question about rifle for self defense

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My opinion is that your lever gun is a perfectly suited home defense gun, its advantage in your situation is that you are extremely comfortable with it and should be able to handle it in the dark and under stress.

Depending on where you live, if you have the unfortunate need to use the gun in self defense, the police will take the gun after the incident. You may or may not get it back. I live in Mass, If I have to use a gun in self defense I don't plan on ever seeing it again. It seems like this gun means a lot to you, and you may want to consider how you will feel if your gun is caught up in legal limbo. I have a glock and an AR for home defense, fairly cheap, easily replaceable, and since they are plastic guns they have no soul haha.

If you do not live in a state run by idiots who think guns automatically make you a criminal, ignore the second part of this post :)
 
If kids are not a concern and you want to keep it handy you can hang an 1894 on the wall in any room or over the fireplace and nobody would think twice about it. Add an old fashioned fishing creel with extra ammo in it and an old fishing pole to complete the rustic wall scene. Try that with an AR and you'll get some strange looks.
 
I have 100yrs worth of carbine designs (1890s, 1940s, 1990s) shown below. The levergun is a Rossi clone of a Winchester 1892 and is chambered in 357mag. I consider all three of these good HD guns and in fact, all are loaded, hidden, and available around the home just in case.

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A lever carbine in .357 is very functional as a SD/HD weapon. Recoil is moderate, energy and power are sufficient, and 9 rds on tap are plenty.

One thing you might want to consider is a lighter slug. The 158/180 are fine for punching thru deer and hogs, maybe even small bears, but a fast expanding HP in 110 or 125 is what you want in a SD round. From a carbine the various 125 JHP are violently explosive. At SD/HD ranges, a slight drop in technical accuracy won't matter. Minute of felon is sufficient.

One advantage of a lever for SD is no need for magazines and no magazines to loose. I keep a cartrige belt hung on the closet door, but a pocket full of ctgs, or a ditty bag sort of thing would work just as well.

Most people shoot carbines/long guns much better than a handgun. MOst pros will tell you if they know they are going to a fight, they take a long gun.

A 12 ga can be too much gun for lots of folks. I have seen LE trainees leave the firing line because a 12 ga beat them up. So intimidated that they could miss a human sized target (and target stand!) at 25 yds. That same cadet can take a carbine (well, no it wasn't a lever, but the point still stands) and hit consistently back to 50. Point being that a carbine w/ moderate recoil is much easier to shoot well than a 12 ga for some folks.

Shoot your Marlin often if you can, and here's to your Dad for turning out a gal who shoots.
 
Is a lever action gun optimal for self-defense? No. Will it work? Of course!

Train with what you have. Practice "Shoot two, load two" and learn to load quickly.

Save up and get a magazine fed rifle later.
 
Lots of good replies and a few that make me shake my head.

First of all, your rifle is a very good tool for self defense. The 357 magnum is an effective cartridge for self defense when fired from a handgun. When fired from a rifle, it is even better. It is also a firearm with which you are already familiar and comfortable. That will be very important if you ever need the rifle to protect yourself.

Your friend Jack is right about hollowpoints being the preferred bullet type. Tim is also right, but only about being nuts, lol.
 
Speaking of head shaking...
A gun will go thru walls and kill someone in your family by mistake .Get a double barel shotgun loaded with bird**** that will be alot better then the 357.
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I certainly hope any firearm I choose to defend my life with can go through sheetrock. If it can't, how is it supposed to adequately penetrate the threat I am trying to stop? Birdshot is for birds, small ones. I have picked pellets out of doves before. I won't trust my life with anything that can be stopped by a tiny little bird.
all guns can be used for self defence but like with tools pick the RIGHT ONE FOR THE JOB. Now a shot gun is you best bet or a handgun FORGET THE RIFLE !!IMO a rifle is NOT a good choise but do what you will.
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A shotgun with BUCKSHOT would be a good choice but to make a blanket statement that handguns are a good choice and rifles are not is mistaken. The only advantage to a handgun is it's size. Obviously, that isn't your point though because if it was, you wouldn't suggest a shotgun. Some rifles with some ammo do indeed penetrate excessively but so do some handguns with some ammo. You are also forgetting that the particular rifle in question here is chambered in a "handgun cartridge".
 
230therapy said:
Train with what you have. Practice "Shoot two, load two" and learn to load quickly.

Save up and get a magazine fed rifle later.
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It's a .357mag lever gun and it is magazine fed. More like shoot ten, load ten....
 
Sounds like you are already proficient with the Marlin. Just aquire a combat mindset and you'll do fine.

Anyone getting hit with one of those .357s out of that carbine is going to have their medical recorded wrecked.
 
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