Educate me on lever actions

You should really start with google on this. There is much too much to say to respond in a post. When you can narrow questions down, post those.

I dunno about the Guns that Won the West, but I really like Marlins. Winchester 94s just don't do it for me, Marlins feel better in my hands.

A lot of gus like Marlins. A lot of guys swear by Winchesters. There are still a lot of good Winnys on the market even though they aren't around anymore.

Winchester made a lot of design changes to all their guns in 1964. Most gun people believe these changes were for the worse. That's why you'll hear a lot about pre-64 and post-64 when reading or talking about Winchesters. You can still find VG-Excellent Model 94s out there for a lot less than you'd pay for a soso Garand.

I don't own a Marlin but I'm very partial to my pre-64 Model 94. Its a very good gun and its a classic true American gun.

Well, the gun that won the west has to be the Winchester model 1873. It was the most successful in a line of repeating rifles that started with the "Henry" rifle of 1860, continued with the "Yellowboy" of 1866, and culminated with the model 1873. All used a toggle link action that was invented by Smith & Wesson and originally appeared in the Volcanic pistol of the 1850s. Unfortunately, original Winchester model 1873's can be quite expensive, and Winchester hasn't made any since sometime before WWII. Uberti and Chapparal (sp?) make modern reproductions that are fine rifles. Get one in 44-40 (aka 44WCF), which was the original chambering of the model 1873 and is still a fine cartridge. Price will be around $800-1000.

The other major players in traditional "cowboy" lever actions are the Winchester model 1892 and the Marlin model 1894. The Marlin is still being made, and is a fine rifle. Get one in 44 Magnum, and expect to pay around $400-500.

The Winchester model 1892 has been produced for Winchester in limited runs by Miroku of Japan, and you can still find them around. They are excellent rifles -- stronger and more compact than the 1873. The Winchester '92 is the classic lever action of western movies, and it's the rifle John Wayne always used in his films. An excellent reproduction is the Browning B-92, also made by Miroku. Rossi of Brazil still makes the model 92, also. Expect to pay $500+ for a Miroku (whether branded Browning or Winchester), and $300-400 for a Rossi.

The Winchester 94 and Marlin 336 are the other common choices. The Winchester 94 was designed for longer cartridges like the 30-30, and it still excels with those cartridges. It doesn't work so well with the shorter pistol cartridges. The Marlin 336 is an improved version of the Marlin long action rifles of the 1890s and is also an excellent design. Neither of these rifles can claim the western heritage of the Winchester 1866 and 1873, however, or even the western movie heritage of the Winchester '92. I love the Marlin 336 in 30-30 as a deer rifle, and you should definitely own one, but if you want a cowboy gun, go with one of the classic Winchesters.

FWIW, if I ever get a 22 rifle it will be a Henry carbine. Pretty slick little gun.

The Marlins look pretty nicely put together, however look it over closesly if you're thinking of scoping it, as the one I looked at two days ago had severely misaligned scope mounts, I'm not even sure if the front one would have even allowed the mount. It was about 1-2mm off..or roughly almost the width of the screw head.

I collect Winchesters, and shoot Marlins!

I like the historic and collector value of the early Winchesters.

But, the Marlin is a much better design from a gun maintenance standpoint.

If you take out the lever pivot screw on a Marlin and shake it, all the guts fall out on your workbench.
Then you can use a cleaning rod from the rear as you should, clean the bolt, inside of the receiver, etc.

Winchesters take a degree in gun-smithing to get the bolt out, and they can't be cleaned from the rear any other way except with a Bore-Snake, which is a fairly recent development for sporting use.

As a consequence, used & old Winchesters are very often found with muzzle damage from cleaning rod wear, or badly pitted from lack of cleaning, or both.


rcmodel

Love my Legacy Puma

It's a south american made 1892 winchester clone. Lightweight, handy, slim profile, reasonably accurate and great fun. The design is capable of chambering the .454 Casull.

Try this site.
http://www.rarewinchesters.com/
and this one.
http://www.leverguns.com/

I collect Winchesters, and shoot Marlins!

Click to expand...

If I were to buy Winchesters, I'd be the same way, but as of now I don't have any. I chose a Marlin. Its a great gun, shoots fine, easy to clean, and I like the way it looks a lot more than the Winchester's. So if you want one to look at, I would get a pre-64 Winchester, if you want one to shoot, get a Marlin.

The Colt Burgess is from the same time frame.

For the record, the Winchester 94 claims to be the gun that won the west...however, the west was for the most part won by 1894...so the 1873 Winchester is far more likely to be the gun that won the west.

That said, the Marlin 336 is the gun that was developed that fixed the problems of the 1894. Given the choices of good ol' standard lever actions, I'd take a 336 in .30-30 over the others any day.

That said, the Marlin 336 is the gun that was developed that fixed the problems of the 1894. Given the choices of good ol' standard lever actions, I'd take a 336 in .30-30 over the others any day.

Click to expand...

