Gunsite Ranch - The Craft of the Lever-Action

4

4V50 Gary

Staff
Gunsight Ranch is featured in the Sept 2018 issue of SWAT Magazine. Apparently they have a three day lever action rifle course. From a photo everyone had slings and a few had cartridge carriers on their stock. They had malfunction drills,square range drills, distance shooting drills, positional shooting and outdoor simulations.

There is one advantage to the lever action not mentioned in the article - virtually anyone who grew up on westerns probably knows how to use one.
 
Interesting Gary. Be a fun and instructional course to take. I love my lever action Uberti 1873. I can fire it almost a fast as my friend with his AR.

Learned how to shoot my first lever action .22 rifle at age 12 from watching Westerns on TV.
 
“Tactical lever guns” are nothing new. Back when i lived in Calif (late 80’s & 90’s) I carried a Marlin 336 in the trunk. AR’s were looked on as evil. A little wood on a gun made it ok.

Nothing wrong with a fighting lever rifle.
 
I love my Marlin in 44 mag. 10 rounds of full house loads will slow down just about anything.
And I figure it will be that last rifle on the confiscation list, if we ever experience that.
 
We had a guy show up once in an IDPA carbine match with a lever action something.

He screwed up cranking the lever repeatedly. Then we had to wait while he and the SO futzed around to get it back into action. He also used some round that the gun didn't like. Reloads for a 24 round stage were slow obviously. That's ok though, you should practice with the guns. I shoot revolver sometimes and deal with the reloads.

I'm sure folks could run the gun just fine, but he couldn't. He could have used that course.
 
At a Range Safety Officer class, I had one student jam my 1895 Marlin. Turns out he bent the extractor! About the only thing I (and the Dean of TSJC) could figure out is that he must have short stroked it and caught it just right.

Full stroke forward and to the rear with lever actions. With all those cowboy movies (and in my days TV shows) you'd think people will know.
 
"...probably knows how to use one..." Not any more than a guy who watched 'Combat' knows how to use a Thompson SMG, an M1 Rifle or a BAR.
"...a dearth of good lever guns that..." Nonsense.
 
T.O'Heir, I agree with your first point, but respectfully disagree on your second point. I think a lever action carbine in .357 Magnum/.44 Magnum or Special/.44-40/.45 Colt would be an able weapon for home or personal defense. I wouldn't want to take one to war, nor am I claiming that they're perfect options, but for your everyday use they're perfectly serviceable.
 
Glenn E. Meyer said:
We had a guy show up once in an IDPA carbine match with a lever action something.

He screwed up cranking the lever repeatedly. Then we had to wait while he and the SO futzed around to get it back into action. He also used some round that the gun didn't like. Reloads for a 24 round stage were slow obviously. That's ok though, you should practice with the guns. I shoot revolver sometimes and deal with the reloads.

I'm sure folks could run the gun just fine, but he couldn't. He could have used that course.
Click to expand...
As a newish SO, that's one thing I would add, an hour on different firearms and how to clear them.
 
The Marlin that was jammed required me to disassemble it. That's beyond what a RSO should attempt. Rather, it is better to render it inoperative such that it is safe to transport to a competent gunsmith.
 
We were trained to disassemble Marlins at school. Not that it was a mystery to me as I have taken both Marlins and Win 94s apart before.

I remember having to remove the buttstock, trigger plate, lever (hammer spring and hammer strut), locking bolt, bolt to clear it.
 
I've seen quite a few Marlins jammed up from short stroking over the years. A person just has to pay attention and use the full stroke to avoid problems normally.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top