We might earn income from the merchandise obtainable on this web page and take part in affiliate packages. Be taught extra ›
Images by Travis Rathbone
Not like all people else lately, it appears, I don’t lengthy for a sub-half-minute, long-range bolt gun. Nicely, possibly a bit. However what I actually need are the weapons within the yellowed images at deer camp, the place within the monochromes the outdated boys in knee pants cradle basic levers, and within the Polaroids the common guys off for every week from the Alcoa plant carry hardworking pumps and autos.
Seems, these blue-collar classics are nonetheless broadly obtainable, nonetheless priced proper, and nonetheless strong deer weapons. With at present’s $500 bolts delivering cloverleaf teams, cut price hunters now not have to raid the used rack. And as yesteryear’s hunters stroll their final trails, extra widows and children need to be rid of the outdated weapons. The result’s a wealth of modestly priced, basic deer rifles, adorning the partitions of native retailers and the pages of on-line gun-auction websites.
These aren’t collector’s gadgets. They’re working weapons. Instruments. Many aren’t correct by at present’s requirements however are greater than correct sufficient when you consider that the actual thrill of searching is getting nearer to the critters. Above all, they carry a connection to those that got here earlier than us. They burn with questions: whose fingers, what hills, what number of miles, what number of bucks?—a mystique that makes them far cooler than any plastic bolt.
Right here’s what I’ve bought in my outdated toolbox.
Basic Workhorse Deer-Camp Rifles
Remington Mannequin 8 and 81 Travis Rathbone
1. Winchester Mannequin 94, Pre-’64
- Years of manufacturing: 1894-2006, 2011-present
- Quantity constructed: 7 million
- Present used worth: $400 and up.
In August of 1894, when Winchester’s sizzling choices had been the powerful-but-burly 1886 and the graceful-but-underpowered 1892, John Browning confirmed the corporate his patent for one thing in between–one thing excellent. Seven weeks later, Winchester unveiled a then potent repeater so elegant and nimble, so excellent, that it grew to become the American deer rifle for practically a century. From its debut till 2006, practically 7 million 94s left the manufacturing unit, outselling all different deer rifles earlier than or since.
That’s why the yellowed images are strewn with 94s, and why this peerless rifle remains to be so frequent and inexpensive. Search for a pre-’64 mannequin. Get it in .30/30 or .32, and find it irresistible for what it’s: an open-sighted, fast-handling brush rifle for males with the talent to hunt shut with their ft on the bottom.
The identical store the place I bought mine in .30/30 for $400 a number of years again appears to all the time have two or three prefer it for between $450 and $600, and gunbroker.com normally has a dozen.
2. Remington Mannequin 8 and 81
- Years of manufacturing: 1906-1950
- Quantity constructed: about 125,000
- Present used worth: $375-$500
Initially supplied because the Remington Computerized Rifle in 1906 and renamed the Mannequin 8 in 1911 , this long-recoil John Browning design was the primary semiautomatic centerfire rifle chambered to take care of really huge sport, a truth Remington performed to the fullest in fantastically romanticized promoting artwork that includes intrepid, Mannequin 8-toting heroes going through off with grizzlies, mountain lions, and wolves. Legendary Texas Ranger Frank Hamer, who fashioned the 1934 posse to subdue Bonnie and Clyde, carried a modified Remington Mannequin 8 to the lethal ambush, and in line with the lore, the deadly shot to Clyde Barrow’s temple got here from Deputy Prentiss Oakley’s Remington Mannequin 8.
As a brush rifle, what makes the Mannequin 8 stand out is that: (1) It got here in .35 Rem., a standout big-woods spherical; (2) its trim kind makes for a reasonably mild and quick-handling package deal; and (3) with its sheathed barrel, fastened field journal, and receiver-mounted security lever, it’s one crazy-cool-looking gun, assured to face alone at deer camp.
In 1936, Remington beefed up the inventory, added the .300 Savage chambering, and renamed it the Mannequin 81 Woodsmaster, a reputation retained for its eventual substitute, the 740 Woodsmaster. The latter is an inexpensive basic in its personal proper and admittedly a greater gun. However the Mannequin 8 began all of it. Once I bought mine in .35 Rem. for underneath $400, the store proprietor stated an aged girl had introduced it in, saying her late husband’s favourite factor to do in life was hunt deer within the Adirondack Mountains with that gun—and that she wished one other hunter to have it. Once I carry it, I really feel like he’s alongside.
3. Remington Mannequin 14 and 141
- Years of manufacturing: 1913-1950
- Quantity constructed: about 430,000
- Present used worth: $450-$800.
Launched in 1913 to compete with the good lever-action rifles of the time, the Mannequin 14 was the primary high-power slide-action middlehearth rifle and the one one which’s ever caught on with deer hunters. It took a long time, however the Mannequin 14’s successors, the 760 and 7600, are actually fixtures in Northwoods deer camps.
