What are your four? and advice on my choices...

[Sprunch]

My four are actually five:
Handguns- S&W 627 8 Times in 38spl/357 Magnum-love this gun!
             - EAA Windacator 38spl/357 Magnum-edc
Shotty-Mid 80's Moss 500a 20" barrel 8 round-home defense
Rifle- Marlin60-plinker/varmit

l would like to get a lever action as well, staying away from 'assualt' rifle. Actually sold a WASR 10 w/ammo and took the money and bought the above guns.

My question is, would a 357 Lever action be a good choice? or should l roll a 30.06? Would be more of my longer range gun.

Thanks in advance.
BTW only been 'into' firearms for a year, excuse the noob questions.

[endurance]

If I only could have four it would be:

Springfield XD9 compact
Ruger 10/22 (or Marlin model 60)
Walther P22
FN-FAL

Why?  One training rifle that also makes a great small game gun, one training pistol that's also a minimalist concealed carry pistol, one defensive handgun, and one defensive rifle that can also be used on big game (with a 5 round mag).  Of course, I'm not a bird hunter, so YMMV.

Depending on what part of the country you live in and what big game you see and at what range you find them, I'd opt for either a 30/30 or .44 magnum lever action or a bolt action .270, .308 or 30-06.  If you live in brushy country with smaller deer, no elk, moose or big bears, a .44 or 30/30 seems adequate out to about 75-100 yards.  If you have larger game with longer shots out to 200 yards or more, you'll want a semi-auto (Browning BAR) or bolt action (Remington or Savage) rifle in a heavy hitting caliber. 

While I like the idea of .357 lever actions, I just don't think you're gaining a huge amount over your existing 627 (yes, it will be more reliably accurate out to 75 yards, but you're already good to nearly 50 yards with a long barreled 627.

[Hurricane]

 

[Sprunch]

LOL Hurricane

Thanks for the advice endurance!

Not a hunter until l need to be one, in SE Mi, love to shoot!

l was thinking 357 lever action for the common ammo theme, also the cheap to shoot 38spl. for taget practice.

[endurance]

LOL Hurricane

Thanks for the advice endurance!

Not a hunter until l need to be one, in SE Mi, love to shoot!

l was thinking 357 lever action for the common ammo theme, also the cheap to shoot 38spl. for taget practice.

That's a reasonable principal.  It's also a very easy cartridge to hand load with a Lee Loader if you want to keep costs even lower, gain a new skill, and have the ability to develop some new custom loads.  That's how I first started reloading and I worked up a 148gr. full wadcutter loaded fairly light in .38 special that would let you draw a smiley face on the silhouette at 50' with my 4" GP100.   

Sorry for the topic drift.  I do miss that GP100 badly.  38/357 is a very versatile platform.  I just wish there was more options for .41 special/magnum.  That would be hard to beat for a lever gun and handgun.  I'm not a fan of the .44 magnum in a handgun, but in a rifle it's a great lever gun.  I thought a lot about the .357, but Colorado law is a bit strange.  While it's legal to hunt deer and elk with a .357 handgun with a 4" barrel, it's unlawful to hunt with a .357 in a rifle.  I kind of get their logic because the bullet does lose a lot of energy out toward the end of it's accurate range, but because of that, I opted not to go with either and went in a completely different direction.  It still makes sense in many applications, just not what I was hoping for.

Arrrgh, this thread got me to thinking about 10mm, another caliber legal for handgun hunting in Colorado, but again, it's just shy of enough energy to be legal for rifle hunting.  A 10mm carbine/handgun combo would be slick... but not practical for what I was thinking...

[chrisdfw]

I'd consider a rifle with more reach, but I like the idea of a pistol caliber 357 lever gun for medium range, but you have no long range rifle.

My four (that I actually already own) are
Glock 19 with RMR milled into slide, extended threaded barrel and streamlight  light with IR laser
Ar15, billet lower with Larue stealth upper, trijicon red dot, magpul buis, IR laser
M1 Garand as it was in 1945
Serbu 50bmg single shot
(With 22lr conversions for the glock and ar15)

If I was dreaming Id have supppressors for everything and full auto, and swap the single shot for a barrett.

