finding a lever gun

[Grey Morel]

I want a 44 magnum lever gun, but I'm picky:

I do not want a rifle with a bull octagonal barrel.

I do not want a rifle with a 10+ round full length mag tube.

The only lever guns I can find that meet this qualification are the The Winchester 1886 'Extra Light', and the Browning Model 53... but neither of those are in .44 mag.

I don't expect to find a factory gun... but can someone recommend a custom shop that can chop the tube on a Marlin or Winchester, do a good job, and not kill me at the bank?

 

[grubbylabs]

Why not a 10 round tube?

have you looked at Marlins line up and Mossberg?

 

[bannockburn]

Grey Morel

How about a Rossi M92 Puma? There's one for sale on Gunsamerica for $419.95. It has a 16" round barrel and has a magazine capacity of 8 rounds.

 

[kaferhaus]

do a good job, and not kill me at the bank?

It's a lot more complicated than just cutting off the mag tube.....

But I love "picky" customers because I can charge them a lot more...

 

[rogertc1]

Rossi M92

 

[J-Bar]

for some reason, I keep hearing the Rolling Stones singing,

"You Can't Always Get What You Want"..

On the other hand, Grandpa used to say that "with enough money and a big enough hammer, you can do anything you want to."

Good luck with your quest!!

 

[Jim Watson]

Marlin made maybe 1800 1894 .44 Sporters with half magazine in 1974.
You will pay a pretty penny for one.

Probably be $200-$300 to have one gunsmithed.

 

[Leaky Waders]

I'd send an email to doug turnbull and ask him what he could do to modify a gun for you.

 

[jdowney]

What precisely is wrong with a 10+ tube? Just don't like the looks?

So if you're looking for cheap, go with the Rossi 92 and look into getting the tube cut. Shouldn't be that hard to do, though if you can't do it yourself it will probably cost a bit at the smiths - and that's fair enough, no one wants to work for free.

Otherwise, I really like the looks of the new Winchester 92's or the Browning B-92... still have to get the mag cut though and by then you'd be over $1k with either one.

 

[Grey Morel]

Kaferhaus - what services do you offer, and what are your priceS?

 

[CraigC]

There are no factory guns fitting that description that I can think of, aside from the one Jim Watson mentioned. So your only option is the custom route but you need to answer a few questions first.

Do you want a pistol or straight grip? This can have a huge effect on what gun you begin with and how much gunsmithing will be involved. For changing a straight grip to a pistol grip will get expensive real quick.

What kind of sighting equipment do you intend to use? If you want a scope, a late model Winchester 84 or Marlin 1894 is your only option.

How much do you want to spend on the whole project? If all you need is a magazine tube shortened, then it will be fairly inexpensive but if you need a rebarrelling and/or stock and other metalwork the cost will climb quickly.

I can recommend David Clements, Dave Clay and Mic McPherson. Cosby Custom Guns and Nonneman Custom Rifles also do levergun work.

http://www.clementscustomguns.com
http://www.levergun.com/main_index.htm
http://www.cosbycustomguns.com
http://leveractions.com/

 

[aHFo3]

How 'bout a Ruger 96/44?

 

[Panzercat]

How about a Rossi M92 Puma? There's one for sale on Gunsamerica for $419.95. It has a 16" round barrel and has a magazine capacity of 8 rounds.

Uhg, you just had to rub salt in the wound! I still haven't been able to locate a new, non-puma/legacy .454 :\ It's killin me!

 

[CraigC]

Never seen a Puma with anything but a full length magazine but it would indeed be cheaper to shorten a magazine tube than to replace a barrel.

 

[Badlander]

Buy A Marlin 1894 Cowboy then send it to Grisley custom guns. Prepare to spend $.

 

[aHFo3]

Winchester model 94a

http://www.gunblast.com/Paco_Winchester-94A.htm