Hey Matt,
I am in Boone County. I was looking at Henry's cause they are still wood stocks. Very disappointed in the quality I see now compared to my 1956 30-30 lever action. The new ones look like toy guns.
On ammo availability.....I was at Cabelas near Chicago yesterday looking thru their ammo out front and saw no 22 Magnum rounds so I asked the guy at the desk. He had some behind the counter. He said they keep the hardest to get ammo behind the counter. Apparently, 22LR is the one they have the hardest time keeping stock. His explanation was it is one of the least expensive rounds to shoot so everybody uses them for target shooting.
Bill,
From personal experience, the newer 30-30 lever actions, particularly those that are still considered Winchester 94s, may not be built like the pre-1964s. But, they are still pretty good guns. They are built a little different. Most manufacturers moved to chemically-coated stamped-steel in the 1960s that doesn't take bluing. They have hollow vs., solid roll pins. But, they are still pretty darn rugged and solid.
A couple of years ago I got to borrow a friend's Henry classic lever action 22LR. Like the Winchester 94s, these aren't the guns of the 60s and before. But, I found it to be very well built, very rugged, and very accurate even though it was sighted for my friend's vision, and not mine. I still ended by going with a Marlin Model 60 .22 semi-auto. But, that was me wanting something nearly identical to my old JC Higgins. I love it.
By the way, we cleaned out my 92 year old father's-in-law closet last weekend. He passed away in December. I resurrected a Daisy Red Ryder that I gave him as a gift many years ago.
Don't over think this whole thing. Find something that is comfortable and that you like.
I love classic old rifles, and even a few classic handguns that are fun to look at, fun to shoot, accurate, and just plain fun. Not all do the jobs I need done. I also really don't want anything that has a clip -- too easy for my ADHD mind to lose.
I'm happy having a good 1300 fps .177 pellet air rifle for quiet squirrel/chipmunk elimination, decent 22 semi-auto center fires with tube feeds for general purpose varmint removal, lever action 30-30s for getting dinner, and 12 gauge shotguns as all around pest use. My gun safe has a number of other things, but they very seldom ever get used.
I don't know what it is like in you part of IL, but I've found a lot of really nice rifles and shotguns at farm auctions in our area. The wood may look beat up. The metal may have lost its bluing, or other coating. But, if the barrel is clean and un-rusted inside, and the mechanics work reasonably well, they can often be gotten for really good prices. Parts are still reasonably available for rifles and shotguns that are well over a 100 years old.
You just need to take an experienced friend to the sales. I've got some really wonderful old Damascus steel barrel shotguns. I no longer re-load, so I no longer dare shoot them. But, they sure are pretty. youjust have to decide on what is really useful.
Ken
