Trapper carbine?

J

jackknife

Joined
Oct 2, 2004
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Anyone here have any experiance with the Winchester lever actions made these days?

I'm interested in getting one of the 94 trappers in .357 with the 16 inch barrel to use as a home defence carbine. I have had the Marlin 1894 in .357, but the Winchester is a shorter package.
 
Do you live in he middle of field with perimeter defense? When you swing that carbine around and break your wife's best vase you will be in trouble, burglar or no burglar.
 
a bud has a 16" bbl winchester trapper in .44 mag, its very loud and has some recoil to it, ok gun i guess, not the best thing for home defense imho, but it would work.
 
Jackknife - I've always wanted one of the trapper carbines but, unfortunately, never took the plunge. They sound like a great woods/camp rifle: light and short.

That being said, have you considered a short-barrel pump 12 gauge for home defense? I've had one for years and you get a lot of the short/light advantage of the carbine with a few advantages specific to scatterguns= a nice wide spread for shooting from the hip and a projectile that doesn't travel for several blocks in an urban/suburban environment.

Maybe the shotgun option is in addition to a carbine... not in lieu of. :D I like mine so well, I just enjoyed making the recommendation. If you buy the trapper, post pics... especially with size comparisons to everyday objects!
 
I have the Winchester Ranger model in 30-30 I got about 12 years ago. I like it and it's a nice little carbine, has taken many coyotes over the years. I put a ghost ring setup on it from these guys http://www.xssights.com/store/rifle.html This is a nice sighting system, once you get used to it, it's dead on and fast target acquisition.

Right after I got mine, Gun Tests magazine did a write up and they liked it. However, I saw just recently (within 1-2 years maybe?) where they reviewed it again and didn't like it as well. Might be worth looking into though.

Though a short barreled shotgun would be a better choice for home defense (IMHO), a lever action carbine is a nice all around gun and relatively easy to use. Especially if you match it up with your handgun ammunition. I almost got it in .44 magnum to match up with my Ruger Super Blackhawk, but I decided a 30-30 would be a better choice for me.
 
yam- thats a troubling thought, that the new ones did not get as good a write up. I will have to check that out.

Yam and paddling_man- I do not like a short shot gun for two reasons. My right shoulder is held together with some pins and screws from a bad rotator cuff injury and it won't take heavy recoil. Plus the wife is a petite 5' 2" 115lb package and she does not like recoil. My 1894 Marlin in .357 is a pleasure to shoot, epecially when loaded with .38special, and gives me good power in a package that is way easier to handle for an older couple with arthritus issues, than any pistol. The Mrs. has arthritus in her hands that make much more than a .22 pistol a pain to shoot, literally.

I was attracted to the trapper because it is shorter than my Marlin by several inches. I know that there is plenty of the people out there that come out of the woodwork saying they would only use their 1911, or .44 mag. or pump 12ga. Thats fine for them, but what we have here is a mid-60's couple of empty nesters with some health/arthritus problems using what is comforable for them. A .357 round out of a 6 pound gun is mild enough for us to shoot with comfort. Heck, most of our 1500-2000 rounds a month we shoot are with our rimfire revolvers. I sold our Remington 870 police years ago because niether of us could use it anymore well.

And the trapper fits my little old lady very well.
 
jackknife said:
.Heck, most of our 1500-2000 rounds a month we shoot are with our rimfire revolvers.
Click to expand...

Maybe you should post signs on all windows and doors saying "Warning: The couple who lives here owns firearms and shoots almost 2000 rounds per month in target practice."
That would probably deter 99% of all troublemakers. The remaining 1% who ignored the signs, at least you'd know what you were dealing with. Fire at will.
 
I have a newer production trapper in .44mag. It's my wife's camping gun, purchased specifically for her use because of some issues that prevent her from effectively using a handgun.

My thoughts:
1) The crossbolt safety was not secure in the "OFF" position so I had a local gunsmith remove it and machine a plug for the hole. Problem solved, and easy to drop in if I ever decide to sell the carbine.
2) Barrel was a little bit out of rotation (for lack of a better word), a moderate amount of windage adjustment front and back got it to shoot straight without anything looking too far out of line.
3) Front sight dovetail wasn't cut right and wouldn't hold the front sight under recoil, I peened it a little bit and solved THAT problem.
4) Added Ghostring Sights from XSSIGHTS - good addition, much faster than the factory sights and every bit as accurate out to 100 yards or so.
5) It's accurate, well balanced, functionally reliable, holds 10 rounds, delivers an acceptable rate of fire.... and the extra weight of the .30-30 length action does a good job of taming recoil to tolerable levels for my wife.

So... the gun serves its purpose, but out of the box quality control was lacking in several respects. If it hadn't been a hellatiously good deal from a gun show I would have sent it off to Winchester, but I didn't have all that much in it to begin with.

If I had it to do over I would have bought a Marlin instead - I've always had better luck with them. Davidson's has a special production run with their name on it, it's laminated w/ stainless, 16.5" bbl. Check it out here if you're interested. Of course then you lose the extra weight of the '94, which was one reason I bought it.
 
I had a .44 Trapper, and it would have been pretty far down my list of home defense weapons. The firing pin broke, as did the crossbolt safety. A friend has a .357 Winchester, and it has gone back to Winchester for repair, as well as having feeding issues with different rounds.

