GUN STUFF

[fastwin]

Did someone say .22 golf??? My dove hunting friends love to "play" when the hunt is slow or in between morning and afternoon shooting. We even hit up all our golf playing friends for old, dead practice or play balls. Hell, we ended up with a 5 gallon Home Depot orange bucket 3/4s full. It'll last a lifetime!! We just kind of make up the rules as we go. Fun stuff. My "club" of choice is either the ss/bull barrel 10/22 or the trusty model 94 Winchester. Great fun goofin' with friends.

[orangelion03]

Did someone say .22 golf???

Great fun goofin' with friends.

Agreed!   We also like to bust clays...set clays at 100 yards and see how small a piece you can hit with 10 rounds.

[corey]

so this is going to be a new world for me... i've shot a few guns in the past, and have always loved them... but never owned any. we've recently decided to move my grandpa into an "assisted living community"... and through this I have acquired a bit of an early inheritance... which includes:

Marlin 336C 30-30 Lever Action Rifle
Marlin 336C .35 Remington Lever Action Rifle
â€" these two are the real centerpieces of the collection, both scoped and sighted in very well, one with a look-through sight mount allowing me to still use the rather crude iron sights on the gun...  both very well taken care of as well.

Also included...
An old Savage Arms Co. 820B Pump Action 12-Gauge... nothing fancy, but looks to get the job done for home defense and water-fowl.

And a rather interesting Harrington and Richardson Arms Co. Single-Barrel Breach loading 12 gauge that is dating in at around 110 years old...

Anyone with any thoughts on these guns? I've been contemplating turning one of the lever-actions into a more a tactical piece, like so...

[WarrenJ]

The longest drive I ever hit with a golfball was with a 575 grain bullet out of an 58 Cal Enfield musket.  That golfball went right out of sight.  Hard to hit with the front loader but it was impressive when I finally did connect.

[ducatiz]

The longest drive I ever hit with a golfball was with a 575 grain bullet out of an 58 Cal Enfield musket.  That golfball went right out of sight.  Hard to hit with the front loader but it was impressive when I finally did connect.

the only time i fired a large bore black powder was a 4 bore and we did it with golf balls.  took me four times to hit it but on the fourth time the ball was obliterated -- just pieces of it everywhere.

[fastwin]

so this is going to be a new world for me... i've shot a few guns in the past, and have always loved them... but never owned any. we've recently decided to move my grandpa into an "assisted living community"... and through this I have acquired a bit of an early inheritance... which includes:

Marlin 336C 30-30 Lever Action Rifle
Marlin 336C .35 Remington Lever Action Rifle
â€" these two are the real centerpieces of the collection, both scoped and sighted in very well, one with a look-through sight mount allowing me to still use the rather crude iron sights on the gun...  both very well taken care of as well.

Also included...
An old Savage Arms Co. 820B Pump Action 12-Gauge... nothing fancy, but looks to get the job done for home defense and water-fowl.

And a rather interesting Harrington and Richardson Arms Co. Single-Barrel Breach loading 12 gauge that is dating in at around 110 years old...

Anyone with any thoughts on these guns? I've been contemplating turning one of the lever-actions into a more a tactical piece, like so...

That's a cool idea and all but I think I would just leave Grandpa's guns as is and go a different tactical gun route. Just my 2 cents. I wouldn't want to mess with any of my late father's guns that I have and one is a pre-64 Winchester 94 in .30-.30. I'd keep them as is and maybe look into an AR platform gun, tactical shotgun or maybe a Scout rifle. Depending on what you really want it for... home defense, tactical competition shooting or just plinking around. So many forks in that road that go to so many places. Lots of options. Maybe just pick up another inexpensive lever action and mod the heck out of that. I'd take my old model 94 to a gun fight.

[corey]

That's a cool idea and all but I think I would just leave Grandpa's guns as is and go a different tactical gun route. Just my 2 cents. I wouldn't want to mess with any of my late father's guns that I have and one is a pre-64 Winchester 94 in .30-.30. I'd keep them as is and maybe look into an AR platform gun, tactical shotgun or maybe a Scout rifle. Depending on what you really want it for... home defense, tactical competition shooting or just plinking around. So many forks in that road that go to so many places. Lots of options. Maybe just pick up another inexpensive lever action and mod the heck out of that. I'd take my old model 94 to a gun fight.

i think i'm going to follow your advice. i'd hate to screw any of them up. I'll probably invest in some better long-range optics for one, and some short-range optics for the other, and leave them as is. They seem like very capable and reliable firearms as-is from what I've read today on the interwebz.

[WarrenJ]

Dont be too quick to ignore the benefits of iron sights.  Adding scopes and accessories to rifles intended to be used inside of a couple of hundred yards is typically counter productive.  Marlin and many other lever actions major benefit is their quick handling at closer ranges - if you have a rifle like this, learn to use the irons.  I have a pile of very accurate, scope sighted rifles for long range shooting but when I'm hunting in the woods, I carry my Marlin 1895 45-70 with peep sights.  Its fast and plenty accurate for game out to a couple of hundred yards. 

[fastwin]

What he said!

[corey]

Dont be too quick to ignore the benefits of iron sights.  Adding scopes and accessories to rifles intended to be used inside of a couple of hundred yards is typically counter productive.  Marlin and many other lever actions major benefit is their quick handling at closer ranges - if you have a rifle like this, learn to use the irons.  I have a pile of very accurate, scope sighted rifles for long range shooting but when I'm hunting in the woods, I carry my Marlin 1895 45-70 with peep sights.  Its fast and plenty accurate for game out to a couple of hundred yards. 

i was planning on upgrading the irons to something a bit better. the current "bullhorn"-esque ironsights seem okay, but I seem to be having trouble focusing with them. thanks for the advice, I definitely agree. any recco's on a good peep site?

[ducatiz]

y'all are not appropriately impressed.

this is a 4-bore black powder shell compared with some other rounds:

[WarrenJ]

I've handled a few 4 bores, both cartridge and muzzleloader but I've never had the opportunity to shoot one.  Physics says its going to suck.  There are a couple of outfits that make some interesting 4 bore muzzleloaders.  I've been sort of intrigued by them.  A 4 oz round ball is a pretty serious projectile even if you drop it on your foot.

[WarrenJ]

As far as peep sights go - there are several good options

XS Sights
Lyman
Williams
Skinner

All make good functional sights that are purpose built for the Marlins.  There are probably some others, but these are the ones I've used with good results.

[ducatiz]

I've handled a few 4 bores, both cartridge and muzzleloader but I've never had the opportunity to shoot one.  Physics says its going to suck.  There are a couple of outfits that make some interesting 4 bore muzzleloaders.  I've been sort of intrigued by them.  A 4 oz round ball is a pretty serious projectile even if you drop it on your foot.

it's not as bad as one might thing given it's black powder, but that only cuts maybe 20% off the blast.

the one I shot had 2000 gr projectiles.  It looked like the size of a can of red bull.

[triangleforge]

it's not as bad as one might thing given it's black powder, but that only cuts maybe 20% off the blast.

the one I shot had 2000 gr projectiles.  It looked like the size of a can of red bull.

So at what point do you wind up adding wheels & a caisson?