When Charlie's In The Wire: Lever Action For Self Defense

Letters Re:
Mr Creekmore:
Growing up in the Southern U.S. it seemed like just about every home in the area had a lever action .30-30 hanging up over the door or on the bedroom wall. Come deer season, the local hunters would put on their orange vests and hang that old trusty lever action .30-30 in the gun rack in back of the pick-up window. It's hard to think of a time when the .30-30 lever action hasn't been regarded as the American hunting, rife at least in the south. What do you think of the lever action .30-30 in the role of a survival defensive rifle? Thank you for your time. - Blazer in Alabama

My Two Cents: I would not feel the least bit under or out gunned with armed with the lever action .30-30. It is the standard lever action cartridge and will serve you well. If you live in a rural area, you can't .30-30 cartridge for versatility. It is accurate and powerful out to 100 yards, and plenty of deer have been taken at ranges much farther than the 100 yard mark. Any retailer who carries ammo will stock .30-30 rounds as well as .38 spl., .22lr and 12 gauge shot shells. Buying a box or two of ammo every week is an easy way to stock up, if you are concerned about drawing attention to your purchases it is a simple matter to make them at a different location each time, starting over when you run out of local retail outlets.

Speaking of defense, which gun would you rather have the prosecutor show the jury if your home defense shooting goes to trial? An "Evil”, Black Assault Rifle, AK-47 or a familiar gun carried by childhood cowboy heroes? What I like most about a lever rifle is that you can top off the tubular mag without opening the action or removing the mag, this way you avoid leaving yourself open to an attacker while you reload.

The best survival or defensive weapon is the one you have. Skill is of more importance then action type or caliber. Practice and become skilled with your basic weapon and you will be more than a match for any punk who happens to show up in your territory. M.D.C."

Aside from the Evil Assault Rifle reference...listen, if you live in a place where an otherwise good shoot is frowned upon because of your choice of defensive weapon then you've a lot more to be afraid and ashamed of than some commie prosecutor...I agree that a good lever action is a great self defense firearm.

What makes AR-types so popular is the relative ease of handling and timely proficiency. Sort of like the difference between teaching a man to shoot a longbow versus a crossbow. Using my favorite lever gun I'm almost as fast and just as accurate out to reasonable self-defense distances as with an EBR, and the Lever has the advantage of employing a genuine fight-stopper as opposed to shoot Hi-Com then shoot again.

If elements of the NVA 5th and 6th Regiments are lobbing in mortar rounds then all bets are off because I'll need the cyclic rate of fire from an EBR, but presuming that Fort Fits won't be heavily assaulted there is no reason to shun a 30-30.