Most robust lever gun

Bushbum40

Bushbum40

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Many moons ago i had a remlin 30-30. it was a rough one, with poor finish, bad wood fitment, and gritty action, BUT it was very accurate, and more than that, it was just one handy little rifle. I sold it, and i've been missing the lever action ever since.

I've been thinking about getting a new (used) lever in 30-30. Here's the thing. You have the savage 99's, which were supposed to have pot metal internals after a few years. You have pre-64 winchesters. You've got the pre 81-blr's (not sure they came in 30-30), you have the pre-remington marlins, and i'm sure there's more. Of the bunch, which have the beefiest actions, and which years are the most desirable?

I've also notice there are some very fine lever 22's out there, but that's a whole other ball of wax.
 
Not a lever guy although I do love them. I had a pre81 blr in 308. Awesome rifle, but mags are impossible to find, never heard of anyone having mech problems with them though. A pre 64 win is very desirable in terms of reliable lever gun. I'd think that that or a pre rem marlin would be the cream of the crop. Don't know much about the savages, I think they're ugly but from what I've read they were way ahead of their time in terms of design and supposedly are honest hard working rifles. I think you'd do well with any of the above. I have heard good things about the new BLRs as well and if I had the money a takedown version in 308 would be my do all rifle.
 
Personally I love the marlin action. They are simple, strong(not BLR strong) reliable and easy to tear down to clean or repair. I would take a marlin 30-30 over the win any day. If you get another REM just give it a good look over Slickest marlin Iv had was a REM......WEll second slickest Had a 444p that was amazing
 
if you want my 2 cents, box magazines are the only way to go!

But that pretty much limits you to certain 99's and all BLR's

I own 1 of at least every manufacturer listed

Would love a Sako Finn Wolf but the cost and possible lack of spare parts has held me back
 
Sure the Winchester is not as tear down friendly as the Marlin. But for the occasional deer hunter, is this really such a negative trait?

Myself I believe if you don't need optics, a Winchester Model 94 (preferably a Pre-64) with a rear peep sight is more then adequate with the additional positive of easy hand carry in the carbine/trapper variants. One could elaborate and focus on the 1950s Winchesters. The austerity of WWII is left behind, the work force had superior hand tooling skills, and the mounting holes for the receiver peep sights came right from the factory. Blueing finish was superb, and no use of alloys then.

Quality Assurance had real meaning back then.

my 2 bits only
 
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Gunslingr said:
I have heard good things about the new BLRs as well and if I had the money a takedown version in 308 would be my do all rifle.
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Exactly. Mine is.

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I've had all of them, some a few times over except the sako, and only the Marlins remain. My BLR was a newer stainless laminate takedown in 3006 and it felt like the lever would snap off if I had to ram a round home in it. The worst trigger of the bunch. Honestly the most disappointed ive ever been with a rifle. I found the savage 99 just a bit uglier the browning but it felt more robust when I closed the action. The win 94 looks the best in my eyes but the lack of easy scope mounting and loose feeling action seem to make their stay with me short lived. With marlins, I've had a couple 1894s, 1895, 336s, 30as and I'm sure I forgot about a few, but a 336ss and an 1894gs remain due to how solid they feel, great accuracy, they are very easy to take apart, easy scope mount too. Trigger kits available for under 100 that make a big difference and are easy to install.
 
I'm not expert but I do love both the wins and the Marlins. But for me the Win 94's have to be older SRC and the Marlins have to be 70's vintage with the more slim fore end, they don't feel as bulky when the wood and metal line up.

The Marlin feels beefier then the win but at 30-30 pressure levels they are equals.
Slim Marlin


A couple SRC's
 
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If your stuck on the 30-30 cartridge, the Marlin 336 would get my vote. If you want a heavier cartridge such as 45-70 or 45-90 then again, the Marlin 1895 would be my first choice (because of the easily mounted scope option) but a close second would be one that no one has mentioned yet, the Winchester 1886 built by Miroku. If "robust" is your only preference/qualification the 1886 will qualify hands down.
 
