[Golfbuddy45]

Ever think about your Marlin Lever as a PERSONAL DEFENSE WEAPON? Larry Potterfield of MIDWAY USA thinks "its a formidable defensive firearm."

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M5A6Ot1zJDY

Any of you folks use your Marlin Lever for Personal Defense???

GB45

 

[oscarflytyer]

If I really knew I was going to be in a firefight, think it woul dbe hard to beat a nice Marlin (or even 94) 30-30 for defense. 7 rounds of 30-30 would be pretty formidable. Shy of an M16/M4, I wouldn't feel too bad at all.

 

[Gaterskiner]

I keep A 30-30 out of the safe as one of my house guns For that rare time A rifle might be needed. If I knew real trouble were on the way I would get out an AR or FAL probably both! Love my leverguns but I have more apropriate weapons for big problems.
I sure would not feel helpless with A Marlin 336 30-30.

 

[1895Gunner]

I gotta get me one of them led zipper AR's but I'm luven my levers.

 

[skmarsh77]

good thing about a rifle as opposed to a pistol is once your out of ammo you could still use it to club bad guys in the head.

 

[paul810]

I'd rather use a shotgun loaded with buckshot, but a lever gun would work just fine too. With that said, I would think an 1894C would probably be a better choice than a 336 for home defense though. Being that it's a little shorter than most 336 models and it holds a few more rounds in the tube.

 

[biku324]

My 1894C is always loaded, always in my bedroom at night.

 

[Golfbuddy45]

I had the same thoughts regarding the 1894C or CSS in my case with .357 Mag Hollow Points in there would be a righteous weapon indeed. 10 rounds of .357 and 9 rounds of .45acp in my Kimber 1911 should do nicely.

GB45

 

[BlueMntCeltic]

My avitar says a lot, me thinks. Ten rounds of .44 mag do nicely too and you can top off the mag when the occasion presents itself.

One of the western history buffs presenting on 'Cowboys' indicated that there was evidence from Billy the Kid that he preferred a long gun to his six shooter in serious social encounters.

BMC

 

[GarMan]

To be honest, I think anyone breaking into your home would be scared to death if the owner came out with a lever action rifle 336. It just screams wild west "take no prisoners". ;D

 

[fgarnold]

As much as I like leverguns my first choice would be a shotgun rigged in tactical gear loaded with 12 ga. buckshot. I'm not sure how good my aim would be at 2 AM and with a shotgun you have a little scatter effect.

 

[Coalsmoke]

No doubt a levergun is a fine choice for home defense. I know I'd hate to face one, especially in the hands of some of these cowboy action shooters that can make a magazine sound like one shot AND hit what they're aiming at!

My personal choice is, and will probably always be a pump shotgun stoked up with #1 or #4 buck. I have pretty much anything you can think of close at hand, but that is what I reach for when things go bump in the night.

There are not a whole lot of firearms that will beat that for pure firepower. If you think it's strictly close range, shoot some buck out to 100 yards sometime. I promise you can make whatever you're shooting at hunt a hole to get in. ;D

Not trying to argue, just my $.02.

 

[Golfbuddy45]

One of my favorite Tom Selleck movies is QUIGLEY DOWN UNDER. He used that Sharpes Rifle butt a whole lot in that movie! and that is not a SHORTIE Rifle by any means. By the way Selleck is well known for having quite an antique but functional rifle and handgun collection and if you didn't know:

Selleck is a member of the Board of Directors and public spokesman of the four-million-member NRA. After close friend and fellow avid outdoorsman Charlton Heston stepped down – due to failing health – as the highly visible public spokesman of the NRA in 2003, Selleck has stepped up in comparable manner to succeed him. In 2002, Selleck donated the rifle he used in Quigley Down Under (a custom 13-pound [6 kg], single-shot, 1874 Sharps Rifle, with a 34-inch [86-cm] barrel), along with six other firearms from his other films, to the National Rifle Association, as part of the NRA's exhibit "Real Guns of Reel Heroes" at the National Firearms Museum in Fairfax, Virginia.

I plan to take a day trip to Fairfax and check that museum out soon as they finish replacing my kitchen cabinets over the next week.

GB45

 

[Pat/Rick]

Pistols, 870, and Marlins are always loaded. Certainly would not feel undergunned with a leveraction.

But, plus one on shotguns for HD. I liken 00 Buck to a, .32 caliber, nine round burst. With everything from ground squirrels, to tweekers (not many, but), to black bear in the neighboorhood, I keep a few slugs in a butt cuff as well.

 

[Cedar Creek]

I read an article by Jeff Cooper a number of years ago about lever guns for defense and he also pointed out the advantage of being able to top off the magazine without taking the rifle out of battery.

