Getting tactical with a lever action

Personaly, as a PC weapon, I'd like to see the Remington police pump 5.56 rifle made in 6.8mm. Be decent for deer and a pretty good 'PC' defense carbine. I understand 5.56mm AR mags can be converted to 6.8 with just a follower change.

But if that don't come through, the Marlin Texan 18 inch barrel carbine will do fine.
 
The one thing I expected to see but didn't in this thread is that the lever rifle IS a tactical rifle! Going back to the Spencer Repeater and through the various Winchesters over time, lever action rifles were issued to soldiers, hence "tactical."

Are they still effective? I vote YES on that one. Given a choice between a lever action and something else, would I still pick the lever? NO. Technology has brought newer weaponry to the table that I would choose over the lever action but that doesn't take anything away from the lever.

Chrisp0410
 
Up through the 50's and60's a lot of old time Sheriffs and Texas Rangers carried lever guns in some pretty serious situations- might not have known what you mean by "tactical" but they got 'er done.
 
"Long Island Assault Rifle" is a good one. :)

I've also heard pistol-caliber lever action carbines referred to as "Cowboy Kalashnikovs".

I have a Rossi 92 in .44 Magnum, and like it well enough to consider getting it slicked up a bit and fitted with ghost ring sights. That's about as tactical as I'm likely to get with it.
 
I don't believe it. All through this thread I haven't seen one refrence to "The Rifleman".
I'm of the generation that grew up believing that the lever gun was the only tactical weapon to have.:) jd
 
2008 or 1860?

The lever gun was tactical when Henrys were issued in the civil war. Now they are not--at least as I understand the term. I understand tactical as meaning giving a decided advantage in a given combat situation over other weapons.

I do have a Rossi 92, in .357, and its real slick.

I also don't see a problem with someone modernizing their lever gun with lights or lasers or whatever they want. It still goes bang, and not everyone wants to drop $800 on an AR, especially in .223.
 
"Tactical" Lever Action? Hell yes.

Amateurs worry about hardware, pros worry about software.

Like anything else, everything has it's place, and more often than not, the quality of the man is more important than the equipment. I'm a Gulf War I infantry vet, so I am well acquainted with the AR style weapons. If I'm going to go into an unknown situation, I'm grabbing my Marlin 336 CS in .35 Remington. No, it won't fire as fast as an AR, no it won't reload as quickly, but that's not important if you hit what you shoot at.

I've attended a local bowling pin shoot occasionally, and I often use my 686 .357. Most everyone else uses slick .45 race guns, usually with hi cap mags. Oddly enough, since there are 5 pins, I win as many as I loose, because I have 6 shots.

My Marlin is as short and handy as an AR, and a 200gr SP is a serious problem if it's coming your way.

Consider me a charter member of the "Long Island Assault Rifle" Club.:D
 
One thing that I see that has been overlooked is that you can reload easily between firing. No clip to drop/exchange, bolt doesn't have to be open, just shove in more cartriges as time allows. As long as there's one in the pipe, you're good to go.
 
seen it done

I shot a 3-gun match with a guy who used a bone stock lever action (I think it was a Marlin, but I forget) as his rifle. Very respectable performance; it was an eye opener as to how effective an old deer rifle could be, although the game-ism of high round count stages was insurmountable and his total time pretty slow due to reloads.

One nice to know: rifle caliber lever guns heat up fast in volume firing, and the loading gate area is no exception--the fellow in the match burned his thumb pretty badly accomplishing his last reloads. I've had M-4s get hot enough to smoke the CLP (don't tell CATMs), and the magwell area gets pretty hot, but keeping the gun fed wasn't a problem. Of course, unless your home is being attacked by hoards of Visigoths, this shouldn't be a problem.:D
 
Tactical Tri-rails for lever action marlins exist.......I dont think I need to say that that kind of disgusts me...thats almost as bad as tri trails for a mosin...:eek:
 
If I'm not mistaken he did pretty darn good against the AR crowd.
Click to expand...

I can't imagine a lever rifle even coming close to my AR in a match. The course of fire usually requires more shots than a lever holds and reloads are S L O W.................. That said in the real world and not a match the lever would be sufficient in most scenarios.
 
JackL said:
I have a Rossi 92 in .44 Magnum, and like it well enough to consider getting it slicked up a bit and fitted with ghost ring sights. That's about as tactical as I'm likely to get with it.
Click to expand...

I don't know about the ghost ring, but it will accommodate a tang peep sight.

Getting it slicked up will spoil you on other lever guns, as I am not sure the 92 action can be beat, smoothness-wise for pistol cartridges, all else being equal.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top