If you like the idea of a pistol caliber carbine, I would recommend a Beretta Storm in 9mm. You can use 15 or 20 round mags, mount optics, and more importantly, mount a light so you can ID your target. Recoil is non-existant, and the one I shot ran like a sewing machine with several ammo types from Beretta and Meggar mags.

I also wouldn't normally recommend using a rimfire, but if you have physical issues to deal with, and you practice a lot with a .22, a Ruger 10-22 with a 30 round mag might be the best solution.
 
I have no experience with the Trapper, but I would take a Marlin over Winchester anyday.

A .410 shotgun might be another option.

Paul
 
If you're pleased with the Marlin you own have a gunsmith cut and recrown the barrel and shorten the magtube and spring accordingly.

www.sixgunner.com should provide a list of gunsmiths with experience and talent that could get you squared away. The modification probably costs half what a new gun retails for and you don't have to gamble with QC on a crappy Winchester. :D
 
Thanks to all you guys for your input. With some of the negative comments I have doubts about the Winchester. One of the things about owning Marlin rifles for over 30 years, is I've never had a quality complaint about them. The only thing that first atracted me to the Winchester trapper was the smaller size, but saving a couple inches of barrel just ai'nt worth giving up total trust in my gun.

I guess I'll just stay with Marlin 1894.

Again, thanks all.
 
my uncle had 1 of the old old '92 winchesters in .38-40 which was the real trapper w/a 14" bbl IIRC, it was without a doubt one of the most handy little rifles i have ever used, yrs later one of my cousins lost it in pawn, makes me mad every time i think of it or see him, sure wish he woulda let me know before he lost it. oh well.
 
I've got one of the newer trappers, in 44mag. I've never had a problem with. It's light, accurate, and feeds everything I've stuffed into the magazine from 44spec to 44mag with the big 310gr slugs. One of these in 357 would be great.
I also have an old 92 Winnie that was rechambered to 357mag. It's incredible. But it's not a trapper, std length carbine. Recoil is basically nonexistant.
Both have receiver mounted peep sights, which I find to be much better than the factory rear sight.
Bob
 
Puma, a Brazilian firm, makes a modern copy of the Model 1892 Winchester carbine in both .357 and .44. I have fired both of them and, other than the actions not being quite so smooth as my brother's original '92 Winchester .25-20, they seemed to be very nice little pieces. As to the smoothness in the action, I suspect that it is something that a bit of work with some fine stones and/or some usage would quickly remedy. The Model 1892 is the Winchester that you see in almost all of the old cowboy movies and tv shows. It was the model used by Chuck Conners in "The Rifleman" and by John Wayne in I don't know how many films. It is a John Browning design, as were all of the later Winchester lever actions.
 
ive got a bunch of winchester lever actions including a break down 55 and a pistol grip 64. the trapper carbine is to weak in my opinion. the timber carbine (top in picture) is only 2 inches longer and you can get it in eather .444 marlin or .450 marlin, both rounds will drop LARGE game never the less a punk trying to get in to your daughters bed room.
20821402012.jpg

http://www.winchesterguns.com/prodinfo/catalog/images/534105l.jpg
 
my trapper 44 has served me well... its several years old and so far so good though I don't have mega rounds through it... I have ideas of using it as a house gun too but the ak or 16 inch ar are about as short and a bit more power... the trapper would definately be more politically correct and I would not really feel undergunned with it. I feel it would be a great truck gun for camp areas and such because it is more of a traditional "woods gun" remember common sense and LE, the general public and the media are not always on the same page.
 
Geraldo said:
I would recommend a Beretta Storm in 9mm. You can use 15 or 20 round mags, mount optics, and more importantly, mount a light so you can ID your target.
Click to expand...

Man I loved to shoot the Berretta Storm. Short, Low recoil, semiauto, and lots of ammo. It was definately easy to shoot.

Don't know how close you are to your neighboors but over penatration is a concern with any handgun ammo. Misses can and will escape the house. Take a look at some of the popular frangible rounds like Magsafe. These should feed fine in a lever action.

For all the Shotgunnners, It is easy to miss inside a house and the pattern does not open up as much as you think. Walk around your home and find the longest possible shot then shoot your shotgun at that distance. Also find the distance to your bedroom door to where your shotgun lies and shoot at that distance.

I have seen many a missed shots at 30 feet from the shotgun on stationary falling steel.

Badge54
 
I'll kick in with what limited words of wisdom I have. Simply put: Stay with the Marlin. I've had both, Marlin was more dependable, accurate, and sturdy. My Windchester .45 Colt Trapper on the other hand wound up with a busted part in the feed mechanism before I got my first shot off with it. (loading ramp as I recall?) It's also MUCH MUCH easier to short stroke than the Marlin. It's quite easy to bring up an empty chamber that goes "click" or to not eject a shell entirely and then tangle up the gun.

The ONLY thing I think Windchester has to offer over the Marlin 1894 is they use a thumb safety rather than a Crossbolt. But...as has already been pointed out the Crossbolt safeties come out easily enough.

All that being said I think a lever rifle is a damn sound choice for home protection, especially if you're in a suburban area. (There's currently a Marlin 1895 45/70 beside my bed) :D
 
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