What caliber in a lever action would be your pick for all your hunting?

[Bphunter]

I have a bunch of lever guns, but given I like to hunt elk and deer between 25-150 yards, I would choose the 38-55 every time. It just has the perfect combination of accuracy, power, wieght, and recoil.

[big bore 99]

Mine would have to be 45-70. Load up or down as needed. 5 shots should take care of any situation. I also reload that caliber already.

[Blammer]

7-30 waters

[phaessler]

.45-70Govt, either with a collar button on the low end or a large meplat 450gn gas-checked freight train on the other.
Just saying.

[Clark]

It seems like I get Sav 99s in 300 Sav, sometimes 308.
I have had one re barrelled from 308 to 308.
I re barrelled one myself from 250-3000 to 6mmBR single shot.
Both were to get rid of rotten bores.

I now have a 250 Sav reamer, and I am planning to do another rebarrel.

[1Shirt]

Like Artfull, I would go with a 99 Sav. in 358. Wish I had mine back durn it!
1Shirt

[.30-06 fan]

my choice would be a 45-70 for deer bear moose. heavy large bullets often equal quick kills with less meat damage.

[rr2241tx]

45-70 Winchester 1886 with an assortment of elevator wedges filed to fit light, medium and heavy bullets.

[Good Cheer]

It seems like I get Sav 99s in 300 Sav, sometimes 308.
I have had one re barrelled from 308 to 308.
I re barrelled one myself from 250-3000 to 6mmBR single shot.
Both were to get rid of rotten bores.

I now have a 250 Sav reamer, and I am planning to do another rebarrel.

Does anybody shoot 25-308 anymore?

[Canuck Bob]

I'm a broken record, 444 Marlin, of course.

[superior]

45 colt

[Steve77]

Marlin 1894 in 41 mag or 44 mag with a revolver to match. If I couldn't have a revolver chambered the same, then a 336 30-30.

[Larryo1]

My best luck has been with the 40-82 and the 45-90.

[rbuck351]

I have a Rossi in 454 that would work pretty good but if limited to just one it would have to be a BLR rebarrelled to 358N. Jacketed bullets from 110gr to 300gr solids. Then there is a huge group of molds and cast boolits available in .358. That should work pretty well for just about any hunting situation.

[texaswoodworker]

What cailber lever action would you pick, if you could only have one hunting rifle in ______ cailber for your hunting needs, where you live. What would it be?

Around here, a 44 mag will kill any animal you come across, and making shots past 100 yards is rare.

If I was going to hunt somewhere with large bears, elk, moose, ect, I'd go with the classic 45-70.

[Indio]

My 45-70 Marlin is more than enough for any game im likely to encounter locally. I load from 145gr collar buttons to 550 WNFP's all cast lead so its all covered. From a one gun hunting pov any Marlin (low power scope) from 30-30 upwards would work for me.

[BrentD]

Around here, a 44 mag will kill any animal you come across, and making shots past 100 yards is rare.

If I was going to hunt somewhere with large bears, elk, moose, ect, I'd go with the classic 45-70.

I AM going to go somewhere with large bears and moose - AK this fall. For that I am rebuilding/restoring a vintage 1895 Marlin in .45-70. But if I could have only one lever gun and had to hunt everything with it, I would choose either a .38-55 Marlin or a .30-30 Marlin, probably the former because I prefer black powder and straight cases. And I would hunt AK for moose with either one. Since I don't HAVE do to that, I have the .45. The fun of building it is half the trip right there. the .38-55 and .30-30 are up to the job easily though. We immensely underrate those cartridges today.

[hamour]

My favorite lever action is the Win 71 with a bolt peep so the caliber would be 348 Win.

This X 2

Hank

[220]

My 357mag is a bit light for the big stuff and lacks a little range to cover it all, my 45/70 is to big for the little stuff. I could probably get by with just my 30/30 but seeing it is a hypothetical question Ill give a similar answer
357Maximum that reliably feeds 357mag and 38spl with this I could cover it all, until it is Ill keep using quite a few more than one

[mnewcomb59]

357 mag rifle would be my choice. The load would be pretty light, like around 1400 fps. Flat nose 158 for big stuff, round nose 158 for small stuff. This speed won't blow up a rabbit, but will shoot clean through a deer. Remember 1 caliber for ALL your hunting means a little light for large game, and a little too powerful for small game.

It might be worth experimenting with full powered loads at 2000-2100 fps. Use a flat nose 158 hard cast for the big stuff, then use a round nose for small game. The round nose might do less damage, or it might tumble turn small game into ground meat.