Author Topic: To buy a new rifle or not... (Read 918 times)

Jason · « **on:** May 31, 2004, 08:29:16 PM »

I've really been getting into silhouette shooting lately, and I'm trying to outfit myself with the various guns I need to shoot as many events as possible. I'm trying to cover all of the cowboy lever action games right now and am in a quandary. Hopefully you folks can help. I have a Marlin 39a with Lyman 17A front sight and Williams FP-39TK receiver peep in process now and will have a Marlin 336RC in 30-30 by the end of August. The 39a covers me for cowboy lever action rimfire. The 336RC belongs to my dad and shoots wonderfully, shooting consistent 1" groups at 100yds scoped with Winchester factory 150-grain Powerpoints (yep, I bought a load of ammo from that batch). With some good sights, the 336RC should cover me for "long range" cowboy lever action. The hole in my arsenal is pistol cartridge lever action. Since the 39a technically qualifies for the pistol cartridge shoot, I could use it for the rimfire shoot in the morning and the pistol cartridge shoot in the afternoon, but I'm having serious doubts about its ability to knock down those heavier animals used in the pistol cartridge shoot, especially the rams.

That leaves me with a question. Should I buy a dedicated gun for the pistol cartridge shoot? If so, what gun should it be and what caliber? Since both other guns are Marlins, this gun would pretty much have to be a Marlin, too. I really hate straight-grip stocks, so that rules out a lot of models. The ones that I'm particularly interested in are the 1894PG (44 Mag/44 Special) and the 1894FG (41 Mag). They have the checkered pistol grip stock and should give me the same feel as the 39a and 336RC. I like that the 1894PG can shoot both the 44Mag and 44 Special ammo, allowing the Specials (lesser recoil, better shooting) to be shot at the closer silhouettes and the Mags to be shot at the farther ones. I like the flatter shooting and lesser recoil of the 41 Mags, though, and I can load up two different power loads if I want since I reload. The 44 caliber gun has Ballard rifling in the barrel whereas the 41 caliber has Micro-groove rifling. The Ballard rifling is supposedly better with cast bullets, but I'm not really a fan of cast bullets anyway. It might be nice to be able to shoot them well if I wanted, though. Hmm...

Ok... you can see the state of indecision that I'm in. Help me out here. Should I buy a new gun or just shoot the pistol cartridge shoot with the 39a? If I should be a new gun, which gun should it be? While any excuse is usually a good reason to buy a new gun, I really need to put some thought into this one. If I don't buy a pistol cartridge lever action gun, I can use that money on a hunter class centerfire or a hunter class rimfire silhouette gun... :lol:

ajj · « **Reply #1 on:** June 01, 2004, 03:23:46 AM »

If you are serious about shooting as many events as possible and there is a regular smallbore silhouette program in your area and you haven't tried one of those matches yet, borrow a friend's gun and shoot a smallbore match. Try the pistol cartridge match with the rimfire, too. Take a little time to see which version of the sport is pulling the hardest.

Jason · « **Reply #2 on:** June 01, 2004, 03:56:28 AM »

I've already done the rimfire versions of cowboy lever action and standard rifle. That's why I'm getting the Marlin 39a and getting a new silhouette stock for another rimfire gun. It's not a question of which version is pulling the hardest. It's a question of how many matches I can shoot given limited finances. I sold a gun so that I could buy the Marlin and sold the other stock so that I could ge a silhouette stock. With the cash from the other load of stuff that I eBay'ed and a couple odd jobs I can get one more gun. It's just a question of which one. It will either be a pistol cartridge lever action, a rimfire hunter class (plus scope), or a centerfire hunter class (also plus scope). Yeah, you could say I'm hooked on silhouette shooting.

Jason · « **Reply #3 on:** June 01, 2004, 03:20:54 PM »

No one else got an opinion on this one? :-)

davei · « **Reply #4 on:** June 01, 2004, 04:49:54 PM »

Hi Jason,
You might have better luck with responses if you were to ask these particular questions on the 6 forums that speak specifically to the cowboy action topic. There hasn't been a significant amount of cowboy action discussion in the rifle silhoutte forum. just a thought.
dave

tirador · « **Reply #5 on:** June 01, 2004, 05:21:17 PM »

Hello Jason,
I have been shooting the cowboy matches with all three rifles for almost five years. I shoot the Long Range with a Winchester 94 TD commemorative, the Smallbore with a Marlin 39A and the PC with a Winchester 1892 in 20-25. I have Grand slammed on all three and the one that gave me the most trouble was the PC. I have four rifles that I could use for PC including my .22, I can tell you that I shot some decent scores with it and other times I lost Rams and also pigs when the targets were set heavy. I have a couple of .357 a Winchester 94 called The Legacy and a Marlin called The Cowboy or something like that. I shot a 39 one time with the Winchester but for the most part my scores were not as consistent as the ones I got with the Long Range and Smallbore rifles until I bought the Winchester 1892 in 25-20.
If you want to use the .22 I recommend you use Lapua Scoremax ammo with the 48 gr bullets, in my opinion the best bullet for Cowboy shooting because they hit harder than any other bullet I have tried.
I would not recommend to get the .357 or 44 Mag, too much recoil that is not necessary for PC, I would recommend to get a 25-20 or 32-20 in the mean time use your .22 with Lapua Scoremax bullets or High Velocity ammunition that shoots well in your rifle. Tony Tello

Sixgun · « **Reply #6 on:** June 02, 2004, 04:03:10 AM »

Jason,

I will give you my 2 cents worth on this.

I have used my 39a on the PC matches with the aguila 60gr ammo. I only used it on the pigs and rams and it will knock down all the pigs and most of the rams you hit. You will ring some rams but if you do good on the rest of the match you can still be a winner.

My PC rifle is a Rossi 92 in 357 mag. My load is 5gr of Bullseye with a 166gr lee bullet. That is more bullet than you need but it is accurate in my gun. The last 60 target match I was in, I got all 15 pigs with this load.

I know you said that you don't like straight stocks, but this is Cowboy Silhouette. Cowboys like straight stocks cause they fit in a saddle boot better. The model 92 is a sweet gun. It is hard to find an original but Winchester, Browning, and Rossi all make good ones. I don't want to start a war here but in my opinion, the 92s beat the Marlins, hands down. They are stronger and more accurate. Think about it.

Sixgun