50 State Friendly HD Long Gun for Travel

[vandal]

I have an Ares SCR with the Gen 2 trigger (before the name change to FightLight). No complaints. You do have to choose your stock to match your optics/optics height. I wanted the youth stock to shorten the overall length and that doesn't have the cheek riser. Wound up mounting my Aimpoint Micro right to the upper (no riser), and to get cowitness I put on the CZ Scorpion irons. So the upper is now not something I can share with an AR. The upper is a BCM 16" KMR-A with a comp on it (no flash hiders!)

Big fan of these for CA though. As others have noted, quickly feeding any tube-fed magazine (lever or 12ga) is not something I want to do under stress. I can barely load my Rossi .357 carbine under perfect conditions! If I have to start unloaded, I'd take a 10rd PMAG in an SCR over any tube-fed long gun for that reason.

Went out looking for targets of opportunity (jackrabbits/wild pig) with my son, and he carried the SCR while I carried the 1301 with shot and slugs.

Do keep in mind that if you think you might wind up hiking/hunting with whatever you get, sourcing certified non-lead projectiles is important in at least CA! Barnes is great for 5.56 but copper .357, 10mm, or non-lead 12ga slugs are not easily found even in decent-size gun stores around here.

@OlongJohnson Full disclosure, I'm only aware of it. I have no experience with the SCR lower. Could be "the answer", or could be a turd.

[JPedersen]

The 357/44mag 1894 is the only other long gun I had considered. I have a Aimpoint T-2 I could throw on it. I've not shot one in either caliber, but I'd image I could run one as fast or faster than a 12ga pump, and also reach out a little further if need be (I don't foresee a need, but who knows). The ballistics I'm reading on both 357/44mag from 16 inch barrels seems kind of insane, in a good way. I do have an older model 357 Ruger Vaquero I could bring as well, to compliment a 357mag 1894.

I'm also really liking this, but don't know much about Taylor's firearms... http://www.taylorsfirearms.com/long-...16-357mag.html

ETA: Or this non-takedown model.... http://www.taylorsfirearms.com/long-...16-357mag.html

I have experience with the Taylors 45-70 Takedown Ridge Runner and it is an amazing gun! Very well made and thought out. We are only shooting 200 yards and in with the 45-70 round, but it is quite accurate so far. I would not hesitate to purchase a Taylor's Lever gun. YMMV as I am only one datapoint - but I am a believer. I have been looking at the normal stainless Alaskan TD for a while... but am on the fence re: 357 or 44.



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[OlongJohnson]

I handled an all-stainless Chiappa in .44RM at a LGS awhile back. It surprised me with its out of the box smoothness.

[OlongJohnson]

Had I been looking for a more PC friendly centerfire rifle, I probably would have looked more into the Ares/Flightlite SCR lower. Just attach one's favorite AR upper with preferred optics, then grab some 10 round Pmags and go.

https://www.rainierarms.com/ares-def...e-carlo-stock/

Darn you all to heck. I was up until 1 a.m. reading the thread on barfcom.

Ares has had offset issues come and go, apparently, which lead to the machined features being visibly misaligned relative to the forged features. Amateur hour b.s. in a machining operation, IMO as someone who's dealt with that situation in production. Worse, their public response (doing nothing but condescend to the customer) has made a lot of people say something like, "I was going to buy three this year, but will never give Ares a dime now."

On the other hand, none of the complaints were ever functional, and people seem happy with how they work. Early triggers were poor and heavy, but somewhere it was said that Fightlite offered free upgrade to new parts for early adopters.

Due to the difference in stock height, you can expect optics to need to be different. The SCR, even with the Monte Carlo stock, has a significantly lower cheek weld than an AR buffer tube provides, so optics need to be mounted as low as possible, just as with a typical bolt gun. The CZ Scorpion peep sights are said to work very well for irons, and people use the lowest scope mounts possible. Fortunately, there are some reasonably low removable mounts with good return to zero that are made for Weaver rails.

You can go fully Fudd friendly with an old Rem 1100 butt stock and wood handguard.

I have an 18-inch 7.62x39 bolt and barrel sitting in the safe for no particular reason that are now telling me they want to go shooting with my buddies out in CA.

[Malamute]

You have a good technique. I've wondered if reducing the loading gate's spring pressure might be one strategy for easier loading. I may investigate this idea. Winchester and Marlin lever guns fit me well and shoot where I look when mounted. Both can rather quickly be loaded with three rounds: place one in the chamber and then two in the tube...

Id not do anything to the gate spring, its a flat spring and may cause issues if yo try changing it much, like maybe cracking. Most lever guns can be improved in how they load by polishing the back side of the gate, the part that cams the loaded round forward to allow the gate to open. Theres a concave bevel on the back from the front edge rearwards. I have pics somewhere of the Winchester gate showing where to polish, but cant find them at the moment.

Edit: googled my own pics and found them.

As others have noted, quickly feeding any tube-fed magazine (lever or 12ga) is not something I want to do under stress. I can barely load my Rossi .357 carbine under perfect conditions!

The 30-30 rounds are large enough to make it easier to handle them. It trades magazine capacity to do that, but you also get flatter trajectory and excellent expanding bullets back in that trade. Between the pistol rounds, 357 is harder to handle and load into the gate than 44s.

[Wheeler]

I have experience with the Taylors 45-70 Takedown Ridge Runner and it is an amazing gun! Very well made and thought out. We are only shooting 200 yards and in with the 45-70 round, but it is quite accurate so far. I would not hesitate to purchase a Taylor's Lever gun. YMMV as I am only one datapoint - but I am a believer. I have been looking at the normal stainless Alaskan TD for a while... [bold]but am on the fence re: 357 or 44.[/bold]



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Pick one based on your needs and never look back. The debates between the .357 fans and .44 fans are nearly as numerous as those between Ford and Chevy, 9mm vs .45, AIWB vs strong side, etc. In the end they pretty much equal out when [bold]ALL[/bold] the variables are looked at objectively with a slight edge towards .357 due to overall costs.

[Aray]

It always strikes me as odd that so few people consider the Remington 760/7600. 10 round mags are available, and is almost definitely a low pro 50 state gun.

[StraitR]

It always strikes me as odd that so few people consider the Remington 760/7600. 10 round mags are available, and is almost definitely a low pro 50 state gun.

I don't think it was intentionally dismissed, but not brought up due to the thread focus being 50 state friendly home defense options. I suppose it would work in that capacity, like many others not discussed, but it wouldn't be my preferred option.

[5pins]

It always strikes me as odd that so few people consider the Remington 760/7600. 10 round mags are available, and is almost definitely a low pro 50 state gun.

Except for the 7615p Patrol Rifle. It's actually band by name in Connecticut.

[willie]

At one time the Texas Dept of Correction issued the very light weight and hard kicking 760 in .308 Win. Recoil was much too severe for adequate training of correctional officers, some who had no firearms experience. However, .223 Rem 760's would have been excellent companions for their 870's.