What lever guns to get?

[Mr_Sheesh]

I've sorta been wondering about levergats, never even fired one, sadly (Bolt guns and semi autos yes, just not levergats.)

Thinking it'd be fun to get a 30-30 and a 45-70, sort of a complementary pair that takes up much of the usual work space of lever guns?

Given some co's current issues, whose would be good to get, and current production or older manufacture? Any other round a "Must have", to complete the experience? Just want to learn for now, then plan up a good answer in a couple months, see what's a good choice :)

[fordwannabe]

I would think a Henry in 22 would also work for the set concept. Either older Winchester 1894 (any vintage up until they closed) or a pre 2008 marlin for the 30/30 and I have had really good accuracy out of two early 1970's Marlin 1895's those are 45/70.

[marlin39a]

I would recommend the pre-Remington Marlins. Winchester in 30/30 is Good, but they did make some junk around the 1970's.

[bedbugbilly]

I'm certainly no expert but will add my 2 cents anyway.

I always wanted a 30-30 to play with. I ended up buying a Winchester 94 "Ranger". I like it - it was like new - BUT - it's problem as far as misfires. Some on here have said how to correct it - I just haven't done it yet. An older 94 I'd have no problems buying if I could find on in good shape and priced right. After the Winchester, I ran across a vintage Marlin 336SC in 30-30. It is a great lever gun and a joy to shoot - and certainly more accurate than I am.

At this point, I'm seriously considering selling the Winchester Ranger and a couple other guns and getting a Henry 30-30. Some don't like the tube feed and wold rather have a loading gate - not a biggie to me though. I have a Henry lever 22 caliber that is a great rifle - well built - no issues at all. I like the fact that the Henry's are American made and they offer great customer service if there is a problem.

Guess it's all dependent on what you like and you budget is. Everybody likes different things but the one thing I do know is that from the recent Marlins I've seen, I won't be buying one of those. I can't speak to other brands but I've handled some of the Henry center fires and I do like the feel an quality of them.

[pietro]

.

Since some folks like chocolate ice cream & others prefer pistachio, I would suggest that you hie thee to a funstore & fondle/coonfinger an example of all the various leverguns available to you, to find which floats your boat.

:2_high5:

After one brand or another is settled on, for the desired chambering(s), you can think about your intended usage against what's available in your choice of toys.


:bigsmyl2:

.

[Eddie Southgate]

Browning BLR in .358 Winchester , the Marlin Cowboys in .45 Colt and 45-70 are my set to cover anything I want a lever gun to do .

Eddie

[dikman]

I know you're talking about rifle calibres, but a word of advice - don't even think about getting a '94 in pistol calibres, they are well-known for having cycling issues with the smaller cartridges.

[MyFlatline]

If it were me, I would look for pre '90 Marlins for rifle calibers and Henry for pistol calibers. Both are easy to disassemble and clean.

[Geezer in NH]

Any pre 1960 ones.

[Beerd]

nothing wrong with owning two (or more!) leverguns.
If you happen to stumble onto a smoking deal on a Marlin 94 or a Winchester 92 clone in 44 Mag it could easily substitute for the 2 mentioned in your original post.
..

[JimB..]

30-30 is one of the most cost effective options in a rifle caliber around here, don’t know about where you are. Between it and 45-70 I think you cover everything that walks but bunnies and squirrels.

I would suggest buying something that was new a couple decades ago if you can find one.

[MyFlatline]

nothing wrong with owning two (or more!) leverguns.
If you happen to stumble onto a smoking deal on a Marlin 94 or a Winchester 92 clone in 44 Mag it could easily substitute for the 2 mentioned in your original post.
..

Be nice now,,only 2? how bout 2 of each caliber and style

[Mr_Sheesh]

Pacific Northwest here, If I didn't have rimfire quite well enough covered I'd agree on getting one but "Enough is enough" (And now I have to call MYSELF a heretic, for, as we all know, enough NEVER EVER is enough :)) 358 is an interesting round, definitely, I have that niche covered in bolt guns tho - the 30-30 and 45-70 shoot more historical LeverGat fodder, which is why I am thinking of those. Until I know whether I find them fun enough that I want to get more, at least. The one "down side" of some lever actions is that (compared to a bolt gun) the action is more springy, maybe stretching the brass more, but I imagine they're fun to plink with & certainly nice short rifles compared to some of my bolt guns (varmint rifles don't qualify well as a short handy rifle, for some reason!) If things work per plan and I end up with a Quad, I could see the 30-30 being set up as EDCed on the quad.

