First lever action

Going to buy a Marlin brand lever action...I thought all they had was the 30 30 but after visiting the Marlin site I see I was wrong.

So what do y'all recommend? It'll be for deer and hogs, I hunt all weather, walk far, and usually in thick stuff...

Pistol calibers are great for brush hunting. Big, heavy bullets and weight of a rifle to mitigate recoil.

I would look at Kittery Trading post and get a 35 Marlin.

That is if I was going to buy a lever action which I wouldn't. Fine if you like them. I just prefer a light bolt action,even in the brush. The stock angle on a lever makes target acquisition with a scope awkward for me.

The .35 Remington is a great cartridge for a Marlin lever rifle.
http://www.chuckhawks.com/35Rem.htm
Or you could opt for the Nuclear Option and get a .45-70.

OTOH, there's nothing wrong with the .30-30 and there have probably been more deer killed with it than with any other cartridge in North American (and most certainly in the southeastern United States).

Good article. I already shoot a 7mag 700 LOL! Leaning towards the 336C 35 Rem. Dang these rifles are purdy

44 magnum

Mxlr in stainless. Caliber is your choice. A .35 is a great round. Then there is the .308 Marlin express and the grandaddy of em all 45-70 which is my favorite

Go with the .35 or 45/70. Both hit game like sledgehammers.

^^This^^

I'd just do 30-30 because of ammo availability.

I like .35 the best though for deer.

I've got a 35 and love it.

Pm sent

35rem seems to be the winner. Thank you everyone for your input. If I can figure out how to work photo bucket on here I'll post some gun porn when I get it.

Just get all three. 30-30,.35 rem,45-70 like I did. Problem solved.

.45-70...............when you pull the trigger a school bus comes flying out the end of the barrel.

I picked up a .45-70 this year. I can't wait to hit something with it.

444 marlin is the best of both worlds

I have 35 marlin and love it.

You'll enjoy the 35. Hits like a freight train with much less recoil than the 45 or 444. Leverevolution ammunition is great for it.

Guess im the odd man out but I still like the 30-30 and kill deer dead with mine. Had a 45/70 and sold it - dont need it.

Yeah some people can't handle the recoil of a 45-70

I would go 45-70 first, 30-30 2nd, and 35rem 3rd. I really dont understand the 45-70 recoil argument. A marlin 1895 with factory recoil pad and factory Winchester, federal, or Remington loads really doesn't recoil all that much. It is more of a soft push than a punch. IMO a 12ga or a 30/06 has worse recoil than 45-70. Get a ported version or have it ported and it will kick similar or less than the 30-30 nearly. Again recoil feels different to everybody but to me a marlin 45-70 is pretty mild. I guess what I am saying is dont let that be the deciding factor.

Depends on the load a 350gr at 1900 shows 37.9 on the recoil tables. That's just a touch more than a 375 H&H.

For reference a 30-06 with a 180 is about 20 on the table. Out of a .45-70 a 300 at 1800fps is about 24. Not that bad.

What did you say about getting something ported? I couldn't hear you. I have this ringing in my ears most of the time.

Hold on, let me take my hearing pro off to respond.

I'll never buy a ported gun (barring a .50 cal)If I can't handle the recoil then I won't buy it.

Exactly. I had a ported 1895G. Shot two deer in one sitting with it and was cringing waiting for the report on the 2nd shot. Shot a hog with it not long after and decided it just wasn't for me. Too Loud!!

I might have an non-ported version again one day... it was cool no doubt.
But I have a 16" JM Marlin 336 30-30 that gives me the same results that 45/70 did with a lot less blast. Handy woods gun that kills critters dead.

Honestly I'd buy a 44 Mag before I bought a 45/70 next time around.

Try shooting a Browning 7mag with the Boss system. Good lord, it's been almost 20yrs since I sold that gun and my ears are still ringing.

My FIL has one in .300 wthby.............it is absolutely brutal to be near when he's shooting. he can be on the other side of the property and it sounds like artillery.

LOL, exactly like artillery. Twice while at the range sighting in I had folks come over and pick up my brass just to see WTH I was shooting. They couldn't believe it was only a 7mag. That boss muzzle break would literally suck the oxygen out of the air when it went off.

I had a .300 Winnie Mag with a BOSS...stupid loud! Friend of mine laid it across the hood of his truck to shoot it once, it knocked all the mud off the bottom of his truck and cracked his windshield! Don't miss that rifle a bit!

Both my ported 45-70's were loud but I didn't feel any blast like you do from a muzzle brake. The ports are towards the top of the barrel so no blowing the guy next to you hat off. ALL 45-70's sound like a cannon so a little porting doesn't bother me. But i understand its not for everybody or every gun. My 1895sbl is getting threaded for my hybrid that is sitting in jail.

