The gun that won the west out-dated

DiMP said:
I have a Winchester Lever Action and I would love to buy another but everyone wants a pretty penny for them. I also wish, for the fun it is to shoot them, that it didn't cost almost a dollar per round because it is so much fun to run that action fast :p
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I'm starting to shoot cast bullets. Pennies...er...nickels a shot.
 
Without a doubt the most popular deer hunting rifle here in Maine is the Winchester Model 94 in 30-30 even after being discontinued. The Marlin 336 in the same caliber is right up there as well. Lever guns are far from dead here.
 
I've carried a '94 in .32 Winchester Special for the last 10 years. Lovely little old rifle to carry around and shoot. This year I hope to take a 1913 1899 Savage in .303 Savage out whitetail hunting. I also have a 1910 Saddle Ring in 30-30 and a Belgian Congo Saddle Ring, plus a couple or three other '94s.

I load little 90 grain Lee bullets over 5-6 grains of 700X for plinking in the 30-30's. Makes for inexpensive shooting, and great for new people.
 
Don't own one, never have, but they are most definitely a part of our history; can't help but feel that when you hold one, and the very clean, early 1894 I had in my hands recently certainly struck me as a nicely built rifle and definitely felt like a compact and quick handling package. I can see why they're popular. One day...
 
The lever action might have fallen to the side due to the development of powerful bolt action cartridges but with the advent of the Hornady polymer tipped bullets there has been renewed interest.

That's what I read in Guns & Ammo. :D
 
The lever gun was king in the USA until the Great War.

Once that was over, you had another 4 million young and healthy guys who knew how to use bolt-actions properly.

Then all those surplus rifles, starting with Fritz's rifles, started to hit the market......

THEN came Jack O'Connor and the boys.

ELMER, of course, always had to go one bigger.

And that brings us to where we are today.
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I've got a Garate Winchester 92 clone in .44-40, a Winchester 1895 Russian Musket, a Spencer 1860 and I'm going to look at a Winchester 1895 SRC in .30-40 later today - I've also got a few dozen bolt actions, but every one of my lever guns makes my favorites list!
 
DEZ said:
Hey Alonzo is living proof he beat all the 10-22's with his bolt gun at our speed gopher shoot and will not let me live it down dam gun kept jaming !@#$%.
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Ahem, cough, Bu****it, cough, cough!!!

Ok, I admit. It was actually outhouse luck, but the gophers have not been the same since. But, Boomer454 DID get his butt handed to him by the lowly Brno, basically he got a good spanking!!!!!! All in fun!!!!!!!
Hmmm, nice enough day today to un-pack the 73's and go blast a few dogs.
 
John Sukey said:
The "gun that won the west" is a load of Winchester BS!
The gun that won the west was the single shot trapdoor Springfield.;)
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A certain amount of truth here as the Winchester of the era cost nearly a months wages to a farm hand or wrangler. A Colt Single action was equal to nearly two months wages. The guys who could afford either were uncommon.
The cheaper guns of the era were the shotguns, and they woudl take a variety of game to keep men fed. With careful use they could even take down larger game then just birds.
There will never be a complete resolution to the phrase "The gun that won the west". What truly won the west was the railroad and the ability to move people into the country easily.
 
Alonzo said:
A certain amount of truth here as the Winchester of the era cost nearly a months wages to a farm hand or wrangler. A Colt Single action was equal to nearly two months wages. The guys who could afford either were uncommon.
The cheaper guns of the era were the shotguns, and they woudl take a variety of game to keep men fed. With careful use they could even take down larger game then just birds.
There will never be a complete resolution to the phrase "The gun that won the west". What truly won the west was the railroad and the ability to move people into the country easily.
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Don't forget barbed wire! The only cheap and effective way to fence off land available at the time.
 
I got shot with my 94, 30-30 throught the legs when I was 12. Never gonna sell it. Actually I think I am going to get it reblued and cleaned up. I love that little gun. (Well I didnt when I was on the wrong end). Those were the days when you could just hang a gun on some nails and it was all good. Biggest meathead day of my life. My dad showed us all about safe handeling and we knew bloody well we werent to take it out without the old man. So we waited till no one was home. Dippy.
 
smellie said:
John's right.... as usual.

Advertising is one thing, reality another.

Don't believe me, ask General Custer. He heard that the Sioux weren't well armed.
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.....they were sure of victory....the men of the 7th Cavalry, as they rode on.........

Winchesters may have helped here, but with such overwhelming determined attacks, perhaps only the Gatling guns and rescue from Reno and Benteen would have turned the relentless tide.

Custer was left to his faith at the insistence of Benteen after arriving at Reno's command on what is now called Reno hill. Those men should have charged directly towards that skirmish cloud. A terrible glory for Custer and his detachment. An awful feeling shame for the young officers and men who were hell bent on riding to Custer's aid.He was surely heavily engaged from the giant cloud of dust that engulfed his position and the continuous gunfire, but these men were and ordered to stand down by Benteen and Reno. Forgive me if some of my facts are of a bit. I read the whole story years ago. What a glorious story it would have made......Custer's command surrounded, low on ammunition, dug in behind their dead and dying horses, rescued in the nick of time by Benteen and Reno.

Now you got me interested again, maybe I'll dig out some of the books.:cheers:

As too lever guns,..... especially tube feed types like Marlins and Winchesters,or even the Savages, I'm seeing less and less every year in my hunting travels.I know they are not as readily available as they were in years past, but I'm not exactly sure why they are declining. With all the hunting shows showing most guys wielding boltgun/scope combos and dropping game at distance, it may have an influence, even in our closer range mixed forest type hunting.
 
Well, Benteen and Reno were also heavily engaged and on the opposite end of the Sioux village from Custer... I don't see as it would have been possible or responsible to have attempted to relieve his command.
 
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