Want A Lever Action But

C

CMGibson

New member
Im seeing a lot of posts different places and reviews of malfunctions. What is the chance if I buy one it will operate flawlessly? Im mainly interested in no more than 18.5 inch barrel, 357/38 carbine.

What brand would come closest to being out of the box perfect? Are they hard to clean?
 
The magnum calibers are more OAL length sensitive. The 357/38 works best with magnum cases. If you reload it's not a problem to load down to .38 pressures.
 
My vote would be a Rossi 92. Forget the 94 Winchester. That action was designed for a rifle cartridge and it's the most problematic of all with pistol calibers.
 
If loading from the muzzle end is ok with you then go with a Henery. Other wise go with an old Winchester or Marlin.
 
He wants a pistol caliber. Savage made a good gun, but not what he wants. Marlin is about the only option IMHO. The point about avoiding a gun designed for rifle calibers is valid. Most don't feed pistol calibers well. The whole point of a pistol caliber rifle is a lightweight, short handy carbine. The Henry's are butt ugly and weigh more than my 300 mags by more than 2 lbs. No thanks!!

The Rossi, maybe, but I don't trust them. At least they look nice and are a trim light weight rifle but nothing is more American than a Levergun and I cannot see buying one made off shore when there are so many available here on the used market.
 
My Rossi 92 in 44-40 has been nothing but reliable. I use smokeless and bp in it.

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I have a number of winchester and marlin lever actions.....I would try to find an older marlin in 357....
 
I've heard this before and with proper
firearm handling and care ,I still don't
understand what the issue is with
loading Henrys' from the muzzle end.
ron

ps: is this one of those "clean the gun while
it's loaded issues".?

ron
 
I've only had one lever action, specifically a Marlin 1894SS. It had terrible feed problems, even after I'd sent it back to Marlin in an attempt to fix the problem. No matter how clean I kept the rifle, no matter how smartly I racked that lever, it was a hopeless case. Finally, in much disgust and disappointment, I sold it off. That was my first [and probably my last] foray into the lever action world. I went back to my Mini 14...THAT thing NEVER jams!
 
I have two Marlin Cowboys, one in 357
and the other in 45.
Both mine seem to only like round nose flat point
cast bullets crimped with a Lee factory crimping tool.
Loads of fun.
 
Uberti?

I've also been looking into the lever action market.... I wanna feel like a cowboy ;) HA! I've been leaning more towards 45LC though. Just seems like a bigger caliber would be more fun. So my question is anyone owned or shot an uberti? I've been eyeballing the 1873 model.
 
I bought a pair of Winchester (miroku) 1892s this year - carbine and short rifle. They have shot flawlessly for a couple hundred rounds apiece. All I've shot has been factory loaded 158gr JSP. They will not feed factory .38spl as far as I have found.

The Japanese made 1892s are very nice firearms. Nice wood stocks which are well fitted. The internals are clean, well finished and fitted. The blueing is nicely polished and deep. Very good quality firearms. The short rifle has a noticeably thicker walled barrel than the carbine, but in my hands and with my horrible eyesight they are equally accurate.
 
ColeHAZE88 asked: "So my question is anyone owned or shot an uberti? I've been eyeballing the 1873 model."

The Uberti '73 is the most coveted rifle among SASS shooters. I saved my nickels to buy one in .357. The '66 and '73 "toggle link" action can be made to run very smooth and fast.

Two drawbacks. First, they are expensive. Second, the guns need action work to run well, making them even more expensive.

Lots of the lever rifles are ammo sensitive. If the bullet shape or the overall length is not right, they may not feed. A new shooter in my club purchased a Uberti '66 chambered in .38 Special. He also purchased some .38 factory ammo (158 grain RNL). His rifle won't feed it. It locked up and had to be disassembled to be unloaded.

I purchased my Uberti from a cowboy gunsmith ("Cody Conagher") who slicked up my rifle before I ever saw it. I load 105 grain truncated cone flat point bullets in .38 Special cases and it feeds 'em like crazy. It's the most expensive gun I've ever bought and I enjoy the heck out of it.
 
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