[endurance]

Wow, I just made a surprising discovery that has me rethinking the whole .357 lever gun. 

With 125-grain handloads, the revolver averaged an even 1300 feet per second and 469 pound-feet of energy, while the carbine delivered 1937 fps and 1041 lb-ft. That’s a 49 percent velocity increase and a 122 percent increase in energy from the same cartridge. Yowza.

From here.

I had no idea that the improvement in energy was so dramatic.  Pretty much double the energy from the same bullet.  Impressive as hell and a lot more worth considering than I'd originally thought.  I still haven't found any numbers for 50 yard energy and I suspect it's still shy of what my state requires for the lawful taking of big game, but that's in the same league as the .30 carbine, which did the job of killing a lot of people in WWII.

[TooMuchGlass]

This is a fun exercise to think about- I started a similar post on the General Firearms Discussion board called "$2000 Survival List", and there were some good posts that were really interesting.

So here's my four-
1) Marlin Model 60 (the old model, with the 18 round tubular magazine)
2) Used Ruger M77 Mk II .270 bolt-action rifle
3) Taurus Millenium Pro .45 ACP
4) Mossberg 500 12 gauge

Admittedly, the list is pretty vanilla, but I don't need to stand out. I just need a gun for (nearly) every situation.

[Chemsoldier]

I cheated, my choice of four are five
Pistola: Glock 19
rimfire rifle: Ruger 10/22
centerfire rifle:  AR-15
                       Winchester Model 70 in .30-06
Shotgun: Remington 870 in 12 gauge

[nelson96]

I must use six.  If I am limited by numbers I won't leave without these . . . 

• Glock 22
• Ruger 10/22
• Remington 700BDL .338 RUM
• AR-15
• AR-10 SASS model
• Browning Auto 5 Light

[Jerry D Young]

There are 7 primary types of weapons I want. There are more types I'd like to get, but the seven are most important to me, with the first 4 minimum.

Have:
1. MBR: PTR-91 .308
2. Primary hand gun: Glock 21SF .45 ACP
3. Dual purpose shotgun: Remington 11-87 Custom 12 gauge

Want:
4. Hunting/sniper rifle: Remington 700 .30-'06 (w/.32 ACP chamber adapters for small game)
5. Anti-materiel rifle: Want: Vigilance VR-1 .408 Cheytac (more likely a Remington 700 .375 H&H Magnum)

(6) Have: Hideout gun: Beretta Tomcat .32 ACP
(7) Want: Handout gun(s): 6 or so Auto Ordnance .30 M1 Carbines

[gundog]

10-22
Beretta 96 in .40
Browning a-bolt in 30-06
S&W AR-15

I do need a more self defense type of shotgun......I've got some O/U ers and a semi but no real self defense models...........It's a nagging hole that I plan to fix soon. 

[Cooter Brown]

10/22
Glock 19
870
Mini-14

[CR Williams]

I'll try it:

FN FS2000
Sig 556R
Ruger 10/22
Glock 17

If allowed to add two:

Likely, a semiauto 12ga and a .22 pistol of some type.

[EagleSteel]

Pistol - Glock 22 .40 s&w
Rifle - AR15 Bushmaster/Custom .223/5.56
Shotgun - Beretta A400 Xplor .12ga
Rifle - Remington 750 .30-06

For my alt/Fifth - Pistol- Beretta P92

The only one of the above that I don't own is the Remington 750. However that may change if I get my bonus in March. 

[BamaPrepper]

My four would be (that I already own):
Henry Repeating .22lr
AR-15
Remington 870
Beretta 92FS

I know that the 10/22 is preferred by most people, but I honestly think that a Henry lever-action suits my purposes better....I just love the reliability and accuracy of that rifle.

[DrJohn]

My list is 5 not 4 too

Sig 1911 C3 - .45
Ruger 10/22 Stainless - .22
AR-15 - 5.56
Mossberg 590 - 12g
Remington 700 - .308

[liftsboxes]

If I could only have two, I'd go with a .357 revolver/lever gun combo.

However, we still have choices in this arena.

