seems my model choices would be 1866, 1873, 1892, and 1894. Among those, any reason apart from personal preference to pick one over another, or eliminate one? For my intended uses.
Howdy
Regarding the Model 1894, Winchester made one and Marlin made one. The Winchester Model 1894 is a longer action, designed around rifle cartridges such as the 30-30. Although this action has been chambered for 45 Colt, that rifle and that cartridge are not a great match. However the Marlin Model 1894 is designed for relatively short 'pistol' cartridges, such as 45 Colt.
I've read (including here) that the 1866 has a weaker action, and 1892 (?) the strongest action, of the classic levers. Is that correct, and would that be a consideration for my uses? Are standard pressure loads sufficient for silhouette, and why would I want/need to leave myself the option of higher pressure loads? I don't want to carelessly limit my options for things I might want to do. Should I want to some day put the rifle into a home defense role, do I need to consider pressure requirements for modern expanding ammo?
Yes. The Winchester Model 1866 and the Winchester Model 1873 both have what is called a Toggle Link action. So did the earlier 1860 Henry. The action depended on the folding action of the toggle links to hold the bolt in battery, there were no locking lugs as there are in most modern rifles. Think of the toggle links of a Luger, except upside down.
Here are some photos of the action of an Uberti 1873 rifle with the one side plate removed. The action of a Model 1866, and the 1860 Henry are identical, in fact most of the parts interchange. And needless to say, the originals were just like this too.
The action is at battery in this view, the links are lined up with their pivot points in a straight line. If the hammer were cocked, the trigger could be pulled and the rifle would fire.
In this view the lever has been opened slightly and an extension on the lever is pulling the middle pivot point down. The links are beginning to fold, pulling the bolt back. Notice behind the trigger a small tab is protruding down out of the frame. This is the lever lock. When the lever is completely closed, it pushes the tab up. This allows the trigger to be pulled. With the lever down like this, the trigger cannot be pulled so the rifle cannot fire. Contrary to popular opinion, this is not a modern 'lawyer safety'. Starting in the 1880s Winchester included the lever lock because the 44-40 cartridge that the Model 1873 was designed for was more powerful than the old 44 Henry Rimfire cartridge of the Henry and Model 1866. The Winchester engineers thought it prudent to include the lever safety so an out of battery discharge did not occur if the shooter's finger brushed the trigger as the lever was being closed. It is important to note that the 1860 Henry and the Model 1866 Winchester did not have a lever safety, and neither do their modern replicas made by Uberti. So one has to be careful when levering a Henry or a Model 1866 so the trigger is not brushed by the fingers while closing the action. If the trigger is brushed while the lever is closing, and the toggle links are closed enough to allow the firing pin to fire a cartridge, recoil will forcibly fold the links, the firing pin extension may leave the frame in the general direction of the shooter's eye, and the lever will violently jump forward. I have seen the result of such an out of battery discharge, the lever broke and the shooter's hand was bruised. Luckily the firing pin extension did not leave the frame. For this reason I recommend inexperienced shooters buy a '73, not a '66 or the 1860 Henry. Sidbar: I do own and shoot an 1860 Henry regularly, but I am careful to keep my finger away from the trigger while closing the lever. Knock on wood.
In this photo the lever has been pushed all the way forward. The toggle links are completely folded, the bolt has been retracted completely, and the firing pin extension has cocked the hammer. The lifter (the part that is angling up) has raised the brass carrier up so a new round can be pushed into the chamber when the lever is closed. You can see part of the carrier extending above the frame at the left. The front half of the lever safety can be seen directly behind the trigger, blocking any motion of the trigger. When the lever is pulled back it will straighten the toggle links, which will push the bolt forward, and the bolt will push a fresh round into the chamber. At the last moment the lifter will drop down, pulling the carrier down to line it up with the magazine so a fresh round can pop onto the carrier.
This is a photo down into the action of an actual Winchester Model 1873. If you look carefully you will see the barrel is marked 38 CAL just in front of the frame, signifying that this one is chambered for 38-40. The toggle link rifles had no 'top' on the front half of the action they were completely open. The Model 1873 had a sliding dust cover, the 1866 and the Henry did not. In this view, the lever has been partially closed and the bolt is shoving a fresh round into the chamber. The extractor is actually pushing the round, the round has not created enough resistance for the extractor to pop over the rim yet. This is normal. The dust cover slides back when the lever has been opened the first time and stays there unless manually pushed forward with the shooter's thumb. Yes, the screw slot on this dust cover has been pretty nastily buggered up.
In this view, the bolt has pushed the round completely into the chamber, the extractor has popped over the rim, and the carrier has popped to the lower position. The horizontal slot on the dust cover is not typical, I have always suspected some clown used a saw or a file to cut a new slot into an earlier dust cover screw.
