Lever Action?

[theLBC]

i love my dad's old winchester model 88 (.308), despite a pretty bad trigger.
4 rd oem mags can be expensive, but you can also get 10 rd aftermarket ones.
tbh, not something i would want to shoot all day without a buttpad.

[Ki6vsm]

Thought about going with the 1894, but decided to go big bore. Going to get my butt kicked

I chose my 1894 .44 mag over the .357 model back in 2002 because I guess I was suffering from "guide-gun envy". LOL I did not want a .45-70 lever gun, but I did want something with a bit of thump. Looking back I kinda I wish I'd gone for the .357 model when I was shopping at Big-5. It was only $300 at the time.

[tokuno]

Side gate

I have a Rossi 92 in 357 and it has been a great gun. It eats everything and is plenty accurate. Inexpensive gun, and 38 is cheap.

[Carcassonne]

I am considering picking up a lever action rifle. Always rather liked these, but a few questions, which are no doubt somewhat naive...

1) Opinions on home self defense weapon? Seems like the compact size, decent mag capacity (varies), rapid cocking, and wide range of cartridges available could make it fairly formidable. I don't know about potential jamming, but perhaps less chance of that vs a semi-auto? Also, it is not compromised in any way (so far) vs an AR type, under CA laws.

I don't think there is less chance of jamming with a lever compared to a properly designed and manufactured semi-auto. Short-stroking the lever will cause jams. Cartridge overall-length and bullet shape can also cause jams. Shorter cartridges and semi-wadcutters will jam more.

2) The gun appears lightweight, with no cushioned butt pad on many lever actions I see, so expect recoil to be heavy (depending on cartridge). Comments welcome.

I had a 24" barreled 44 Mag Rossi. There wasn't much recoil. There would probably be more with a 16" barrel.

3) When it comes to accuracy who makes the best? Marlin, Henry, etc..? Does anyone make aftermarket octagonal barrels? Can they be changed out by a gunsmith?

Marlin used to be the best before Remington bought them out. Now I do not know. Rossi is OK, but they are not tack-drivers. Do not bother changing out the barrel. If you want a different barrel on the gun, buy a gun with that barrel on it.

4) Is the lever design inherently accurate? Some have hammers, some do not...as I understand it. Pros and cons.

Yes and no. If made properly, they are very accurate/precise, but you will never see one (win) at a bench rest competition. As far as I know, they all have hammers.

I was thinking of something using a 357/38 Special round or 44 Mag/44 Special. Probably with some sort of optics as my eyesight is no longer great.

Thanks,

Phil

[mafbloggerdanny]

I recently picked up a Marlin 1895 .45-70 from a fellow calgunner who made me a pretty good deal on a big loop GBL 6 rd tube blued finish.

Before decided if I even wanted a lever gun, i went to my local Sportsman's Warehouse and I tried out several different models from regular and big loop, straight stock or pistol grip stock and I personally found the regular size loop marlins to be clunky and uncomfortable. For some reason it's just too hard to sweep the lever open on those guns, maybe it's the size of the loop or maybe it's something about the bolts being tight or needing lube or something.

Another annoyance I had with them was sometimes the loop didn't want to shut all the way. There is a tiny little tab that sticks out from the bottom of the stock, the loop must be closed enough to make contact with that tab, but I noticed that with the normal loop models I was sampling, sometimes the little tab wouldn't click in, and it would actually push the loop back open unless you really close it with some authority.

When I tried the CSBL model, I fell in love with it immediately. It was so pretty and smooth and opened up like butter when you work that loop. I noticed the bolt on the CSBL has extra cuts in it that other models don't have, probably helps with making that bolt open so smoothly. I had none of the annoying issues I felt with the other Marlins I was trying. It just felt GOOD. As much as I wanted the CSBL, the price was just too much so I ended up getting just a regular 1895 with big loop. But if you can afford it I think the CSBL is the nicest Marlin and I would love to have one.

I was a little bit worried about the recoil but I was reassured by others that it's more of a push than a kick. After shooting it for the first time this weekend I am happy to report that, at least with regular commercial loads that I was using (neither cowboy loads, nor hot buffalo loads) it's true the recoil isn't bad at all.

I blew up some watermelons at about 35 yards and the blast was so big I had pieces landing at my feet. In other words the .45-70 is F***ing fun to shoot!

I love mine. I do wish more companies made parts for these though, I would love to find someone who makes a replacement stock that could adjust the length of pull, because I would like to have it a bit more compact.

[SigSauerP226]

I chose my 1894 .44 mag over the .357 model back in 2002 because I guess I was suffering from "guide-gun envy". LOL I did not want a .45-70 lever gun, but I did want something with a bit of thump. Looking back I kinda I wish I'd gone for the .357 model when I was shopping at Big-5. It was only $300 at the time.

Dang $300 would be nice, but I guess that was almost 20 years ago. Never too late to get that .357

[Alamedak9]

45-70.....609 grains of knockemontheirass 😁😁

[Ki6vsm]

Dang $300 would be nice, but I guess that was almost 20 years ago. Never too late to get that .357

Yeah. It was also at a time when Walmart's shelves were full of 100-rnd boxes of Winchester 9mm for $11.00. And 50-rnd boxes of 45-Auto for the same price. But those days are long gone.

Lever guns are really neat, and not yet on the "Threatened" Species list, if you know what I mean. But I don't need another one. I have the .44 and also an old (ca. 1967) .22LR 39A Mountie in my safe, and between my ARs and a couple of bolt guns the two levers don't get enough use as it is. Getting a third one to have it sit there would just be sad.

