Thoughts on Lever Action

[rewiltshire]

Somebody mentioned that this was a "Long Range" forum. Well I shoot out to 1200 yards, with open sights and seem to be able to "hit steel". I shoot a 1863 Rolling block and a 1874 Sharps - Black Powder. Both have soule type tang sights. So I don't think you need these new fancy dancy thummper cartridges and high dollar glass to enjoy "Long Range". Just the desire. To each their own. The avatar is me shooting Quigley. Want to try 315 yards offhand with a heavy 32" barrel?
But I still think this is one of the best forums out there and do pick up a lot of good information. Plus they let me beat my gums every so often! And there is no such thing as a dumb question here, lot of smart people here. Me NOT included.

 

[VTbluegrass]

Get a Marlin and if you can find a pre-crossbolt safety gun. Mainly because usually those older guns have nicer wood. I still hunt a time or two each year with my '68 Marlin 336 in 35 Rem.

 

[Pete H]

I have both in 30-30, good shooters. I do prefer the Marlin, only because I don't have to worry about scratching it...

 

[Arkansasdad]

I am considering picking up a lever action. This would not be a go-to hunting rifle, and certainly not a long range gun.
I might not even scope it.

I'd be interested in thoughts on Winchester 1894s, especially any pros- and-cons of pre-and post '64. This would be a plinker and maybe a truck gun, so not really interested in a pristine 120 year old gun for $3000++. I would not mind such a gun as a collector some day, just not today.

Others in the mix might be Marlin 336 or any of the Henrys.

Caliber-wise, I'm thinking either .30-30, for price of ammo and availability, or possibly .44 Magnum, in which case I'd have a revolver and short duty rifle that shot the same ammo.

I'd appreciate any thoughts on these choices, namely does one stand out as generally holding up better, or having a smoother cycling action, better iron sights, etc.

I've not shot lever actions much. My Dad's Henry Golden Boy in .45 LC, and a friend's .45-70, long ago. That's about it.

You can buy just about any caliber you want in a Browning, I have several and the lock-up is good and they are very accurate, on par with bolt guns. I have a 30-06 that shoots sub MOA.

 

[ofbandg]

I have had a number of Marlins and liked them all except for the pistol grips. I now have a .44 Mag Stainless Marlin made pre-Remington with a Skinner rear sight and a fibre optic front. I am going to keep this one because I use it as my off-season hiking rig. It will flatten anything that wants to give me trouble except maybe the big costal bears. It is quick and light and carries well. The only problems I ever had with it were the needless safety that came with it which I de-activated and hand loading some flat nosed cast bullets that would hang up when feeding. Otherwise I carry it with a great deal of confidence. I have had Winchesters both pre and post 64 and they carry very well and shoot OK but my all time favourite for a hunting lever action is a Savage 99 in .300 Savage, particularly one made in the late 50's or early 60's when all the work was still done by hand but they came drilled and tapped for a scope. A 1-4X Leupold works perfectly on them for shooting out to 300 yards.

 

[ILVTOHT]

I am considering picking up a lever action. This would not be a go-to hunting rifle, and certainly not a long range gun.
I might not even scope it.

I'd be interested in thoughts on Winchester 1894s, especially any pros- and-cons of pre-and post '64. This would be a plinker and maybe a truck gun, so not really interested in a pristine 120 year old gun for $3000++. I would not mind such a gun as a collector some day, just not today.

Others in the mix might be Marlin 336 or any of the Henrys.

Caliber-wise, I'm thinking either .30-30, for price of ammo and availability, or possibly .44 Magnum, in which case I'd have a revolver and short duty rifle that shot the same ammo.

I'd appreciate any thoughts on these choices, namely does one stand out as generally holding up better, or having a smoother cycling action, better iron sights, etc.

I've not shot lever actions much. My Dad's Henry Golden Boy in .45 LC, and a friend's .45-70, long ago. That's about it.

This is what I have...

 

[Len Backus]

I was raised in the Northeast with typical 50-100 yard shots on whitetail. The fast handling lever rifles were made for this type of hunting. I have owned and used the Marlin 336, Winchester 94, and Savage 99, My personal favorite was the pre-64 Model 94 In 30-30. Surely, it's personal preference, but the balance, feel, and shoot-ability of my pre-64 was absent to me with the other rifles, including the post 64 Winchester's with it's different balance due to the lighter steel stampings. The milled steel components of the pre-64 not only supports the perfect balance, but its timeless beauty as well. IMO.

