What are the advantages of leverguns over bolt actions?

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deepforest27

Inactive
I'm curious as to what advantages leverguns may have over bolt guns. I've wanted a lever gun now for awhile. Let's start by saying range is not an issue, as I live in an area where deer are harvested at an average of 50-100 yds.
 
1. Other things (mostly skill of shooter) being equal, the lever gun is a little faster than the normal bolt action - two motions as opposed to four.

2. Lighter weight, usually.

3. Tradition.

Most lever actions, however, are not strong enough to handle the higher power cartridges, and attempts at redesign of the lever gun have failed because they lacked the traditional look.

Jim
 
If you've never hunted with a Model 94, you've missed something. An art lover might call it,"Minimalist". There's nothing there that isn't vital, no bells, no whistles.

It carries and swings like a good quail gun, and packs enough punch for deer sized game at moderate ranges.

It's NOT super accurate, but for those more concerned with "Minute of Deer", it's an excellent tool.

While there's horror stories aplenty, the fact remains that anything used that much by that many people will have problems sometimes, tho "Pilot Error" is the biggest.

All due respect to Mr McMillan and his extremely accurate rifles, but sometimes a 94 might be a good choice...
 
Let's not forget capacity, some lever guns can hold double the ammo of a bolt gun. Not usually a hunting issue, but might enter into the equation for a multi purpose rifle.

Each has their own strength. Bolt guns are more accurate, stronger, and chambered for more powerful cartridges, while lever guns are quicker to reload, hold more shells, and at least to my mind, handle better, but that is subjective.

In brush country, I would rather have a lever action, in open country I'd take a bolt action. All depends on the situation. Hope this helps.

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With my shield or on it...
 
Lighter weight, faster repeat shot if necessary. Good brush gun for 75-100 yards.

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Courage is only fear that has said its prayers.
 
Advantages? Not many. Flat, tend to be light, pretty cool. Fun to play around with. When you get down to it, leverguns are a bit of an affectation, like single-shots. Actual performance advantages are pretty much nil. This is just something you make a decision to use because you like the idea of it and are willing to put up with its inadequacies and idiosyncrasies.
 
You all forgot one of the biggest advantages of the levergun: price! I bought my Winchester 94 30-30 for $300 new. The rifle is plenty accurate out to 100 yards with iron sights, which is as far as I'm able to practice at the range, and will put down a deer at that range. It's light and flat, easy to carry, looks great and is a joy to shoot. And to top it off, it could serve as a home defense gun. What more could I need?

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Romans 6:23
 
Dave said it first. Flat. You can store about 4 lever guns in the same amount of space as you can 3 bolt guns. Or how about storing 3 lever guns in the same space as 2 HK91s with those fat, tropical handguards?

America was mostly a lever gun nation until WWI. Returning doughboys returned with an appreciation of the bolt gun and shortly thereafter, major manufacturers (in part to take advantage of wartime machinery) began introducing bolt guns. Remington's Model 30 was a glaring adaption of the M1917 Enfield and Winchester's Model 54 was patterned after the 1903 Springfield. Despite this, lever actions remained popular but slowly yielded ground as the bolt gun crept up in popularity. While it is unlikely that the lever gun will ever disappear altogether, it shall always have a soft spot in the heart of firearms enthusiasts and hunters and our Cowboys out there.

soapbox mode off.

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Vigilantibus et non dormientibus jura subveniunt
 
Having had both(several)an still do(where do
they keep cooming from?I don't know Honey...)
I would have to say see which one feels best
in your hands.If you want a bigger cartridge
than a 30-30 or 35 Rem. you can get a Savage
Mod.99,Marlin or Winchester Mod.94 Big Bore
in several different calibers.I almost forgot
Winchester 1895,Teddys' "Big Med.Gun".
Bert
 
The biggest advantage? Fun! Once you take one out and play with it you'll understand. All of the above reasons are valid - capacity, size, ease of use, price, weight. Of course, you will never see someone with a Unertl attached using it on the 1000 yd line. It isn't meant to be a bolt action and it never will be.

One reason that makes it appealing to me is that most of the more popular Winchester lever actions were designed by the hand of John M. Browning - 'nuff said.
 
Hmmm, I'm surprised nobody mentioned this...

From a military viewpoint, bolt actions are better because they're tougher, simpler, more reliable (by that I mean idiot-resistant - if you don't believe me, just try working the action a little too slow on a lever action - I've had to take my Marlin 336 apart to get a stuck cartridge free), and lastly and most importantly, bolt actions are easier and faster to use while prone.

When you're trying to become one with the earth, you don't want to have to raise up or rotate the rifle to fire back. The unwanted attention could prove fatal.
 
I have to point out that you CAN have a lever gun with powerful, long range cartridges.
The Browning BLR has a detachable box magazine that uses cartridges up to .300 Winchester Magnum in length. Its rotary bolt gives it a rigid lock up that rivals any factory bolt gun in strength and accuracy.
The Savage 99 is also capable of handling spitzer type rounds and can give fair long range accuracy.
If you only need 150 yards in range, great, you can go with the .30/30 and it will serve you well, but you are NOT limited to that kind of performance just because you prefer a lever gun. The world of lever guns does not end with Winchester and Marlin.


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Keith
The Bears and Bear Maulings Page: members.xoom.com/keithrogan
 
I have a savage model 99 lever action .300 savage. it was my grandfather and he used it well, cannot remember a time he missed a deer usually 150-200 yards, i have shot it and it works very well i think as far as cycle rate i am about as fast at this as my Ruger M77mkII bolt, i do agree with the idea of if you are prone then a bolt action is less of a hassle to return fire but so is a fully automatic weapon, i would guess just from availability you could find a great price on a good bolt action before you came across a larger cal bolt, some would say its just your preference. i got the ruger because sav .300 ammo is getting a little harder to come by and the ruger in 308 hopefully will last. try them out and pick the one you like, if the gun has a problem it isnt because its a bolt or a lever just a bad gun.
have fun


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shut up and reload.
 
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