lever gun prices skyrocket

[freakonaleash]

It's all about the devaluation of the dollar people.....

[Soundguy]

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. Attachment 313636

Might as well add pic rails and a black plastic stock...ugh...

[FergusonTO35]

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 ?????

Concealability. The original version of the National Firearms Act of 1934 would have added all handguns to the naughty list on this basis, and there was talk of it during the 1968 act. Short barrel rifles and shotguns are more restricted because they supposedly offer nearly the same power and accuracy as a full size gun in a small and concealable package. BTW, short barrel rifles and shotguns aren't illegal in most places here, but they do require a $200 tax stamp, registration, and a long waiting period to be approved. Which, keeps the number of legal ones in circulation pretty small by comparison to other guns.

[Seeker]

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

The Government and their sneaky underhanded policies are always to blame when it comes to firearms and ammunition supplies. There is no logical explanation for the rising cost of powder or primers or the lack of (large rifle). They have somehow figured out how to hit us reloaders.

[TyGuy]

Might as well add pic rails and a black plastic stock...ugh...

Haha! That was just a picture I found online but to each his own, right? I have seen some real abominations with plastic or even skeletal aluminum stocks. Those are not my cup of tea either but I do love shooting suppressed. When mine is finished it will have nice traditional walnut furniture and blued steel but the can is a must.

[BB57]

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 ?????

The roots of the restricted categories for suppressors, short barrel rifles and automatic weapons was in their use by criminal gangs of the prohibition era and in particular the motor bandit gangs of the early 1930s. Clyde Barrow for example was fond of cutting the barrel down on a BAR or Colt Monitor so that he could carry it concealed under a trench coat while he walked across the street and into a bank.

Full auto weapons like the Thompson sub machine gun, while popular in organized crime, were also advertised and sold as personal defense weapons for ranchers etc.

I’m not sure how suppressors got swept up into the net, other than perhaps early mis portrayals by Hollywood that presented them as being a lot quieter than they actually are.

The irony was that the NFA of 1934 was a knew jerk response to a small number of criminals who ignored the law anyway, and in the case of the motor bandit gangs, they were usually stolen weapons anyway, often from poorly secured national guard armories.

The larger issues that allowed these gangs to operate were jurisdictional in nature, and it took the creation of armed FBI agents with national jurisdiction, following the Lindbergh kidnapping in 1932, along with better forensics, also initiated in 1932 with a national crime lab, and improved coordination and communication between law enforcement agencies to end the problem.

The motor bandit phenomenon was brief and was a result of both the end of prohibition and the onset of the Great Depression. Much focus was put on law enforcement being “out gunned” by those criminal gangs, with a consequent focus on the need to control access to the types of weapons used by gangs and prohibition era organized crime.

The irony was that by the time the NFA of 1934 was passed into law, the era of the motor bandit gangs was over. As far as organized crimes, the registration and $200 tax stamp requirements never put a dent in their access to full auto weapons, and instead just made them prohibitively expensive for law abiding citizens.

Nearly 90 years later, when even countries with fairly strict gun control see the benefits of suppressors for hunting purposes and do not restrict them, we still maintain them as NFA items and the ATF effectively drags its feet on Form 4 approvals.

In contrast to 1934 when the NFA was passed, with the specific provision that it not be applied to existing firearms in common use such as the 14” Model 94 Trapper carbines, the ATF is actively attempting to force upwards of 10,000,000 braced pistols into the short barrel rifle category. This is a reversal of ATF opinion after 10 years of saying braced pistols were not short barrel rifles and not subject to the NFA of 1934 provisions.

That action violates settled law that states a firearm must be both “dangerous” and “uncommon” to fall under the NFA provisions. Ironically, when permission to produce them was first requested the ATF under the Obama administration could have denied them on the basis of being “dangerous and uncommon”, but didn’t. With anywhere between 10 million and 40 million produced since 2013, that is no longer a legal option. It also raises questions about the use of Chevron deference by the same agency to first say they are not NFA items and then a decade later under a different administration say they are. Worse, doing so after the fact and after millions were legally purchased by law abiding owners moves this from a simple regulatory interpretation under Chevron deference to creating a criminal penalty of up to 10 years in prison if owners fail to register them. In that case the rule of lenity should apply, where if there are two possible interpretations, the one most favorable to the public / defendant must be used. That issue is headed to the Supreme Court along with a host of other related issues as the ATF has clearly over stepped it’s bounds in a number of recent reinterpretations.