Greyfox

My first whitetail deer rifle was a Marlin 336 in .35 Remington. I reloaded for it using a Lee Loader.

I was about 18 or 19 years old and lived in Wisconsin.

I remember my first buck kill with it. I field dressed the deer and carried it out of the woods on my shoulders.

Oh...to be young and stupid again!

 

[jpndave]

I have several Leverguns and the older I get the more I appreciate them.

Winchester 94 pre64 in 30-30. What more can you say about this, pretty much "the" levergun. That said, I am considering selling it with the aquisition of my Marlin as it just sits in the safe. Has a flip up tang peep and is fun to shoot. As I get older my eyes are much better with optics and the 94 is not easy to scope. My brother has a post 64 pre safety and compared to the pre 64 it is garbage. The pre 64 is silky smooth as apposed to gravel and rocks on the post action.

Marlin 1895 in 45-70, LOVE this rifle. It's the dinosaur/Wind River rifle and just super fun to shoot with traditional trapdoor pressure loads. It really likes the 325 Hornady FTX tipped bullets loaded hot but you feel those a bit more, will cloverleaf those at 100yds. Do you "need" a 45-70 unless you are after dangerous game? Well no, but when has that stopped anything? Seriously it is just a great rifle and everyone loves it and recognizes it. Shoot lighter bullets for smaller stuff and you can always go heavy if you need it.

Several Browing BLR Takedown in 243, 308, 325 WSM and building a 6 Creedmoor. These are really cool too. Unique actions, take a scope well, pack down incredibly, frustrating trigger. Neat rifles. I have shot a 270 and 223 as well. They are not going to be as accurate as a nice bolt gun for a variety of reasons but are a really cool unique rifle and very handy. Because of the box magazine they can take modern bullets that are better at distance as well as full pressure with the rotary lock-up.

 

[ILVTOHT]

This is what I have...

 

[sturner]

45/70 is for Lions And Tigers and Bears and the dreaded oh mys

 

[jpndave]

As to Henry, because of an experience a good friend had with two of their 22LR version, I won't buy one of their rifles. He has two that are sequential serial numbers and one of the two is double drilled in the bore an inch or so from the muzzle, then rifled over it. It looks like the bore drilling was started crooked, then backed up, restarted correctly and then rifled. I have never seen anything like it but the rifling goes past/over the drilling, obviously came that way. How that gets past QC I have no idea. But then Henry blamed him for the problem saying he had done it and refused to back it. I have shot the rifle and it keyholes at like 50ft. It is the nicest horrible shooting rifle I have ever seen/shot. He uses it to demonstrate in hunter's ed classes and one of the managers at a local facility. How is that for positive press for Henry? Aside from them hosing a friend, they are nice rifles and prior to that I had brought in Golden boys and others for several guys with positive results.

 

[5.56×250]

Ive never owned a centerfire lever gun, but i did have a straight stocked, 20" marlin 39 for a little while during my rimfire addiction days.
Growing up in the south, i have handled and fired alot of levers. I sold guns for 14 years too. This is what ive gathered over the years....the winchester 94 is the ak47 of the lever world. Its loose and reliable. Surprisingly, the only one i ever fired off a bench shot really well. It was a commemorative long barreled 30-30 and it shot nice little 1/2 inch 5 shot groups at 50 yards, crooked, sideways junk scope and all.
The marlin is like a quality bolt gun in its smooth, tight lever throw. Only shot one of those off a bench, well, a car roof, at 100 yards . It was a 35 marlin and it shot acceptable for a short range caliber at that range with whatever the guy had for ammo, remington corlock 200s i think. Shot about 1 3/4 - 2" 3 shot groups. Great rifle.
The wild card and probably the most capable would be the browning design lever with a rotating bolt head and clip feed. Henry is making a version of that design now too. Its avaliable in some potent medium range calibers . I know at different times the browning could be had in 243 , 7mm08, 308, 358 in the short action. The long action was avaliable in 270, 30 06, 7mm rem mag, and 300 win mag. These levers have alot of potential, accuracy wise. They feel like junk when you throw the lever, but the throw is very short and quick for follow ups. Never fired one of these, but ive handled probably 20 of them in short and long actions. If i expected shots past 200 yards, this would be my go to lever gun. For a nice rifle to scope in a traditional lever, the marlin gets my nod, especially if you can find a 308 marlin . I heard really good reports on that one. For the unscoped throw in the floorboard lever , the ol winchester has all the old west feel and toughness you need, if your wanting to summon up your cowboy nostalgia mindset.
Thr henrys dont measure up in my mind to thr quality of the others ive mentioned, but they are made by a smaller company in the USA, if thats important in your selection .
Hope this helps

Side bar......the henry that is on the browning design has had great accuracy reviews . I cant give any feedback on how that gun feels. It came out after i left the sporting goods business in 2010.

