Define the word "Trapper"

[Bigahh]

In Lever Gun language what does the word "30-30 Trapper" actually mean? I was told today at my local gun shop any 30-30 regardless of make a 30-30 with a barrel less than 20". This can mean a Marlin also. Is this a true statement? Did Marlin ever make a 30-30 trapper?

[Grizzly Adams]

Well, why not! A carbine in general has a barrel length of 19-20 inches. A Trapper is a carbine with a barrel shorter than 18 inches. When I think of Trapper it means a carbine with no more than 16.5 inches.

This stuff gets strange, as I often hear shooters refer to short rifles having 20 inch barrels as carbines, or even Trappers.

[Pete44ru]

Trapper: One who traps something, generally accepted to mean fur-bearing animals, but also to pest, fishes, birds & whatever.

"Trapper" carbine: Generally accepted, over time, to refer to a short-barreled firearm carried by the person trapping animals. The shortness was developed by users, then supplied by the factories, due to the need for a very compact accessory, so the user could manage well along with all the other trapping accessories/accoutrements carried, like traps, lure, wire, hatchet, etc, etc.
Early, 17th[EDIT: Ooops - 19th Century (1870's-up) meant, Sorry] Century centerfires leverguns, so referred to have had barrels as short as 12".

Most fall into the 16"-18" range, with 16" established arbitrarily by US government firearms regulations - which are not the same in other countries, where shorter lengths may be legal, and (in fact) more common.
Although done worls-wide, most trapping is associated with activities in the Western Hemisphere, most particularly the Northern half.

[Pisgah]

>Early, 17th Century centerfires leverguns, so referred to have had barrels as short as 12".

You mean like the ones the Pilgrims carried??

[Pete44ru]

Oooops ! - Thanks, Pisgah - I guess I'm having a "senior" day.

[Malamute]

And to make it even more confusing, "trapper" was not a term that Winchester ever used "back in the day". It was a term coined by collectors later on, and perhaps was a common term to some geographic areas. The same guns were called "Pancho Villa" models by those in the Mexican border states. The name "trapper" wasn't adopted as a model name by Winchester until the 1980's (or whenever they started making 16" barreled carbines again). Back in the pre-war days, when you could get about anything on special order, Winchester just considered them "special order short barrel carbines". The term "baby carbine" was more common than "trapper" for a long time, as I understand it. The short carbines were made in barrel lengths from 12" to 18" on order.


So, to answer your question "In Lever Gun language what does the word "30-30 Trapper" actually mean?", it generally refers to a carbine with a shorter than "standard" 20" barrel, mostly the 16" guns. Marlin never made a model called a "trapper, but the term can apply to Marlins as well as Winchesters.

[Jeeps]

Stubby utility weapon

[slimster]

Wasn't he the guy that invented the flushing toilet?...Oh TRAPper...sorry!

[GANJIRO]

This is how I see it give or take an inch, YMMV

22" and longer: Rifle

20": Carbine

18": Guide Gun

16" or less: Trapper

[gak]

And...among Winchesters and Winchester designs, "short rifle" generally refers to 20" barrels that are not round, i.e., octagonal, usually accompanied by a "rifle" forearm end cap instead of the carbine's typical rear barrel band (at least as originally seen on "large bore" carbines- .38-40, .44-40) and no front barrel band among the 92s (ditto orignially on large bore carbines). Oddly, the Cimarron (Armi Sport) 92 "trapper" just added this past year to their line up is not what most of us have come to think of as a trapper (16" (or shorter in the old days) round barreled carbine with front and rear barrel bands - the original "baby carbines" someone else referred to) but instead an octagon barrel "short rifle" that's been shortened further yet - to 16".