Single farm gun recommendations

[canoetrpr]

Wow! That's some serious premium you got for it. The 44spl/44mag seem available but then the ammo is more expensive as well. There appear to be something called 'cowboy loads' with lower muzzle velocities that are a bit cheaper.

I wasn't planning into reloading / doing my own loading.

 

[canoetrpr]

T
Ruger makes a SS bolt action .357 that full retails for $793.00. While that's not cheap, it's better than $1078.00, and like I said, that's the full retail price. I'm sure they sell for less.
Bill

The only thing I have against the Ruger is that they only seem to make one in synthetic stock I think those rifles look better with hardwood stock.

 

[RoyJackson]

I just poked around their sites based on your post. The 1894 38/357 mag lever action that Marlin makes is a fine looking rifle.

Yeah...got one of them. A very sweet, easy to handle, rifle with the right ammo.
Like any lever action, you want blunt tipped bullets. Wadcutters work nicely.
Mine is an older rifle, but does have the crossbolt safety.

 

[Bird]

When I was able to trade up from a single shot to a semi-auto .22 in my early teens, I got a Stevens (don't remember the model number) but the little handle on the bolt was short and stuck straight out the side. You could push it in and that locked the bolt, so you used it just as a bolt action. Or you could leave it pulled out and it was a semi-auto. Are such guns still made?
Stevens semi-auto .22

 

[Notforhire]

Cowboy loads are intended for use in Cowboy Action Shooting. It's a competition where you are engaging steel plate targets at fairly close range against the clock. Low power loads are preferred, because of low recoil. This allows you to get on the next target faster. While these loads are intended for target shooting, they could be used for small game.
In the days when just about every police department in the US was shooting .38 Special the ammo was very cheap. Now it's not as popular, but it's far from dead. There are lots of people shooting .38 /.357 revolvers and rifles. Some of the Marlin rifles have Micro Groove rifling, which is intended for jacketed bullets, but I have seen lots of people use lead in them with no problem.

Bill

 

[studor]

The last new Marlin lever I saw in a gun shop a few months back felt like it a had been sitting in sand when you racked the action -- clerk said they are all like that now -poor fit and finish.
Bird -- I don't think anyone makes a gun like that old Stevens any more. I think Browning has started making the straight pull T bolt again but the auto /bolt concept never took off.

 

[JB4310]

When I was able to trade up from a single shot to a semi-auto .22 in my early teens, I got a Stevens (don't remember the model number) but the little handle on the bolt was short and stuck straight out the side. You could push it in and that locked the bolt, so you used it just as a bolt action. Or you could leave it pulled out and it was a semi-auto. Are such guns still made?
Stevens semi-auto .22

The last new Marlin lever I saw in a gun shop a few months back felt like it a had been sitting in sand when you racked the action -- clerk said they are all like that now -poor fit and finish.
Bird -- I don't think anyone makes a gun like that old Stevens any more. I think Browning has started making the straight pull T bolt again but the auto /bolt concept never took off.

Too bad, sounds like a simple, safe and practical idea.

Did you have to unlock and lock after each shot? But I guess you have to do that with any bolt action anyway.

JB

 

[Bird]

Too bad, sounds like a simple, safe and practical idea.

Did you have to unlock and lock after each shot? But I guess you have to do that with any bolt action anyway.

JB

JB, if you didn't want to shoot on auto, yep, after a shot, you pulled the little handle to the right, then pulled it back to eject the spent shell, just as with any bolt action rifle. Then, or course, you could just turn loose of the handle and the spring would close the breach with a new shell in the firing chamber, then either leave the handle to fire auto next shot, or push the handle in to not fire auto. Seemed like a good arrangement to me, but I haven't seen one of them in many, many years. I eventually sold mine to a brother and he later traded it to my Dad, and then many years later, it was stolen in a burglary of my parents' home.

My Dad was the best shot with a .22 rifle that I ever saw and he loved squirrel hunting, so when he got older and his eyesight deteriorated, he decided he wanted a .22 with a scope and that Stevens was designed to add a scope, which he did.

 

[thatguy]

My dad has the 24V 222/20, same as you.. I was just coming here to recommend something like this - I didnt realize they were out of production though..

Id love to have a 308/12 for deer hunting in thick woods.. That way you have the 308 if it opens up

Brian

You should consider a now out of production gun - the Savage 24. These were made in a variety of configurations, all double barreled. The lightest is .22 and 410 shotgun, all the way up to 30-30 with 12ga shotgun barrel.

The one I have is a 222 top barrel with a 20ga lower barrel. You can load both barrels and then with a selector pick to shoot top or bottom barrel. You can get these used, sometimes unfired for between $400-$600.

This is a private website not affiliated with Savage that describes them Savage24.com

 

[canoetrpr]

Been a while since I have been on TBN. I thought I'd update you on this topic.

As usual, you guys were correct. There is no such thing as 'one' gun. It is a freaking disease! Once you get into it the dollar bills start flying.

I went into the store with the intention of buying one gun.

I came out with a Benelli Nova pump action 12g with a 28" barrel and a CZ 452 American boot action .22 rifle.

I've been shooting little piggy reactive targets at 220 yards with the .22 believe it or not, with a group of folks at a local club. I got setup with a Bushnell 6x-24x 40 mm for this and had a blast. It is a real challenge with a .22 at that distance but they've got my scope all set up for me with .020 + - offsets to account for the rainbow trajectory of the .22 at that distance.

Yesterday, I was at a skeet club for a lesson and purchased a 1 year old Beretta 686E sporting for skeet. It is an AWESOME gun! Not really sure how much action this pump will see! Figure it is good to have around as a second gun.

I figure my gun purchasing will take a break for a bit . Sometime in the future I'll pickup a handgun. Probably will start with a .22 as well. I always thought .22's were lame and I wanted a big gun that made a loud boom but with advice from others, got my .22 rifle to start and was the best thing I ever did! I can put a pile of ammo down the range without going broke. I'm sure I will ge into centerfires at some point in the future but I'm having too much fun with my current setup.