Marlin 336 30-30, 1st gen Browning BLR in .243 and a Browning BL-22
Love to find a Browning or Winchester 1895 in 30-06 that's affordable.

MikeyB

 

Depending on the cartridge your gun takes, many of the specialty "Cowboy Action Shooting" vendors make special low-intensity ammunition for use in older firearms.

In reality, unless it has been severely abused and neglected, a two-hundred year old firearm is most likely as strong as the day it was manufactured.

Gun magazines overplay "shooting out" barrels, etc., when the truth of the matter is most rifles will never have more than a dozen boxes of ammunition fired through them in a hundred years.

It would take a dump-truck load of shells to wear out a rifle and the ordinary guy can only afford a pocket-full at a time.

As to shooting your old rifle, I couldn't sleep if I had a rifle that I hadn't fired at least once.

If I were you, I would go out right now and point that thing at the wood-pile and torch off a round, just to hear the racket.

 

1894 Cowboy Marlin Lever .44 mag.

 

Old guns may not have been shot much, but I have put a good 250 rounds thru my 7mm Rem Mag. (I know I have bought that many bullets for reloading) along with a few boxes of factory ammo.

If your buying a gun from the days of black powder (or a modern muzzle loader for that matter) check for corrosion from the powder. black powder is nasty if not cleaned properly.

 

Marlin Cowboy in 38-55

 

Marlin 336. It beats an 1894 because I can use the iron sights, or a scope. Here in W Oregon we rarely get a shot over 50 yards and the 30/30 works just fine for that.

 

Well I have three:

1) 336 30-30
2) 336 guide gun .450 marlin mag
3) 99E .308

The 30-30 is a great all-round rifle and I love to carry it on drives. The .308 is my open field rifle, and the .450 is my dad's... He lost an eye a few years ago and can't shoot too terribly well anymore so he got that so as to kill anything that he hits above the knees..........................

 

Winchester 94 30-30 none better

 

Does the barrell stamp say smokeless? They did make a lot of oct. barrelled rifles for smokeless. PM the serial number to me and all the info on the stamps, and I'll check my book for you. A lot of guns were mix matched before leaving the factory, so a later reciever, could have an earlier barrel, etc. Most issues were with recievers though, not barrels.

 

My experience has been that your more likely to get an older reciever with a newer barrel than visa versa. As higher pressure smokeless powder took the shooting world by storm a lot of manufactuers had to play catch up. They would strengthen the barrells to handle the higher pressure produced by smokeless powder but used exsiting recievers while redesigning/retooling for smokeless use.
Joe

 

Henry Big Boy .44magnum

 

Marlin 336 30-30 Hands down

 

Chris,

Your concerns are exactly the reason I don't put modern rounds through those old rifles. In addition to handloading my dad found a fella up in Oregon who manufactures small quantities of older, black powder rounds. As has been mentioned above... the older rifles still function just as well as they did almost 150 years ago. It is quite impressive!

 

As mentioned above, the cowboy loads are lower pressures for that purpose, and to standardise the competitions to the old west. Any of the Cowboy loads I used for my '09 colt .45 I had, were also solid lead. As long as you stay away from jacked bullets and use the lighter loads, you should be fine as long as it's not damaged already.

 

.300 savage