Lever action calibers

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bearslayer56

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Why is it that manufacturers like Marlin and Henry make lever action calibers in either cannons (read 45/70), or plinkers like 22s but don't make anything in between like a 308 or a 300 WSM?

Every month it seems Henry comes out with a new model and it's always a 22. It's very frustrating for those of us who want to have a decent long range rifle in a caliber that won't rip your arm off.
 
bearslayer56 said:
Why is it that manufacturers like Marlin and Henry make lever action calibers in either cannons (read 45/70), or plinkers like 22s but don't make anything in between like a 308 or a 300 WSM?

Every month it seems Henry comes out with a new model and it's always a 22. It's very frustrating for those of us who want to have a decent long range rifle in a caliber that won't rip your arm off.
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30-30? Henry Long Ranger? Browning BLR? Winchester 88?

It was always my impression that rimmed cartridges functioned best in lever gun actions, that may be urban legend.

The long range part might be something to do with the functionality of it, the action certainly doesn’t lean towards the ergonomics of distance or precision shooting, rather more of a brush gun, which the round noses of pistol calibers is more forgiving too.
 
Rimmed cartridges work well in a tube fed lever action. If you want to run more modern rimless cartridges that use spitzer bullets you need to feed from a box mag to avoid chain detonation problems with pointy bullets resting on the primer of the cartridge in front. Savage 99's offer a box mag and more modern cartridge choices, same for the BLR. I'm not sure what you would be looking for if those two don't fill your requirements.


Mark
 
bearslayer56 said:
Why is it that manufacturers like Marlin and Henry make lever action calibers in either cannons (read 45/70), or plinkers like 22s but don't make anything in between like a 308 or a 300 WSM?

Every month it seems Henry comes out with a new model and it's always a 22. It's very frustrating for those of us who want to have a decent long range rifle in a caliber that won't rip your arm off.
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If you want a 308 or 300WSM a bolt action is an easier path to follow.

If it must be a lever action, then the Browning BLR is the answer.
 
bearslayer56 said:
Why is it that manufacturers like Marlin and Henry make lever action calibers in either cannons (read 45/70), or plinkers like 22s but don't make anything in between like a 308 or a 300 WSM?

Every month it seems Henry comes out with a new model and it's always a 22. It's very frustrating for those of us who want to have a decent long range rifle in a caliber that won't rip your arm off.
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The reason tube mag fed lever actions are not made is because idiots would run spitzer bullet ammo in them and blow themselves to bits when pointy bullet ignited the primer in front of it.

Lever actions are made in pistol calibers, which aren't exactly 22 rimfire but are also not rifle power either.
 
I Dont Care About You said:
The reason tube mag fed lever actions are not made is because idiots would run spitzer bullet ammo in them and blow themselves to bits when pointy bullet ignited the primer in front of it.

Lever actions are made in pistol calibers, which aren't exactly 22 rimfire but are also not rifle power either.
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Tube mag fed lever actions aren’t made? Not rifle power?

Sorry I must have missed the 30-30 handgun market.

45-70 is just a slap on the wrist too I guess.
 
MosinMan13 said:
Tube mag fed lever actions aren’t made? Not rifle power?

Sorry I must have missed the 30-30 handgun market.

45-70 is just a slap on the wrist too I guess.
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Lots of "rifle power" tube magazine lever guns around, of course.

He probably meant to say the reason rifles chambered in cartridges like 308 don't have tube magazines is because of the wide availability of pointy bullets in those cartridges. I assume you would understand why.
 
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To the OP, you maybe need to get out and look around. As its been stated a few times here there are many options for lever guns in high power cartridges. both the BLR and Henry long ranger come in very snappy chamberings. To all of you who have mistakenly talked about not running pointy bullets in tube mags you might want to get out and look around. Hornady have been making both projectiles and cartridges with nice pointy high velocity ends, they are made specifically for lever guns. They are called Leverevolution and the 30-30 is no slouch. As for precision both the Long ranger and BLR have rotating bolts, no they are not bolt guns, but they're not supposed to be, and you likely can't shoot 500yds anyways.
Research people, research its not a new concept, and its lots easier than it used to be, there is a thing called google....
If you're looking for a hunting rifle, I believe the 30-30 still has more kills than any other cartridge, you don't need the latest and greatest to grab some meat. If you want it... look into the .360 Buck hammer from Remington. The ballistics are pretty impressive.
If you don't know what you're talking about don't talk about it. Ask questions and listen.
 
Not to change the subject.... but also why don't they make .357 or .44mag PUMP action rifles? They are rimmed just like a .22 and they make a .22 pump. A .357/.38spl pump would be a blast (no pun intended)
 
Tube mags dont care if cartridge is rimmed or not...neither does their actions...when properly designed a lever works perfectly fine with any cartridge from 22lr to bigass centrefires.

The only issue with tube mags is the inline primer to bullet issue....but that can be mitigated with appropriate cartridge/bullet selection either commercial or handloading.

Lever shave got a bad rap over the yrs when some companies do a pisspoor job converting them from their original actions to a pistol or other cartridge that the action wasnt originally designed for...end up with fussy cycling/jamming poorly functioning guns...and the levergun takes the blame.

Lever actions are very sensitive to OAL length of cartridge as the elevator/timing etc doesnt have a large window for variance in OAL...same goes for bullet profile.
As such a lever gun needs to be properly designed for a specific cartridge/OAL/bullet profile....simply rechambering and tweaking an existing action like Winchester did for example didnt always pan out well from an action designed for the 303 then pressed into service with pistol cartridges.

The 92 action was always and is a better choice for pistol cartridges as it was designed for them from the start...OAL/size/weight/bullet profiles etc.

A lever can be entirely reliable and suitable for any cartridge when designed properly.
Manufacturers are hesitant to offer them in cartridges that are typicaslly commercially loaded with spitzer bullets for obvious reasons...not trusting that the end user will feed it the appropriate commercial or handloaded ammo and they take the blame.

Id personally love to see a compact short barreld lever action rifle chambered in 9mm....make an ideal plinker/small game/survival/defence gun and be cheap to feed and fun as hell to shoot. Curious why this hasnt come to market.

Lever rifles for the last 50yrs or more since they transitioned from the original assault/defensive/varmint rifle to more of a recreational/hunting rifle have been victims of marketing.
Also of note a lever action rifle is expensive to produce....much more than a bolt or semi gun...a lot more parts..moving parts and complexity of design...parts to machine and fit...
 
Wasn't this what the 307 Winchester and 356 Winchester were developed for? Though I have no idea how popular they are these days.

Also see the the 1895 Winchester and Savage 99 cartridge offerings. Lots of higher power cartridges in lever guns.
 
paul792 said:
Not to change the subject.... but also why don't they make .357 or .44mag PUMP action rifles? They are rimmed just like a .22 and they make a .22 pump. A .357/.38spl pump would be a blast (no pun intended)
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Pedersoli makes pump action rifles...they're called "Lightnings". Marstar carries them...Payam is excellent to deal with.
 
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