Does a Lever Action Rifle jam?

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if you can tell me something beneficial a lever gun can do that another gun equally priced can't do better, I'd be deeply impressed and even delete my comment.
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There is not an action more fun to operate than a lever action!:cool:
 
My younger cousin, when he was 12 and learning to shoot, jammed my Marlin 336C .35Rem three separate times. All three times involved factory ammo (LeveRevolution). All three times, the spent casing jammed under the loading gate, and required a gunsmith to remove.

Gunsmith suspected, all three times, that my cousin short-stroked the lever. My cousin was small for 12, with short arms, and this seems pretty likely.
 
Not posting for debate, my 336 Marlin in .35 Remington has NEVER jammed in 30 years. My '94 Winchester in .45 Colt will jam factory and reloads if cycled lazily. Lever it briskly, no problems. ANY item with 2 or more moving parts will jam under the right (or wrong) conditions. Any item....:D
 
But if you can tell me something beneficial a lever gun can do that another gun equally priced can't do better, I'd be deeply impressed and even delete my comment.
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Somehow I think it would be wasted keystrokes. Your mind is obviously made up and you won't be swayed by facts so I'll just let you go on about your business. :rolleyes:
 
With regards to potential advantages of lever guns:

Lever guns fit better in saddle scabbards than do pretty much any other type.

They aren't as fast as a semi-auto, but might be as fast as a pump. They are faster than bolts, but generally are less powerful, with shorter range (unless of course one gets a .30-30 or other lever caliber in their bolt rifle).

They are much faster than single shot or double rifles. (At least, past the second shot...)

My 335C was surprisingly accurate, almost as good at 100yds as my 700 .30-06, but still 1/2 to 1MOA greater.

With LeveRevolution ammo, the improved BC provides flatter trajectory, and some improvement in effective range.

Lever guns make very good saddle guns and brush guns.
 
A better question would be, is it better for YOU?

I like a good autoloader as much as the next guy... my SKS is utterly dependable.. has NEVER failed to feed or go bang. Accuracy is good, definitely good enough for deer out to 100-150 yds. I like it.
I've had one AR. I shot it quite a bit, with only a few failure to feed episodes. I liked it a lot, too.
I also have a Marlin 45-70 that has been completely dependable... but I've only shot maybe 300-400 rounds through it so far.
I plan to find me a good pawn-shop Marlin in 30-30 as soon as I can.

If the "call to arms" comes, I wouldn't feel unprepared with any of those rifles.... or my Mossberg 8 shot pump 12 gauge, for that matter.

What the 30-30 lacks in quickness of repeat fire, it MORE than makes up in knock-down punch. It is considerably slower to reload, but probably as failure proof as any AR is.
So... I don't know which one is "best". Each type has good qualities. It's more what YOU want, and will be proficient with.
 
What may surprise some proponents of the semi-auto as the be-all, end-all of human existence is that for controlled, aimed fire with comparable cartridges, there is very little advantage to their chosen design. For the proficient shooter, the levergun can be blazing fast. Obviously, it's easier for the uninitiated to do a mag dump with an AR but we're not talking about spraying the countryside. The semi-auto can be reloaded much more quickly, IF you have spare magazines. The lever can be topped off.

I don't know where buys his leverguns, but most of mine are as accurate as your average boltgun. I don't own one that won't do 2MOA and a few will do 1MOA.

I've also never needed to take a shot that was out of a good levergun's range. Nor have I ever been hunting and said, "man, I wish I had a boltgun or semi-auto".

Some people need to get out more.
 
I've hunted with lever actions for over 30 years. I've shot CAS since 1997. In my experience there are two failures you might have with a lever action, first is a fail to feed, second a failure to eject.
Fail to feed is usually caused by out of spec ammo or trying to use shorter round in the gun made for a longer round, like 38 Spl in a .357. This might also be the result of a round feeding from the mag tube while the gun is out of battery, this can cause a round to go under the elevator a tough jam to clear in the field. Not working the lever vigorously enough can result in a fail to feed.
Failure to eject might be caused by, again, not working the lever with enough vigor or on rare occasion by a worn extractor.
Most of the time a jam or failure can be cleared in the field.
I'm pretty good at CAS and like it. I like to hunt with a lever action because they are light, handy and more of a challenge. I do not consider shooting a deer at 500 yards hunting, it's sniping. I don't care how you hunt, I like how I hunt. I've hunted with all kinds of guns. I put meat in the freezer regularly.
One big advantage of hunting with a lever gun is that people don't think I'm Rambo or a dope dealer guarding his crop.
I can also tote a light little carbine all day without giving myself a heart attack.
Again, you carry or use what you want. I'm happy with what I have.
 
if you can tell me something beneficial a lever gun can do that another gun equally priced can't do better, I'd be deeply impressed and even delete my comment.
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There are bolt, lever, pump, and semi auto repeaters. Each one has unique advantages, and dis advantages.

