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Sidearms & Scatterguns Tactical Lever guns?

Punisher29073

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Oct 12, 2012
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White Knoll, SC
Does anyone have any lever guns they have fixed up?

I have an old 336 that I am thinking of modifying. I want to Duracoat it, add a Ramline synthetic stock, XS sightsystems ghost ring sights and rail, and a 2.5x scout scope. It is a Carbine so the barrel extends past the magazine about 6 inches. I was also toying with the idea of shortening the barrel to just a bit beyond the magazine.

Any ideas or suggestions before I ruin this old rifle?

Ryan
 
I did something similar to a old neglected savage 99 in 308. Basically was going for a compact all weather gun that could take a suppressor. Haven't shot it really because I have been working away from home. Its all black for now but I am considering doing it all up in camo whenever I get a chance. Here's a link to some pictures.


http://www.snipershide.com/shooting...10-savage-99-suppressor-host.html#post2024890
 
I did something similar to a old neglected savage 99 in 308. Basically was going for a compact all weather gun that could take a suppressor. Haven't shot it really because I have been working away from home. Its all black for now but I am considering doing it all up in camo whenever I get a chance. Here's a link to some pictures.


http://www.snipershide.com/shooting...10-savage-99-suppressor-host.html#post2024890

That is alot like what I want to do. Very muted and a handy woods gun. Mine is a 35 Remington.

Ryan
 
Why is this in the sidearms/knives section?? ;) (Just giving you a little grief...not like there is a leverguns section and not really much of any better place to put it).

In any event...I have a couple leverguns that I have upgraded, as well as a Marlin 1895SBL that came prettymuch outfitted from the factory aside from a Burris Scout scope (2.75x) I mounted on it and some trigger/action work done by yours truly.

It all comes down to what you want to do, your budget and what you are expecting at the end of it all as to whether it will ultimately be a worthwhile project for you. There are plenty of levergun smithies that can help you out. You can go with a cut-down barrel to match up the length of the magazine tube, or you can go with an extended/modified mag tube depending on your barrel length and how short/handy you want the overall rifle to be and how much mg capacity you want/need. I like the XS sights a great deal and would suggest you stick with that idea. You can go with the straight add-on sights fore and aft, or you can go to the XS lever rail setup with the rear sight included and then just get the front sight to match. I'm not a huge fan of the Ramline stocks as they are pretty cheap and not all that beefy, but your other options for stocks that are synthetic and strong are FAR from cheap (i.e. - the MPI stocks for example).

The other consideration you need to think about is whether to hack up a perfectly good old levergun or if you just want to think about buying something like a newer 336BL (extended tube, shorter barrel, etc.) and adding the scout rail/sight and optic to it, etc.

You should also check out the Marlin forums for ideas, instruction, advice, etc. Lots of great info over there...see here: 336
 
This is more along the lines of what I am thinking of.

Ryan
 

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Why is this in the sidearms/knives section?? ;) (Just giving you a little grief...not like there is a leverguns section and not really much of any better place to put it).

In any event...I have a couple leverguns that I have upgraded, as well as a Marlin 1895SBL that came prettymuch outfitted from the factory aside from a Burris Scout scope (2.75x) I mounted on it and some trigger/action work done by yours truly.

It all comes down to what you want to do, your budget and what you are expecting at the end of it all as to whether it will ultimately be a worthwhile project for you. There are plenty of levergun smithies that can help you out. You can go with a cut-down barrel to match up the length of the magazine tube, or you can go with an extended/modified mag tube depending on your barrel length and how short/handy you want the overall rifle to be and how much mg capacity you want/need. I like the XS sights a great deal and would suggest you stick with that idea. You can go with the straight add-on sights fore and aft, or you can go to the XS lever rail setup with the rear sight included and then just get the front sight to match. I'm not a huge fan of the Ramline stocks as they are pretty cheap and not all that beefy, but your other options for stocks that are synthetic and strong are FAR from cheap (i.e. - the MPI stocks for example).

The other consideration you need to think about is whether to hack up a perfectly good old levergun or if you just want to think about buying something like a newer 336BL (extended tube, shorter barrel, etc.) and adding the scout rail/sight and optic to it, etc.

You should also check out the Marlin forums for ideas, instruction, advice, etc. Lots of great info over there...see here: 336

Thanks for the info. I had the same thought on location.

I just want a good 35-100 yd thumper. I picked the gun up pretty cheap. The original stock is broken, glued and brass pinned back together. The receiver has some notches on it that I am guessing are from some sort of sight that is long gone. And the bluing is well worn but it doesnt have any rust and functions well. I am a "do it yourself" kind of guy so I will be doing all the work except recrowning the barrel if I go that route. I was going to pick up a trigger from Wild West also.

The XS sight and rail system is what I was going to go with.

Thanks for the link to the other forum too.

Ryan
 
I actually ran across one that was a pretty setup a while back. The barrel was shortened, had a scout mount and the guy shortened the stock a bit. It looked like a pretty handy rig.


Tapatalk2
 
If you want a short rang thumper, look at a Guide Gun in 45-70. Mine has a straight stock, XS Sights, and an 18"" barrel. No optic needed out to 100 yards and the 45-70 definitely has some "thump".
 
