A Lack of Modern Levers ?

J

JoshM75

New member
Currently my father is searching for a new Deer rifle. He's decided upon a Savage Arms 99 .308 Lever Action Rifle.

Yet they are not currently manufactured and the second hand market is rather dry, I'm guessing Savage 99's are still pretty popular.
While "Cowboy style" Marlins and Winchesters abound, only Browning builds [a rather ugly IMO,but workable] lever rifle capable of magazine feed with pointed ammunition. The Ruger .44 Lever is not really in the same catergory as the BLR.

Considering legislation in many nations bans or regulates the ownership of Semi automatic's and Pump actions, I'd thought there is a natural market for magazine fed Levers in the more popular [e.g. .223, .243, .270, .308, .30.06, etc] centerfire calibre's.

Sako, Savage, and Winchester used to produce goregeous Levers in the past and considering the legislative environment, hasn't that market increased ?

Others I've spoken to, suggest that Lever actions are more expensive then Bolt actions to produce, because of more working parts, etc. But I'm unsure of this ?

Personally I have a hankering for a Synthetic stocked .223 Lever action which can accept AR15 magazines. You could legally sell it in many overseas nations [esp OZ], and drive the Anti's crazy. :D

So do you think there is a market for the return of the Sako Finnwolf, Winchester M88, and the like ?

Kia Kaha ... Josh
 
I would certainly buy a revised Winchester 88 in a nice flat shooting cartridge. My favorite deer rifle currently is a Winchester 94 AE XTR in .307 Win. Ballistics are very similar to .300 Savage. A Model 88 in 25-06 would rock!
 
Browning still makes/imports the BLR, as far as I know, in many of the calibers you've mentioned.

These days, it's pretty much a given that when people thing .243 or .308, they think bolt action rifle.

Changing that impression is going to be tough.
 
No one would buy one. Lever Action rifles are a thing for Traditionalists. You can't even change one without people eyeing it with scepticism.

The only exception is the Co-Pilot.
 
I don't know guys, I think there's still a market for the '99. Seems like every time I go to the range someone asks me if I'm selling mine.

Here in the states there's a pretty good supply of them. The .308's are a tad scarce it seems like.
 
I have wondered about the concept of a lever-action in .223 feeding from AR magazines. I know that in England such things exist, as well as boltactions that feed from AR mags.

I want a levergun with high-caps in .223.
 
Anachronism, maybe ?

But if you were an Australian though, it would give you a quick handling, large capacity, and most importantly legal alternative to a [now banned] Semi automatic rifle.

Friend of mine visited OZ during the "Great Gun Buy Back" , he reckoned people were surrendering their Semi autos and Pumps for a Government check. Which was then later spent on new Marlin .30.30's and Winchester .44's. The next best thing I guess.

If OZ style legislation had ever been passed in the USA, what's the bet Wilson Combat would now have a line of "Tactical Levers"and "Combat Co pilots" instead of custom ARs.

Maybe the OZ/UK new firearm market is simply too small to warrant a manufacturer investing in non traditional ideas ?

All the best..
 
Leverguns will be popular for a long time to come. If they're a "fad", then they're a "fad" that's been around for 150+ years. If Cowboy shooting is the only reason for the recent upswing in popularity, how do you explain the 1894P or the 1895G, not to mention the wide array of Marlin and Winchester .30/30's designed for hunting?

Granted, bolt actions have been the firearm of choice for "serious" hunters and shooters since the 1930's, but they are far from perfect. They're slower to cycle than leverguns, and tend to be more expensive. But my biggest gripe with them is their snooty European attitude ;-) I love to be the odd man out, and in the shooting world there's no greater rebellion than bringing a funky levergun to the firing line where nearly everyone else has a scoped, sporter-stocked bolt action that looks and shoots exactly like every other scoped, sporter-stocked bolt action.

I like my bolt actions, but I love my leverguns. Shooting a lever action, especially with hardcast handloads, can't be matched by the highest velocity pointy bullet from your fancy-pants cartridges. The satisfying clack-clack of the lever is followed by the even more satisfying smack, when you hear the big chunk of lead from the .45/70 or .44 Mag break through the target. No bolt or semi-auto can really match that.

They'll be around as long as the Duke keeps yelling "fill your hands!"
 
I wasn't downplaying the lever action rifle. I particularly like .30-30 levers.

Just, the juxtaposition of a Winchester '94 with a USGI 40 rd mag sticking out of the bottom... It's like a belt-fed musket: the concept of it just kinda gives one pause.
 
Problem as I see it is the best way to build a clip fed modern lever is to build a lever operated bolt. The looooong action is exactly what levers are not about.

I equate lever hunting with hands-on close range shooting. I like Win's M88, but by three in the afternoon it has all the charm of carrying a boat oar around. It seems to wind up slung over the shoulder at just the wrong time.

Tom
 
I'd like to see a levergun chambered in some cartridges you see auto pistols chambered in like 9x19mm, 40S&W, or 45ACP.
 
I liked the winchester 88.. short fast 308 lever gun, lightwieght too. i 'd guess demand for these has been replaced/supercedded by the popular savage 99 and the browning BLR.

Winchester is making 1895 models again in heavy calibers, browning is selling them as well in presentation grades, would be neat to have one in 30-06.
 
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