Some can be "topped up" or "topped off" (top loading is something different) with the action closed. Some cannot.

Some have detatachable magazines. Some do not.

Accuracy is a fuction of the indivual rifle, its ammo, and the shooter. Some are more accurate than others, in all types.

Please do not choose an AR and a Marlin336/Win94 as totally representative of their respective actions. They aren't. If you are going to compare them as individual rifles, fine, but don't think they are the only examples of semis and levers that apply.

EVERYTHING JAMS. How often and how badly again, are dependent on the individual guns, ammo, and shooter. Don't make the mistake of thinking its the action type alone.

I can think of lots of things a lever gun can do well, and so can some "equally priced" (and really what does that have to do with ANYTHING?) rifles do as well. I can't think of anything that an "equally priced" rifle can do better.

There is one thing a lever (or bolt, or pump) can do that a semi auto cannot, and that is cycle the same with all power levels of ammo.
 
One of the worst jams I ever saw in a lever action was a Browning BLR in .308.

Guy was shooting military surplus, and the case stuck REALLY badly.

He pulled the lever so hard that he stripped the teeth off the rack and pinion.
 
newfrontier45, if you were referring to me, my 335C shot around 1.5-2MOA; my 700 shoots pretty well around 1MOA. Hence, .5-1 greater. Still not bad, by any means.
 
And triumphguy, you do know there are more moving parts and little fiddling things in a lever rifle than in an AR, AK, or Garand...
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Uh, have you ever taken a Lever Action apart? You have not, or you wouldn't say this. LA guns are some of the easiest rifles to take apart.:rolleyes:
 
"Uh, have you ever taken a Lever Action apart? You have not, or you wouldn't say this. LA guns are some of the easiest rifles to take apart."

I see your statement and raise you the magazine assembly on a Savage Model 99.

:p
 
Look OP, for any application there is a better choice than a lever gun. Its a niche market kept alive by nostalgia. If you want 100 year old technolodgy that was quickly elapsed less than 30 years after its conception, and a slim selection of choices, in both ammo type and rifle, then by all means get a lever gun and learn how to use it. Make sure you can easily find the ammo for it where you live and take it out to a range often enough so you know how to work it. I'm not saying its a bad choice for its limited design functions, just might not be the right choice for you. Put into the right hands it will aparently never fail, never jam, shoot constantly at whatever rate you choose, and has been the perfect gun. All those other people, soldiers, and LEO's just got razzle dazzled by marketing hype and decided to buy something else.

I'm done with this topic. "as fast" or "as accurate" is still not better. The Lever gun has many design flaws. Like the magtube being pinned to the barrel, the lack of safeties designed into the rifle means newer rifles have safeties just thrown in. I have personally seen a 30-30 putting "light strike" marks on a primer when the rifle was fired with the safety engaged... Which brings up my next point; the particular 30-30 belonged to some old guy sitting next to me on a range. He'd charge a round, pull the trigger, get a puzzled look and do it again. Looking at the light strike detent on the primer he thought the gun was broken.

OP, if you think a tube fed, lever operated, antique based off the blackpowder age is the best choice for you, then get it. Hope it works out for you.

And as for the comparing rifles in the same price range, I didn't want to compare a yugo to a McLaren F1
 
There is a certain coolness about a lever action rifle. You dont have to wear a wife beater t-shirt to look right with a lever action like you do with an AR. Lol
 
semi problematic, you got all the answers huh? lol. I can certainly agree with you if one had plans to go to front lines, but for civilians, while it may be nice to have certain capabilities...the reality of survival for most people would mean you don't engage the enemy at 150 yards, you slip away and live! Hunting to eat? How far do YOU take game? I've taken two Deer and the farthest one was 80 yds. So what will your semi auto need to do that a LA will fail at, bad tactics notwithstanding? :D

Note to self, don't buy Savage 99. :D
Well my Marlin Lever Action is so simple to take apart. It has very few peices compared to mast other types of guns. I can cycle my Guide Gun faster than a turnbolt from the shoulder.
And yes...My Lever Action is a time machine. I can't shoulder the thing without being whisked through time to a simpler and cooler era. :cool:
 
newfrontier45, if you were referring to me
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No, that was directed at "semi_problomatic".


Look OP, for any application there is a better choice than a lever gun.
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I have to pity one so short-sighted and narrow-minded. I hesitate to use the "I" word but I think it certainly applies.
 
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