This view of the top of a 44-40 Winchester Model 1892 shows the twin locking lugs that secure the bolt in battery. The entire top of the action is open, the long piece secured by the lugs is the bolt.
Here is a view of the locking lugs of the Model 1892 with the lever fully forward. The lever has pulled the lugs down out of engagement with the bolt. The lever has also pushed the bolt all the way back and it has cocked the hammer. If you look carefully you can see one of the grooves on the side of the bolt that a lug will ride up into when the lever is closed. No, there is no lever safety on a Model 1892, it does not need one. If the trigger is accidentally pulled while the lever is being closed, the hammer will fall, but the lugs have already started to enter their slots in the bolt, so the bolt will not fly back. But yes, you can slam fire one by keeping the trigger pulled while working the lever fast. We can talk about Chuck Conners another time.
The carrier of a '92 is very different than a Toggle Link carrier. The carrier pivots to raise a cartridge up to the chamber. In this view, the carrier has pivoted up, pointing the cartridge at the chamber. The bolt is about to close and shove the cartridge into the chamber.
A word about the 1886 and 1892 Winchesters. Yes, they were both designed by John Browning. The '86 came first, it is a bigger gun, designed for longer rifle cartridges such as the 45-70. Most believe the '92 is simply a scaled down version of the '86. This is pretty much true, however there are some internal differences between the two, particularly in the design of the carriers. In this photo you can see how much bigger and more massive the Model 1886 at the top of the photo is than the Model 1892 at the bottom. This 1886 is chambered for the 45-70, the '92 is chambered for 44-40.
The very early Marlins were top eject rifles, just like a Winchester, but by 1889 they were side eject and have been ever since. This Marlin Model 1894 is chambered for 44-40 and left the factory in 1895.
Yes the old girl is pitted and there is no blue left, and the barrel is pitted, but she still shoots well. With a Marlin the carrier pivots up just as the bolt starts to move forward. In this photo the lever is starting to close and the carrier has raised a round up to the chamber. The bolt is just starting to push the round into the chamber. When the lever is worked again the spent brass will be ejected out to the right just before a new round is chambered. There is a single wide locking lug or block that locks the bolt in battery. The hook visible at the top of the lever engages the block to pull it down so the bolt can slide back. Sorry for the clutter in the background. By the way, the Marlin 1894 has had a two piece firing pin for many years, to prevent out of battery discharges.
There has been a lot written recently about the lack of quality in Marlin rifles since they started being made at the Remington factory in Ilion New York a few years ago. The machinery was old and worn, and the men who knew how to milk the best quality out of it were not offered enough money to move from Connecticut to New York. Remington has made a lot of effort to improve quality recently, and just a few weeks ago I had the chance to inspect and fire a newly made Marlin Model 1894 Cowboy chambered for 45 Colt. I can honestly say I was impressed with the quality of the rifle, the fit and function was good and it operated just fine. The action was a little bit stiff, as one would expect from a rifle fresh out of the box. If I was going to buy one I would lighten the springs and smooth the action a little bit, then it would be completely ready for CAS competition.
The stuff made by the modern Henry Repeating Arms Company does not impress me. They continue to lie by omission leading the naive reader to believe the company has a historical connection with the original 1860 Henry rifle, which is simply not true. With the exception of their 'Original Henry' rifle, which is an accurate replica of the 1860 Henry rifle, the rest of their centerfire rifles are pretty much based on the Marlin design. I have not been impressed with them, they are heavy, there are no aftermarket parts made for them, and the method of loading them without a loading gate is awkward. Yes, my Uberti Henry does not have a loading gate, but that is an historical feature.
Anyway, strength of the various lever guns on the market today:
Yes, a toggle link rifle is not as strong as a Model 1892 Winchester or a Model 1894 Marlin. The toggle link design is not as strong, and the frame of these rifles is skeletonized, unlike the solid frames of the others. However all the Italian rifles are proof tested in government proof houses, and European standards are actually a bit more strigent than US standards. So you can be sure that if you stick with SAAMI max pressure ammunition, any of the toggle link rifles will be safe to shoot. In fact a few years ago Uberti began offering their Model 1873 chambered for 44 Magnum. I do not know if the frame will stand up to repeated abuse of the much more powerful round, but they had to pass a proof test or the Italians would allow them to be sold.
Yes, the Model 1892 Winchester and the Model 1894 Marlin are stronger than any toggle link action, Puma has chambered the Model 1892 for the 454 Casull, and the Marlin is available chambered for 44 Magnum.
One other thing. A toggle link rifle will generally weigh about 1 pound more than a Model 1892 Winchester of the same barrel length and caliber.
And the 1860 Henry weighs another pound more than that.
