Lever Actions as Defensive Rifle?

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Dave T

New member
Anybody out there using a lever action as a home defense or self defense rifle? If so, what sights are you using? Do you have a sling on it? How about spare ammo (butt stock carriers). What caliber do you like: pistol calibers for capacity; 30-30 or something similar for performance? Finally, Winchester, Marlin, or something else like the Browning BLR?

Dave T
 
I still use a customized 16" Marlin .44 mag. for "home defense" that I used to carry (unauthorized) in a patrol car. The only spare ammo I have ever had "with it" were those carried in a gunbelt for a sidearm in the same caliber. In spite of extensive custom features I have added it still wears the factory buckhorn sights. I've never found a reason to change them.

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Gunslinger

I was promised a Shortycicle and I want a Shortycicle!
 
Dave,
I use 2. Both are Winchester Trappers. 1 in .44Mag which I load with Winchester Siver Tip .44 Specials, and the other is a .45LC which I load with Blazer 200gr JHP's. I went with pistol calibers for better control, faster follow up, less noise inside and higher capacity. My choice boiled down to either the lever actions, or a Remington 870 pump shotgun. I simply shoot the lever guns more often than the shotgun, so I feel more confident with them.
 
Dave, I have a Trapper in .45 Colt which is my "PCHDC" (politically correct home defense carbine) I've put a set of RamLine synthetic stocks on it, and have a Williams peep rear sight mounted which has a screw out aperture. This gives a good ghost ring setup. My eyes couldn't focus well on the front sight using the factory buckhorn. Now, if I can find some tritium paint for the front sight....

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Shoot straight & make big holes, regards, Richard at The Shottist's Center
 
I have the same sight set up as 45king. It's a real plus. You can leave the apperature in and get the extra sight radius over the factory sights or take it out and us it as a "ghost ring"
My choice was a Marlin in .357. I went with that since it's my prefered pistol round. Runs great with .38's in it also.
For defense I think pistol rounds are all you need and you get more of them in the tube and it's cheaper to practice with usually.
Also, the lever gun in a gun rack doesn't get the looks that an "assualt weapon" would get.
You can get a cheap elastic sleeve that goes on the stock for extra rounds. However, I would really spend the extra money and get a well made one from Blackhawk. It will last you forever, but the cheap ones seem to go bad in a couple of years.
You could also opt for a sling with the ammo on it, never used one, but with training it should work.
I bought the Marlin since the Win's were not being made at the time. They had some problems with them and had discountinued them for a few years. I almost would have rather had a Win though since the barrel is shorter. You probably would lose rounds also.
Browning lot of money for a defense gun.
Any of them have the "PC advantage".
They are tons of fun and any should fit the bill. You just have to practice more since you can't "spray and pray" as much.


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He who dares wins.
NRA Life Memeber

[This message has been edited by ohen cepel (edited September 10, 2000).]
 
Hi there

I use two,

A Cut-down Marlin in .44 Mag (pre-factory carbine) and a Wild West Co-pilot in 45-70 (Guide gun type). Both have Trigicon front beads and ghost ring rear sights.

Extra ammo for the .44 is carried on a belt loop holder converted to a paddle type and for the 45-70 (which is for the woods) is on the back-pack style scabbard. No slings.

I always have a sidearm within arms reach while at home, but the .44 rifle is a constant back up. Both my petite wife and my 11 year old son can stay minute of milk-jug at 50 yards with it in rapid fire.

Hand guns are great for there convience but to me, there's nothing like a short rifle.

"You use a handgun to fight your way to your rifle." -- Clint Smith

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"Carry" on

Rick

I prefer armed combat to unarmed combat. It's easier on the knuckles.
 
Thanks for the feedback, guys. I think it's interesting most of you chose handgun calibers (we'll leave the 45-70 aside as a world of its own).

I was hopeing someone would have tried the Ashley Aperture Rear Sight. They list it in Brownell's for Marlins & Winchesters.
Brownell's also has a Wild West Guns Lever Rifle Sight that looks interesting. It's kind of a "tactical" sight for lever actions. Acording to the description it a ghost ring with protecive ears on each side. Kind of expensive though.

ohen cepel,
What is "Blackhawk"? Sounds like they make butt mounted ammo carriers but I never heard of them.

I'm still thinking this one through but thanks for the info.

Dave T
 
Some years ago I played around with a 30-30 Model 94 as a tactical weapon. About the same time Col Cooper(Bless him) wrote about a lever action as a cruiser gun,etc.

A shooting buddy with a 44 mag Marlin and I played around with some El Pres drills and some short time interval plinking at up to 100 yards. Both worked quite well. Got another 30-30 now with peep and sling studs. The sling's for hunting and the range. In AS scenarios, slings are just something to get snagged at a horribly wrong time.

Spare ammo? In a HD scenario, if it's not resolved with a couple of rounds, you may need backup more than a couple more beans in the wheel.
 
Dave McC,

I have a LEO background and when I tought the shotgun and rifle at my department I advocated having a sling on them. Reason being that if you had to do something else, what do you do with your long gun? Sling gives you some place to put it, besides laying it down and having it walk away. Just something to think about.