 

[436]

I am considering picking up a lever action. This would not be a go-to hunting rifle, and certainly not a long range gun.
I might not even scope it.

I'd be interested in thoughts on Winchester 1894s, especially any pros- and-cons of pre-and post '64. This would be a plinker and maybe a truck gun, so not really interested in a pristine 120 year old gun for $3000++. I would not mind such a gun as a collector some day, just not today.

Others in the mix might be Marlin 336 or any of the Henrys.

Caliber-wise, I'm thinking either .30-30, for price of ammo and availability, or possibly .44 Magnum, in which case I'd have a revolver and short duty rifle that shot the same ammo.

I'd appreciate any thoughts on these choices, namely does one stand out as generally holding up better, or having a smoother cycling action, better iron sights, etc.

I've not shot lever actions much. My Dad's Henry Golden Boy in .45 LC, and a friend's .45-70, long ago. That's about it.

As a big lever guy fan my s70's Marlin 444's in .444 Rem do just about anything I need, however I also have a s70"s Winchesteer 1894 in .44 magnum a rifle I've killed many whitetial with and love it, but then I really like lever rifles. My Winchetser 1894 (1942) in .30 WCF I killed my bigegst Idaho whitetail with. I found over the years that the .444 Remington to .30-30 Win pretty much gets the job do

I am considering picking up a lever action. This would not be a go-to hunting rifle, and certainly not a long range gun.
I might not even scope it.

I'd be interested in thoughts on Winchester 1894s, especially any pros- and-cons of pre-and post '64. This would be a plinker and maybe a truck gun, so not really interested in a pristine 120 year old gun for $3000++. I would not mind such a gun as a collector some day, just not today.

Others in the mix might be Marlin 336 or any of the Henrys.

Caliber-wise, I'm thinking either .30-30, for price of ammo and availability, or possibly .44 Magnum, in which case I'd have a revolver and short duty rifle that shot the same ammo.

I'd appreciate any thoughts on these choices, namely does one stand out as generally holding up better, or having a smoother cycling action, better iron sights, etc.

I've not shot lever actions much. My Dad's Henry Golden Boy in .45 LC, and a friend's .45-70, long ago. That's about it.

As a big lever guy fan my s70's Marlin 444's in .444 Rem does just about anything I need, however, I also have an s70"s Winchester 1894 in .44 magnum a rifle I've killed many whitetails with and love it, but then I really like lever rifles. My Winchester 1894 (1942) in .30 WCF I killed my biggest Idaho whitetail with. I found over the years that the .444 Remington., .44 Mag to .30-30 Win pretty much gets the job done anywhere I've hunted over the years in lever gun country.

I am considering picking up a lever action. This would not be a go-to hunting rifle, and certainly not a long range gun.
I might not even scope it.

I'd be interested in thoughts on Winchester 1894s, especially any pros- and-cons of pre-and post '64. This would be a plinker and maybe a truck gun, so not really interested in a pristine 120 year old gun for $3000++. I would not mind such a gun as a collector some day, just not today.

Others in the mix might be Marlin 336 or any of the Henrys.

Caliber-wise, I'm thinking either .30-30, for price of ammo and availability, or possibly .44 Magnum, in which case I'd have a revolver and short duty rifle that shot the same ammo.

I'd appreciate any thoughts on these choices, namely does one stand out as generally holding up better, or having a smoother cycling action, better iron sights, etc.

I've not shot lever actions much. My Dad's Henry Golden Boy in .45 LC, and a friend's .45-70, long ago. That's about it.

As a big lever guy fan my s70's Marlin 444's in .444 Rem does just about anything I need, however, I also have an s70"s Winchester 1894 in .44 magnum a rifle I've killed many whitetails with and love it, but then I really like lever rifles. My Winchester 1894 (1942) in .30 WCF I killed my biggest Idaho whitetail with. I found over the years that the .444 Remington., .44 Mag to .30-30 Win pretty much gets the job done anywhere I've hunted over the years in lever gun country. I forgot to put the other Marlin 444 Sport in the line up.

 

[Tom Erickson]

If your just looking for a fun gun I bought a Henry. 17hmr. It's a fun little lever. Have fun with long range small game hunting.