Because it can be used right or left handed and because I don't feel undergunned with my 8 shot 45/70 when hunting sabre-toothed field mice!
Because it can be used right or left handed and because I don't feel undergunned with my 8 shot 45/70 when hunting sabre-toothed field mice!
Hold Still Varmint; while I plugs Yer!
the same reason, no1 rugers, and other singles. Cool, elegant, good lines, very functional and dependable. A besides that they're levers.
I guess a single shot lever gun isn't out of place
Hold Still Varmint; while I plugs Yer!
You can chamber the next shot while on horseback. Plus they are Kool.
Whatever!
I have several levers over 100yrs old. Still ticking and taking a licking and killing deer. Yea, a spring could fail or firing pin break, like anything else. Bolt guns are more accurate on the average. Levers are nicer to carry in woods and have adequate accuracy for woods hunting. I don’t buy arguments that Levers have breakage problems. That doesn’t include the stuff being put out the last 20+ years, it’s all junk compared to the older milled guns.
Attachment 260751
I’ve always liked the idea of using the same ammo for my lever rifle and revolver. My shtf go to. I’ve carried the same thing over to a more modern concept with an AR pcc in .45acp and a 1911 or moon clip loaded 625 revolver. But I’m an old school kind of guy who has a lot more steel [or brass] and walnut in his safe than plastic and aluminum.
I like having both pistol and rifle chambered the same and long tube lever loaded with 38 special sure seems to hold a lot of rounds.
Robert
"The only way to deal with an unfree world is to become so absolutely free that your very existence is an act of rebellion."
- Albert Camus -
I think there is a little cowboy inside each of us. Some try to ignore it others embrace it.At one time in up New York State that is what the average hunter used. Frank
in the western half of PA it was either a lever or rem m760 pump back in the early days. when i first started to hunt a win m94 in 30-30 was given to me. my dad and my grandpap had rem m760 in '06. i soon noticed that guys were trading their pumps and lever for a bolt. it was either a '06 or a 270. the 7 mag and the 300 win mag phase was few and far between. then came the weatherby mags but it was a flash in pan. then there a 7mm STW and lazzaroni cartridges, but it was short lived. then there was a wsm and rem ultra mags, they were short lived too. then hornady and nosler "magnums" and God knows what else!!!
in the end, i choose my win m94(1973) that is chambered for the unique 35/30-30 and williams fp sight. i can't find fault with that!!!!
Ad Reipublicae his Civitatum Foederatarum Americae, ego sum fortis et libero. Ego autem non exieris ad impios communistarum socialismi. Ora imagines in vestri demented mentem, quod vos mos have misericordia, quia non.
To the Republic of these United States of America, I am strong and free. I will never surrender to godless communist socialism. Pray to images in your demented mind, that you will have mercy, because i will not.
MOLON LABE
For starters, the lever action is an American thing. The first truly successful repeating rifles were lever actions of American design and American use. So there's some nostalgia there.
Second, I think dragon813gt hit on another key element - East coast hunting is very often in the woods at shorter ranges. While the lever action is often associated with the old west, it lived on because of its usefulness in the east.
There is the flat profile of the rifles, the magazine capacity, the ease they are carried, the simplicity of the operation and other factors but in the end I think their appeal is mostly driven by nostalgia and their short range usefulness.
What I find interesting as one that likes the lever actions is that Advances have mostly flopped. People like the tubular magazine classic lever action with a 20" barrel. The Savage 99 was a success but it went by the wayside. The Winchester 88 also. Even the Winchester 95, which was a great old rifle. Browning and Henry make a decent lever with box magazines which make a lot more sense than the tubular magazines, but they do not make up the majority of sales. Then look at the Winchester Big Bores and the Marlin line of more powerful cartridges, which also failed. People that buy lever rifles seem to go for either the 30-30 or pistol cartridges. The 45-70 does have a following also. The guide gun by Marlin has a lot going for it as it is a compact powerful package capable of quick repeat shots. I have seen the 30-30 used by more than one woman and younger hunter due to its mild nature. In addition as one that cuts up his own venison, I also like the 30-30.
So looking at the pictures, we see that the lever rifle that seems to last is the tube magazine design from the 1800's. Personally I would prefer the Henry with the box magazine but not enough to buy one at the going price. Another reason is that I am also a lefty and they take no modification nor are a special offering.
This is the way I most commonly pose pictures of my rifles.
DEP
revolvers and leverguns just fit and feel right.if you a lefty like me they beat bolt guns hands down unless you can find a lh one on every gun shop rack.
Lever guns are so useful and rugged. Also look awesome. Pretty hard to break, even the beat up ones fire. Some might say they aren't super accurate but they do the job just fine. I really don't need to shoot tits off a fly at 2000 yards.
Just another's opinion.
In today's market there so many crossover products that don't truly measure up to their intended secondary purpose. In my opinion ARs_AK clones & some High Point products fall into that category.
Sportsman. Some prefer a more traditional weapon for their hunting purpose. Tired of bolt action's that the manufactures continually push upon all. What other L gun reliable receiver is there? ~~ Lever.
As for me. I like the warmness and feel of wood and a sight plane directly over the barrel. Anything other? No thanks a good well used lever gun suits me just fine.
I like my marlin levers because I can't forget and leave the magazine in the truck. Also, i will take blue metal and stained wood over black metal and plastic any day.
BB
The lever action is a derivative of early single shots. Technically the Sharps, Ballard and Martini as shown are lever actions. The falling block system was then incorporated into a repeater. Lever actions as we use them today are still very flat and compact systems. I carry mine on a carrier on the 4 wheeler. Bolt actions are bulkier and you have a bolt sticking out more. On horse back the lever actions were more compact. Also like others I just like them.
I remember a comment from the cast bullet guru Frank Marshall concerning accuracy. "Sometime you have to decide whether you need to hit a deer or pick off cockroaches at 100 yards" After a certain group size, shrinking it does nothing to make one more successful.
DEP
One of the things that attract me to leveractions is the cartridges they are chambered for. Pistol caliber cartridges are all cast friendly, but so is the 30-30 and most others chambered in leveractions. Sure you can load anything with cast, but with a 30-30 class cartridges, you can load to full power with cast.
Another thing, that maybe others don't consider is aesthetics. A rimmed cartridge like the 30-30 and the 348 look right to my eye. As does the guns that chamber them. Rimless rounds and bolt guns not so much.
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 |