Best Lever Action Rifle?

albertaal said:
John,

That is a great rifle. Do you have its little brother the M92 in 44-40?
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No, not at present, but one day perhaps. The closest I have is an old well used 1894 Marlin in 44-40. As I'm the only other gun nut in the family, when my uncle decided to 'thin' things out a little, he gave me the pick of the litter. I choes the Marlin as it was the first centerfire rifle I had ever shot. In the Bowron Lake area, when Dad & my uncle were out for Moose, my cousin & I used to sneek the old Marlin out for some 'informal' target practice.

Marlin189444-40.jpg


Marlin189444-402-1.jpg


It's use now is relegated to cast bullet shooting and off hand practice.
 
djw15 said:
I'm planning on purchasing a lever action rifle, but I am unsure on what makes a good lever action, what is a good value and why?
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There are a number of questions you should first consider before your question can be answered. What's it for? Do you prefer traditional or modern? What is your budget?

Clearly a deer rifle doesn't fill the same niche as a rifle that is suitable for big bears, so you need to define what the rifle is for. Yes a bear gun chambered for the .450 Alaskan will kill deer, but a .44-40 leaves something to be desired as a grizzly rifle.

If your vision of a proper hunting rifle includes mounting a scope, the traditional rifles in some cases pose more of a problem, although the flat top Marlins are scoped easily enough. But tube magazine rifles do not lend themselves to shooting pointed bullets, unless you're content with loading them as a two shooter, with one round in the chamber and one in the tube.

As for the budget, a rifle like John Peterson's M-71 (which gets my vote for "best" lever action rifle) would not come cheaply and neither would an original '86 Winchester or a SAKO Finnwolf, but rifles that are still in current production are generally affordable, as are a number of rifles recently out of production like the Savage 99, in its later versions, and the Winchester 88.
 
I'm definately in agreement with your guidelines of matching calibre to the game hunted Boomer. Your mention of the Savage 99 however, brought to mind an example of an exception of note. In '55 when we moved from downtown Edmonton to downtown Barkerville, down the street from us Joe & Betty Wendle resided. Apparently in years prior, Mrs. Betty Wendles forte was hunting Grizzly, using a 99 Savage, in 22 Savage High-Power. Folly to my way of thinking but she did well at it. As I recall there were four Grizzly hides/capes/rugs hanging in the stairwell to the upper floor in their home.

MrMrsJoeWendle.jpg
 
marlin easier to w0ork the action in my experence. looking to add a 45 -70 to shelf if the rifle priced on comes along.

never like the 94 and the difficult working of the lever ... much force needed i thought in the several i handled

my .02 .

btw pm me if u got a marlin 45-70 at decent price pls
 
Levers made today, its hit and miss. Put up a WTB add on the EE and hope for an old Winchester in good shape. Not one that is worn out!! I lucked out 6 years ago by placing an add in the local newspaper. Farmer actually went and dug it out of the tractor it was in since 1975. Still a box and a bit left of the 2 boxes bought with the gun.
Good luck.
 
As a 99 Savage fan, I would suggest you start your collection with an economical classic. The 94 Winchesters, and most of the Marlins continue to roll off production lines somewhere, but the 99s are limited to what's already out there. A well cared for 99 with a rotary magazine, either in .308W or the classic .300 Savage would set you up nicely for the range, and give you a cartridge potent enough for everything other than the big bears. Prices have all but doubled over the past 10 years, and without a doubt will continue to increase. On the other hand, if $ is no object, you might want to start looking around for a model 71 Winchester, or its later clone from Browning. Another great riflle and solid investment.
 
Johnn Peterson said:
I'm definately in agreement with your guidelines of matching calibre to the game hunted Boomer. Your mention of the Savage 99 however, brought to mind an example of an exception of note. In '55 when we moved from downtown Edmonton to downtown Barkerville, down the street from us Joe & Betty Wendle resided. Apparently in years prior, Mrs. Betty Wendles forte was hunting Grizzly, using a 99 Savage, in 22 Savage High-Power. Folly to my way of thinking but she did well at it. As I recall there were four Grizzly hides/capes/rugs hanging in the stairwell to the upper floor in their home.