[MyFlatline]

I shoot exclusively lever guns, I notice very minimal or no case stretch. That being said, I do no hotrod my loads either. I load and shoot for the following leverguns. 357 mag, 44 mag, 45 colt, 30-30, 35 Rem, 375 Win, 444 Marlin and 308MX. I size the mx after the 3 firing and it is minimal.

[Ateam]

I picked up a beautiful pre-remlin jm stamped 1895gbl in 45-70 and LOVE it! In fact I was sitting in my deer stand with it just a few hours ago. Accurate, carries easy, can shoot all sorts of loads out of it, round ball, monolithic copper or brass, and of course cast boolits.

[GhostHawk]

A year ago I found a pair of Win 94's, one older one built back in 1944, and a newer AE model with the safety. I have to admit, I like the new AE one. A little load development, hand crafted an ammo carrier for the buttstock, added a sling with 6 more spots to hold ammo. Wrapped the handle with paracord to soften the edge on my fingers.

The old one looks great, but has a badly worn bore, a bad tight spot at the rear sight dovetail. And I am thinking hard of sending it to JES Rebore to get made into a .35-30-30. I have yet to read about an unhappy customer of his. Just have not gotten all my ducks in a row yet.

I put 9 rounds that all hit in a nice 2" group out of the AE through the old one, 25 yards, off a rest. One hit paper. Rest are lost in space.

I already have several .35 molds so I think that is the best choice for me if JES will do it.

Probably only shoot it with light loads of Red Dot. 4-6 grains.

I came late to levers, but they have an allure all their own.

[Bazoo]

I enjoy leverguns myself. I've had several henry 22's, several marlin 1894c 357 mags, several winchester 94 30-30. I'd say the experience of the old west was best captured with the 357. Then the 30-30. I really like the history of the early 1900s and the 30-30 was synonymous with that era. The pistol calibers though is what really started the leveractions off.

The only one i have currently is a 70s vintage 94 in 30-30. It had a 350 price tag but still is a lot better than the newer ones. Id really like another henry, and a marlin. But probably in 44 mag this go round.

Something neat about lever guns that bolt actions dont have.

[Hogan]

I've got a 30-30 and a 45-70. One is more pleasant to shoot than the other. The only other lever gun I really want is a 45 Colt. That said, I've got a batch of 30-30 to prep this weekend.


Rick

[rondog]

.357mag, .44mag., .45Colt., .32-20, .38-55, .44-40, those are some to lust after. Winchester 94 is good and common, I prefer the Win 92 platform myself. Marlin 1894's too. Nothing wrong with the Marlin 336 either, I just prefer the straight stocks over the pistol grips. Rossi R92's are also good. They say Henry's are good rifles, I just can't abide the prices, weight and lack of loading gates.

But leverguns are awesome! It's my latest fascination. They do benefit from some home gunsmithing and tinkering, in the form of deburring, smoothing and polishing. Usually helps to either put in lighter hammer springs or cut a couple of coils off the stock ones, makes the hammer easier for the bolt to push down when cocking, which means smoother operation.

[Shawlerbrook]

For 30 30, a pre-Remington Marlin if you want to scope it or a pre-64 Winny if you don’t mind open sights and a pre- Remington Marlin 45 70.

[bikerbeans]

Pre-hammer block safety Marlins are the way to go.

BB

[Greg S]

1892s - 32-20, 357 and 45 Colt
Looking for a Henry in 327FM
94s Looking for a cheap 24 or 26" in 30-30
1895 in 45-70
1886 in 45-70

The pistol caliber 94s are OK, they just cycle clunky. Had a 45 Colt that would eat Keith SWC like they were round noses. The 92 cycles smooth. Completely different animal and stronger than the 94 design.

