Lever Action Rifle Preference

[S.A. Boggs]

I have the Marlin in .44 Magnum as a companion to my Pre Ruger .44 Super Blackhawk. In Ohio the 30-30 is verboten for deer hunting, the .44 isn't.
Sam

[Griff Murphey]

First time I went deer hunting where I even saw a deer was 1967. The rancher loaded his rifle, a .308 Win. Savage 99, right inside the dining room of his ranch house. I thought, "Hmm, this isn't what they told us in NRA junior rifle gun safety..." and..."BANG!" Right into the bedroom wall, fortunately not hitting his wife in the next room!

Good lesson for me.... about loading a gun in the house

[bdm]

I have both rifles and they are both good I like the Marlin best

[Vern Humphrey]

Go with the Savage, but plan on handloading. .300 Savage ammo is getting hard to come by, so get dies and brass when you get the rifle.

[blackhawknj]

I have a Marlin 336C in 30-30, a Savage Model 99 in 308 is on my list to get "Someday". I have found the Marlin easy to work on, parts probably more available if that is a consideration.
Nothing takes the place of proper gun handling and following safety procedures. The only real safety is found behind the eyes and between the ears.

[Dolt]

Oh, brother, you'd LOVE the "gun-room" scene in "Home From the Hill"! (Great movie but not as great as the novel itself.) Robert Mitchum instructs his panty-waist son in gun-handling, using a Model 94.

11 yr olds probably shouldn't be handling a '94, but hammers don't "slip"--careless or incompetent shooters LET them slip. The most common boy's rifles used to be single-shots with exposed hammers, like Stevens Favorites, and they were always regarded as safer for kids than any other design.

The best firearms "safety" can be found between the ears. If it is not there, no mechanical safety can take its place.

[S.A. Boggs]

The best firearms "safety" can be found between the ears. If it is not there, no mechanical safety can take its place.

You said it all, glad that someone did. Anything mechanical /electrical will fail per Murphy's Law.
Sam