——

More to your point, long guns of any kind are only used in around 1 to 1.5 percent of firearm involved crimes per year. Even in “mass shootings” handguns are used 86% of the time. The ATF in its NPRM announcing the reclassification of braced pistols cited just 2 cases where braced pistols were present at a crime scene, a mass shooting in both cases. However at the time, there had been over 2600 mass shootings since 2013 when braced pistols were approved and first began to be sold. That’s 2 out of 2600 incidents, and out of a minimum estimated 10 million sold. By any measure it just isn’t an issue worth the time and effort ATF has poured into it - much like the out dated and antiquated NFA of 1934 itself.


It isn’t about logic, common sense, or actual use in crime. It’s about perception, media spin, and larger agendas.

Sadly it diverts attention from larger issues that underpin violent crime in America. Issues that are left unaddressed as the focus is placed on gun control, hyped and promoted as some sort of magic bean that will magically resolve a problem of violence that isn’t caused by guns in the first place.

[Frank V]

My take is, a lever action has a aura of old west & not threatening. The ARs are getting a lot of bad press now & made to look evil (thank you media), lever guns are not. As for price, have we looked at nice S&W handguns. Prices are up everywhere these days. Lever guns lend themselves well for cast bullets & there is still a place for using the same ctg. in both rifle & handgun.
AND THEY ARE FUN,😁

[Hondolane]

Seems prices have skyrocketed as well as the size of Lever Guns.

[justindad]

About five years ago I turned away from a brand new GP100 Match Champion that was $750 in the store. Midway has the available for $1,239 today.

[stubshaft]

"Tactitards" rule! The general public has never realized that the lever action rifle is, and always will be the ORIGINAL assault rifle.

That being said I remember having 5 Model 94's in 30/30 as they were the number 1 hog/goat rifle on the Island of Hawaii. None of them cost more than $100.00.

[Bad Ass Wallace]

In Australia the gummint grubs banned semi-auto's so we were left with only lever guns as an option. Last year in a cowboy "speed rifle" event a timed 10 rounds starting with an empty chamber. I had my turn with my Colt 'Lightning pump in 44/40' an recorded 3.9 seconds.

Then came a young shooter with a short stroked '73 Winchester, 1.92 seconds, I was gobsmacked, less than half my time!

That's the beauty and value of a good lever gun!

[FergusonTO35]

We have two Pythons under the glass for $1300 apiece at my shop and I doubt they will still be there on monday.

[joego]

It's not the that the guns are more expensive it's because the dollar is loosing value faster than a varmit boolit going down range.
I bought a 336 marlin auction at buds for $200 bucks but that was the last cheap one I bought.
Henry side load .357 was $1k- nice gun.

[joego]

Over the years I've grown to love the vintage gun designs over the auto loaders anyway.

[30calflash]

The drop in value of the dollar made me just think this.

When a good 30-30 was around $300 it was about the same money as 10,000 primers. Looks to be fairly close at this time.

[Texas by God]

My late father’s Marlin 1894CL .218 Bee.
My sister owns it now.
I don’t know what it’s worth- but it won’t be for sale until we’re dead and gone.
It’s a good walking varminter!


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[FergusonTO35]

I disassembled my Rossi 92 today and was amazed how tight and precise the parts fit is. Even inside the action most surfaces are smooth with very few machine marks. I really don't think Miroku could have improved on it. Inflated price or not, that is a rifle I'm proud to own.

[r80rt]

Yep, I have three of the new CBC made Rossi 92's, they are darn fine firearms.

[Texas by God]

I looked over and handled three new Rossi guns at a LGS the other day. A .44 Magnum stainless lever action, a .22 bolt action, and the little Tuffy .410 single shot.
All looked very well made and the actions worked smoothly.
I would have bought any of these if I were in the market.


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[FergusonTO35]

Today, my favorite shop sold a 1994 Winchester .30-30 for $575 out the door. Common hardwood stock/pushbutton safety/20" barrel/.30-30 in decent shape. I thought that was a decent price for buyer and seller. I wouldn't pay a penny more though. You can get a new Henry for under a grand, and the new Ruglin 336 is supposed to have a real world price about the same. Both of which are arguably better guns with excellent factory support.