Commercially available lever actions? (-$500)

Gunbroker is your friend. Lever actions for sale are abundant over there. Hit the gunshows, gunshops and pawnshops. And always have lots of cash with you. Cash talks. And a 30-30 is one of the best rifles you can own. I like my winchester but my marlin made in 1978 is probably a little stronger gun and is easily scoped. Some will say a scope on a lever gun just looks wrong. But you can only shoot as well as you can see.
 
I just got off Gunbroker and saw a BLR .243 for a little over $300. I could not bring myself to pay $500 for a lever action .44 or 30-30.
 
I think most brand new rifles are over $500. I bought a 44 Magnum Trapper (16" barrel) in 1994 for about $200 but that was a long time ago. I think a gun like this is a great choice for packing in the outdoors. Compact, light, and good power at close range. A 240 JHP over 22 grains of 2400 clocks 1980 FPS. You might be able to find a used one at good price. The M92 clones may also be in your price range. They will be even lighter.


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A brand new Marlin 336 in 30-30 is $400 in my neck of the woods in the Houston, TX area all day everyday at Academy Sports and Outdoors. They are a Dicks Sporting Goods, Big 5, etc. hit pawn shops in your area and see if you can find one in good shape with JM stamped on the barrel. These are desireable/collectible as they were manufactured before the Remington buyout. The quality suffered for a while but now the new ones seem to back on track.


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Don't forget used. I have a 1970ish Winchester 94 in 30-30 that was bought for $50 back in the 90's. Unfortunately he PO engraved his name and address on the left side and tang.

I have a Winchester 1940-42 in 30-30 that I got for free with the purchase of a few other guns. Bought 6 guns and got two free for buying a 1/3rd of the estate. For granted it was a family members estate but the prices were set by estimates of what the local gun store would pay.

My dad bought a Marlin 336 in 30-30 with scope at an auto shop in the 90's for $100. The guy needed the money to fix his truck more than the gun.

I was at Gander Mountain last year and a nice Winchester 94 in 30-30 walked in the store and the guy at the counter told him it was worth $100. I think he heard me laugh and packed the gun up and walked out. In the parking lot I told him of a rifle club where he could post it for sale and get quite a bit more. And that's what he did.

Keep your eye out. Or browse Armslist.
 
If you wanna run around and pretend you're John Wayne buy a cowboy gun. Truthfully the 30-30 was obsolete 3-4 years before it was introduced. It was a step backwards in cartridge development. And while the rest of the world went straight to bolt guns too many Americans hung onto their old lever guns for way too long.

If you want a serious survival rifle under $500 something like this is what you want.

http://ruger.com/products/americanRifleRanch/specSheets/6965.html

They sell for under $400, add a red dot or 1-4X20 scope and it'll still be lighter and more compact than a lever action. It holds 6 rounds, only 1 less than a 30-30, and ammo is much cheaper and readily available.

Not the only option, Mossberg makes something similar that takes AR magazines. Not sure what they sell for though. I do know the Rugers are tack drivers and are threaded for a suppressor or flash hider.

http://www.mossberg.com/category/series/mvp-series/

Anyone that tries to tell you that a lever action is faster for repeat shots has watched too many cowboy movies and never learned how to work a bolt gun.
 
Jmr40 has some very informative posts and I have respect for his viewpoints, but can't always agree with every post. Like this:
Truthfully the 30-30 was obsolete 3-4 years before it was introduced. It was a step backwards in cartridge development. And while the rest of the world went straight to bolt guns too many Americans hung onto their old lever guns for way too long.
Click to expand...
I just have to disagree. Sure, the 30-30 is no Weatherby magnum; but it's a different tool altogether, excellent for many tasks. Of course, there are things that I expect from a scoped, bolt-action, 270 Winchester, that I don't expect from an iron-sighted, 30-30 carbine. There are a lot of cars that pass me on the road and they are just as good for bringing home the groceries while using less fuel. However, they are useless for bringing home a load of firewood and have no business on the roads that end at most of the trailheads I use. Same thing with rifles. Someone will tout the virtues of the Garand, and they are good for what they are good for; but they cannot match the handiness of a 30-30 Winchester carbine for long days in the deer-woods. Those who think otherwise are more likely to be road-hunters. I prefer bolt-actions AND lever-actions; chocolate AND vanilla; brunettes......well, you get the idea. But in this day and age, there are those that would lead you to believe that a lever-action 30-30 is little if any better than a spear. Nonsense.
 
