Cycling speed - lever vs bolt

some levers are faster than others. as far as larger hunting rounds and not pistol rounds go in a lever gun I would prefer a Winchester 88. as far as bolts go im fast with my tikkas. but im faster with my hb vanguard in 204. ive shot it on coyotes for years. its on the second barrel, so plenty of shooting. the action is so smooth its ridiculous and shorter than a tikka.
 
I'm fastest with a lever. Not that the speed really matters. But I have had a lever longest, and spent a lot of time as a kid practicing. Maybe if I'd had a pump, or a bolt, that would be faster for me.......
Lever has the muscle memory. I don't really think about it. Bolt is ok, pump feels like I'm in England shifting a stick with my left hand.....
 
cam1936 said:
[Youtube]zVqK1BnWJkY[/Youtube]


This is a video I shot. Forgive the horrid video quality. I was seeing how fast I could get off follow up shots, I am hitting a target, but not shooting accurate enough to shoot game. This was shot with a .280 so a pretty typical big game rifle.

Fairly fast, but not lever fast. I used to practice with a shot clock with both bolt actions and Ruger No. 1s, but admittedly not much in the last couple years. I agree that hunters need to practice both rapid follow up shots and shooting from field positions more often.
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Try pulling the trigger with your middle finger while still keeping hold of the bolt knob with your thumb and index finger. I'll grant that this is easier to do while prone but it makes for a much faster second shot when needed and saves the time taken to regrip the rifle and find the trigger or the bolt.
 
I'm absolutely shocked to hear that anyone drops a bolt action off their shoulder to reload. I can understand a newb doing it, I suppose. Dropping the butt off your shoulder to work the bolt is simply incorrect, no matter what speed you are trying to shoot.
 
Ed82 said:
Try pulling the trigger with your middle finger while still keeping hold of the bolt knob with your thumb and index finger. I'll grant that this is easier to do while prone but it makes for a much faster second shot when needed and saves the time taken to regrip the rifle and find the trigger or the bolt.
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Used to practice that trick with an Enfield (#### on close) but always fumbled/was slower with a modern #### on open rifle.
 
Gatehouse said:
I'm absolutely shocked to hear that anyone drops a bolt action off their shoulder to reload. I can understand a newb doing it, I suppose. Dropping the butt off your shoulder to work the bolt is simply incorrect, no matter what speed you are trying to shoot.
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Same drill here, makes no sense to lower from shoulder for repetitive shots..
 
Personally, I'm a lot faster with my lever guns (.22, 2X 44 mag., 45-70, 12 ga.) than my bolt guns, but, I had never realized that I never use my bolt guns off the bench. I find that bringing the lever back into battery brings me back pretty close on target. It did take a fair bit of shooting to shake the bench-rest bad habits I had picked up since moving to the city. I had completely stopped plinking, and it showed when I started hunting again. Now, I'm almost at the point I want to be at with the levers. I'll have to get back into offhand bolt gun shooting, though.

I don't think I'll ever switch to a bolt gun for quick shooting, just because my bolt guns are longer and clunkier, and I can't see myself buying more guns to do what my lever guns do fanstatically well for me. That being said, my son has a Tikka Battue in 300 WM, and if I had that gun, I would simply put the practice in rather than get a lever gun, having seen what others can do with a bolt gun. In the Battue's case, I might get it ported, because she does move a lot on recoil.

Thanks to the posters who pointed out the bench v. offhand shooting.
 
bross said:
This video proves the man, not the action, is the critical factor. Timed, aimed shots at 300m. Bolt guy wins, against semi-autos.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4cnAwRJc7Sw
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A whole bunch of amazing stuff here. First and foremost is the size and makeup of the crowd. Now, what kind of parent takes a child to a gun shooting match????? (Kidding, kidding) Second, I love seeing the good ol' G3 facing up against bolt guns. I know mine was superbly accurate, if someone fussy about ammo. Finally, the skill of those bolt gun shooters is nothing short of amazing. One question, though? How are they firing? I don't see them using the trigger.
 
Or maybe he is just a a guy that grew up on levers, loves levers and fell victim to a fallacy that gun owners create on the internet....... I highly doubt that looky hasn't been outside....... but I have no doubt that there are some "greasy" people on this forum that love to rub people's noses in things while their own house isn't clean......
 
RickF said:
I read what Looky write and started to reply, then stopped myself. I am trying to not debate nonsense on the internet. ;)
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Ha! Rick, you have become such a Statesman!

No doubt had the shoe been on the other foot, the same would not have been reciprocated. As Purple Shoulder alluded to, Kamlooky rarely misses an opportunity to heckle someone.:)
 
chuck nelson said:
I can cycle a RH bolt gun from my left shoulder and left hand without removing the rifle from my shoulder. Kamlooky needs to get outside more.
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While using the left hand to cycle is what is most common, I've also seen LH guys shoot, leave left hand on grip/trigger area and use their right to cycle. It looked uncomfortable to me, but it's clear LH people have learned to adapt to a RH world in many different ways. Have you ever tried that way, Chuck?
 
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