Posted on 11/27/2004 10:13:04 PM PST by wildcatf4f3
Went shooting for the first time in my life. Friend had a Winchester 94, walnut. I was intrigued, how many movies have I seen this rifle in? It felt so natural and I was actually hitting targets within a few shots. Would this be a good starter rifle?
While I'd lean to agree with your statement...It does depend on where you hunt. For example if you are hunting Eastern CO, Western KS, or parts of the prairie's of OK...200 yds might be a close shot. I shot a small eight point WT buck the other morning @ 200 yds.....I had clear shooting out past 600 yds, not that I would take a 500 - 600 yd shot..but you get my drift.
Well, I have a confession to make. I asked my husband about that Winchester 30/30, and it turns out it was a Sears & Roebuck. Forget everything I said about a Winchester being a piece of cr*p. < /feeling like an ignoramus girl >
The Marlin 336 is a good contender with a Winchester, but after it's all said and done, much like the Telecaster, just go with whatever 'feels' right. (Maybe one costs less than the other? I dunno.) The Winchester 94 IS a classic. You and I are roughly the same age (but I'm 39 and holding), and we probably grew up watching the same westerns on TV. One of my favorites was "The Rifleman." Some website I just looked up said his rifle was a "modified 44.40 Winchester with an enlarged trigger guard." Whatever Winchester it was, Chuck Conners was way cool carrying it. ;-)
Anyway, like Lurker said above, don't forget the cost of ammo when you factor in the costs. With the .22 caliber, you can shoot all day and not put a dent in your pocketbook. (Go to cheaperthandirt.com to compare ammo prices. I've used them for other things and have always been pleased with their service.) And listen to what tortoise said: A bolt action is more accurate then a semi-automatic. Plus, it's safer for someone not used to gun safety. (When you're just starting out, you really DO have to consciously THINK about that rule, "Always treat a gun as if it's loaded.")
Oh, and if you have kids, it's now your solemn duty to instill in them the proper respect and admiration for guns. You've caught the bug; pass it on. I'll be forever indebted to my dear ol' Dad for doing so. :-)
This is why I like this place -- I love learning and your's was a great post. Thanks!
lol! Yep, you're right. See my reply above about "The Rifleman." :-)
Here's a bit of useless trivia related to that famous Winchester carried by Lucas McCain:
Source: http://www.tvparty.com/rifle.html
"The rifle was not in any sense a "self-cocking rifle". That is quite clearly seen as Lucas obviously has to cock it for each shot. And it is not a semiautomatic weapon, either, which is defined as a weapon that uses the bullet's energy to load each round and cock the weapon with every single pull of the trigger.
"What it was is a Winchester model 1892 with a large cocking handle that could be manipulated rapidly, but it still had to be cocked manually for each shot. It also had a screw that could be adjusted to *fire* the rifle every time the cocking lever was returned to the resting position.
"In a sense, it is the opposite (inverse?) of a semiautomatic rifle. It had to be manually cocked for each shot, but the shot went off by itself. A true semi-auto has to be manually fired, but the cocking takes place by itself.
"It was also a wildly impractical design - you could not cock the rifle without having it fire! That meant it had to be carried in the "already fired" mode, requiring a cock to fire it the first time.
"And of course, we won't dwell on the fact that a rifle that fires as the cocking lever is moving is probably the least accurate rifle every developed. But damn, it was fun to watch!"
Kimber and Browning made the Caddy semi-auto .22 LRs for younguns when I was a kid....i think.
Amen Nita.
My dad had that Chuck Conners look as a young man...the jaw and eyes.....Yes Sir!!!!...he was formidable.
you know a lot about firearms....wish my wife did....ya'll are about the same age. she knows how to pick up her S/W PD liteweight and pull the trigger (and where it is) and to keep shooting till "they" are down and done for ....but that's about it.
>> ... (Jimmy Stewart notwithstanding).
> That was a ... model 1873 ...
Oops. Then make it "Chuck Connors notwithstanding" :-)
> The movies most often used the '92 because it would take
> the five-in-one blanks they used for everything they could.
I assume an M94 in .44 Mag would take a 5-in-1.
