My savage 99 in 300 savage is my favorite lever. Shoots 1 1/2 to 2 inches at 100 yds. with open sights. I do also like the winchester and marlin rifles but they're not my favorites.
My savage 99 in 300 savage is my favorite lever. Shoots 1 1/2 to 2 inches at 100 yds. with open sights. I do also like the winchester and marlin rifles but they're not my favorites.
Favorite is a toss up between my M39 ('46) 22lr that is scary accurate and the 1894 41mag CCL that is a beauty and accurate. The 1895 cowboy is right behind them.
For me it's a hard choice between two Savage 1899H Takedowns, one in .303 Savage and the other in .30/30. Both loaded the same with 190 gr. FN cast @ 1900 fps. Or if I'm feeling daring, an 1899H TD in .22 HiPower shooting 70 gr. jacketed @ 2800fps. All three have been pleasant companions while guarding the trees in deer season.
16" Model 94 32WS trapper. Shoots like a 32 Special, or a 32-40, or a 32-20 depending on what I feed it. Won't shoot that "leverevolution" stuff fer sour apples, but I've got a 300 Savage if I need one, so who cares? Had more meals off a pimpy black-and-chrome Remington Nylon 76, made more venison with a BLR in .308, but the leetle trapper's WAY more fun!
mind yer topknots! windy
Of all the lever actions in the house the oldest (1930), Win 94 32 Win Spcl is the smoothest and the most accurate. I literally bought it in a coffee can, the barrel and stock were handed to me at the auction and the innards in the can, I also bought the case of ammo that went with it.
Only one other guy bid and he dropped out after I went up to $50. Another 125 at my Smith and it was blued and put back together, a year later he put aperture sights on it and I have a barn yard nail driver. Apparently the guy who owned it had about 200 other rifles and shotguns. This one was taken apart and left under a pile of junk on his workbench for 30 some years according to his son. they were surprised anybody wanted it. I was surprised at how well the old gun shot considering there was no bluing on it at all, just a layer of grease and rust. In fact I used a spray can of tire cleaner to clean the wood to see what I had for stock. Not a prize winner but solid and decent wood. I am a happy camper.
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my best lever action would be hard to pick as I have a bunch of them. I have some issues with the newer models but they all shoot just fine once you learn the rules of using them. I have one that was made in the early part of the 19 th century well actually 2 and they are much different than the newer ones and I am very happy with them.
I have two model 92's right now an original and a new made lawyer model and for my needs they both work just fine. I am looking at building to more just because I can so will have 4 model 92's t;hen.
I just don't know how you pick just one when you have a bunch of them and for me it is just not possible. So my best would be the one I pull out of the rack and go use on that day and tomorrow it will be another one. Why just because I can.
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My fav is probably the cheapest rifle I have ever owned, a Rossi 357/38, it is the one in my avitar. I thnk it has seen as many rounds as the rest of the many levers I have owned over the years. Accurate, never misses a beat, great rifle (rough it is, I must admit).
I have a pre 64 94 in 30/30 that I picked up recently, I think either it or my recent production 444 Marlin may become my favs anddddddddddddd there is my 1873 U Beauty 44/40, after a rough start, it is shaping to be an awesome rifle, I'll get back to you in a few months.
"I'll help you down the trail and proud to!" Rooster Cogburn.
"Slap some bacon on a biscuit and let's go! We're burnin' daylight! " - Will Anderson (John Wayne) "The Cowboys."
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Psycholigist to Sniper; 'What did you feel when you shot the felon Sargeant?'
Sniper to Psycholigist; 'Recoil Ma'am.'
From my Irish Ancestors: "You've got to do your own growing, no matter how tall your grandfather was."
My old "Red Ryder". I don't have any idea how many "rounds" I put through it but after about a month I didn't even have to aim. I could usually just point and hit my intended target. AAHHHHH, such great memories! 10 ga
10 gauge: as per Robert Ruark, "use enough gun"
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"I have a list, and am prepared for widespread civil disorder!" 10 ga
Marlin 1894 CB .44 Mag 24" barrel.
Skeet1
I not gots no steenkeeng peectures.
My favorite has to be the 1930 Savage 99 in 250 Savage. It is dead-nuts accurate with cast and jacketed bullets. It went along a couple days back on a coyote and jackrabbit excursion, just to break in the new hunting license. NEI spire-point bore riders at 1700 FPS sent 4 jacks to The Big Mesquite Flat In The Sky. No song dogs partook of the jack carcasses on the return trip inbound, and no amount of calling could summon their presence.
