An informed opinion on lever guns.

skookumchuck

skookumchuck

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Hope B.C.
Hi all,
researching a lever action purchase I find a bewildering number of options. I'd like to shoot cowboy action some time down the line so I'm leaning towards pistol caliber. I'm hoping for opinions from CGN'ers that have owned three or more different brands.
 
The lever action is probably the most useful, intuitive firearm you will ever own. In fact, in states like New York where they have black weapon bans, the lever action has surged in popularity.

I have a Henry big boy in .44 and love it.
 
I've always been a fan of Savage levers, but I've also owned Marlins and Winchesters, and they've all been fast and intuitive, much faster than a bolt gun. As far as cowboy action, you can't go wrong with a Winchester (or modern clone) in a pistol calibre, provided it's nice and slick. Some of them need a bit of a tuning at first. In fact, the only levers I don't care for are the Brownings, but that's simply cosmetic. I've fired one, and they're very nice as well. I just don't like how they look.
 
For quicker use and cycling, if you buy a new lever, I find you need to get the action smoothed out and also the lever's sharp edges taken down. It's fine as it is for hunting but for action games, you want it all deburred.
The Miroku Winchesters, new production Marlins are available in .38/.357 and .44. These guns, esp the Mirokus, can be pricey!
 
For cowboy action the Uberti model 73's are the fastest. I have one and shoot it regularly. My favourites are the Winchester model 92's. I have too many. The problem with the 92's in the cowboy action world is that they take a lot of tooling to make them run fast. They are not nor will they ever be as fast as the 73. These guns are slim and light and a joy to handle. I have only owned one marlin and had trouble with it feeding jamming etc so I am biased there. But I see a lot at matches, they are heavy and too my eye boxy, but again properly tooled they seem to run. I have never owned a Henry because I don't like the way they load. I have shot them at matches and don't recall ever seeing one malfunction but these guns are very heavy. If you have an interest in cowboy action find a local match and go there the guys there will let you try different rifles and offer all kinds of advise. good luck jed aka The Tacoma Kid
 
If you're not limited by budget, I'd go Winchester , Uberti, Taylors & Co. or Henry. Marlins and Rossi will need some tuning up.

I don't shoot CSS but I'd imagine that a side loading gate would be preferable than from the front tube loaders like the Henry.
 
The Winchesters made by Miroku are fine firearms. They are the sort of firearm I would class as heirloom, in a world of dimishing quality the Miroku's have remained steadfast to producing quality albeit at a price!
 
Top down:
Uberti Henry 1860 44-40
Uberti 1866 44-40
Navy Arms (Uberti) 1873 SRC 44-40
Win 94 SRC 25-35
Win 94 SRC 30-30
Marlin 336 35 Rem

I do not shoot Cowboy Action but have owned a few different levers. I personally found that on the 5 Rossi 92's I have owned that the length of pull was way to short for me, hence why you do not see any here, but are slick fast action rifles. Uberti's are pretty good and look amazing but to be really slick they need an action job, the 1873 there has had some slicking up done and is way better then the top two. I would stay way from Win 94's if you want to shoot Cowboy action, they are great guns but to slow for competition. A nice old Marlin 1894 would be a good choice as well, well built but like most of the others will need a little tweaking as well.

Edit, another note about the Uberti's 1866 and 1873's or the Win 1873's is that I find the SRC models fit me and handle better for me then Rifle models, it is all in the butt stock.

 
For cowboy action competition, it's hard to beat a properly tuned 1866 or 1873 Winchester rifle, either Uberti or Miroku Winchester, for speed and smooth function. These rifles predominate at competitions. Especially Uberti. Though the Miroku Winchesters are starting to show up more frequently. Close behind is the Marlin 1894. Properly slicked up, these rifles can run nearly as fast as the 1866/1873's. I see a fair number of these. Running a tight second to Marlin, are the 1892's, either Winchester or Rossi. Also very fast, when slicked up. I do see a handful of Henry rifles, too. Most Henry rifles I've seen have been very smooth and reliable. The only downside of these is the cartridge loading tube. If you have to do a reload on the clock, inserting a round into the chamber smoothly can be problematic. Same with the Marlin. Though an experienced shooter can load a Marlin pretty fast through the side loading gate...I've seen it far too many times to think otherwise....the open-topped Uberti/Winchester 66/73's are far faster to speed load. Likewise the Model '92. My personal favourite: Uberti 1873. Why? A wide assortment of aftermarket parts are available for these rifles (as well as the 1866), so they can be easily modified and made competition ready. The removable sideplates on these rifles also make them very easy to clean and maintain. I see that the Miroku rifles are also starting to catch up now, with competition-ready parts available for these, too. Price wise: the Uberti and Winchester rifles will run about the same amount of dollars. Pricey? Yes. But build quality second to none. Likewise, the Miroku Winchester 1892's. For the more budget minded, either the Marlin or Rossi also make good choices. As far as guns go, most of a person's decision making will come down to what they hope to achieve, as a cowboy action competitor. If you goal is to eventually sit at the top of the leader board....an Uberti 1866/1873, or Winchester 1873 is a good choice. Despite their initial cost. Otherwise, buy what you like, and have fun. Believe me, no one is going to care what you show up with to shoot. Hope this helps.
 