Sales of the 30-30 lever gun from inception to present would seem to prove that it's far from obsolete. It's a great gun and will suit most people's needs, just not everyone's. You can always point out that something is better in one way or another, and that's true. However, at the end of the day this gun and cartridge are still going strong. FWIW, I don't own one at the present time and I haven't owned one for years, simply because other "toys" appeal to me more as I get older and have the funds to dabble with other guns and calibers. It would still kill all the deer I need for food.
 
I would call the perfect action for a survival rifle a single shot! Lot less to go wrong. Myself, I would have a bolt action, not a lot to go wrong! My choice of cartridge would be a 22 mag. I can avoid dangerous animals and quickly dispatch other's. On top of that, compare to store bought CF ammo I think it would be fairly cheap and you could put 50 in your pocket and not have to hitch your belt higher to keep your pants up. Lot quieter than any CF cartridge I'm aware of except maybe a bunch of cast bullet loads!

That is a survival rifle. If we were invaded and the rifle had to do double duty, I would tend to shoot an enemy with my 22 mag and take his rifle and ammo. Every dead enemy soldier after provides more ammo! But even then, for hunting food, the 22 mag.
 
At Marlins price point, I would give a 336 a chance. If not, nice used rifles are out their.
For a new .44mag in the ballpark of $500, I recommend giving Rossi a look.
 
My latest lever action is a Marlin 1894PG...

Came with a broken butt stock...

$125 private sale...

Deals are still out there...
 
MosinNOUGAT this is about your 3rd post asking about survival rifles. Now unlike the forum rules I do enjoy the odd hypothetical discussion of the perfect zombie gun as lighthearted entertainment. Assuming that's not what your getting at in your posts I feel the need to point out there is more than likely no solid answer to your question.

As others have tried to point out, multiple times, the term "survival" is simply too broad to provide an answer to.

Go to any decently size gun store and look at the myriad of pistols, rifles, and shotguns and see my point proven out. All of those guns and calibers were built for a reason. Now granted some of those reasons might be fun at the range so no practical survival purpose. No gun is a do it all wonder-kin that will make all other firearms obsolete.

If your looking to survive in an urban environment after a disaster a 45-70 or similar cartridge would not be ideal. However if you were dropped into the middle of nowhere Alaska I would much rather have said 45-70 rather than a 9mm carbine an urban environment might call for.

As I said before no gun solves all problems so the best gun for a survival situation simply does not exist. Now a survival situation in such and such environment is maybe a bit easier to get to the heart of. I would suggest, again as others have pointed out, that the best rifle in a given situation is what you have on hand that your proficient with and you can source ammo for. Now that may or may not be the perfect rifle for a given situation, but its the best available for said situation so any other discussion becomes a moot point.

So unless you have a trip planned that will force you to rely on your rifle for survival (in which case please provide details) then take what you have/like/feel comfortable with and shoot the snot out of it till you feel comfortable with it and stop worrying about what ever anyone else suggests is the best rifle for a hypothetical situation.
 
RickyRick....that mozzie "Tactical" lever action has to be the ugliest rifle ever. I saw a "Tactical" 12 ga. side x side double barrel shotgun at the LGS awhile back. It had short barrels, a full length rail topside, and a rail under the barrels, an AR type adjustable stock....the works. Both ugly and stupid at the same time. I forget the make, but it must have been designed with "Buckshot Joe" Biden in mind.....Yuck!
 
That tactical lever action has cracked me up every since I first saw it. Even sounds like a great idea, until you see it.
The "chainsaw" is another. I like mossberg, but dang. I'll leave it at that, don't want to hijack
 
I had forgot about Mossberg lever guns. They have a straight stocked gun (posted in the GB link) that is real close to the traditional Winchester 94 in looks. But it comes with a hardwood stock instead of walnut like the pistol grip version. If the straight stock model had walnut they might just be able to sell me one.
 
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