Equipment surveys for lever action nationals?

Centerfires, rimfires, pistol cartridges and everything in between.
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Jason
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Equipment surveys for lever action nationals?

Post by Jason »

After our monthly smallbore and pistol cartridge lever action silhouette matches on Saturday, I had a relatively new silhouette shooter ask me about what equipment the lever action national champions use. He is diving into silhouette and buying/building rifles, so wanted to know what the proven combinations are. I could articulate what's used for both smallbore and high power scoped rifle matches, as well as what is used for smallbore lever action matches (Marlin 39a) but not what ammo or sights. I was at a bit more of a loss for centerfire lever action other than the cartridge (30-30 Win) and had no real idea even for the cartridge for pistol cartridge, as I have never been to lever action nationals and have only shot lever action matches relatively locally.

That made me wonder if there is an equipment survey for lever action nationals like I often see for the big smallbore standard/hunter class matches. I understand the the smallbore standard/hunter class surveys are for Lapua, and are a very small way for us to thank Adam Braverman for the prizes and support that Lapua provides to the sport, and are not a standard NRA-run process. Is there any sort of similar survey for lever action nationals that ask cartridge, rifle brand and model, sights brand and model, etc. from the recent past? If so, is the data from that survey available?

If there is no such proper survey, can one of you who attends the lever action nationals every year give some estimates for cartridges/bullet weights, rifles and sights? I am trying not to distract this highly motivated new shooter with my love of trying new things. He is talking about abandoning some other hobbies and getting into rifle silhouette quite seriously. I don't want him to spend a bunch of money and show up at a big lever action match with gear that won't cut it.
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mordecai
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Re: Equipment surveys for lever action nationals?

Post by mordecai »

I seem to recall there being equipment surveys the couple times I've been there.
Never saw any results of such. You could probably try them and see if they'd share the results?

Anecdotal observations? Even that's a little hard.
Smallbore - lots of 39A's like you said, but plenty of Henry's, Winchesters, Uberti's...
PC ran the full gambit. Every conceivable rifle/caliber combination was in use, although most on the smaller end of the caliber choices.
CF was a healthy cross-section of Winchesters and Marlins with lots of eclectic, older models/variations/reproductions. I think most tended to use .30-30 from what I observed...

That said, there are others here plenty more versed in the inner-workings and much more dialed-in to what's hot and what's not, to be sure. (I'm not even using fiber optics yet, lol.)

The diopter receiver sights were pretty standard fare, along with fiber.

There's such an opportunity to use equipment that is fun to use that may not be the "best" for competitive purposes. I absolutely love firing open sights. Its just more rewarding in a sense, for me. And you get to use stuff that maybe had been relegated to collector, antique or back-of-the-safe status.
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Re: Equipment surveys for lever action nationals?

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They didn't post the 2016 survey results with the final results, but they did in 2015. Try this link to see all equipment surveyed in 2015.

http://compete.nra.org/documents/pdf/co ... cowboy.pdf
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Re: Equipment surveys for lever action nationals?

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Good find. Yeah, the answers are in there after each rifle type. Neat-O
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Jason
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Re: Equipment surveys for lever action nationals?

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OldRanger wrote: Wed May 24, 2017 3:23 pm They didn't post the 2016 survey results with the final results, but they did in 2015. Try this link to see all equipment surveyed in 2015.

http://compete.nra.org/documents/pdf/co ... cowboy.pdf
Great info, OldRanger. That answers the equipment survey part and gives a pretty good picture of the overall landscape of equipment used by those serious enough about lever action silhouette to go to nationals. His specific question was around what the national champions use, and I thought the survey results would get me close. Now, who might have the personal knowledge about what equipment the top 1/2/3 individuals in each class used? :)
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Re: Equipment surveys for lever action nationals?

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Jason, I guess I can chime in here. When I won in 2012 I was using a 1970 Winchester Texas Lone Star in 30-30. That gun has a 1/2 round, 1/2 octagon 26 in barrel, and a pistol grip stock. That gun shot well , but had a bad chamber that caused the cases to crack near the base. I retired that gun and bought another just like it. I recently bought a third one. It's safe to say I really like them.

I am fond of pistol,grip stocks so my PCLA current gun is a Miruko 73 Winchester in 357 mag. I also have a Miruko Winchester 92 Deluxe in a 32-20. I don't shoot it much as it is a little front heavy for my liking. I also have two older 92 Winchesters in 25-20, and 32-20.

For SCR I currently have two 1946 Marlin 39A's that I shoot on a rotating basis. They both are tack drivers with the right ammo. I started out years ago with a 1947 61 Winchester pump. I do though prefer the 39A's, as they are a little heavier and have better balance.

If you want my honest opinion you are going to be seriously undergunned using a 357 for CLA. It's ok for a club match, but in a big match if you can't knock down every animal you hit you are not going to come out on top.

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Jason
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Re: Equipment surveys for lever action nationals?

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cslcAl wrote: Wed May 24, 2017 8:08 pmIf you want my honest opinion you are going to be seriously undergunned using a 357 for CLA. It's ok for a club match, but in a big match if you can't knock down every animal you hit you are not going to come out on top.
Thanks for the info, Al. I don't intend to shoot the 357 for CLA in anything other than a club match, and I also have a 1948 Marlin 336A for that match. Even with the 24" barrel, it's quite light due to the fairly lightweight barrel and half magazine. It's probably accurate enough to do the job, but there's a pretty good selection of 30-30 rifles out there with longer, heavier barrels and longer magazines. I shoot PC matches about 10 times a year, and CLA about 3-4 times a year. That's why the upgrade is coming first for PC.

Edit: Note that this post is about giving the right guidance to someone who actually may go to lever action nationals. I have already advised him that a 30-30 would likely be the right cartridge for CLA, and me considering using a 357 occasionally in a local match for CLA should not be taken to mean that it is the best for the job.
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Re: Equipment surveys for lever action nationals?

Post by dscak1 »

John Mullins, with whom I shoot and who was the overall national champion in 2014 and 2016, shoots a Winchester 94 Classic with a 26" ocgtagon barrel in 30 30 for CLA. He uses Sierra 125s for the short line and 150s or 170s for the rams (depending on where we are shooting and how hard the rams are to know down). For PC he uses a Winchester 9422 mag, Legacy model, with Hornady Critical Defense ammo and for SB, a Winchester 9422 Legacy model, with Lapua Center-x. On all three he uses Williams FP rear sights and a home-made front sight 1" in length with a .029 fiber optic. I use pretty much the same, but with MVA tang sights on all three guns. Dan
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