Like the trendy Remington pump, its predecessor is fast, useless dependable, and extra correct than it has any proper to be. However with its slender traces and distinctive spiral journal tube, the 14 will distinguish you from the 7600-toting hordes, as will the close to an identical 141 Gamemaster.
You need this one, too, in .35 Rem. The pretty uncommon and coveted carbine model may be expensive, however you must have the ability to discover a cut price in any other case. I bought my 141, in glorious situation, for underneath $400 on gunbroker.com.
It’s not an ideal gun. In addition to this one factor in school that I don’t need to speak about, my 141’s set off is the worst factor I’ve ever squeezed. However the gun shoots rattling close to 1-inch teams at 100.
4. Marlin 336
- Years of manufacturing: 1948-present, with gaps
- Quantity Constructed: Over 6 million, thus far.
- Present Used worth: $375-$600.
Winchester dominated the repeating-rifle world of the late nineteenth century, and so when an upstart Marlin Arms Co. launched a potent, nimble, side-ejecting lever a full 12 months earlier than the 94, its Mannequin 1893 didn’t instantly acquire the recognition it deserved. Nevertheless it has at present, within the type of the 336. With a number of adjustments, together with a heavier, pistol-grip inventory, the 1893 grew to become the 1936 (you’ll be able to guess when), which grew to become the 36, which grew to become the 336. Although now not as slender or sprightly because the 94, the 336 is healthier suited to the trendy hunter: Its solid-top receiver takes naturally to a scope, the set off may be tuned for a greater pull, and it tends to be the extra correct rifle.
Marlin’s latest proprietor, Ruger, is making new 336s once more, and doing a bang-up job of it. However in order for you your basic lever gun to come back with a patina on it, search for used one.
What I actually lengthy for is an 1893 in .30/30, however until you all take up a group for me, I’ll be completely proud of my Sixties-era 336 in .35 Rem., which I simply picked up on the native store for $399, and which I plan to outfit with a fixed-power 4X Leupold scope. Good, used 1936s and 36s sometimes pop up on-line, and 336s are there in droves.
5. Winchester Mannequin 100
- Years of manufacturing: 1960-1973
- Quantity constructed: About 260,000
- Present used worth: $700-$1,400
As a rule, this rifle suffers from mediocre accuracy. So what? With its one-piece inventory, the Mannequin 100 is the handsomest manufacturing unit auto ever made, and the 6-1⁄2-pound carbine model with a 19-inch barrel often is the quickest dealing with, too. For the still-hunter and tracker who jumps deer from their beds and nearly by no means sees a shot past 100 yards, the 100 is correct sufficient and onerous to beat in some other regard.
Winchester launched the 100 in 1960 because the autoloading twin to the Mannequin 88 lever, which additionally wears the one-piece inventory. (The latter is an inexpensive basic, too, however misses the record as a result of there are a minimum of three higher basic levers, all right here.) The 100 was at first supplied solely in .243 and .308, with lower checkering on the grip and fore-end. After 1964, the checkering was changed with a less expensive, impressed basket-weave design, which a few of at present’s consumers really want. A .284 Winchester chambering was added in 1966 and the carbine mannequin in ’67.
You will discover 100s in .308, in superb situation, for between $700 and $900 on-line. The .243 is usually a bit pricier, and the carbine much more so. However there are bargains. I bought my .308 carbine on gunbroker.com for $570.
Warning: Winchester recalled the 100 in 1990, as a result of a probably harmful firing-pin malfunction. Name the corporate with the serial quantity to make sure yours has the brand new pin, or change it out. Final I checked, they nonetheless honor the recall.
6. Savage 99
- Years of manufacturing: 1899-1999
- Quantity constructed: Over 1 million
- Present used worth: $600 and up
After all the 99 is on this record. How may it not be? Devotees name it the best all-around deer rifle ever made. Though the elegant 99 typically can not match the accuracy of at present’s manufacturing unit bolts, it’s a good marriage of kind and performance. Good-looking and pretty mild, the 99, absolutely loaded, was made to stability with the round-bottomed receiver form-fitted to your palm. It has an honest set off, takes effectively to a scope (relying on the classic), and fires high-intensity rounds with sufficient accuracy for reasonably long-range capturing. In different phrases, it handles like a lever and performs like a bolt.
When the Savage 99 debuted within the final 12 months of the nineteenth century, it was thus far forward of its time—with its hammerless receiver and rotary journal permitting for high-power cartridges loaded with spitzer bullets (which the 94 and Marlin 336, with their tubular magazines, can’t safely hearth)—that no lever prefer it appeared till 1955, when Winchester rolled out the Mannequin 88, which was not nearly as good a gun.
Savage discontinued the 99 precisely 100 years after its debut. With over 1,000,000 constructed, there are many used ones. Fantastic, outdated specimens in uncommon calibers can fetch $3,000 or extra. However good working weapons in .308 and .300 Savage may be had for underneath a grand. I bought mine, with a 2x Weaver in a classic and really cool Stith scope mount, for $900. Favor weapons with the rotary journal. And while you discover one, snap it up.
