Thinking of Purchasing a Lever Action this Weekend - Opinions?

abbynormal said:
Soooo - for whatever reason I caught the 'Lever Action' bug a few weeks ago.

'Been doing a little bit of research, and I am kinda leaning towards a Winchester '73 in .357 / .38 sp.

As Lever Actions are totally new to me - I'd like to hear people's opinions on what they like - and why.

Let's think duel use for this puppy - plinking and / or small game.

Abby
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I have owned 66 and 73 carbines, as well as a 66 short rifle.

The greatest appeal of these is history and authenticity.

However, they are weak actions, and the drop of the stock is greater than a more modern carbine like an 1892 or 1894 Winchester, which is a little awkward.

Also, sometimes they are fussy to work well, right out of the box, and need some tuning.

Also, they can cost $1500.00 when you can buy a Henry Big Boy for less than $900.00.

While the Big Boy is less authentic, it is very well made and stronger, and has an excellent reputation for accuracy.

It's a pound heavier than a Marlin 336C carbine, due to the octagon barrel, but quite beautiful IMHO.

And it oozes with Old West charm, brass, and walnut.
 
Big can of worms since it's such personal preference. I love my 1895 Guide Gun in 45/70. 45/70 is a great for reloading and so much fun. It's my favourite!
 
For me it's .45 Colt in either a Henry or Winchester variety, or both. You could buy two Henry rifles for the price of the case hardened Winchester.
 
Are there any pros and / or cons on the 'round barrel' vs. the 'hexagonal' barrels on the Winchester '73's ?

Also, any opinions on the 'straight' stock as opposed to the 'pistol grip' stock ?

Any advantage of one calibre over another - other than cost? I was sorta looking at the .357 / 38 but I am open to .45 Colt or whatever ...

Abby
 
My preference is the Pistol Grip, not all models have that option, straight stock is fine too..
Many cartridges to choose from, cannot go wrong with a 357/38 to start, sure you will add more to the stack
 
kamlooky said:
I sea sum variance in yer rithimm there Douglas..........must-ahh-bin the vino.
Start out with bawrel length posishunn'in and then stagger a bit.
Them four awd bawls on the right, they don't seem tuh fit.
I'll abbskawnd with them jest tuh git'tim owt yer hair.

You still have lawks don't you?

Ohh wait, think'in that t'uther bow baby................:nest:
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Guaranteed there is a reason for it... the pattern is there, then an empty space to delineate between the harmonic presenece to the left and the discord to the right... that is until a harminious pattern can be ciphered for the oddballs... if a harmonious pattern cannot be ciphered, then that nagging chirp in the back of the skull will grow into a cacophony of clanging cymbals until the offending square pegs are in some way disposed of... thus quieting the jangled neuro-pathways.
 
The "hex" barrel (octagonal) looks so much better and authentic but is a little bit heavier. The straight stock also looks better and authentic but
the pistol grip probably adds a little touch of comfort and control. The .357 seems to me to be the better option for a rifle for longer range capability.

Love the looks of those Winchester '73s but I am not seeing any in stores, just lots of Henry Big Boys and Golden Boys.
 
abbynormal said:
Are there any pros and / or cons on the 'round barrel' vs. the 'hexagonal' barrels on the Winchester '73's ?

Also, any opinions on the 'straight' stock as opposed to the 'pistol grip' stock ?

Any advantage of one calibre over another - other than cost? I was sorta looking at the .357 / 38 but I am open to .45 Colt or whatever ...

Abby
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Round barrels are lighter and way more authentic in a carbine. Octagon barrels, on the other hand, were used on 20" barrel short rifles.
If you opt for an 1873 short rifle, it will be heavier, and it will come with crescent butt-plate.
The carbines handle faster. The short rifles may appeal to you more for style. Your choice.
I prefer the saddle-ring carbine because I'm a TV and movie western buff, and every cowboy in these carried same.

An excellent .357 Magnum carbine would be a 90's JM 1894C Marlin with Ballard rifling. Works well with lead bullets and hand-loads.
Also, they have a shorter and smaller diameter barrel which reduces weight and makes them very light and maneuverable.
The 1894 action seems to work even slicker with the skinnier .357 cartridges, compared to .44 Magnum and .45 Colt.
.357 would be cheaper to reload and brass would be more easily available.

You mentioned hunting, and .45 Colt will work fine with factory loads on deer at 50 to 75 yards with clean boiler room hits.
.44 Magnum, on the other hand loses nothing to a .30-30 in stopping power out to 100 yards.

Pistol grip carbines usually means a Marlin 336 in .30-30 or .35 Remington, although some 73 short rifles come with them.
A pistol grip is more comfortable, obviously, but more atypical on a 73.
.30-30 and .35 Remington are great deer cartridges, but less appealing for plinking.
 
bettieguitar said:
For me it's .45 Colt in either a Henry or Winchester variety, or both. You could buy two Henry rifles for the price of the case hardened Winchester.
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A lever in .45 Colt would be nice too ,would go nicely with my 1873 SAA revolver.

My goodness, so many options, so little cash.Everytime I see the pics that Douglas posted ,it sets the bar pretty high ,and I though I had a gun room !!!!!!

Lever Valhalla !

BB
 
Depending on use, I find the .357 a little underwhelming, I have a Winchester 1892 in .44 mag and quite like it, easy and light to shoot and carry. I would go .44, .45 colt or 45-70 in you favorite flavor of firearm.
 
Pistol Calibers are nice I am sure, I know i still want a lever gun in one. I can only testify for Rifle Caliber lever guns, Might be more costly than some Pistol Calibers but you can hunt lots more with these.



From the top Dominion Arms 1887 Shotgun, Marlin 45-70, Wicnhester 94 (pre 64) 38-55, and a new Mossberg 494 30-30 which looks a lot like a 94 but is a bit different.


OR you could go the route of the browning BLR
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This one is in 308 but they come with tons of Calibers now. It has one of the shortest lever throws I have ever felt. They have some very complicated internals though.
 
Love my uberti special sport in 45 Colt. It's a work of art and I prefer a pistol grip over a straight stock
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Yes. Buy a levergun. I prefer .44-40 for plinking, authenticity, and black powder cartridge shooting. If you want to hunt with it, go .44mag... you can load always load light for plinking, but you can never load a small cartridge bigger:)
 
leverboy said:
Yes. Buy a levergun. I prefer .44-40 for plinking, authenticity, and black powder cartridge shooting. If you want to hunt with it, go .44mag... you can load always load light for plinking, but you can never load a small cartridge bigger:)
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.44-40 is certainly authentic and just as fun to shoot as .45LC.

However, those .44-40 cases are paper thin.
In .44 magnum cases are super easy to reload and you can use 200 grain bullets to duplicate a standard .44-40 factory load.
Likewise with .45 Colt except for bullet diameter.
 
44-40 is also a bottleneck cartridge, which means lubing cases which is a PIA. I have my Uberti in 45 colt, and had a Henry in 44 mag. I liked both, but I just didn't like the tube feed for the Henry. It's no biggie, but it takes some practice loading it and keeping the muzzle pointed downrange. Hunting, that isn't an issue. The quality on the Uberti I would say is equal or even better than the Miroku Winchesters.
 
dogzilla said:
Love my uberti special sport in 45 Colt. It's a work of art and I prefer a pistol grip over a straight stock
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These are quite beautiful deluxe 1873 rifles. However, I can't help but notice that while there is a pistol grip, the curved portion seems too far back to actually have much effect on how it affects the shooter's grip. It seems almost cosmetic on this rifle.

Does it actually feel much different?
 
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