Lever Action in War

[Big Daddy K]

Wonder why they never used a lever action in some of the older wars like WWI?

I assume the bolt action was cheaper, durable, and easy to maintain.

 

[cwmcgu2]

The Russians had the Winchester 1895 chambered in 7.62x54R during WWI.

 

[Danny Creasy]

Not sure what your "older war" date range is. But,

the Spencers and Henrys may have been the first sturmgewehr models ever deployed due to their use in the Civil War.

On Sherman's march to the sea, Spencer armed calvary units performed similar to modern fire teams.

 

[R.W.Dale]

what makes you think they didn't.

Russo-Turkish War, 1877–78,

The heavy casualties suffered by Russian forces can be partly attributed to large quantities of Model 1873 Winchester lever action repeating rifles purchased at the beginning of the war. Turkish soldiers were able to maintain a high rate of fire versus their Russian counterparts, who were armed with single shot Berdan rifles they had to pause to reload. The success of these rifles-and their 15 round magazines-proved the military value of large capacity magazine weapons to skeptical ordnance officers in Europe and the Americas, prompting a major change in technology and tactics. By 1890 every major army had adopted a magazine fed bolt action rifle. (Source: John Walters, Rifles of the World, Second Edition, 1998)

 

[hans1911]

I read a book one time about Mast. Sgt. Jerry "Mad Dog" Shriver, who let a team with MACV-SOG in Vietnam. One of his preferred weapons for jungle patrol was a Marlin levergun in .444. He liked the fact that the heavy slug would punch through the timber walls that the VC/NVA would hide behind in their "bunkers" in the jungle hillsides.

Not an "older" war, but an example of the lever action fitting in to modern warfare.




hans1911

 

[Harve Curry]

I believe the Turks, in the Russo-Turkish War, also used Evans repating rifles. An under lever made in Maine. Caliber was 44 central fire and they held 26 to 32 rounds depending on the wether it was the old or new model.
The Mexican Revolution saw alot of Winchester 1873, 1892, 1894's, & Marlin levers.

 

[jakeswensonmt]

Leverguns were the "shock and awe" of the Civil war, but it might be difficult to operate the lever action while crawling on your belly or from the edge of a trench/foxhole, as in WWI/II.

 

[goon]

IIRC, the Savage was considered for military use but wasn't adopted because the mechanism was more complex and harder to service in the field and because it was harder to fire prone than a bolt action.

The Henry was used in the Civil war and was thought of highly enough that some purchased their own private Henry if they were issued something else.

 

[Caimlas]

Leverguns were the "shock and awe" of the Civil war, but it might be difficult to operate the lever action while crawling on your belly or from the edge of a trench/foxhole, as in WWI/II.

I'd think a pump rifle would have done the job nicely.

 

[BobMcG]

Some of the problems were...

In 1877 the U.S. Army found it had to catch up with the times by making the move to a magazine rifle and invent their own smokeless powder. (The French were keeping it a closely guarded secret.) This would allow them repeated use of faster, smaller diameter, long range, spitzer bullets and enjoy the benefit of not giving away firing positions due to the cloud of white smoke given off by BP. You also didn't have to wait for the smoke to clear so you could see again either. It took fifteen years but in 1892 the .30-40 ARMY and Krag-Jorgenson's were adopted.

By the time of the S-A war, .30 ARMY Springfields or "Krags" were distributed to some of the troops as well as some .30 ARMY Winchester 1895s, (also capable of using the new style spitzer bullets) but the old single shot .45-70 Govs remained the mainstay of the Army.
You see, the War Department had a problem with repeaters back then. It claimed that the average soldier required a minute to aim and shoot. The fourteen shots a minute which could be fired by the "Krag" were therefore considered to be wasteful. The government wanted its troops to treat the gun as a single-shot weapon, with the magazine acting as a reserve in case of an emergency. The Springfield weapons were designed to be capable of being used as a single shot weapon in accordance with this theory through the use of a magazine cut-off switch. The Winchester 1895 offered no such feature. One strike against it.
In military tests that were conducted, it was also found that bolt action rifle allowed a soldier to lay closer to the ground while firing and working the action in the prone position than the lever action of the 1895. Two strikes against it.
Further more, in hast a soldier could cross the heads of the rimmed cartridges in the 1895's magazine rendering it useless until the problem could be cleared. Anyone with experience with 1895s can tell you that this condition isn't fun and should be avoided like the plague. Three strikes against it.

 

[Oohrah]

Most likely not being able to operate well from the prone,
slow loading with a limited amount of round with a tubular
magazine. Then again, why not!

 

[Terrierman]

I wonder what Custer and his men thought about lever action rifles as they faced the Sioux.

 

[Outlaws]

I wonder what Custer and his men thought about lever action rifles as they faced the Sioux.

"Too bad we left those gatlin guns behind..."

 

[Deaf Smith]

Ever hold onto a lever gun after 20 rounds of rapid fire? That receiver, which you cradle in you hands, gets mighty hot!

I doubt also with most leverguns weak primary extraction it would work well as a long term combat rifle in the field.