For what all that would cost you could buy a SBL model and have all of it for less money. Personally I don't think it gets better than a guide gun though. I have a 45-70 guide gun, two 336 30-30's and a 336 35 Remington and the 45-70 is my favorite to hunt with and shoot out of all of them. The only thing I did to mine was add ghost ring sights, and a mountain sling. I tried a 1-4 scope mounted normally as well as a 4x scout scope and neither of them were as fast as the ghost rings.

I load a 405gr laser cast with 38gr of IMR4198 and it packs a punch but is still a blast to shoot. Works great for Texas heart shots too.
 
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For what all that would cost you could buy a SBL model and have all of it for less money. Personally I don't think it gets better than a guide gun though. I have a 45-70 guide gun, two 336 30-30's and a 336 35 Remington and the 45-70 is my favorite to hunt with and shoot out of all of them. The only thing I did to mine was add ghost ring sights, and a mountain sling. I tried a 1-4 scope mounted normally as well as a 4x scout scope and neither of them were as fast as the ghost rings.

I load a 405gr laser cast with 38gr of IMR4198 and it packs a punch but is still a blast to shoot. Works great for Texas heart shots too.

I would like a 45/70. I already have the 35. I think I can doe this for about $250 plus the scope and rings doing everything myself. Plus I cant leave anything alone so I would just end up tinkering on a nicer gun if I went that route. Thanks though.

Ryan
 
I would like a 45/70. I already have the 35. I think I can doe this for about $250 plus the scope and rings doing everything myself. Plus I cant leave anything alone so I would just end up tinkering on a nicer gun if I went that route. Thanks though.

Ryan

It's going to cost you a good bit more than that. A few of the parts and duracoat materials will eat up that budget alone. You're looking at another $100-150 to have a smith that knows what they're doing cut and crown the barrel and then another $50-100 to have a front sight aligned and installed. By time you're done you'll have $500 plus scope and mounts into a rifle that won't be worth half that if you decide you don't like it, that's chambered in a cartridge that's slowly fading away. The days of walking into any walmart, dick's or bass pro and finding 35 Remington ammo are over. The last store I saw it in was cabelas and they had one load and that's it.

Even loading for the 35 Remington has gotten difficult. The brass is slowly drying up and it's one of those things that probably only Remington is going to be making in the future and probably only once every few years. Limited production brass is expensive and gets bought up quick (especially if the ammo supply is gone). Really the only good bullet for the 35 Remington is the Remington 200gr core lokt and Remington hasn't produced those for component sale in years. I've tried the Sierra, Speer, and Hornady bullets and they just don't expand at the 35 Remington velocities like the core lokt does.

I love the 35 Remington round. It's the greatest eastern woods round ever produced but given the reasons explained it's not the best round to sink a bunch of money into.
 
If a lever gun is what you want I would just buy one and run it as it is, if you want something "tactical" you better just go out and buy an AR or an AK.
 
To me, Tactical is more a term of use as opposed to looks. I'm not against the "tactical" lever-guns one bit. In some instances, it's better than a sharp stick. And they make a fantastic truck gun.

I have an Alaskan Co-Pilot for bear country. When you look at it objectively, there isn't much difference between the Wild West guide-type lever-guns and the black "tactical" models peddled today. Modern upgrades to a working platform. Just in black.

I wouldn't get too far afield with some of these sharp-pointy things people are sticking on these rifles. But lever-gun, with a high-rate of rifle, on a horse of a caliber, with synthetic furniture, maybe a red-dot and a light? Looks like a win to me.

TTR
 

It started life as a rifle length barrel with 3/4 mag. Had the barrel cut to 16.5, took 1" off the stock and added grind-to-fit Limbsaver for the other end. Lever rail and scope with a generous eye-relief, then a stock-pack and Safari Ching sling (no second stud needed). The smith that did it charged me something in the neighborhood of $200 for the work.
 
I had this one done in 2007. It's a blast!!!


After I got it back from the smith, I added some bedliner:




 
I bought a 336BLR in 30-30. Sorry, although the 336BLR comes in both a blued and SS 45-70, IMHO follow-on shots for me are not quick enough with a 45-70, besides out to 75-100 yards, the 30-30 will knock down anything I want to take a shot at.
 
With a .45-70 you don't need a follow up shot. :)

Here's my lever gun, not tactical by any means but she does sport Wild West trigger and some awesome leather from Wes at 7x. My favorite gun hands down.
 

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I picked up a Rossi 92 .357 mag in 20" SS last year. After I replaced the front sight with a FO and rear with a Bullseye ghost ring, I fell in love with this light little rifle. There's something to be said about a 158 grain Gold dot traveling at 2000 FPS. I can put 5 rounds into a 1 gallon milk jug at 75 meters shooting free hand.

Odds are you'll have to replace some springs to smooth the action and refine the trigger, but the effort is well worth it.
 
Thank you sir. When I read your original post I kinda had a feeling... The only thing I'd do different is go with a slightly larger loop for the lever. Someday I might swap it out but for now I'm enjoying it and it's not that big of a deal.
 
The lever action is the original hillbilly assault rifle.
( I am a hillbilly )

I have a few and basically they are fun / utility guns but can do double duty in a pinch.

Marlin 39A in .22 is a plinker and ammo efficient, if you can find ammo now, go figure.
Rossi / Puma 92 stainless in .357 / .38 as a companion for my .357 wheel guns for ammo versatility and added range with the same ammo
Marlin Guide gun in 45/70 which can stop about anything of 4 or 2 legs in North America.

Pretty much stock but peep sights added to the 39A and the guide gun.