I don't paint bullets. I like Black Rifle Coffee. Sacred cows are always fair game. California is to the United States what Syria is to Russia and North Korea is to China/South Korea/Japan--a Hermit Kingdom detached from the real world and led by delusional maniacs, an economic and social basket case sustained by "foreign" aid so as to not lose military bases.
I have lots of Winchesters in the safe, all great guns. But my first choice for hunting is my Marlin 1936. It is a "B" serial number which puts its data of manuf at 1941. The .32 Win Spl cartridge is a deer killer extrordinaire. There is a Lyman 56 receiver sight on it, as when I received the rifle, and for hunting I remove the target aperture and use the mount ring as a ghost sight. It needs a new ejector/spring though, as it just started to refuse to launch spent brass - a new one is on order and I hope that'll do it. This is a fine gun with remnants of case coloring still evident on the receiver.
Easily my 1980 marlin .444s. it's super accurate with anything i put in it and looks very cool.
"The only way to bag a classy lady is to give her two tickets to the gun show, and see if she likes the goods."
-Ron Burgundy
Every 40 or so 1893, '93 and other pre micro groove 30-30 Marlins though what... about 1953 or 1954?
Smooth, accurate with cast bullets, and to my detriment, more addicting than pretty girls...
Mine is a toss-up between my 1897 vintage Winchester 1894 in .38-55 (just had it relined!), and my 1919 vintage Savage 99TD in .250-3000. Both are quite accurate with both cast and jacketed slugs, and both are more than adequate for our hefty Alberta whitetails and mulies.
Erik.
When I die, I want people to look at my coffin and say: "He sure owed me a lot of money."
Great thread- Having a bunch of levers, all Winchesters. My favorites and the ones that get shot are the old 1886's. Having collected 86's for many years, old Snooky Williamson got me really enjoying them when reading his book many years ago. Still have that book and read it often never getting tired of his shootin' stories.
win86
Most prized is my winchester 1886 in 33wcf. The one that goes the most places and does the most work...Marlin 1895 it's a shooter. Tom
Mine is my Marlin 1894SS. I'm sure I've told the story before, but I bought it from a friend after we shot it with Blazers (of all things) and were getting better than 2" groups at 75-80 yards with it in 35-degree, 12-inch snow.
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My Win 1886 .45-70 shoots great.
Win 1892 in .357 Mag shoot great as well.
Uberti 1873 in .357 shoot great with BP in a 38 case with heavy bullet, never shot it with anything else.
Marlin .30-30 is another great gun.
Had Marlins in .357 and .44 Mag. Both shot jacketed well, but I never got them to shoot cast as well as the others so I traded them for the Win 1892 since I only had 325 in the pair.
Still haven't shoot my .44/40 Uberti 73
Navy Arms .44/40 Henry, which was a pre-production sample with high grade wood and 2 digit serial number with no import markings. It came from the estate of a guy who was a distributor in the 60s/70s.
Haven't shot one that was put together well that I didn't like.
-yarro
Well it's still really new to me, and it's the only one I own. But my 94 Big Bore 375 is my favorite.
It was because of advice heard right here at CB that I bought this caliber and model. I looked high and low for the right price. Found this one with real nice wood and a beautiful bore for a price I could live with. Only put 30-40 rounds through it so far (Factory j-words only until I have time to cast and reload.)
It shoulder's real nice and shoots where you point it. I can't believe I waited this long to fall in love with a lever...
Nice walnut handles on that critter!
The 375 Winchester is a caliber that should have been a lot more popular than its sales data indicates. I'm among the thousands of other shooters asleep at the switch when they were in production that failed to get one. I really think the Win 94 BB or its Marlin 336 counterpart in 375 were among the best lever rifle packages ever put together in this country. GREAT woods rifles.
I don't paint bullets. I like Black Rifle Coffee. Sacred cows are always fair game. California is to the United States what Syria is to Russia and North Korea is to China/South Korea/Japan--a Hermit Kingdom detached from the real world and led by delusional maniacs, an economic and social basket case sustained by "foreign" aid so as to not lose military bases.
BP | Bronze Point | IMR | Improved Military Rifle | PTD | Pointed |
BR | Bench Rest | M | Magnum | RN | Round Nose |
BT | Boat Tail | PL | Power-Lokt | SP | Soft Point |
C | Compressed Charge | PR | Primer | SPCL | Soft Point "Core-Lokt" |
HP | Hollow Point | PSPCL | Pointed Soft Point "Core Lokt" | C.O.L. | Cartridge Overall Length |
PSP | Pointed Soft Point | Spz | Spitzer Point | SBT | Spitzer Boat Tail |
LRN | Lead Round Nose | LWC | Lead Wad Cutter | LSWC | Lead Semi Wad Cutter |
GC | Gas Check |