It would also be pleasant to shoot with .44 SPL,
and might not even suffer from the massive shift
in aimpoint that .44 handgun experiences when
switching between Mag and Spcl.
no. its not as safe as modern rifles since it cant be unloaded unless you cycle all the live rounds thru the firing chamber. better to go with a removeable magazine or a floor plate magazine that drops the cartridges into your hand. any modern bolt action. or even a ruger mini 14 w removeable magazine if you want to just plink.
Lol. I had a toy "Rifleman Winchester" when I was a kid that had a little lever on the triggerguard you could pull forward that would catch the trigger and shoot it every time it was cocked. I had forgotten all about it until I read your post.
I'll second this recommendation. A bolt-action mag fed autoloader is good enough to be a competition firearm, so you won't wind up ditching it at some point for something better.
As for the lever guns, both Winchester and Marlin make fine products, however these work better with the short, handgun cartridges that they were originally designed for -- 45 Colt, 44-40, up to the .44 Rem Magnum. I own a trapper-length Winchester 94 in .44 Mag, shoots well and with the heavier cast core rounds will drop just about anything out there.
Says who? This round has probably harvested more deer than any other round save the .30-06! Heck, John Effin Kerry tried to BAN it, so that alone is high recommendation! Besides everything is shot placement anyway. The Great White Hunter Karamojo Bell in the wilds of Africa at the turn of the century, harvested Bull Elephant with a mere .243! That's about a 6mm. How? He got them straight thru the EYE everytime.
Strong agreement. I got my indoor 50 foot smallbore expert with a $39 Mossberg bolt action with Lyman peep sights. I now have a CZ 452 and it is as accrtuate as any rimfire I have owned including an Anschutz 64 target rifle. Now if I only has the eyes I had at 14!
Sectional density and velocity are the primary determinants of penetration, all other things being equal, which the .243 has in significant quantity. And penetration is really, really important if you want to drop bull elephants.
And you do not need to shoot the elephant in the eye or anything like that. 6.5mm cartridges were quite popular for elephant hunting in Africa a century ago, primarily because the 6.5mm tends to couple extreme sectional density with excellent velocity, giving better penetration than a great many cartridges with substantially larger bores, and with less recoil too. Even today, the Europeans find 6.5mm adequate for just about everything. It may not be a cannon but it will reliably punch a nice deep hole through the toughest critters.
I have a Model 94 in .375 Win. and love it. It's a great brush gun and packs a good punch. It's not good at a long distance though. Where I hunt I barely get more than 75 yards of semi-clear distance. Most of the time it's less than 25 yards. I have a Rem 700 ADL in .308 I use for my open area hunting.
If I really what to reach out and touch something I break out my M1A w/ a 20X scope. I can hit pennies at 200 yards. I give them to my daughter's dates the first time I meet them.
Quote: "We have on old checkered .30-30 Marlin with a cheap as dirt burris glass and I can't hit shite with it."
That is because you are using a cheap scope.
Take off the scope, get the peep sights from Marbles or Lyman and you will get some great accuracy.
it's priorities.
i only WT hunt primitive.....i have a 30MM Khales on my Winchester in-line for it's superb low light capability.....which is nice in Mississippi swamps at a club with 18" spread minimums.
better glass would help the Marlin...you are correct.
and I looked....it's a model 336 with a 3x9 Bushnell actually.
At the risk of sounding like a pointless maverick, I have to disagree with most on this thread. I think the first thing you need to do is decide what it was about shooting that you liked so much.
If it's the "rush" of being able to project lethal force, it'll wear off rather quickly, and you'll regret wasting the money on a firearm.
There is no one-size-fits-all first rifle, but you may find the first one you buy isn't very good at what you like to do.
My friend bought a Marlin in the late '70s. His dad had an old '94 that was a great rifle but during the late '70s the Winchesters were a POS so he got the Marlin. So your comments are not baseless.
I think the Winchesters are just fine these days. I just bought my wife a used (unfired in the box) '94 Trapper (short 16" barrel) in .45 Colt for $285 to compliment her Ruger Vaquero. That rifle is SWEEEEET, fine walnut and tight fit. She loves it.
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