Not sure if this is worthy of a separate thread, but who are the go-to lever gun trainers?
Not sure if this is worthy of a separate thread, but who are the go-to lever gun trainers?
David S.
Jlw has ran a lever action class. Grant Cunningham used to do one as well. I want to say Gunsite used to run a lever action class at one time.Originally Posted by David S.
Men freely believe that which they desire.
Julius Caesar
Kyle Defoor recently posted a picture of some Marlin in his social media. He is pretty responsive to FB messages, maybe see what his tips are?
Differences, compared other long guns can probably be done in 30 minutes.
1) don't dry fire them without a snap cap.
2) use a sling as a carry not a shooting sling, as you will move POI.
3) if you have a cross bolt safety figure out how to get bang and not click. Disable it, or you can carry condition 3 with hammer all the way down so the safety can't engage.
4) use your support hand to load, while keeping the lever gun mounted, so you can fire at any time. Roll the action 90 degrees right, for a righty to load with left hand.
5) figure out if you can unload through the gate instead of cycling through the action.
What else am I forgetting?
Likes pretty much everything in every caliber.
They tend to break the tip off the firing pin.
They seem to last about forever if not dry fired, just not happy when dry fired.
As a kid with my first Winchester 94, I dry fired it a lot, using an empty case. I didnt change it out enough and broke the firing pin tip. First thing the gunsmith said when I brought it in, "been dry firing it, havent you". Fired primers in empty cases get dented in pretty badly after only a few hits, maybe 5-6 is all I'd do now. Quality snap caps are a good investment.
Last edited by Malamute; 12-06-2015 at 10:31 PM.
Does that apply to the safety models with the rebounding hammer?
Men freely believe that which they desire.
Julius Caesar
I dont have a definitive answer. I'd err on the side of caution and use snap caps, though the rebounding actions likely dont hit the firing pin as hard, as they are known to occasionally have light strikes and not fire*.
Firing pins arent all that expensive, nor difficult to install, but if it happened at an embarrassing moment, it may seem like a whole bunch of snap caps were a great deal. I found out mine had broken when lined up on a squirrel.
Some guys make snap caps from fired cases, they remove the primer and either fill the primer pocket with silicone caulk, or better yet, get an O ring thats the correct cross section size to fit the primer pocket and glue a small piece in, trimming it off flush with a razor or sharp knife.
* on a side note, the rebound can be tuned a bit to hit harder, or on some, just replace the lower tang assy with a half cock one. I used to find them at gun shows and pass them along. They arent as easy to find lately though.
Last edited by Malamute; 12-06-2015 at 11:58 PM.
Yup, that's what I would want. I didn't see it when I looked at Marlin's site; guess I missed it. Thanks.
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1) So the consensus here on P-F is that new production Marlins, like the 336 series, are a pretty safe expenditure?
2) The Hill People Gear forums have a good deal of lever threads and info.
So I was reading through another topic titled, "Which way to go if it happens" and thought it was an entertaining intellectual excersize. Then I started to get the itch for a 30-30 lever gun as a knock about gun. The 336Y, either stock or with a full size stock installed looks interesting. Might even put a RDO like an Aimpoint H-1 on it.
Does anyone know if Marlin has gotten their act together with their quality control? I heard there were issues when Remington bought them out. But I haven't handled a newer Marlin in a few years.
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