Greetings, fellow lever action fans.
First the guessing game:
What make and model of rifle is shown in the first photo below?
Too easy! Obviously a Marlin. But turn it around to view the other side and obviously it's a...
Click photos to enlarge them.
Mossberg Model 472. The side thumb safety is the giveaway. These rifles were produced in several variations by Mossberg and sold under their own brand name, and also for Montgomery Ward as Western Field, and for Western Auto Co. as Revelation. The rifle shown here is actually branded "Revelation".
Back in the early 1980s I possessed a brand new one in the box. I only shot it once, probably 5 rounds or so, but it impressed me as being extremely accurate. After a couple of years I came to the realization that I was "heavy" on levers, with a large assortment of Win. and Marlin rifles, and sold it. I've sold very few of my personal guns over the years, and before doing so I was always pretty certain I wouldn't wish I hadn't done so at a later date. But this rifle was one of the few exceptions that I wished I had back again. One unique feature, among several, of this rifle's design is that when the lever is dropped the trigger disconnects from the sear and goes with the lever.
I look through Gunbroker.com with some regularity, and would occasionally do a search for Mossberg 472. They seem to seldom come up for sale, and when they do they're often used and abused. To me, that says a lot about a firearm when those who have them don't want to let go of them. Finally I ran across this one from Temple, TX. It had it's fair share or nicks and scars on the stocks, but the metal wasn't bad. The butt plate had been replaced with a Fajen plate, and the grip cap with an old and well worn Neidner metal cap. The original was a black plastic white line cap, so this was a definite improvement even if it wasn't a very good fit. I refinished the wood, and it fits nicely now.
In going through the rifle I completely disassembled it for cleaning. Somewhat to my surprise the inside workings of the rifle were almost spotless, but completely dry. Everything was lightly oiled and lubed as appropriate before re-assembly. This is somewhat the thrust of this thread, as the internal workings of the rifle and the disassembly/reassembly procedure are nothing at all like a Win. or Marlin. The rifle is of a unique design and all parts are removed as a unit from the bottom of the receiver.
Never having disassembled one of these rifles before, and having learned it's best not to just dive into things, I looked on U-Tube, and was surprised to find a video showing the disassembly/reassembly in great detail. I followed it (mostly) and with some minor difficulties the instructions worked. I confess that it took all of one afternoon to get it reassembled.
One problem is that the hammer is powered by a strut that fits against it's rear, the leg of which is powered by a plunger and spring in a tube inside the butt stock. There is a window cut into the side of the rear tang of the receiver, and one would think that one could assemble the firing mechanism inside the receiver and then insert the strut through the window before replacing the butt stock. The U-Tube host mentioned that the strut had to be inserted into the receiver before the remainder of the hammer and firing mechanism was replaced, that it gets in the way, and a certain amount of jiggling and poking was necessary to get the mechanism in past the strut. I guess after his was assembled he decided that he could have inserted the strut in behind the hammer via the window, as the information that the strut could be replaced after assembly was repeated shown on the screen in text superimposed over the video. But--- he just made that assumption, as the strut will not fit through the window (too thick) and so he did it the correct way and later changed his mind. Perhaps I had a mental failure, because the first place I always consult is J.B. Wood's books on disassembly/reassembly. The next day I look in Volume IV, 2nd Edition, Centerfire Rifles, and there were his instructions for the 472 in great detail. His approach was much different that the U-Tube fellow's method, and appears much better. He also states that the first part to be replaced into the receiver is the strut. At the beginning of his 472 section is a list of similar Mossberg model rifles that the instructions apply to, and I was surprised at how many variations there are. So....perhaps one of the later models had a bigger window or thinner strut. But the young fellow on U-Tube was using a rifle only 35 sequential serial numbers higher than mine. My advice-- go with J.B.!
Just a final commentary: I have a great respect for this rifle, the Mossberg Model 472 lever action rifle, and a growing respect for all things Mossberg in general. Whomever designed this rifle was a very smart person, taking the old idea of a lever action and coming up with something completely different. Some of it's features were borrowed from Marlin, such as the solid top, side ejection receiver; and from Winchester, in that the bolt is locked with two lugs which rise into notches on the bottom of the bolt on either side of the firing pin--not visible due to the receiver's solid top, but the notches are visible on the bolt. While the lever mounted trigger is not completely unique to the 472, it is unusual and found on only a couple of other lever actions. The ejector is pure Marlin. The loading gate cover's pin/leg serves as the pin on which the elevator is mounted. The cover must be pressed inward as the unitized hammer/firing mechanism is removed from the bottom of the receiver.
Overall, the rifle is handy like those makes it competed with in the market place, a feature of all .30-30 carbines. If you're a gunsmith and run across one of these, maybe there's something here that will help you in working on it. No doubt some of you are already well acquainted with it. If you're a collector, shooter, or student of arms the 472 is a good one to acquire.
DG
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Originally Posted by Der Gebirgsjager