MrMrsJoeWendle.jpg
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It seems in days gone by the .22 Hi-Power was a giant killer. A trapper who worked a line near our summer cabin in the Whiteshell swore by it for deer, bear, and moose. It seemed to work for the guys who used it.
 
For a new lever rifle, IMO your only sound choice is a Browning BLR.

Used, you can't go wrong with a blr, but they're in such demand odds are for little more than the used asking price you can buy a new one.

Win. model 94's are short, light very comfortable guns. Those made pre-1964 have much nicer actions and seem to be simply better quality. Those made post-64 are commonly rattly rust-buckets, but they're still good shooters and the post-64 one's can be found quite reasonable.

Lot's of a calibers available in both.

We've only had 2 marlins. The actions are really nice, "heavier feeling" than the win's, good shooters. Just not our cup of tea, although my daughter like's hers, (must take after her mothers side of the family. :p )
 
Are you knew to shooting if you are then there is only one lever rifle I would recommend a Browning BL22 in 22LR.

I purchased my first one over 30 years ago I learnt how to shoot fast and accurately with this little gem of a rifle the skills I acquired/learned from shooting it thousands of times are still with me today.

Other than being given my dad's best friends pre-64 Win 94 in 30-30 when the LGR was introduced my next lever purchase was a pre-Remington JM stamped Marlin 1895GS in 45-70 if your into getting a big bore this is the rifle I recommend looking at.
 
As far as the "best Lever action rifle" goes, it's tough to nail it down to just one. Winchester, Marlin, Savage; heck they're all good. What you like the best, I guess.

I have levers in Winchester and Savage and consider them all good. My oldest lever action is an 1886 Winchester from 1889 in 45-90. Here's the only two pictures I have, on photobucket, of a few of my oldies crammed into one picture. There's a couple of 1886's in 45-90. 33 WCF. A few pre-1900, 1894's in 30 WCF, 32-40, 38-55 that pre-date the WP proof mark and have the teardrop hammers. There's a couple of 1892's in 44-40 and an old Colt SAA in 45 Colt from 1906. There'll all good shooters with very nice bores. Old is good.

1886-6.jpg

1886-5.jpg
 
Rod said:
As far as the "best Lever action rifle" goes, it's tough to nail it down to just one. Winchester, Marlin, Savage; heck they're all good. What you like the best, I guess.

I have levers in Winchester and Savage and consider them all good. My oldest lever action is an 1886 Winchester from 1889 in 45-90. Here's the only two pictures I have, on photobucket, of a few of my oldies crammed into one picture. There's a couple of 1886's in 45-90. 33 WCF. A few pre-1900, 1894's in 30 WCF, 32-40, 38-55 that pre-date the WP proof mark and have the teardrop hammers. There's a couple of 1892's in 44-40 and an old Colt SAA in 45 Colt from 1906. There'll all good shooters with very nice bores. Old is good.

1886-6.jpg

1886-5.jpg
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I agree, and my compliaments Rod, nice collection of oldies:). My family of four, some old and some of newer vintage, pales by comparison. All shooters. From the top down;
Winchester Model 71 Deluxe, 348WCF and my favorite lever gun.
Marlin model 1895GS, 45-70.
Marlin model 444S, 444 Marlin.
Marlin model 1894, 44-40 and the first centerfire rifle I ever shot.

TheLeverfamily.jpg
 
Savage 99's are fantastic, and now's the time to buy them because they won't get any cheaper. That being said, I like old Marlin's a lot too.
 
Rod said:
I have levers in Winchester and Savage and consider them all good. My oldest lever action is an 1886 Winchester from 1889 in 45-90. Here's the only two pictures I have, on photobucket, of a few of my oldies crammed into one picture. There's a couple of 1886's in 45-90. 33 WCF. A few pre-1900, 1894's in 30 WCF, 32-40, 38-55 that pre-date the WP proof mark and have the teardrop hammers. There's a couple of 1892's in 44-40 and an old Colt SAA in 45 Colt from 1906. There'll all good shooters with very nice bores. Old is good.
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Nice group picture!
OK:)
 
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