Lever actions

J

Jeff #111

New member
Well I should say up front that I'm not a rifle technician. I own both a Lee Enfield MKIII* (mfd Lithgow 1918) and a No. 4 MK II (mfd 1949). Love both of those rifles. I also own a Chilean Steyr Mauser Modelo 1912 in 7.62mm NATO, an Israeli Mauser in 7.62 and a Spanish FR8 carbine in 7.62. Of course I also own a couple of those evil "assault" weapons and a beautiful Winchester Model 70 in 30-06 (mfd in 1959) - which I inherited. But anyway I'm a lefty and I like lever actions. I own one of the new Model 1895s in 30-06, a Marlin 1894CS in .357 magnum, two of the Henry 22's and as of yesterday another new Winchester 1895 in .270. I don't hunt, but I like those lever guns. Maybe I've watched too many westerns, but I find them very easy to operate, fast, and just "cool" to own. Okay I'm done now. Just wanted to get that in there. I like my Lee Enfields though. Great rifles.
 
Levers are cool...

Jeez...what's with all the surplus? D'you have a Curios and Relics license?

I'm a lever-action fan myself, though I prefer the Marlin guns over the Winchesters (will I go to hell for that?). The action on my .357 smooth and easy, and I can add a scope if I am so inclined. I'm going to use it for home defense. Heh...

I am excited about the new Winchester .410 lever, and I hope they make something bigger. Talk about home-defense! :eek:
 
Surplus rifles

Blarney,
I just have a weakness or is it fondness for the old battle rifles. They're pretty affordable and I get a kick out of owning a little bit of history. Even if my rifle never saw any more action then being used by a recruit.
 
<--Hisself is an old one eyed fat man so it stands to reason,

I can appreciate Duke sayin what he did. 'Sides, I can't hit jack with a rifle, so I figgure I might as well have as much fun as possible working the action. ;)

blarney,
Nah, you'll just spend a few moments in prugatory but not to worry, you'll have lotsa company there.


*
4-Winchesters
1-Marlin
1-Browning
Last time I checked. There might be more though since I think they fool around with each other when the safe is closed.
 
I am currently lusting after the new Marlin 1895CB in 45/70....


Holds 9 rounds in the tube magazine, plus one up the spout is 10 rounds of 45/70....now thats an assault rifle!


:) :)

1895CB.jpg
 
Hey...question for everyone...as a lefty, is there a signicant difference between the Winchester and the Marlin as far as ease of use???...I ask 'cause I'm looking at the .357 carbines and I'm a little torn...

G
 
DeakonG
I shoot lefty also and haven't been able to tell a difference except the Marlin action is silky smooth compared to the newer Winchesters. One thing that does bother me about the Marlin though is the shape of the lever. Extended shooting ( more than 100 roiunds) tends to hurt the back of my hand more with the Marlin than it does the Winchester. I think it's because of the square edges on the Marlin lever.
 
I like the Winchesters better than the Marlin in 30/30. The trapper is a more compact gun than the 336C. The Marlin wood is just too bulky for me. I also like the fact that I can see my round chambered through the top. It is easier also to drop the first round directly in the chamber if you are in a hurry.

I must be one of the few.
 
Leveractions have always been my first love. Even thought I have bought, hunted with, shot, etc. all kinds of rifles, I always come back to the leveraction in one form or another. My favorite leveraction is probably my older model Browning BLR in 308 win. However I also really like several others that I own, such as my Winchester 1895 in 30/06, my Winchester 1886 Extra lightweight in 45/70, my Marlin 1895 in 45/70, my Winchester 94's in 44mag and also 357mag, and I also own an older Marlin 336 in of course 30/30. I also own a Winchester 94/22mag and a Browning BL22. I am currently thinking about buying a pre-64 Mod. 94 win. 30/30 while I can still find one. I know where a couple of nice one can be had for around 400 to 450. Those old pre-64 winchesters have a feel that can't hardly be matched by any of the current production leveraction made by anyone, and the sights were a heck of a lot better too because they knew back then that the buyer of that gun was going to depend on those sights for the life of that gun. I have also owned several other leveractions in the past that I traded off for one reason or another, some I wish I had kept. A few were lemons I don't miss, but most have been fine guns.
 
Speaking of lemons, Here is the lemons I have owned or seen others with that were lemons in my opinion due to reliability problems. I had an older Marlin 1894 in 44mag that was prone to jamming, I hear the new cowboys are a lot better, but the old ones had a reputation for jamming and mine sure did. I had a Savage 99 in 308 that had hard ejection problems, probably from a rought chamber, took it to a gunsmith, never could get it right. Had a Browning BLr in 358win that had feeding problems, it was one of the first models with the rounded clips. This problem was not an issue with the 308win just the 358 due to poor design of that magazzene which they corrected when they went to the current flat bottom maggazzene. Had a new Winchester 1895 in 270 that give me feeding problems, but the current 30/06 I have works great. I also bought 2 different Rossie 92s in 357 mag that were simply terrible. They were both the worst jamming guns I ever played with and I tried all kinds of 357 rounds in them. Had a friend that had a Henry 22cal leveraction that was not very reliable, and not that accurate either and I believe the design and workmanship is very inferior to the Winchester 94/22, the Marlin mod. 39s or the Browning BL22's. This is just some of the experiences I have had over the years and thought the information might be useful to some fellow leveraction lovers.
 
www.drccustomgunsights.com

i am eager to get mine this week.
oh,
BLR 308, BLR 243, 1894 44mag, 444ss, 1995M 450marlin, 3X 336 marlin 30-30's, BLR 22LR, DRC takedown 444 18".
i think my next will be a Browning 71 in 348 (highgrade if i can come up w/ the booty).
 
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