List of all .22 levers

kodiakjack

kodiakjack

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Hey gang. Up here at deer camp and one of my uncles is talking about getting my aunt a .22 lever for Christmas. .22 levers aren't a section of the sport I'm too familiar with, so to save me some time from clicking on every thread in the EE, can you folks provide a rough list of all the lever action .22s produced? I know of a few, but I'm sure there's dozens I've never heard of.

Thanks!

KJ
 
A shot list of some.

Henry - .22 Mares Leg , Frontier ,Carbine , Golden Boy and the plain jane version along with many other special editions.
Ithaca - Model 49 Saddlegun single shot along with the tube versions and later the model 72's.
Browning -BL-22
Uberti -Silverboy 22LR
Ruger-96/22
Marlin -model 1891*rare* ,1892,1897,39,39m and the currently produced 39a
Winchester -9422

There is probably a few more out there aswell:).
 
There are not that many.... Marlin,Winchester,Browning,Henry are the ones worth having and then there are some German made ones that are similar to Henry and Chinese Winchester clones.

If you want to buy new Henry's are good value. Browning's can still be bought and also Marlin. Some say the Marlin quality went down hill but it may be improving?
Used Winchester or Marlin's are both nice.
Browning has a short throw lever, and a heavier trigger and while a nice gun feels a bit small which may or may not work for your Aunt?

If you can find a nice used Winchester 9422 that would be my first pick.
 
For me I would keep away from the German lever (Erma Werke) as wall as the Ithica. Both have been unsatisfactory for me, others will differ. The BLR has a short cocking action I can not get used to. I now only have a 9422, but would look hard at Marlin, Henry, and Uberti. AJ
 
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ithica also made the m49R-a repeater version of the 49, but different action entirely- and a REAL POS from this customer's point of view- had the barrel replaced 2x, it developed a burr in the chamber( and I do know enough about rimfires to know not to fire them empty,) aluminum recievr, the action screws were always coming out or binding if you did them up too tight- in short no end of trouble- and it opens only, no provision for scope
 
Some folks poo-poo the Henry for their use of alloy for the receiver, cover and some internal parts. But those of us that own and shoot them just ignore those folks and go on with shooting and enjoying one of the smoothest levers to be found and barrels that make our accuracy look better than we really are. Best of all the Henry is the least expensive of any new lever rimfire out there.

One thing about the Henry line up to watch out for. The angle of the stock on the Golden Boy is rather extreme and it doesn't fit some folks as well as it might. So for those folks it's better to stick to the basic round barrel H001 or the Frontier model. Youths and smaller ladies will also prefer the less front heavy balance of the lighter round barrel on the basic H001 model as well.
 
By the way. The basic Henry isn't an original design. The company that first produced the design I believe was Erma Werke. And the indications on line seem to be that it was this rifle which was rebranded and sold by Ithaca.

So you may find an Erma or two out there if you're shopping for used as well as new.
 
kodiakjack said:
Hey gang. Up here at deer camp and one of my uncles is talking about getting my aunt a .22 lever for Christmas. .22 levers aren't a section of the sport I'm too familiar with, so to save me some time from clicking on every thread in the EE, can you folks provide a rough list of all the lever action .22s produced? I know of a few, but I'm sure there's dozens I've never heard of.

Thanks!

KJ
Click to expand...

Jack I think you got pretty good answers so far, since I don't want to influence your choice, I won't tell you which one I prefer among all the 22's named in this thread!;)
 
I have a Marlin 56 "Levermatic" .22 in beautiful condition. Not a mark on the metalwork and the stock is in beautiful condition. First year production. It has a very short lever throw for fast follow up shots as your hand never leaves the stock. You just flick your fingers to eject and chamber another round. It is mag fed too.
 
Add to the list the Remington Nylon 76. Apparently the only lever action ever built by Remington, and also claimed it to be the fastest lever action.

Good luck finding one though.
 
I have had Erma Werkes, Ithacas, Winchesters (9422 and 150/250s), Marlin 56s and Browning's BL 22s.
As has been said, the Erma Werke are iffy, the Ithacas the same as they are a rebranded design.
The Winchester 94 series are great, the 150/250 line, not so much but do work well when taken care of.
Marlin series are well built rifles in either the detachable mag or tube mag version, but I found the lever too thin.
The Browning BL22 series are good shooters and well made.
 
I've owned and shot most of them... my all round favorite is a 94... my favorite for fit & finish is a Grade 2 BL... my favorite to shoot is a Henry Frontier.
 
A few more lever guns would be:
- the Norinco lever action, but they are very poor in their quality control. My friends was drilled through the barrel off center and the shell lifter broke internally.
-Chiappa makes a model 322 22 lever action, one of the sponsors was selling some seconds with also off center drilled barrels.
-I have a Marlin levermatic Model 56 with the removable mag and can vouch for it's quality. They are pretty rare but well made and have a very short stroke, my thumb doesn't leave the grip, more open and close the hand than full hand movement. The model 57 has the tube mag under the barrel. They were also made in .30 Carbine and .256 Winchester, I would love to get one of those.

270 totheend
 
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