lever gun prices skyrocket

[racepres]

Heck!!! I wonder what the price of Trombone actions is doing...I like 'em!!!

[Hondolane]

This was my first thought as well. But then I got to wondering. If so, then why wouldn't the cost of bolt rifles rise as much as the lever rifles? Lever rifles seem to have increased about 200% in a decade, while bolt rifles appear to have increased maybe 50-75%? It would seem bolt actions would be the logical choice for the casual gun owner, and lessen the demand for lever guns which would pull their prices back in line. Perhaps just the fact that there are more companies making bolt action rifles is keeping their price down? It makes my brain hurt.

More people want to be cowboys with lever guns than hunters with bolt actions.

[barnetmill]

This was my first thought as well. But then I got to wondering. If so, then why wouldn't the cost of bolt rifles rise as much as the lever rifles? Lever rifles seem to have increased about 200% in a decade, while bolt rifles appear to have increased maybe 50-75%? It would seem bolt actions would be the logical choice for the casual gun owner, and lessen the demand for lever guns which would pull their prices back in line. Perhaps just the fact that there are more companies making bolt action rifles is keeping their price down? It makes my brain hurt.

You are probably not too much into urban combat weapons. For a long time people have set up lever guns for combat in restrictive area relative to semiauto rifles. Lever guns fire faster and the 30-30, .357, .44 mag, or hot loaded .45 are excellent mankillers from a carbine at combat differences. The draw back is that they are slower to reload, but if they use sidegate loading can be reloaded as you shoot it empty.
Now there are also some pump action rifle that have off and on been offered that use detachable magazines. I would want one of these.
Remington 7615P Pump-Action Rifle

[Soundguy]

What do you guys think is driving it? (I mean, obviously supply and demand, but what is the underlying reason?)

I think it is because of ever changing gun laws and restrictions. Look at what guns the govt likes to pick on as categories:
Semi auto Handguns, and very rarely a DA revolver or two.
AR style any platform.
Shotgun-like 'firearms'.

What don't you see?
Boltguns, break open singles and doubles, and lever guns and revolvers, especially SA style with no swing out cylinder and a loading gate.
Singles are usually ( not always ) cheaper entry guns. Lots of hunting imho gets done with bolts and levers. Many find levers a hair more fluid to use, even if you are slightly caliber limited on the rifle caliber stuff... However you make that up with pistol calibers. Not many boltguns in 44mag, 45 colt, 357 mag..etc.. But for those that like to carry 1 caliber when 2 gun hunting... A 44 wheelguns and lever gun..or 45 or 357 can be nice.

Gun grabber agencies lump single action revolvers and lever guns into the low priority basket...

Now..because of that... Some people may focus on those. I've heard a couple or 3 at a Gun show before discussing what they were going to buy based on where they lived and the laws that might change..and they talked themselves out of high priority style guns like AR and high capacity handguns in favor of things like levers, break opens or SA handguns based on their idea that ' those won't get banned', etc.

[winelover]

June 2023 issue of G&A has article on the recent reintroduction of the Marlin 336 made by Ruger. MSRP is $950, real world price should be under that.

Winelover

[indian joe]

what is behind the illegality of short barreled rifles / shotguns in the US ??
longarms are legal - pistols are everywhere yet a cut down rifle or shotgun will get you in jail ? makes no sense at all to an Aussie
we not allowed to have em either but we also subject to a pistol ban so its a little more logical here ?????

[FergusonTO35]

You are probably not too much into urban combat weapons. For a long time people have set up lever guns for combat in restrictive area relative to semiauto rifles. Lever guns fire faster and the 30-30, .357, .44 mag, or hot loaded .45 are excellent mankillers from a carbine at combat differences. The draw back is that they are slower to reload, but if they use sidegate loading can be reloaded as you shoot it empty.
Now there are also some pump action rifle that have off and on been offered that use detachable magazines. I would want one of these.
Remington 7615P Pump-Action Rifle

I have a Ruger American Ranch 5.56 with Nodak Spud sights, and I would take it over any AR carbine out there. My humble opinion, the lack of autoloading feature is not much of a handicap. Seems like it causes people (especially cops) to just spray rounds and endanger others. Now, I enjoy my AR's and don't support them being banned or anything just to be clear.

[openbook]

Just a plug for alexanderkidd's Marlin 1895 for sale over in swappin' and sellin'. He's down to $900 on this gun, which comes fitted with an aperture sight and he says has had only about 200 rounds through it.

