
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That was part of my thinking as well. They seem (for now) fixated on ARās and AKās and anything that looks like themā¦while totally ignoring (again for now) the āCowboy Assault Rifleā chambered in everything from .357 magnum to .45-70 govt.
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I found one a used 336 couple weekends ago at a gun store/range I frequent. Looks like itās 'been shot maybe 3-4 timesā¦the price on it is a steal. Told my financial manager about it and she didnāt say noā¦so thereās hope.
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Careful with those .45-70ās. I thought I had should about everything available during my military service, so I fell in love with a Marlin .45-70 Guide Gunā¦ until I went to the range with it. Pretty good recoil with the Hornady 325gr. Then I thought I be clever and try out some 400gr Bear loads. Holy (@#W(*@#!!!
Needless to say, I sold the thing not long after buying it!
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Yeah I shot a friends one timeā¦enough to convince me I didnāt want to shoot it anymore. The Base Exchange where I live has a 336 in .35 Remington for the same price as the used .30-30. Thought about it for half a second until I saw what the prices are for a box of 20 .35 Rem
I purchased mine at Academy Sports + Outdoors. The rifle wasnāt expensive (in the $399 range), and the Fusion ammo (honestly canāt remember the grain right now) was only $20.00/box and were hollow points. I grew up using nothing but hollow points in a lever action because of the concern over rounds in the magazine having the primers face against a fully-jacketed round. Many say that is not a concern with todayās rifles, but thatās okay, Iāll just stay with my old time lessons. I was going to mount a 3X9 on it, but was reminded by a friend that weāre not getting any younger, so stupid me bought a Simmons 6X24X50. ROFL!!! Looks good on the rifle, but Iām still going to go by a 3X9. I shouldāve known better!
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Use what you have or can afford!, better than throwing plants.
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A .357 magnum lever gun is on the extreme short list, for my wife. 10 rounds of 125 grain Underwood is hard to argue with.
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If itās all you have, then make it work. I would never make this choice, but I have plenty of other options and other life experiences. You do you.
I hadnāt thought about a Lever Action for home defense but it is probably a decent idea. I have one in .44 mag and my Cowboy Action gun in .45 Colt. Both are pretty potent man stoppers. I donāt know how bad they would be for over penetration. I would expect they would do better than .223/5.56 if for no other reason than the size of the bullet.
Iāve owned quite a few JM era Marlins over the years.
Honestly those chambered in pistol calibers would make excellent home defense weapons once you become familiar with them but it does require quite a bit of practice to get to where you can get it ārightā every time with time and pressure affecting you.
It is very easy, particularly with the longer stroke of the rifle cartridges to short stroke it and get yourself in a real bind. If you do get a double feed as a result they arenāt typically quick or easy to clear.
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I might consider it after Illinois bans semi automatics. Until then, the question I have is why? Arent there far superior platforms for home defense?
I mean, the gun you have is better than the gun you donāt, but if I have an alternative, Iām picking numerous different firearms before I pick a level action.
Remember that āstandardā 45/70 loads were made for the old trapdoor Springfields, āModernā high powered 45/70 loads (Modern lever guns, Ruger or other modern single shots ONLY can generate power similar to .458 Win Mag! (And will explode a Trapdoor rifle!!) So loaded these guns are capable of stopping anything on this planet. (Kodak bears etc). I love the old 45/70 because itās so flexible. Standard loads drop a deer like a bad habit. I āhaveā fire hot loads in a Guide Gun- donāt think Iād care to go to the range and fire a couple hundred of āemš
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I was just thinking outside the box a little =ā¦Iāve even considered a PCC as my primary long gun. Trying to stay two moves ahead of the gun grabbers and delaying them banning what I have for personal defense/SHTF/zombie apocalypse as long as I can.
Does my mateās leg qualify? Works well in confined spaces.
Sorry. That was supposed to be mareās leg. Thank you so much spell incorrect.
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