As to spare ammo, I guess that's a hold over from military days and badge wearing days too. Never seemed to have too much ammo.

Dave T
 
I have leaned a lot about rifle use from Clint Smith.

He teaches that a sling is very important, and that handgun calibers in a "rifle" is a mistake.

For a in-the-house carbine you have to worry about penetration, and this may well rule out real rifle calibers (.308). But I would have quite the same concern with a .44 around the house also.

Except for the non-PC appearance there is a lot of advantages for a .223 around the house.

Lever-guns in the same role as any rifle used for defense are pretty good, handy, plenty accurate, easy to load, in 30-30 they are better I think than in .44.

Noel
 
I used to have a Winchester 94 "trapper" in .44 Magnum. I mounted a Williams 5D rear aperture (removed the screw-in insert) and used the factory front sight. It worked well, but wouldn't handle cast bullets and, in a snit, I sold it. I should have just accepted this limitation and fed it jacketed bullets. Ah, hindsight...20/20 always.

Currently, I'm fooling with a Marlin 1894P in .44 Magnum. I'm using the Ashley Ghost-Ring rear sight and their white-lined front (hint: use the plastic test post and get a front sight that is exactly the height you need. The Ashley rear sight has a fairly limited range of adjustment). I have a nylon carry strap on the carbine, using QD swivels. For home defense use, the sling would be removed. The 1894P has "Ballard-style" rifling and handles cast bullets just fine...however, it's a bit balky cycling SWC's, as the shoulders catch on the chamber's edge. This carbine is cursed with a needless cross-bolt safety. For serious use, one might consider deactivating this spurious "feature". All in all, the little Marlin looks promising.

Tony and the crew at www.miltsparks.com can make a "Cold Comfort" butt-cuff to hold extra rounds.

Rosco
 
One of my favorite topics--
I like to comment on these things but I came in late and most of my standard suff has already been mentioned by others.

I concur as to use of the .30-30 rather than the handgun calibers. First, it is a good deer rig, far more so than the lower-powered cartridges . I am fully aware of the drawbacks of the rifle rounds for household defense, but with a properly set-up firearm, with which you've practiced, one should seldom miss. Also, the lever action encourages precise shot placment and discourages even a subtle mindset of "spray and pray." And, once again, if you DO have to use it, there's no firearm that is as "grand jury friendly" as the ole deer gun.


One thing I hadn't thought about, though--It is cheaper to shoot the handgun calibers, and FAR cheaper to hand load for them. How about two guns set up identically? A Winchester or Marlin .30-30 in full trim, and ALSO essentially the same carbine in a pistol caliber, set up same way--Same sights, barrel length, spare ammo storage, sling, etc. This allows for the quick drills at short ranges, less recoil, inexpensively and so forth. This is rather like having a Colt Ace .22 or a .22 conversion unit for your 1911 or other combat handgun. (Yeah, I know--almost twice as expnsive. Money's a faco with me, too.)

As to carrying spare ammo, I like having the ammo with the gun. The old timers seemed to always be picking up a bandolier or "shell belt," any time they picked up the rifle. I've been in MANY ranch buildings in which the carbine was racked with the cartridge belt hanging from same peg. Same way with the "gun rack in the pickup truck" in West Texas that seems to amuse the outlanders so much.

I like Speedy's idea of,
"Extra ammo . . . .44 is carried on a belt loop holder converted to a paddle type." Neat! Keep it with the rifle and hang it on your belt any time you take out the gun.

My personal favorte is an elactic butt cuff holding nine or ten rounds--I've had both. It is important to keep track and make sure the loops keep enough tension to hold the cartridges snugly. When they loosen up, I replace the cuff, counting this as part of the cost of doing business. And it would be a simple but more expensive proposition to have one made of leather.

I respectfully disagree with ohen cepel, who wrote,
"You could also opt for a sling with the ammo on it, never used one, but with training it should work."

You can make do wih almost anything, but I feel hanging much ammo from the sling destroys balance of the piece for offhand shooting, unless you take a "hasty sling," and the ammo interfers with that. Also makes the whole package MUCH more bulky to put into a case for vehicle or horseback use.

Sorry to be so long winded. Whatever you choose, best of luck.
Johnny




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---The Second Amendment ensures the rest of the Bill of Rights---
 
Better a lever gun than a rock or stick. If we're talking about inside a house, then a handgun caliber will do just fine. Remember we're trying to fend off an attacker and not reenact the Battle of Stalingrad. Most criminals won't stick around if they know there'll be a bullet headed their way - yet alone after the first shot. Something about risk-taking not being worth the effort and easier "unarmed" victims elsewhere. After all, that's why they're criminals - they're too lazy to work like the rest of us.
 
Dave,
Blackhawk is a company that makes all sorts of tactical gear. Don't know the exact web address.
They make great stuff, but it does cost.
However, the last butt ammo carrier I got was about $18 and should last forever. I think it's better than the cheaper ones that always seem to fail at the worse times.

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He who dares wins.
NRA Life Memeber
 
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