CA - Lever action vs. magazine fed semiauto

D

Dave3006

New member
We are so screwed here in Kali. Our state only allows magazines of 10 rounds to be purchased with a new gun. Assuming you obey this law, it is starting to seem to me like a tube fed lever action is as good as a Mini-14, M1 Carbine, or similar semiautomatic caliber rifle in an intermediate caliber. The lever even has some advantages. Of course a battle rifle would be prefered over both. That is a different subject though. I am addressing only intermediate cartridges. Here is my thinking:

If the SHTF, you would need to carry 10-15 magazines to have a decent combat load. As you shoot and replace empty or partially empty mags with new ones, you have to find a way to store these separate from the full ones. This could get to be a nightmare. A tube fed Winchester 30/30 or Marlin 1894P with two 50 round cartridge belts would give you a decent ammo load. You could top off as you fired it and would eliminate frequent magazine changes and the storage problem. My 1894P is fast from shot to shot. It is just slow to reload if you shoot it completely empty. That is the key disadvantage.

My conclusion, IF YOU ARE LIMITED TO ONLY 10 ROUNDS in a magazine fed semiautomatic rifle, the benefit over a lever gun is questionable. Frequent mag changes and magazine management are actually disadvantages. To make the semiauto superior to the levergun, a high capacity magazine is a must.

We have been screwed out of these in the people's paradise.
 
It seems that you are forgetting the availability of 10 round stripper clips that are available for the SKS in 7.62x39 (semi-auto ballistical equivalent to the 30-30) One chest pouch of strippers carries something like 200 rounds on strippers and you can always top off manually if you want to ... although admittedly not as fast as with the lever. Reloads are about as fast a a mag change ...

I feel the same pain of the rediculous laws.

Just food for thought,
Saands
 
Is it still possible to buy an SKS there? Heck, I thought they got rid of everything semi-auto that is even remotely battle-applicable except Minis and M1As.
 
I would feel more comfortable with a lever action if I were in your BS situation Dave. I would take my Marlin 336 over any 10-shot semi anyday. I'm in the process of putting a scout scope and apeture sights on it, once its done its going to be beautiful! I think it would be too complicated to try and manage 10-15 10 round magazines in the heat of the moment, so I think you're right that it could be a disadvantage. You're also right that it takes a while to replenish the lever's magazine to full strength... If you try to duke it out alone with a large enemy force you're screwed no matter if you have a Barrett or a M249 or a Martini-Henry... I'd just say whichever you can handle with utmost certainty. For me its a lever, and Saands likes the semi.

Dan
 
Well ... after having to deal with all the nonsensical legal stuff myself, I just wanted to offer that there are still a couple of choices and that one of them (the SKS) actually lets you use a rifle as it was designed to be used ... the other is a Garand ... but you can't top that one off at all. As a matter of fact, at this point my personal choice is still MY lever action (a BLR81 in .308) ... for whatever reason, mine is a tack driver and is the ONLY rifle I have that I feel any confidence with when it comes to ringing the 6" gongs at 300 yds. But once again it comes down to what the situation and terrain dictate ... inside of 200, that SKS starts to look pretty attractive.

Saands
 
Light, fast, shoots soft, hits hard. What's not to like?

My house/trunk gun is an ooooold Marlin lever action 357 Mag carbine. 18.5 in bbl, 8 shots. The Speer 125 Gold Dots do over 2100 fps from it; more than enough to do the job. 3 in groups at 50 yds all day too.

My first choice and I have owned plenty of ARs and AKs.
 
lever

i own marlin levers in 357 and 44 mag.........both are great guns.....the 44 mag holds 10 rounds and shoots to the sights at 50 yards with 240pmc hp. in 357 it will feed the 180 gr rounds that some other levers wont. ashley makes optional sights.....but for accurate,inexpensive,reliable and politically correct rifles you cant go wrong
 
lever action is good thing, cause you can even get more than 10 in some of the pistol caliber ones!

in ca we can still get FAL variants(minus pistol grip) SKS(fixed 10 round mag, the sporter that takes ak mags were banned and confiscated in some cases) and minis. but mags over 10 are illegal to sell, and god forbid we go to nevada or oregon to buy some hehe.
 
Remember...

If you bought 30 rnd USGI mags prior to the magazine ban in California and have a cash receipt to prove it, you can always use them in a gun you bought AFTER the ban on the magazines! ;)

JT
 
I'd go with the SKS or the fixed-mag stripper clip guide FAL in CA. If you intend to have this rifle for any kind of defensive use, using a lever action while prone can be very difficult.

If the DS Arms Cali-FAL is too steep, one of the many competent FAL gunsmiths could put a basic model together from a parts kit for less than the $1200 or so the DS arms or a M1A1 Springfield would run you.

My $.02

Andrew
 
i think the pistol calibre lever action is unbelievably handy and easy to carry and swing...the only serious drawback is operating the lever while prone.

but, i gotta go with the sks:
full capacity
stripper clipps for rapid loading (bandolier across chest,no mags to manage)
loose rounds to top off occassional shots
scout scope mount available (stipper clips still usuable)
cheap but battle proven ammo (you can't reload this cheap)

and yes we can still buy the sks in CA as long as they haven't been converted to high cap (as defined buy the doj)
 
Topping off?

Hold the bolt open, press in the required number of rounds to deliver the magazine back up to ten. Not the easiest thing to do, a third hand is helpful on the SKS, (the FAL has a manual bolt hold open you can activate, it's under your non-functional Cali-legal mag release), but it can be done with the normal two hands.

You could also turn the rifle over, release the hinged mag well on the SKS, and dump spare rounds in making sure the stagger is right if it's all 10 rounds you needed, then smack the cover closed.

Andrew
 
my now departed uncle taight me to hold back the bolt with your right hand and insert the required number of rounds with the left pressing them down with the left thumb
 
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