I think the sprocket in the BLR is a weak link, in that its susceptible to being tied up with debris unless the hunter is diligent with care and cleaning; so while it won't be a problem for some, it will be for others. As with all detachable magazine systems, DBMs can be lost, and in sporting rifles, are expensive to replace. The traditional lever action's weak link is a magazine tube which restricts, to some degree, the type of ammunition that can be loaded, whose thin wall is easily dented, putting the magazine out of service, and it doesn't lend itself well to the use of a shooting sling. The Winchester top eject models are challenging to scope. The Winchester 88 has a miserable trigger, and a losable DBM. The Finnwolf is expensive if it can be found.

The winner IMHO, is the Savage 99, with it's internal rotary magazine. It can handle modern cartridges, you can sling up when shooting it, like other modern designs its easy to scope or add an aperture rear sight to, and there is nothing to lose and nothing that is unusually delicate. This design has yet to be improved upon. The only weak link that I can attribute to the 99s is the the necessity of having to run the ammo through the chamber to unload, and for experienced hands this poses no issues.
 
Right now, i own three levers.A 77 marlin 336 texan in .30/30, a 1964 savage 99f in .308 and a 1971 savage 99e lightweight carbine in .300 sav. I've owned 3 win 94's and just never took to them.Robust was never a term that would come to mind when i held and cycled the winnie's lol.The blr, to me is uuggllyy and overpriced.Have fired one but never owned one and don't really care to.Love the jm marlins and Savage 99's.
 
razorbeck said:
if you want my 2 cents, box magazines are the only way to go!

Box mags are where its at for sure. That why i picked up a ruger scout. The thing is, how available are they? In the blr's case, seems like they're unobtainium. Also, the blr seems a bit on the complicated side for takedown and cleaning.

I fired a savage 99 in 300 sav once, and it definately seemed beefy for a lever. Accurate too. I seem to recall one of the old timers around here mentioning that they switched over to crappy alloy internals after a certain year. Maybe the old fellas can chime in on this one. Running ammo through the chamber doesn't bother me at all. Pumps, levers, you just get used to it after a while.

Nomad- had to google marlin texan, holy crap that's a beauty. Real nice gun you got there. Too bad they don't still make em!

Another good little gun is the marlin 336 youth, but they're really hard to find. Would be a great bush rifle though.
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I've never been convinced that the rack and pinion system in the Brownings is capable of taking a beat/operating with crud in it.

Can anyone confirm these things are dumptruck tough? Or are they what I"m thinking - a system of gears and wheels that can get screwed up with overly heavy racking and messed by grit and grime getting into the gun.
 
fingers284 said:
If your stuck on the 30-30 cartridge, the Marlin 336 would get my vote. If you want a heavier cartridge such as 45-70 or 45-90 then again, the Marlin 1895 would be my first choice (because of the easily mounted scope option) but a close second would be one that no one has mentioned yet, the Winchester 1886 built by Miroku. If "robust" is your only preference/qualification the 1886 will qualify hands down.
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Exactly, the '86 / 71 Winchester is hand down.
Having had a BLR I think they are the butt-ugliest rifle ever made, but they do have a strong following and I have found several times that if you have a BLR on your table at a gun show it will be the first rifle to sell.
 
nomad 68 said:
There is a nice old 336 listed today on the EE. If I were you,I would jump on it.
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Too late. I took one look at it and decided that it would be a perfect match for my other Marlin 336 30-30. ON the other hand, I plan to post a very nice Winchester Model 94 made in 1954, 30-30 on the exchange this evening. I've taken two Whitetails with it and, judging from a couple of other Model 1894's I have that are well over 100 years old, it should be robust enough to last another 100 years or so.
 
I would say the 1886 is easily the most robust design. Anything that can safely handle the 45-90 and 50-110 would seem like an excellent choice. Plus Turnbull uses them for his 475 Turnbull cartridge which is no slouch.

I know the 1895 marlin can handle fairly heavy 45-70 as well as 50 Alaskan but when you see these two rifles side by side it is very evident the 1886 is built like a tank in comparison.
 
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