Which .45 LC lever action rifle to buy

[mikeschuylkill]

I am considering buying a .45 LC lever action rifle to shoot with my Uberti 1875 revolver in the same caliber. What would be the best buy , if any. I would like something reliable, although I am not a Cowboy Shooter. I appreciate and thank you all for your input.
Mike

[gon2shoot]

The most affordable would probably be a Puma if you're considering new. They aren't show pieces but they are good enough and I really like the 92 action.
Mine like fat boolits, but so does my Winny.

[WildmanJack]

Mike,
I have a Uberti 1894 Winchester in .45 Colt. With a 255 Gr rnfp in WW alloy over 6 Gr. of 700 X. it is a flat out exceptional shooter. Just one ragged hole at 50 yds and a little larger at 100.. The gun is easy to clean and the toggle mechanism is very simple. I love this gun, no joke, she's a shootin son of a gun. It took me a while to figure out a load, but once I had it, it was a tack driver... And I don't use that term loosely..
Jack

[45&30-30]

I have had the new Henry out of NY and the Marlin. The Henry was smooth and put together well, but heavy. If you are going to use Keith bullets in it you are going to have to seat the bullet over the front driving band or modify the gun(I did and worked great). The Marlin did not have that problem. Of the two I prefer the look and feel of the Marlin and think it is the better value.

[EDK]

Since you're not a Cowboy Action Shooter, your best choices are an 1892 Winchester clone or a Marlin 1894. Personally, I'd go for the Marlin....quality is usually pretty good and they do have warranty service/repairs here in the USA.

The various copies of the 1860 Henry rifle, the 1866 and 1873 Winchester are choices more for the CAS shooter...and not particularly strong actions for ammo loaded beyond factory specifications on 45 Colt. (Refer to lasc.us for Glenn Fryxell's article on Marlin 1894 reloads in 357-44-45Colt.)

:redneck::cbpour::Fire:

[Boerrancher]

I have one of the older Rossi mod 92s in a 45 LC. I like it well enough that I am going to pick up another one if it is still there this coming week at a local gun shop. The one that I have will shoot one hole groups at 50 yards and just a bit larger than 2 inches at 100. I don't know how many 'yotes I have dusted with it out to 150 yds. My pet load was a 230 gr RN cast boolit that actually weighed 238 grs on top of 12.5 grs of Unique. When I went to the 255 gr traditional style boolit I cut my charge back to 10 grs of Unique, not because of pressure but because it just shot better. They are a strong little rifle that is light weight, easy to handle and shoots really well to boot.

Best wishes from the Boer Ranch

Joe

[cajun shooter]

The 92 action was designed by John M Browning and is the strongest of the levers. It can do duty as a game taker, plinker, or defense weapon or CAS if you ever want. When it comes to tear down the Marlin will win hands down. If you only shoot smokeless and a few rounds here and there then the 92 will run a long time before needing a complete tear down.

[Firebricker]

Mike I just bought marlin 1894 cb really like it but they are a bit pricey. I think you can get standerd 1894 in 45 colt but not 100% sure there a lot cheaper but have round barrell and micro groove which I've read mixed reviews abought with cast boolits. My 444 has micro groove and shoots cast fine but thats totally different cartridge. good luck you've got a lot of good guns to choose from.

[leadeye]

I have one of the new Henrys and it shoots very well. It is heavy but I like it as it makes for a steady shooter. I use the RCBS 300g FNGC.

[6pt-sika]

I have a pair of Marlin's in 45 Colt .

One is the 24" barrelled 1894CB and the other is a 16.25" stainless laminated rifle .

Both these rifles shoot fine and the CB really likes cast bullets .

[longhorn]

My experience with the Rossi in .45LC was _bitterly_ disappointing. Go Marlin.

[Throckmorton]

marlin is the way I would go..american made,good quality steel,easy to remove the bolt for cleaning,etc. They can be tuned to run very fast and smoothe if desired too.

[Slow Elk 45/70]

hey, I would suggest going with the Marlin, I have tried several of the others through the years and I agree with the fellows that suggest that it is a good choice, may cost a bit more, but worth every nickle.

I don't have a .45colt, but I have 357,44,30/30,444,45/70's....several of each, I tune mine and find a cast boolit they like and shoot them as much as I have time to.

Buy what you want and shoot when you can, enjoy the ride.
S.L. 45/70:coffee:

[Buckshot]

..............I bought a LSI (Rossi Puma) 1892 in 45 Colt, 24" octagon barrel and have enjoyed it very much. I'll admit I really haven't wrung it out yet, and as another mentioned it DOES seem to favor FAT cast boolits. One of my good friends is a SASS guy and bought one of the Marlin Cowboys when they first came out. Then as now he uses ONE load for all his Cowboy guns. That's 8.5grs of Unique and some commercial 250gr cast boolits.

He offered to let me shoot it so I plunked it on the bags and fired 5 rounds at 50 yards and danged if they didn't cut a very nice hole, maybe 2" outside to outside. I was really impressed by it. I think at that time they were a bit over $600, or that was after everything. This was some time ago. My recent Rossi aquisition cost that much and so far HASN'T cut one big hole at 50 yards yet :-)

................Buckshot

[Cherokee]

I vote for the Marlin. Have tried 1892 copies, Win 1894 Trapper, Win 1866. The 1866 I use for CAS, the Marlin for everything else. Got rid of the 1892, kept the Trapper for backup.

[August]

I owned a Rossi and will never own another!

The Winchester 94 action is designed for rifle-length cartridges and does a poor job of reliably feeding pistol-length ammo.

The Marlin 1894 is designed for pistol-length cartridges and does the best available job of handling them.

There are some Browning '92s floating around that were chambered in the .45 Colt's cartridge. They would cost more than a Marlin.

If you shop carefully, you'll find a Marlin for a decent price. Lot's of cowboy action shooter start with this round and later abandon it.

[ktw]

I have the Winchester 94AE Trapper in 45 Colt and like it a lot. It has a large chamber. It handles most any jacketed (or gas checked cast) bullet very well. It prefers oversized plain based cast bullets (455-457). The plain based 300-350gr 45/70 bullets work very well in it.

-ktw

[helice]

Mike,
Wish you were out here. I'd stick a round red 7" paper pie plate (left over from Christmas) on the target stand, put 10 rounds in the Puma and let you pop 'em off as fast as you can. I've had a couple of guys poo-poo the Puma. But this little trick sent them to the gun store. Try it. You'll Like it. Helice Keep writin'. I'm Learnin'.

[cajun shooter]

5 rounds that can be covered with a quarter at 25 yards from a Rossi pre-safety 92 loaded with 45 Colt BP rounds would not fall into the junk range. Mine is a little tack driver that will be the last firearm to leave my safe.