My Marlin 30/30 is the first gun I reach for during deer season.

I've had a bunch of 30-30s a few 35s and 1 45-70 all marlins. My go to lever gun is my 1895g guide gun. Its hard to beat when in the thick stuff. I wanted a 35 when i bought the guide gun, my dads got one he bought in the 80s but it got hard to find ammo for it except a few weeks before hunting season so i went and bought the 45-70 and glad I did,that hunting season dad had 8 bullets and that was it and he couldnt find any ammo every one kept telling him they one make one run of the 35 rem. Once a year and when its sold out its gone. If I would have bought the 35 at that time i woildnt have had any ammo to shoot out of it

If you are the hunter that starts looking in the local hardware stores for ammo a week before season,you don't need the 35 Rem. Just buy a 30/30. Either of the 3 will all kill deer at the distance I would shoot a lever gun anyway. Don't get the 45/70 though unless you enjoy shooting 12 ga slugs out of a single barrel.

4 choices available right now at Midway in the 35 Rem. If I wanted one,I would buy 200 rounds and load my own. You can buy one of those little Lee Classic loaders for about $30 that would work in a pinch.

Just get your local gun store to order you some ammo. Problem solved

I do roll my own for my rifles, when he had issues finding ammo that year not one if the gun stores in cullman had any flavor of 35 rem. Vans sporting goods couldnt order any because of a backorder i want to say it was around the same time frame 223,22lr,5.56, was hard to find to that year in stock or not backordered. I've tried to get him to reload for that rifle told him all he'd have to buy is the dies,powder, bullets and we'd load them up at my place. He now buys 3 boxes every fall when the local gun stores get it in. Ordering rifle rounds online isnt really feasible unless you was buying 308,223,5.56, etc military surplus stuff. Most hunting rounds are with in a dollar or two from the local stores then you have to add shipping and handling and it ends up costing you more money

I completely understand. Sometimes though during the summer months you can get free shipping and if you drive around much you are spending just as much as shipping. I remember those days when ammo about dried up.That's when I decided to start loading my own.

It doesn't matter what you shoot,IMHO every hunter should have at least 100 rounds sitting in the safe at all times and just shoot what he loads or buys. The days of buying a box the night before the season opens are over. Just stock up all through the year when it is available.

One of my favorites. My trusty ole 308mx.

I had never even heard of the 308mx. I had to look it up.Looks good for a lever but I would surly stock up on ammo and buy some components.

Ive been wanting a 308mxlr for yeeeears. The accuracy and knockdown is excellent but the rifle is pricey and ammo is too if you can get it.
chris if you were closer Id let you shoot my 30-30,.35 and 45-70 to see which you like the best. I had a 375 winchester that I shouldn't have sold. That was a great round as well

Midway had some of the ammo under $30 a box. That was one of the first things I looked at when that unfamiliar round was mentioned.

The last rifle I found was close to 750.00. laminated stock,stainless steel. I'm drooling thinking about it

I can understand the drooling,I just never did it over a lever action. They seem to have too much drop in the stock and don't fit me well at all trying to use a scope. I wouldn't mind one though if I could find one with a very straight stock and fed by a mag like the Savage 99,so I could shoot different calibers. I always thought a 358 Win Savage 99 might be worth trying though.

R.H. have you ever shouldered a browning blr? They are a little different as far as feel but are still a lever action. You can get a lot of different calibers in them and they look very nice

Yea,but it's been a long while,maybe 10 years. I've just gotten used these last few years to bolt action rifles with very straight stocks. The stocks are so straight you couldn't get your eye low enough if they had iron sights to line them up, but with a scope I get the same kind of cheek weld I use to get only with iron sights.

I do remember the BLR to be very smooth operating and good looking rifle.

Get the 45/70, really more of a push than a kick on recoil and I am 59 . Deer die where shot I've killed 26 with my H&R 45/70 and only one one ran 25 yrds and he was shot at 170 yrds. The other 25 just hit dirt, awesome round, love mine.

I think the cheek weld problem is essentially summed up like this.... the lever guns are intended to be used with irons in design. If you mount a scope something compact with very low rings is the way to go. That forces you to use a hammer extension most of the time but all mine are setup with compact scopes and they don't really bother me. Scopes 40mm and over do bother me however and you do in fact tend to get a chin weld instead of a cheek weld so that is a valid observation by Mr. Clark.

30-30 is my favorite. Doesnt tear the meat up as bad as the bigger calibers