Lever action rifles may not be the best option for anything anymore. That may or may not be debatable, but they seem to be a good option for almost everything. You can debate with me about that all you want, and I’ll just nod and smile.
Here on the East Coast of the good ol’ US of A they make phenomenal hunting arms. Everybody calls them “brush” guns in a semi-disparaging way. Though I don’t really hunt much these days, I can’t recall many circumstances that I would have needed to reach out beyond the range of a good lever gun.
This past year I decided to “tactify” one—a newish, Marlin 336 30-30 to be exact. Well truthfully, I just decided to set it up in a configuration that I thought could function equally well in two very unlikely scenarios: namely, that I find time to go hunting or that I find myself in need of another long gun as we defend the homestead.
I live in an urban context, so please do recognize the tongue pressed firmly against my inner cheek.
I replaced the old-school sights with Williams Fire Sight
, giving me a nice ghost ring/peep sight option. I then mounted an XS Lever Scout Mount and a Bushnell TRS-25
. I selected a Protec mounting clip from Nebo tools and a matching Streamlight PT 2L
. I fitted her with a knurled thumbscrew from Grizzly Custom Shop just because I could.
I put an Allen cartridge holder
on the butt of the stock. I’m still in search of a better option in this department; all you manufacturers don’t line up at once!
In the end, I’m quite pleased with this little jack-of-all-trades, master-of-none. Is she as fast or light as an AR? Nope, but she is pretty darn fast and I’d call her “handy” in the weight department. Is the capacity significant? Her seven rounds certainly isn’t insignificant, and I think a similar technique to that used when keeping my 870 topped off and in the fight works with this rifle. Is it a long-range gun? No, but I don’t live in a primarily long-range environment, and I’m pleased to report that those Hornady LeverRevolution rounds really do extend its range a bit.
What can I say? I just like this gun and I’m keeping her. Lever guns have more fun!
