You know how it is when you finally find the "right" rifle for you, right?
I think I may have just done that.....
At 42 years old, I'm not exactly "old", but I'm not young either, I grew up on manual-action firearms, the first gun Dad let me shoot was an old Ithaca 49 falling-block lever-action single shot, I loved that little old "cowboy gun", Dad still has it, and I still occasionally shoot it for nostalgia (thankfully, Dad is still with us, but he's getting up there in years and is suffering the initial onset of Parkinsons tremors
sadly, he has decided his shooting days are over, even though I offer to take him every time I hit the range, set him up with a nice little .22 for plinking, he's just not interested anymore
He gave me my first rifle, a Marlin 25 bolt action, for my 16th birthday, and I still have that gun and shoot it often, lots of happy memories there
fast forward to a few months ago, I was suffering a bout of "Wantnewgunitis", so I traded a couple lesser-used guns I wouldn't miss (I have forgotten what they were...) for a Marlin 39A ('09 manufacture), as soon as I hefted the rifle, shouldered it, and discovered the wonderful weight, balance, pointability and overall excellent ergonomics, I was instantly hooked, the 39A just felt *right*, it became an extension of me, shouldered, balanced, and pointed perfectly
I realize that I had found "The One", I am a Levergunner, to me, running a levergun is completely natural and second nature, I don't even have to think about it, just throw it up to my shoulder and it's dead on and ready....
(the ability to fire S, L, and LR rounds interchangably doesn't hurt either, and who could argue with 26 rounds of .22 Short in the tube....)
The 39A got me thinking.....
Since the 39A is such a nice gun, and I seem to have this affinity for leverguns, maybe I should try one of the Marlin 336's (I like the side eject and solid top better than the top/angle eject Winchesters, the Marlin just seems more solidly built)
So, back to the gun store, shoulder a 336 in .30-30, Eureka!, it *fits*, balances, and points naturally, just like my 39A, only *bigger*, once again, I thin down the collection, which is something I've been meaning to do for a while, I'd rather have a few guns I'm *really* good with, rather than a bunch of guns I bought because they were a "good deal at the time", and trade two more lesser used guns for the 336....
Problem is, I'm now looking at the rest of my collection and comparing them to my leverguns, and finding my non-levers lacking, there's just something *indefinable* about how a levergun just *speaks* to me, just feels *right* in my hands and against my shoulder, the best way to describe it is the gun feels neutrally balanced, like it's not even there
I've been contemplating switching completely to lever action rifles, I just like them that much
So, here's my dilemma, tonight, at my toy store (Kittery Trading Post in Kittery Maine, I found a rather nice little Marlin 1895GB in .45-70, a caliber I have *always* been interested in, with a 18" Ballard rifled, ported barrel, very clean inside the bore, XS rear peep sight and front blade sight, nicely charactered walnut furniture, and just the tiniest amount of rust freckling on the steel, probably will CLP right off, if not, it's only cosmetic and won't affect the performance of the gun, it is a crossbolt safety model, but then again, so is my 39A (my 336 is a pre-safety model), so it's a non-issue
Thing is, I'd have to trade some more guns to get the price below my self-induced spending cap, and the only gun I could find myself parting with would be my Yugo SKS.....
The SKS is an un-issued rifle, still has a little cosmoline in the nooks and crannies, it's the M59/66A model, with blade bayonet, grenade launcher and luminescent night-sights, the bore is pristine, and when I had purchased it, it looked to never have been fired (a problem I soon fixed
put about 6 boxes of Wolf non-corrosive surplus through it, at 100 yards, it shoots 4-5" groups, I know that part of the problem is *me*, but I have to admit, I find a 4-5" group dissapointing, I know it's a battle rifle, not a MOA precision rig, it's not meant to shoot into one small hole, it's a rugged, indestructible, tough utility rifle and it excels at that
the thing is, I bought it before I discovered the magic of the levergun, the balance, pointability, and light weight, yet they still feel as solid as a tank and lock up like a bank vault, had I known how much I was going to like the levergun, I would have probably not purchased the SKS, I mainly got it because the gun was, (I thought at the time) reasonably inexpensive, now I know that I could have gotten a Marlin 336 for about $30 more than I paid for the SKS
Things I like about the SKS;
solid, reliable machine, milled receiver
10 round capacity
negligible recoil
*Really* inexpensive ammo
Can turn off the gas system and turn it into a straight-pull bolt action rifle (rifle grenade launching mode)
Things I don't like about the SKS;
HEAVY! (almost 10 Lbs)
primitive sights, short sight radius
4-5" groups at 100Y
Grenade launcher makes it very muzzle heavy and unbalanced
stock feels like holding a 2x4 in my shoulder
Wrist of the stock puts my thumb very close to the bridge of my nose
Trigger is heavy, full of creep, and has a mushy break, almost as bad as a factory 10/22 trigger
complete cleaning is very involved, I don't like having to scrub down the gas valve, gas piston, and piston chamber after every shooting session
ejects empty cases through the space-time continuum and into an alternate reality many times
loves to mangle brass cases, making reloads potentially more difficult without more case prep time
Heavy and unbalanced
7.62x39 surplus steel case ammo is generally less accurate than reloadable brass-cased ammo (that is, when you can find brass cases that haven't been mangled during eject
Judging by my pros and cons, you would think that I hate the SKS, well, I don't, not completely, when used with the cheap steel case milsurp ammo, it's a fun range toy, but the lack of accuracy and muzzle-heavy balance really take some of the fun out of it
I'm wondering if it'd be a good idea to trade the SKS back in for store credit (I can get almost all I put into it back in store credit) and put that towards the Marlin .45-70 lever
the only advantages I see that the SKS has over the Marlin .45-70 are;
4 more rounds in the mag (but the Marlin can be topped off while in use)
dirt-cheap ammo (but the cheap stuff tends to be inaccurate, hunting ammo is priced right up there with domestic calibers)
*technically* a faster firing rate
last shot bolt hold open
loads with stripper clips (of which I have none, so I have to load manually, just like the the levergun)
So, when the Zombies rise (and we all know they *will*
) a SKS would have a slight advantage over a levergun in terms of speed and time between reloads, but could technically fatigue the shooter faster due to the weight and imbalance, but it also has a milder recoil and reacquiring targets is a little faster
then again, in a hunting environment (for deer, coyotes, and Zombie Møøse**), the lighter weight, balance and pointability of the lever are an advantage, also, here in Maine, hunters are limited to a mag capacity of five rounds for autoloading rifles that aren't .22's, so I'd have to replace the SKS's 10 round mag with a 5 rounder, there is no such limitation on leverguns or bolt actions, so once again, the lever has the advantage
As far as the .45-70 goes, what is the recoil like with the typical commercial hunting loads? If I go .45-70, I will definitely reload for it, and I understand the .45-70 is a reloader's dream cartridge....
Hmm, trade the SKS towards the Marlin .45-70, or keep the SKS and forget about the .45-70?
**Møøse bites kan be pretti nasti...
