Flmanson,
Easy solution to your delima about prohibited guns in California. Move to a more gun friendly state.
But I do agree your not making a lot of sense comparing lever action hunting rifles with military weapons. A marlin, Winchester, or BLR will last you a lifetime of hunting and never need a repair unless your careless. In 1971 I bought the first BLR I saw and hunted that gun as my main hunting gun for 25 years. Never a bit of trouble.
Regards,
My interest and the object of considering lever guns is nothing other than finding a less expensive alternative to the AK's, SKS's etc. That also is of sufficient caliber for hunting up into larger game. I'd rather press a fighting gun into hunting than the other way around. I'd think the logic of that should hold up to daylight?
For me the military spec is the one to compare to... for all guns. A gun (to me) is something I need to be able to bet my life on in as many conditions as possible. It's a serious tool, a killing machine, and it's design and implemention should be serious, and flawless. (Of course those are all ideals.)
OK, so if a lever gun isn't up to that spec, fair conclusion. But I think the above standard is a fair and correct one. What is the point of any gun that you can't use even under the worst conditions, i.e. battle?
Oh yeah, I know sport hunting and such. I mean I realize a lightweight firearm for "one good shot" is as good a design spec as any. I perhaps was of the mistaken belief that lever guns were designed when guns were just that serious.
But the sporting standard is not my personal standard, in all honesty. In fact, the single most disappointing gun I've ordered and purchased recently is an M77 Ruger All Weather. That silly whippy light contour barrel is, well, ridiculous in my mind. Otherwise it's a good gun. But everything that makes it a "sporter" in my mind is s strike against it. But NIB battle rifles aren't being made anymore, at least not that civilians can buy. And something like the GSR seems to be out of stock until 2014, at least if Marlin, Ruger, et al, are telling it straight on thier backlog. And well, my choice of distributors have run out.
So, I can't order up a new in box, stainless 30-06, Springfield, for example. For obvious reasons, high cap is out in Ca. so the M1A's and similar are out (beside being out of budget). So lever gun seemed like a reasonable area to explore given they are from a time when rifles were for real use, not cowboy matches and such.
As for California... another one of those "6 of one, half dozen of the other" situations. Best weather anywhere other than Florida. But ridiculous over regulation, and insane cost of living.
I agree, I'd like to get out of this regulatory and cost of living zone.... but I never want to live in snow again. Nor do I want a lot of the problems that are in say, Old Dixie, and or any major city, no matter where it is. So I'm kind of stuck.
Like most combinations of "ideal" we all desire, they don't generally exist for working class folks. But that's a whole other discussion.
In any event, I'm seriously careful with my firearms. I don't beat on them or anything close to it. Any lever gun under my care will probably outlive me. But I want the designs to be a solid as possible either way. I prefer to have unused capacity, it's the best insurance, I'd think.
To me a lever gun is an alternative to other guns I'd rather have, in all honesty. If it doesn't hit the marks after careful examination, OK, no worries. It can just be crossed off the list. But one has has to do the examination first. Especially if you are like me... have never owned a lever gun.
Anyway, FWIW, I sprang for a 336 in 30-30.
Really wanted the SS 45-70, but none of my personal choice of distributor have any. So I said, WTH... let's try the blue 30-30. Quick check of Cast Bullet loading data said to me..."Mmmm OK but not great... would still prefer the 45-70 in this type of gun.... more energy due to bullet weight at lower velocites and no gas check... but will have to wait until the factories catch up."
In all reality if they weren't so pricey, just as a collectible, I'd like to have a Win. 1886.
As for the BLR... that part about "gunsmith only" puts me off. But they do seem to be very high quality, like most if not all Brownings.
So it's not all for naught. I made a decision. If this "frenzy" thing etc. weren't going on, I perhaps could've come closer to ideal.
