Interesting post.
The Remington 7615 with detachable magazine looks good on paper. However, if you read lots of accounts on the internet, you will find experienced folks telling you that they are easy to jam unless you really slam the slide back and forth with every shot. In a high stress situation, plus moving, rolling, running etc., it would be very very easy to accidentally pump it without the required gusto, and end up with a jammed weapon in your hands. It would be particularly easy to jam if you were shooting from prone, and trying to pump and fire.
Hard to beat the Marlin 1894 lever action, in .357 mag, with hollowpoints, for a 150 yard action gun on soft targets. It has a 10 round capacity, top-off ability, more than 550 ft pounds at 100 yards, and still around 350 ft pounds at 200 yards. It is a very unassuming looking rifle, almost like a child's gun. and with a 2.5 power scope, ore even a ghost ring, it is amazingly quick on target. I believe that you can get a complete synthetic stock for it, and I think it is even legal in the CITY OF NEW YORK!!!! Think that 350 ft pounds is not enough power to hit something with at 200 yards? Just imagine someone shooting an assailant at point blank range with a 4 inch revolver, loaded with .38P+ soft points!! But, if you still feel undergunned with the .357 magnum, then just get a Marlin .30-30. Holds seven rounds if you count the one in the chamber.
Of course, levers are hard to operate from prone position too. But, a smooth Marlin is not prone to jamming, even at a medium slow lever speed.
As an all-around choice, it is hard to beat a short bolt action, provided it has a detachable magazine that can hold 5 or more rounds. But, it is pretty danged hard to find one! The closest thing currently made are:
The Tikka T3 lightweight, in .223, for which you can get factory made 6 round magazines. Spare magazines are about $70 though. And, since it has only an ejection port, you can't load a round without the magazine! (And, it is a 1/12 twist, so forget shooting decent heavy weight bullets)
Or, an old Remington 788 bolt (with barrel shortened) in .223 (which I believe holds 5). But, spare magazines are hard to find. (Again, has the 1/12 twist)
Or, a new CZ 527 carbine, in .223, which comes with 5 round magazines. But, I have heard that the magazine juts out of the bottom exactly at the balance point of the rifle, which makes it pretty hard/unhandy to carry with one hand. (And, again, it has the 1/12 twist.)
Or, get a standard Remington Model 700 BDL in .223, and then fit it with a Badger Detachable Mag system (with one 10 round mag) for the price of, gulp, $260. And, although spare 10 rounds Badger mags are avaliable, at a very high price, I have heard that they are always on back order and Midway and very hard to get.
So, there you have it. Those are about all of your choices. (You could get a 1970s era Savage 99C lever action, in .243, with a detachable mag, but spare mags are almost impossible to find.) Or, you could get a BLR with a detachable mag, in almost any caliber (except .223?), but I think the magazines only hold 4 rounds.
If you are going with a bolt action, then having a detachable mag that only holds 4 rounds or less seems like a big waste of time to me. I would rather have a closed bottom rifle, that holds 5.
Just my thoughts. Any others?
Mannyrock