For the try to like program, try a Rossi pistol caliber in 357, 44 or 45. I believe the 44 and 45s bores run alittle large.

[Hick]

I wouldn't rule out 32 Winchester Special. Brass is available and can always be converted from 30-30 (just run it through the die). Jacketed bullets are expensive but who needs them? The 32 WS with its 1:16 " twist just loves cast boolits and isn't prone to leading.

[wv109323]

I think a Marlin 44 mag. and a Marlin 45-70.

[Texas by God]

My wife has a Rossi .357, I have the Win 94 30-30 my dad bought in the early 1950s. We love them both but there is room for a Marlin 45-70 if one comes along at the right time. I'm a bolt gun guy myself but levers are great companions in the woods.

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[GhostHawk]

Saw a dandy today at the pawn shop, I think it was a model 92 built in 95 .38-40 octogonal barrel, immaculate condition. Did not look at the bore, to rich for my blood. Man I wish they made blueing that looked that good after 100 years these days. That gun was so immaculate i did not want to touch it.

And truth be told I have enough in the bank I could have made a deal and walked away with it.

Dang sweet lever action for sure, with nice wood, nice slim stock.
tag was for 1900$ but I think I could have knocked a fair chunk off of that.

But the wife was standing there, and I can't keep up shooting all the guns I have. So I walked away.

[OverMax]

Buy a 30-30. Easy on the pocket store bought ammo. And its fun to shoot.
45-70 on the other hand is a cartridge those shooters of. Some question their decision why they bought one?

Link provided states recoil in lbs. Pay attention to the Energy Column. >Less is best.

http://www.chuckhawks.com/recoil_table.htm

[Mr_Sheesh]

I figured a 45-70 isn't going to be "NEEDED" often here - but you could definitely load a 45-70 as a reduced charge round, for plinking. (Just don't plink at polar bears, it ticks them off.)

[MOA]

Pre 1960's Marlin's with pistol grip stocks in 25-35, 38-55 and 45-70. Good solid battery of rimmed western style firepower. If your looking for long distance rifles, forget lever, buy Weatherby instead.

[MostlyLeverGuns]

Pre-safety Marlins made in the late 60's and 70's are priced reasonably and well-made. Marlin in 30-30, 32 Special, 35 Rem good place to start. Can be scoped easily, trigger easy to improve, most will group close to or under MOA. A Savage 99's in 300 Savage from the 60's or 70's are also very capable and reasonably priced. The Marlin 45-70 and 444 can be unpleasant unless loaded very light. There is a lot of loading info on the Marlin 30-30 and 35, the 32 Special is one of THE best cast bullet cartridges.

[starmac]

I recommend you check out any of the older ones you can if you are thinking used guns. I prefer the old Winchesters much better than marlins, but others are the same way about marlins, just different tastes.
If I was looking at new manufactured guns, I sure wouldn't discount the henrys, even there some models will feel better to you than others.
The new remlins have a bad rep, but a good one is just as good as an older one in my opinion, and yes I have both.

[Speedo66]

If you're going to use them for hunting, both calibers you mentioned are fine. For plinking or target shooting, you can't go wrong with a pistol caliber carbine. Much easier on the shoulder, and definitely on the wallet. Get 50 rounds for the price of 20 rifle cartridges.

A .38Spl/.357 Mag lever is a great choice, and with Buffalo Bore or other hot loads, you can hunt with it, too.

I've got a .357 Rossi 92, an original '73 in .38-40, and a Browning BLR in .308, very happy with all of them, but I use the Rossi the most..

[beemer]

Buy a 30-30. Easy on the pocket store bought ammo. And its fun to shoot.
45-70 on the other hand is a cartridge those shooters of. Some question their decision why they bought one?

Link provided states recoil in lbs. Pay attention to the Energy Column. >Less is best.

http://www.chuckhawks.com/recoil_table.htm

I bought a Marlin 45-70 about 15 years ago, things change and I don't like the recoil even with mild loads. I like my 30-30 much better. So count me among those who question that decision.

Interesting link, thanks. The comments about the Enfield were interesting.