Kahr K9 (small enough to conceal, cheap enough to practice with, and powerful enough to protect)
Mosin Nagant 91/30 (I've got several tins of surplus ammo, it is my preferred deer rifle, and I can hit man-sized targets with iron sights out to 600 yards ... and if I run out of ammo it's a damn good spear or war club)
Mossberg 500 12 gauge (versatile ammo choices from bird to buck to slugs)

[nelson96]

My question is, would a 357 Lever action be a good choice? or should l roll a 30.06? Would be more of my longer range gun.

Sorry it took me so long to get back to your question after throwing up my four (actually 6).  My opinion pretty much aligns with endurance's OP.  I too don't see the point of running with .357 in a rifle.  I'm guessing that you're trying to utilize one caliber in to both rifle and hand gun?  That's cool, but we're not in the old west anymore and we have a lot better choices to choose from.  If you want to combine calibers I suggest you do that when you get to the point that you have multiple rifles (ie .308 caliber in lever, semi-auto, and bolt), but I wouldn't even do that until you define the purpose in which to use it.  Unless you're seeing your future and think that you will be on foot or horse back for days on end, limited by the amount of ammo you can pack on your back, I would pick a handgun the best suited my needs and a rifle that best suited my needs, separately.

Sorry, I digress. 

Your question was, "would a 357 Lever action be a good choice? or should l roll a 30.06?"  Well, if this helps, I own a lever action .30-30 and darn glad I do (will never get rid of it and may even buy another some day) but it sits in the back of the safe.  I rarely use it.  Meaning, I've got other rifles that I either enjoy shooting more or they are more effective in my intended use, or both.  Generally speaking, all my other rifles can do what my lever action .30-30 can do and so much more.  As another example, and if your just wanting to go with a "lever" action, my wife runs a BLR in .308 for deer hunting and she loves it.  It's great for short range and long range.  And it shares calibers with many of my other rifles (I always have ammo).  On the other hand, if you ride a fence line a lot, or hunt horse back, a lever action .30-30 might be perfect tucked nicely in that scabbard.

.30-06 would be tits too, but I would run that in a bolt action.  On that note, out of all the rifles I own, I don't own a single .30-06.  I guess I never saw the point, but that's just me.

[ADKwarrior]

Wish list:
  1- FN Five-seven or Wilson Combat .45ACP
  2-Marlin m60 but a Ruger 10/22 would be nice
  3-Benelli M4 w/ 18.5"   
  4-Rem. 700SPS in .300WM
  5-FN FAL

[hillclimber]

It really depends on the circumstances. If I had to exist in the wild, around here.....
1)Ruger Redhawk 44mag w/7.5" barrel
2)Winchester model 70 carbine in 30-06 w/3x9 scope
3) Ruger 10/22 w/3x9 scope
4) Rem 870 12gauge with my two barrels.

[the-gman]

If I had to choose four from my stash for SHTF scenario. It would be from my stash:
1) Ruger 10/22 (scoped)
2) Taurus Judge
3) Molot VEPR 7.62x54r (scoped)
4) Mossberg 12/20 combo

[Mexican_Hippie]

Four?  What a ridiculous restriction, lol  Best I can get down to is 5.

1) G22 (w/ lonewolf conversion barrels and mags)
2) Browning Auto .22 (breakdown and w/ suppressor)
3) 12 gauge pump
4) AR in 300BLK (w/ suppressor)
5) Remington 30.06

If I had to ditch one it would be the 30-06 since I have the 300BLK and probably wont be shooting beyond a few hundred yards for anything.

[RacinRob]

I'll play.

1. Ruger 101 in .357 2.2" barrel - small and easy to carry can shoot .38 and .357
2. Ruger 10/22 stainless plastic stock - small game getter
3. AR-10 a lighter model like the base S&W M&P 10 - medium/large/long range defense - This I would split to a bolt gun and an AR-15 but the rule was 4.
4. Remington 870 - winged/medium/defense

Best I can do and stay at 4.

[TravelingMan]

Easy.

