Recovering Gun Store Commando. My Blog: The Clue Meter
“It doesn’t matter what the problem is, the solution is always for us to give the government more money and power, while we eat less meat.”
Glenn Reynolds
I think the location of the OP has something to do with the limited availability that he is encountering.
Working diligently to enlarge my group size.
Ain't easy being a misplaced redneck.
That is actually a really interesting idea. While the price of that ammunition has gone up significantly from what it once was (especially since the idea of exposing a gun like that to corrosive surplus ammo isn't very tempting), it's still a lot more available and inexpensive than .30-30.
I've only seen those in .45-70. Which, granted, is a tempting idea... But ammunition price and recoil might make it a tad less practical one. Not that Wind River hasn't planted an idea about a "big medicine" lever gun pretty firmly in my brain.
I'm not really looking to mount an optic on my lever gun. I'd rather keep it handy and light than add a protrusion on top of it.
The conventional wisdom is that 7.62x39mm is a non-starter in a tube fed mag. The fear is the point of one bullet will detonate the primer of the bullet ahead of it in the magazine when the gun recoils.
Several people have attempted to debunk that this would actually happen, with debatable success, but it's unlikely that any manufacturers would jump on it.
I was into 10mm Auto before it sold out and went mainstream, but these days I'm here for the revolver and epidemiology information.
Good point, and if I'd thought it through I probably wouldn't have posted it; I was thinking that it's plentiful, relatively cheap, and has .30-30-ish ballistics. OTOH, it should not be that difficult to load a flat- or round-point bullet for tubular magazines, albeit that would negate the "plentiful, relatively cheap" aspect. Of course, they could sell the rifle with a caution against using pointy bullets and if someone disregards that warning they're on their own...
Recovering Gun Store Commando. My Blog: The Clue Meter
“It doesn’t matter what the problem is, the solution is always for us to give the government more money and power, while we eat less meat.”
Glenn Reynolds
Handiness is the byword of lever rifles. Aperture sights are big improvements over factory buckhorns. I have fun shooting pistol caliber levers but admit that rifle calibers make more sense for hunting. Not all agree and will quote .44 Mag and .45 Colt data of handloads. My current .45-70 lever is a Henry Big Boy bought used.
Some may not know that Henry now offers their centerfire lever rifles with a traditional loading gate. That would be my preference, though the other style has worked for me. If I were using one for a bear gun, I would prefer rifles with the traditional loading gate.