What do you guys think is best?

V

viciouskitty

New member
Well this weekend im taking the girlfriend to the gunshow to find her a good deer rifle. Its one of her christmas presents, I was thinking along the lines of a used bolt action in 243 or 22-250 maybe even 223. She likes "pretty guns" mostly wood stocks with a nice blue or stainless. I was looking for a used gun since my budget is only about 400 bucks. If the gun she likes isnt in the greatest of cosmetic shape i will refinish it so it looks "pretty" for her lol.

But today she saw me looking at some guns and she saw a lever action in 357 and she said she really liked the look of that one, so now she has two different kinds of guns in mind. What i was wondering is if there are any lever action 357's that are used even going for the 400 dollar range? I want to get her one that would take a scope so she can shoot to about 100 yards max. And besides that what would you guys recommend a bolt in 244,223,22-250 or the lever rifle in 357?

Keep in mind that I live in south texas our shots are usually pretty close within 100 yards and she is also a bit recoil and concussion shy. I have her shooting a 30-30 right now but the gun just doesn't fit her right.
 
Hmm, one thing comes to mind. You might have her check the fit of one of those Marlin XS-7 Youth models. They can be had in .243. I saw a place on line that offers the rifle with both the youth and full size stocks. If the .30-30 does not fit, then I wouldn't think a levergun .357 would either (could be wrong).
 
Weatherby makes a youth model with adjustable stock inserts if the regular one is too large for her (so after all the try-outs my wife picked the standard model anyway). As for caliber, go 243, no big difference in recoil etc, but legal in more states than 22 for deer.
 
Get her what SHE wants, so long as it will do the job. A 357 lever gun is entirely adequate for deer at 100 yards. If she gets what she wants, she is much more likely to enjoy it, want to shoot it and want to hunt with it.

Get what SHE wants.
 
If she's considering a lever gun in a pistol chambering, it might not be a bad idea to also check out the lever .44 mags. It makes a good pairing if you have a .44 mag revolver and if full power magnums are too much there is always .44 special or light hand loads.

Another option if she likes lever actions is the good old .30-30....
 
.243 is what I would lean towards though if she is really liking the look of levers I think .30-30 is probably where I'd keep her. Have a smith fit a stock to it for her and call it good.
 
Yea the lever i have her using now is my great grandfathers and it has seen better days. My grandfather never took care of it the metal has some pitting and the barrel looks like a sewer pipe, and thats after i cleaned the hell out of it. lol Its a savage model 99 it shoots decently especially since the gun is in less than stellar shape. I'm trying to get her a new gun this way she can have her own and one in better condition
 
A howa model 1500 in 7mm-o8, burris 2x7 fullfield scope, & burris 2-piece bases & low rings would really rock her world.

Guru1911
 
You can find used Marlin lever actions for $300. I would steer her towards a 30-30 or a 35 Rem to give her a bit more range and power. The stainless versions are always more $. The Marlin does have a nice solid top for mounting a scope. The 357 or 44 Mag will be the Marlin model 1894 and the 30-30 is the model 336. Rossi makes the Rio Grande stainless 30-30 lever action for a little over $435 new.
 
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