1911A1
M1A1
870
700 in .308

[PrepperJim]

I like this game:

Glock 19
10/22 Takedown
M&P15
870

Done.
Now, I think I need a .30-06 or .308 bolt action or semi-auto, but that would be five. ;-)

[bigjim71]

Ok been thinking about this topic all night at work.... (realy slow on Easter eve). If I had to choose 4 fire arms for SHTF/WROL in no particular order. they would be drum roll please.

1. Ruger 10/22: I think the best all around plinker I do love the Model 60 Marlin but its quiker to change magazines than charge a tube magazine even with speed loaders. and its also heavier. That would give me the ability to hunt small game and dispatch larger animals like cows/sheep/pigs/goats cheaply and humanly.

2. Remington 870: with both a short cylander bore slug barrel, and  a longer barrel for upland game/water fowl. there is no better all around versital weapon than a good shot gun. with the slug bore its a good defense weapon firing #4 buck or you can shoot medium game. (Deer/black bear) with 00 buck or rifled slugs. With the longer barrel (with adjustable chokes of course) you can hunt migratory water fowl, rabbits, squirls, upland birds, turkeys. A Mossberg 500 would be great also for the same reasons but I like where the safety is located on the 870.

3. M1A1: Acurate and powerful enough to hunt deer,elk, even moose, and as far as a sound battle rifle do I need to say more.

4. Ruger Black Hawk .357/9mm convertable. A little bit big for concealed cary but gives you the ability to use .357 Mag, .38 Spec., 9mm para, even Colt .38 long if you some how manage to find some of those. The .357 Mag is a very potent man stopper with the 125 gr hollow points (the best one shot stops out of any handgun).

So those are my choices I have put alot thought behind it.

one last thing about the .357 Lever. I had a little Marlin when I was in high school that I carried I loved it shot nice not a very long range weapon, plenty of stopping power. I even took a little spike with it. I used a 158gr. jsp don't remember the load dad worked up for it .... I remember he said I couldn't use it in my Black Hawk though..... lol

[Erigorn]

Mossberg 500
Marlin 795 - setup for Appleseed
Taurus 92
AK47

Not the best in the world by any means but its what I have at the moment. Next up would probably be some sort of longer range centerfire rifle. .308 .30-06 etc.

[EagleSteel]

Pistol - Glock 22 .40 s&w
Rifle - AR15 Bushmaster/Custom .223/5.56
Shotgun - Beretta A400 Xplor .12ga
Rifle - Remington 750 .30-06
For my alt/Fifth - Pistol- Beretta P92

The only one of the above that I don't own is the Remington 750. However that may change if I get my bonus in March.  

Rifle - AR15 - 300 Blackout 

I did get my bonus in March but I built a 300 Blackout instead of buying a Remington 750

[The Professor]

Well, there are a bunch of issues, here. 

First of all, why?  What's the scenario?

I have to vary my answer based upon the situation:

Bugging out in a Non-Permissive Environment:

Pistol :  HK USP45 Expert
Longarm: M1A Scout  (OR) my AR FrankenRifle (Once I get a crap-ton of rounds through it and it proves itself to be as reliable as I need it)
Extra : Ruger .22 Semi-Auto

an INCH Armory:
Savage M24 in 20-gauge/.22 Win Mag Combo
Pistol: H&K USP45
Rifle M1A Scout

Gubmint limits me to Four firearms:

Pistol: H&K USP 45 Expert
Pistol: Ruger 22/45
Rifle: Springfield M1A Scout
Rifle: My AR FrankenRifle

I can only grab four weapons as I leave the house while it burns down:

Pistol: H&K USP45 Expert
Pistol: Detonics (Original) Combat Master MkV
Rifle: Steyr SSG PII
Rifle: AR FrankenRifle

(yes, there's a bit of John Thomas Rourke's influence, there)

I'm getting stuck up in the Northern Wildlands for a year and have to fend for myself:

Rifle: M1A Scout
Shotgun: Rem. 870 w/ slug and 28" bbl
Revolver: S&W Mountain Gun in .45 Long Colt
Revolver: H&R 22 LR

There's a lot of overlap, but some variations.  The thing is. . .unless it's a specialized situation (e.g., Northern Wildlands with very large game and the threat of apex predators such as bear, crocs/gators, etc), most any combo will do you well, as long as you learn the limitations of your arsenal.

The Professor