Well said, although the Marlin's are not perfect. Example that small squared lever on the straight grip models. They can really be a bear in the larger calibers, so on my 38-55 & 45-70 cowboy models I have switched out to a large leaver, makes a world of difference. Other than a few special model Winchesters, all of my levers are Marlins and they are the best shooters of the bunch, esp that fantastic little Model 39a

I've got 2 Winchester's, both new (3year olds). The .357 Trapper is a handy little rifle. Has a problem when you short shift it. Just cycle it like you mean it and it runs fine. The other is a 26" .44. No problems at all. Smooth action, nary a hickup. You can thread a needle at a hundred yards with iron sites. The only problem with both is that they don't make them anymore and I hate to shoot them. I know they made a gazzillion of them, but these 2 are mine and they are LNIB. I also have 2 Marlins. A 1895GS and a 336. The 45-70 is a great gun. The 336 is a new aquire and I haven't had it out yet. Nice little rifle, it's the 1970 commemorative model. Bottom line is, I like lever guns and these 4 are the reason why.
kid

trainwreck100 said:

For the record, the Winchester 94 claims to be the gun that won the west...however, the west was for the most part won by 1894...so the 1873 Winchester is far more likely to be the gun that won the west.

Click to expand...

Winchester makes that claim, true, but I don't believe they ever made that claim specifically about the model 94. It was the (pre-Winchester name) 1860 and 1866, and the Winchester 1873, that were around when the west was being won. The Winchester 1876 was there, too, but in such small numbers that it can't claim the title. The John M. Browning designed model 1886 also made the cutoff, but that's it as far as Winchester lever guns go, because the "old west" as we know it is generally considered to have been gone by 1891. The date that marked the end of the period is December 29, 1890 -- the date of the Wounded Knee Massacre, and the end of the Indian Wars.

All of the modern lever actions (Winchester 94, Marlin 1894/1895/336 and the Rossi/Browning/Miroku replicas of the Winchester 1892) came after that date. They are certainly better guns in many ways than the toggle link Winchesters that were actually around back when the west was being won, and that's why they are still in production today. But they weren't around back when the west was being won.

Actually, a pretty good argument can be made that no repeating rifle can lay claim to the title of "the gun that won the west." The gun that probably has the best claim to that title is the single shot "trapdoor" 45-70 Springfield rifle of 1873. In the hands of the U.S. Army, it won the Indian Wars and cleared the path for the railroads and the settlement of the west.

I own a Winchester 94 30-30. The one thing that always just amazes me is how accurate I can shoot that rifle at 100 yds, standing, using iron sights. This is using the cheapest ammo. I've shot a dozen other rifles and none of them seem to even come close to my Winchester for accuracy. I don't know why?

There are a few Winchester 1895's around. I think some are Brownings and some are Winchesters made by Mikoru.

This is kind of late in the "won the West" era, but I feel it is a significant point in that it was the first lever action to handle spitzer rounds (in a fixed box magazine). One of Browning's last designs.

I shoot mine rather than treat it as a collector's piece, so I had it shortened to carbine length and put modern sights on it. The steel quality is supposed to handle modern .30-06 loads, but probably not "light magnum".

I'd like to have some other lever guns, too, but so far this is all I have.

I have three post '64 Winchester Model 94 lever actions and all are wonderful shooters.

One in .44 mag (shooting .44 spl through it is a joy), one in .30-30, and one in .410 ga.

The EMF company 1892 rifles are the best of the imported Rossi made rifles. They have nicer stocks better sights. The are very well made and fit and finish is nice for the price. The actions need some smoothing and the springs need to be replaced with a reduced power spring kit. After a good action job they are like butter and they are very accurate rifles.

The 1873 rifles are smooth out of the box and most look very nice. They are costly and keep going up each year. They are about $925 for a basic rifle now. They will not handle hot loads like the 1892 rifles.

The 454 casull magnum Rossi made 1892 rifles are very powerful rifles in a small package. 454 300gr bullet factory loads out of a 20" around 2000 fps. More powerful than a factory load 45-70 300gr out of a longer barrel.

EMF doesn't carry the 454 rifles only Legacy Sports, Puma 92

GC

Had a post-64 Win '94. Sold it, regret it, need to find another for a decent price. It was handy, robust, and lightweight. I sold it about 2 years ago because I don't hunt (would if I could, unfortunately a "city slicker") and found a Sig pistol that I just had to trade it for.

However, like you, I am now lacking a lever in my collection.

Additionally, it would make an excellent "homeland defense rifle" for those that live in states that restrict semi-auto rifle ownership. Handy and unassuming.

I nominate Zeke for the "concise" award with "picture is worth 1000 words" oak leaf cluster.

Pricing on the Savage '99 seems to have gotten nuts, which is one reason I haven't replaced the one from my youth - they were inexpensive once. Rotary magazine was pretty slick. Pretty modern stuff for having barely squeeked itself into the 19th century.

Now I want one.

I'm just getting into lever actions. Marlin, Savage, Winchester, Henry, Browining.

Here's an article from Rifle Shooter:

http://www.rifleshootermag.com/featured_rifles/all_american_levergun/

Everybody needs a Model 92 Winchester, a Colt SSA, a horse you shoot off of, and a eyepatch.
"Fill Your Hands, you SOB"