[SigSauerP226]

45-70.....609 grains of knockemontheirass ����

Holy crap, I haven't seen any 609gr .45-70 in my search. I'll try my 325gr Hornady rounds first...

Yeah. It was also at a time when Walmart's shelves were full of 100-rnd boxes of Winchester 9mm for $11.00. And 50-rnd boxes of 45-Auto for the same price. But those days are long gone.

Lever guns are really neat, and not yet on the "Threatened" Species list, if you know what I mean. But I don't need another one. I have the .44 and also an old (ca. 1967) .22LR 39A Mountie in my safe, and between my ARs and a couple of bolt guns the two levers don't get enough use as it is. Getting a third one to have it sit there would just be sad.

Ya I know what you mean. I was going through ebs and flows where I would buy a couple guns and then later sell a couple guns because I don't NEED them. Now I think long and hard about what need the gun fills and pretty much just want 1 of each.

[smittty]

Any of the Miroku made Winchester’s are going to be heirloom quality. If you have the cash you won’t be disappointed. There’s a 357 mag model 92 in the for sale forum for $750 in San Diego. It would be good buy imo.

Marlin is arguably a better design, however, it’s never been as pretty of a rifle. The newest marlins are supposedly getting better but if you buy one make sure your ffl agrees to doing the boxing and shipping because shipping guns today is a pita!

Henry is not in the same class in terms of design. I personally have never felt “wowed” when shouldering one. They need a to hire an ergonomics engineer or copy Winchester or marlin more closely.

Mossberg 464 is an improved copy of the Winchester 94 and it’s a good copy. Mine is impressively accurate with peep sights, more so than any Winchester I ever owned. It’s a high value gun if you’re looking for 30-30 levergun.

My favorite and I believe them to be the best functioning, are the earlier Marlins before they added the cross bolt safety. Those also have the best metal to metal, wood to metal fit, it was their best work!

Rossi’s are good for $500 or less but many are cartridge length specific, regardless what’s stamped on the barrel.

Good luck with your search,

[NapalmCheese]

The Winchesters are top eject so no optic can be easily mounted on top of the receiver.

Marlins eject out the side. Winchester and their clones eject out the top.

Hasn't every Winchester levergun made since the mid 80's or so been an angle eject and therefore not a problem to put a scope on?

[Unsilenced]

I am considering picking up a lever action rifle. Always rather liked these, but a few questions, which are no doubt somewhat naive...

1) Opinions on home self defense weapon? Seems like the compact size, decent mag capacity (varies), rapid cocking, and wide range of cartridges available could make it fairly formidable. I don't know about potential jamming, but perhaps less chance of that vs a semi-auto? Also, it is not compromised in any way (so far) vs an AR type, under CA laws.

2) The gun appears lightweight, with no cushioned butt pad on many lever actions I see, so expect recoil to be heavy (depending on cartridge). Comments welcome.

3) When it comes to accuracy who makes the best? Marlin, Henry, etc..? Does anyone make aftermarket octagonal barrels? Can they be changed out by a gunsmith?

4) Is the lever design inherently accurate? Some have hammers, some do not...as I understand it. Pros and cons.

I was thinking of something using a 357/38 Special round or 44 Mag/44 Special. Probably with some sort of optics as my eyesight is no longer great.

Thanks,

Phil

1) Well, it's not going to be as fast as a semi auto, but you can have 11 (or more) rounds of .357 or .44 magnum pretty dang fast if you know what you're doing. If you know what you're doing, you're also unlikely to have any reliability issues with the right ammo. They are however prone to user error in a way semi-autos aren't, so keep that in mind.

2) A .38 special lever gun feels to me kind of in the same class as maybe a .223, perhaps a little heavier. With .44 magnum you're going to know you're shooting a rifle, but it's still not heavy. Never shot a .30-30 but pretty close to a full sized rifle cartridge in power, and then there's .45-70, which is going to kick hard, no doubt.

3) With a few exceptions, leverguns are going to be fairly similar in terms of accuracy. They're fast guns, not precision guns. This is especially true of pistol cartridge guns, inherently limited by their rounds. For home defense and they were designed to be shot though (that is to say, quickly while standing or on horseback) they're plenty accurate.

4) Never heard of a lever action design without a hammer. I'm almost curious now. Lever gun designs are not inherently accurate. Aside from the use of pistol calibers, they also typically can't/don't have free floated barrels because of the way the tube attaches. They're plenty accurate for hunting or defense, but people don't win bench rest competitions with any of them.

Personally would go for .357. It's going to be going very fast out of that barrel, and you'll have very little recoil.

For sights, there's always options

That's a Marlin 1894, which imo isn't a bad option. It's not especially historical, but that doesn't seem to be your interest, and while Marlin had some serious QC issues when they were first bought out, everything I've seen from them recently has been acceptable.

You could also wait until Henry starts coming out with side loaders in pistol calibers. Then you can have the best of both worlds, loading wise. Probably what I would do actually, were I in the market for a pistol caliber lever gun.

[Jimi Jah]

Ghost ring or a red dot work fine for us older guys with eye issues.

I wasted ammo for a year before I put a Leupold on my Henry. Now I hit stuff.

[Revhendo]

Hey, just wanted to let y'all know how much you suck.
Pictures of my new to me pre-64 model 94 in ten days....

[greyfell]

I have a Chiappa 1892 Winchester .357/.38, 24-inch octagonal. Pretty long for HD; 16 or 20 inch would be better. I love the virtually recoil-less shooting, and shooting .38 almost allows you to forego hearing protection.