I keep a hi-cap 9mm with the clip loaded in a handy location but I also have a 336 under my bed with ammo in the bedside table. (actually my home defense lever is a Westpoint - love the big old gold bead front sight) I also have an 870 Turkey Special that I keep handy with some 3" #4 buckshot, but it has been used mainly for thinning out the armadillers. 8)

Cedar Creek

 

[RJY66]

I think in a home defense situation, a 336 (30-30 or 35) with the typical hunting ammo would be too much. It is very capable of penetrating the bad guy, a wall (or two) and hitting a family member or other innocent person. What makes both rounds so effective in the field is that they shoot fairly big bullets at slow speed that penetrate like crazy. I would rather have the 1894 shooting hollow point pistol ammo if I were going to use a lever rifle for home defense. Probably a shotgun or pistol would be better.

But, most likely, all you would have to do is cock your levergun and unless the bad guy was extremely doped up firing would not be necessary......same principle as racking a pump shotgun!

 

[Brian in FL]

One of my favorite Tom Selleck movies is QUIGLEY DOWN UNDER. He used that Sharpes Rifle butt a whole lot in that movie! and that is not a SHORTIE Rifle by any means. By the way Selleck is well known for having quite an antique but functional rifle and handgun collection and if you didn't know:

Selleck is a member of the Board of Directors and public spokesman of the four-million-member NRA. After close friend and fellow avid outdoorsman Charlton Heston stepped down – due to failing health – as the highly visible public spokesman of the NRA in 2003, Selleck has stepped up in comparable manner to succeed him. In 2002, Selleck donated the rifle he used in Quigley Down Under (a custom 13-pound [6 kg], single-shot, 1874 Sharps Rifle, with a 34-inch [86-cm] barrel), along with six other firearms from his other films, to the National Rifle Association, as part of the NRA's exhibit "Real Guns of Reel Heroes" at the National Firearms Museum in Fairfax, Virginia.

I plan to take a day trip to Fairfax and check that museum out soon as they finish replacing my kitchen cabinets over the next week.

GB45

Tom Selleck is one of my favorite actors, and Quigley is one of my favorite Selleck movies even if some of the shooting he does in it is a bit much. I've got to get another copy of that one as all my movie collection burnt up in the fire at my old house. I think my second favorite of his movies was not a western. It was one in which he played Dwight D. Eisenhour (sp?) up to the D-Day landings at Normandy.

 

[RIF]

A marlin makes an excellent home defense gun. Load them with 2 or 3 appropriate size lead balls at 50 yards or less you are pretty much guaranteed that all the balls will hit in a small pattern and anything they hit will take notice. There is something about the multiple impacts. A friend of the family cleared his ranch of wild horses years ago with 3 buckshot balls in his 444. There were a few thousand horses, they caught what they could and sold many studs in Mexico, but the most wild of the old horses they ended up selling for dog food. They will kill a horse right now. I assume a two legged person intent on doing the family harm would lay down pretty quick too.

 

[Brian in FL]

I don't recall hearing it discussed when talking about using a Marlin lever gun for home defense, using frangible bullet loads like Glasers or MagSafes in like a Marlin 1894C. They'd go quite a long way towards minimizing over penetration, and they are positively lethal.

Those are what I have in my 1911 that's under my pillow at night to go along with my trusty 12 gauge loaded with #1 buckshot. I've got to remember to remind Marla to pick up a package of them frangibles to load in her 1894C at night.

We're not hardly likely to have any break ins where we live, but better safe than sorry.

 

[w5cds]

As much as I like leverguns my first choice would be a shotgun rigged in tactical gear loaded with 12 ga. buckshot. I'm not sure how good my aim would be at 2 AM and with a shotgun you have a little scatter effect.

While the mere sound of a pump shotgun or lever action rifle, as has been noted, should be effective as a deterrent, buckshot is NOT a good choice for in-home self defense. 1) It over-penetrates, just like a FMJ round from a rifle. 2) Unless you're shooting at the bad guy/girl across the front yard, your "scatter effect" is so minimal that it isn't a factor. If you're going to use a shotgun: 1) use the shortest (legal) barrel that you can, and 2) use "bird shot" (something from #8 to #6). At close range, those small shot will hit like a slug, but aren't likely to penetrate the second wall, reducing the danger to family, pets, neighbors, etc.

Personally, there isn't much between my bedroom and the front door, so my Ruger P89DC (loaded with HydraShoks) and my 1895SS (.45-70 405gr cast of TrailBoss powder - "cowboy" loads) will do quite nicely. Although the over-penetration issue IS a factor, in my situation, it isn't MUCH of one.