Dave

[dverna]

I figured a 45-70 isn't going to be "NEEDED" often here - but you could definitely load a 45-70 as a reduced charge round, for plinking. (Just don't plink at polar bears, it ticks them off.)

Think about plinking and why you do it. Using a 45/70 is doable but why?

To me, plinking is fun and inexpensive shooting with a lot of trigger time. I use the .38/.357 lever actions for that. I am only throwing 125-130 grain bullets downrange and I can load hundreds an hour on a progressive. Until recently, when .22 became affordable again, it was less expensive than shooting .22's.

The .45/70 is a fine short range hunting gun. It can be loaded mild to wild but hurts when wild. Like others have stated, the .30/30 is hard to beat for a hunting gun if you keep ranges reasonable and relatively cheap to feed. If I wanted something for bigger game, I would look at the .358 in the BLR. The .358 Savage 99's are crazy expensive.

For a handy truck gun, a 94 Winny is a great choice. More range and energy than the pistol caliber carbines and a fine deer/black bear gun for the ranges most likely encountered. It makes a pretty good "hillbilly assault rifle" as well. I have two as well as a Marlin 336. The 336 is more accurate and easy to scope, but heavier and does not handle the same.

[Mr_Sheesh]

I'm a big guy; used to plink with 690 round lead balls in the 12 gauge. I was suspecting I could come up with a paper patched .452 230 Gr. truncated cone cast boolit that would suffice, and not kick much; Or something else will come to mind. Can get a 30-30 first, see what I think :)

[Drm50]

I've got 8 levers made post WW2. 2 pre 64 Wins and 6 Marlins the newest a 1970. I als have several prewar Marlins and Winchesters. Never have had any problems with them, 25/20-32/20
38/40 Marlin 94s work smooth as butter. I'm a little more snobbish that most if a Win isnt pre64
I'm not interested and don't want any Marlin from hammer block to newer. And I don't buy the
foreign replicas or Henrys. None of these guns are of the quality of Win & Marlin before their demise.

[MostlyLeverGuns]

A 45-70 barrel dimension usually runs .458 to .461 so all those neat pistol bullets don't usually work. The .450-.454 pistols vs .458-461 rifle bullets is an annoying fact. There are the 22 levers also, the Henry is low cost and shoots very well, Marlin 39's before the rebounding hammer and crossbolt safety were the premium 22 lever guns. I have a Winchester 9422, but I prefer the Marlin 39A and it is the classic. We do shoot a Henry .22 and .17 a lot.

[robg]

Had my win 94 as in 357 mag since 1998 ,must have put 40 thousand boolits through it only breakage has been the ejectors ,3 in total the pin snaps off ( got a fix now ) cut a slot in it and solder in a nail .my favourite gun!

[2ndAmendmentNut]

My preferences are as follows.

1. The Browning run of Winchester lever actions produced by Miroku in the 1980s and 90s.

2. Pre-64 Winchesters.

3. Uberti 1860, 66 and 73s.

4. Pre safety Marlins.

For new production guns I’m only interested in Pedersolies and Ubertis.


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[Jedman]

No one mentioned Savage 99's. They are different in many ways but still a pure levergun.
Also as a investment they are certainly better than money in the bank.

Jedman

[Mr_Sheesh]

MostlyLeverGuns - Sure, it's been done before though, for example mentioned at http://www.marlinowners.com/forum/paper-patch-bullets/23119-paper-patching-451-bullets-45-70-a-3-print.html - I suspect just for light plinking maybe? (for heavy loads ot could have issues) but as all I want here is med-low velocity plinking... :)

[MostlyLeverGuns]

Sure, If you plain on paper patching, .450 .451 is where you might start. I don't know that I would want to paper patch for the high volume low recoil ammunition for relatively short range type of shooting. I'm sure somebody will say they shoot 300 yard groups under 2" using paper-patched 45 ACP wadcutters at 700 fps out of their 45-70 revolver. Paper patching can be time consuming. I did have a Lyman 454424 mold that threw .4575 bullets, they worked OK for short range 45-70. A .458-.460 round ball can be quite accurate to 100+ yards and requires much less work. Enjoy the lever guns.