I just thought of this thread when I was taking a look at his post--Now there's a nice 1895 for under $1000! The peep sight I'm guessing would cost you another $50-$150 installed. For anyone looking to get into an 1895, could be worth a look. But go quick because he's almost done with this offer.

https://castboolits.gunloads.com/sho...S-Marlin-1895G

[georgerkahn]

ive visited a few gun shops in past week just to see whats what. there was a big gun show in Knoxville last weekend and the least expensive lever gun was $1000
thats for a post 64 30-30 winchester that was a shooter for sure.
at one of the gun shops I saw a little handgun I would not mind having and asked if they might want to take a trade. when I suggested maybe a marlin 30-30 the guy behind the counter got very excited and started making me offers well north of $500 without even seeing the gun. then. a little looking on gun broker the prices are way up there for everything I looked at in marlins and winchesters.
has anyone noticed this in your area?

Funny that a LGS -- which normally has a few levers (notably '94 Winnies and 334 Marlins) had NONE when I visited a week or two ago. Dealer/owner suggested -- I had inquired if he recalled who had purchased a Marlin I had been eye-balling -- bion a young fellow made the purchase. He offered that with ALL the new gun (anti-gun ) laws banning "assault rifles" and some/many semi-s, the lever action remains, in many a folks mind, as perhaps the LAST action type to be banned. He seems to remember the kid who purchased that Marlin voicing it be better to have a lever action rifle, than NO rifle (after government takes all other actions away!) at all.
Maybe...maybe not. Sadly, though, there is some logic to this way of thinking.
geo

[GregLaROCHE]

We’ve entered into a period of high inflation. I don’t think it’s particularly lever guns. All guns and supplies, as well as everything else, is costing more and more.

[Electrod47]

I think everybody is pretty much gunned up these days. . Heck, I'm 76 years old and I still own 2 AR's 5.56& 7.62. and hunt with them regular. My original deer rig was a Model 94 30/30. When I got my first adult serious hunting rig I had to have and purchased a Savage 99 in .308.
So yeah I am partial for lever actions, though admittedly they aren't the perfect choice in this day and age. My point is folks have got everything else, might as well add a lever action to the stable. Henry has built a huge company and following from from just that. With the recent figures on new shooters, its no surprise all the levers in pawn shops has gotten scooped up. Just when most manufacturers had fled the business.

[jgstrug]

When a salesman can look you in the face and say this pickup is worth 100,000$ we are living in a broken economy and everything is effected.

Sent from my SM-S906U using Tapatalk

[GregLaROCHE]

The price of gold never changes. Only the value of money.

[truckjohn]

What do you guys think is driving it? (I mean, obviously supply and demand, but what is the underlying reason?)

For the most part, they are exempt from magazine restrictions and assault weapons bans.

Hunting. They are a very good choice in places where semi-auto rifles are restricted. They give you a very good choice for a repeater where straight walled or pistol caliber rifles are required/popular. With the death of the Remington 7400 series, there really aren't semi-auto hunting rifles outside of the AR family and the BAR. The lever action is the obvious next choice.

Also panic buying.

Also, most lever actions shoot lower power cartridges and that's appealing to a lot of people.

[rondog]

Glad I loaded up on things when I did.

[FergusonTO35]

Lever actions come in a wide variety of calibers, second only to bolt actions. With AR's and AK's, anything other than 5.56, 7.62x39, .300 BO, 9mm, or .308 is a custom job that can easily cost more than a really nice lever action. I think the main reason AR's are cheap is simply economy of scale and so many small firms slapping them together. If there were only a handful of firms producing them as is the case for lever actions then AR's would be just as pricey if not more so. When I was a kid, on the odd chance that a shop had any sort of AR in stock it was around $500.00 for a Colt, a little bit less for a Bushmaster. That's around $1400 today.

[TyGuy]

I’m surprised no one has mentioned (perhaps I skimmed over it) the rise in suppressor usage. People are realizing lever guns make great suppressor hosts.

[Soundguy]

I don't think I've ever seen a lever gun with a suppressor I'm not even sure how any of mine would work with the tube under the barrel setting at the same distance as the barrel.. or the 1860.. for sure wouldn't work there..

[Hondolane]

It concerns me that gun owners purchase guns they feel won't be confiscated. That's a strange mindset as a free people.

[TyGuy]

I don't think I've ever seen a lever gun with a suppressor I'm not even sure how any of mine would work with the tube under the barrel setting at the same distance as the barrel.. or the 1860.. for sure wouldn't work there..

Typically the magazine tube is shortened (if necessary) and the front sight moved back. Works best with side gate rifles as you have to remove the suppressor to load a tube-loaded one. They can be very quiet with subsonics.