skookumchuck said:
Hi all,
researching a lever action purchase I find a bewildering number of options. I'd like to shoot cowboy action some time down the line so I'm leaning towards pistol caliber. I'm hoping for opinions from CGN'ers that have owned three or more different brands.
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If you want to shoot cowboy action you will need to go with pistol calibre. All rifle rounds have too much power and are prohibited for general cowboy shooting. I use 38spl/357mg. Cheaper to reload than 45LC. The 357 will still make a decent deer rifle. For cowboy the best guns are the 1873 winchester and clones. My experience with cowboy action shows that the other options like Rossi, Marlin, 1892 models etc are less reliable than the 73's. Now for general use they would be fine but when you start shooting fast the 73's work best. More expensive of course.
 
Im A winchester 94 375BB user mostly for hunting.
Cast boolits an out to as far as you can hit/see em.


Great rifles for great inclose hunting

WL
 
Still alive said:
For quicker use and cycling, if you buy a new lever, I find you need to get the action smoothed out and also the lever's sharp edges taken down. It's fine as it is for hunting but for action games, you want it all deburred.
The Miroku Winchesters, new production Marlins are available in .38/.357 and .44. These guns, esp the Mirokus, can be pricey!
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But worth it! If you get a Winchester 1892 Takedown in 45 Colt it'll only take 9 rounds so not good for Cowboy Action shooting. However the Winchester 1892 is very sturdy! The new Miroku 1873 in 357/38 sp will hold 10 ( of 357) or 11 rounds of 38 special. You can use it in Cowboy Action Shooting as is or you can have a qualified gunsmith do a cowboy action job on it. Another good change is to put a Marble tang sight on it. Only guy I know of around here that does that sort of work is Rusty Wood ( actual name Peter ) in Mission. There is a Cowboy Action Shooting club in Mission and one in Hope. They're talking about starting one at the Chilliwack Fish and Game Club but I am not sure when that might start.Hope that helps and good luck!
 
Are there any cycling issues with the 38/357 rifles? The two different cartridges are different lengths..... Just curious. If model matters I would be most interested in a uberti 1866
 
MikeD81 said:
Are there any cycling issues with the 38/357 rifles? The two different cartridges are different lengths..... Just curious. If model matters I would be most interested in a uberti 1866
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Yes, the different lengths can cause problems but are overcomeable in the sliding elevator guns. If the "next" cartridge head protrudes far enough into the feed trough from the magazine, they can "catch" the elevator, stopping it cold. The fix is to cut the front slope on the elevator to a lessor angle so the next round head is still in the "slope" area. The follower /mag spring usually has to be adjusted to a lessor pressure so not as much effort is required to push the round back into the magazine. It sounds onerous when you try to explain it but in actuality any machine shop can make the slope cut in 10 min. and these guns will run phenomenally with .38 sp ammo.

The big difference between a 66 and a 73 is the trigger block in the 73 will eliminate the danger of an out of battery AD that the 66 has no such safety mechanism... and at completion speeds AD's do happen with them, I've had a couple thu the shop that are unfixable "boat anchors" now from AD's. In one instance no one was hurt but the second time the shooter had a # of powder burn specs to the face.
 
Thanks so much for the solid info! Is there much of a difference in how easy they are to take apart and clean? I heard that some lever guns are a nightmare to disassemble and clean.
 
MikeD81 said:
Thanks so much for the solid info! Is there much of a difference in how easy they are to take apart and clean? I heard that some lever guns are a nightmare to disassemble and clean.
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My view, having owned them all (literally) and having smithed all the major variants to one degree or another (we're taking the pistol caliber offerings, hence I' leaving out some like the Savage 99, BLR):

Winchesters (92 and 94) are the hardest to fully dis-assemble/re-assemble. Then the Marlins (note that the Henry is basically a tube-loaded Marlin copy in brass). The easiest are likely the 1873/1866 copies which have really pretty simple mechanisms and side-plates that come off completely.

The reverse it true for slicking and tuning. 1873's and 66's are the hardest/priciest to properly tune for racing (but give the best end result). Then Marlins. Then later Winchesters.

That said, you are overthinking things. You will NOT be disassembling your lever guns for cleaning unless you will be literally running thousands of rounds through them per season or if you handled using the wrong powders and get lots of unburnt powder all through the action. Generally you will be cleaning the bore, oiling the mechanism (without a full tear down) and preserving the exterior metal with a wipe of preservative. I use Ballistol. YMMV.
 
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