The ideal wilderness rifle

[snake35]

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For my 30-06 I use a handload with a 180 bullet. It is a little much for squirrels.

[Hummer]

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A 10 twist will stabilize up to 220 grain 30 cal bullet.

A 12 twist will stabilize up to 190 grain bullet.

A 13 twist will stabilize a 180 grain bullet

A 14 twist will stabilize 168 grain and at 30.06 velocities may stabilize a 175 but it will be iffy.

For instance a 69 gr. Sierra Matchking in 223 needs a 7-10 twist however I have a friend with a 22-250 with 12 twist that shoots under an inch at 200 yards which of course is much faster than 223 rounds.

I was looking at loading data for the frangible 30.06 round loaded 50 years ago and it was 11 grains 4759 with about a 110 grain bullet and velocity was about 1250 if I remember correctly.

The 30-06 is a very unique all around cartridge with its long neck. I designed an improved 308 round a couple years back. It is a 300 Savage first chamber with a 30.06 neck and shoulder reamer run in to extend the lenth for second chamber and uses a 308 case sized in 300 Savage die and fire formed out. I call it a 300 Confederate Sharpshooter.

[Morgan101]

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I opted for the Marlin Guide gun lever action 45-70. It handles nicely, and will bring down any large game. I wanted one gun that would do it all, and I have not been disappointed, although, it does kick like a mule.

[Hummer]

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I had a Marlin 45-70 I got from a good friends estate and traded it off. About three inches in front of chamber there was a loose spot about three inches long. There was no corresponding swell on outside of barrel so it was just a bad spot in the steel the barrel was made from. I looked at it with a bore scope and there was no signs of interior stress.
It didn't shoot all that great either so I sold it but kept a 30 cal can of ammo I got with it my buddy had laid in.
The rifle didn't kick that bad but I can surely identify if what a guide gun would do for your day haha.

The only Marlins I have now is a 44 Mag and a 336 in 35 Rem I really like as I can load 180 gr. 357 bullets in it and shoot it much cheaper.

Do your action screws get loose on you? I have seen that many times in Marlins.

[Morgan101]

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Hummer - Thanks for the advice. I will have to check it out. I bought it NIB, and useage has been limited, so I wouldn't expect any problems. I will definitely have the barrel checked.

[Hummer]

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You probably won't experience what I did. Main thing is make a muzzle protector so when you clean it that you don't have the rod contacting the muzzle area which will destroy your accuracy.

A good jag is get a 40 cal nylon brush and us it as a patch jag and wrap your patches around it for cleaning. THis will give you a nice snug cleaning set up and make cleaning easier.

[sevensix]

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There is endless and legitimate discussions about survival rifles and that is good for critical thinking. Y'all have some really thoughtful posts here. If I had just one gun for wilderness experiences it would be my entire gun safe filled with (insert security protection deletion). A .22 cannot be beat for just about any situation barring large animal encounters and then it is back to the gun safe for something bigger and better. My latest firearm of serious interest is the Chipmunk Hunter pistol outfitted with a red dot scope, a gun that is deadly accurate! It is a big handgun or a small rifle -- take your pick, but it works very well, and being a single shot you'l be very effective with it on small game. Keep the discussion going.
-sevensix

[Bullet-Caster]

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Hummer was that 45-70 one of the original Marlins or a Remlin after remingtion took over Marlin and moved Marlin to there plant and the quality went down the drain

I had a Marlin 45-70 I got from a good friends estate and traded it off. About three inches in front of chamber there was a loose spot about three inches long. There was no corresponding swell on outside of barrel so it was just a bad spot in the steel the barrel was made from. I looked at it with a bore scope and there was no signs of interior stress.
It didn't shoot all that great either so I sold it but kept a 30 cal can of ammo I got with it my buddy had laid in.
The rifle didn't kick that bad but I can surely identify if what a guide gun would do for your day haha.

The only Marlins I have now is a 44 Mag and a 336 in 35 Rem I really like as I can load 180 gr. 357 bullets in it and shoot it much cheaper.

Do your action screws get loose on you? I have seen that many times in Marlins.

[Hummer]

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This one was original Marlin. I have only seen one Remlin but just handled it and did not shoot it. I could tell it was different in external finish but did not have the ability to check out the insides. I would love to borescope a new one and see how the barrels are fabricated.

I suspect since Remington has a hammer forge that the Remlin barrels will be hammer forged in the future which should be good tubes. But we will see. I have seen several Remington barrels in last ten years that while the outer barrel surface was straight the internal bore was crooked.

I had a Rem 7615 that the internal barrel bore was so crooked there wasn't enough adjustment on any scope I had to zero it at 100. They replaced barrel and it now shoots about 2" at 300 yards with 69 gr. Sierra's and handloads.

[Bullet-Caster]

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I bought a Remlin 30-30 to shoot cast loads. It dosent even have the trademark white/black bullseye in the stock. I had to tear it down and clean up all the rough edges in the action and re-blue. Put XM Peep sights on it for quick shooting in the brush. Plus I just love peep sights. I can shoot a 4 inch group off hand at 100 on a good day. but there isnt a soda-pop can safe 50 yards any day. Its my truck/tractor gun when I;m out working, in the fields, or at hunting camp putting around. I shoot 165 grain gc Ranch Dogs outa it. At 1900 fps. Ranch dogs bullets/molds are made particularly for marlin chambers