I would keep my hand out of the lever. I would not cut the lever. I have a few Winchester 1886s that have done the same thing to my fingers. A curved pistol grip helps. The other solution would be to scale back your loads. You don't need violent recoil to kill animals with a 45-70.
Got me a little confused now...
How can you damage the index finger when cycling when it is not inside the loop?
Is it the middle finger that is getting hurt?
EDIT: I see you edited the original post...
Before you cycle, pull the fingers toward rear of loop, it is probably more natural to move your fingers toward front of loop, where it get pinched toward the angled section of the loop (circled in red)
If the action takes a little force, I can see why it is an issue...
If you can round off that area with a little cushion and tape it could also do the trick.
maybe this has been said already... Man the f@ck up.
Recoil from the hot load is pushing the gun back and smacking his finger.
Maybe this has been said already... man the f@ck up.
Pretty easy for small handed or short fingered people to say... Until you've been whacked when you are already stuffing your fingers into a small hole, you do not have an argument![]()




























