Lever action day

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Cump

Cump

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I recently picked up a Rossi 92 16 inch 357 for $579 after tax from Sportsmans. Pretty good in today's market. Got to shoot it today along with my Miroku Win 92 20 inch in 44 mag. Some subjective observations below.

But I'd like to read others bragging about their lever guns, with pics.
0623221113.jpg

I unfortunately sold two previous Rossis, but this one doesn't have as stiff of action as I remember. It is still stiffer than the Winchester, and ejects empties 10 feet away (perhaps because of more forceful cycling) while the Win plops them 3-4 feet away. The Winchester has a little bit of side-to-side play in the lever when locked up. The Rossi does not. On the other hand, the Rossi's forend has a negligible amount of play while the Winchester's does not. There are no visible fitment defects with either. The Winchester has prettier bluing and wood.

The Rossi cycled both 38s and 357s without issue, and I shot it about as well today indoors as I did the 44 out to 25 yards. Trigger was clean though heavier than the Win.

The 16 inch is handy, but I felt the 20 inch pointed better for me.

Of course there is less felt recoil with factory 357 than factory 44 mag. I don't think the Rossi is much lighter, even though shorter, because of more metal in the barrel. Man, I like the push of thr 44 recoil.

0623221335.jpg
 
This is my "assault" lever action: a Ruger 96/44 with a 10 round box mag. The full mag weighs nearly as much as the empty rifle. Of course i only have the one 10 round magazine and a factory 4 round rotary mag so its not very "tactical". Light and handy and a load of fun though.

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Or how about the original high capacity rifle, an 1873 with 30" barrel and magazine. It'll hold 17 rounds of 32-20. It is not light or handy, but still a load of fun. And nostalgia... Left the Winchester warehouse in 1890.

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BigBlue 94 said:
This is my "assault" lever action: a Ruger 96/44 with a 10 round box mag. The full mag weighs nearly as much as the empty rifle. Of course i only have the one 10 round magazine and a factory 4 round rotary mag so its not very "tactical". Light and handy and a load of fun though.

Or how about the original high capacity rifle, an 1873 with 30" barrel and magazine. It'll hold 17 rounds of 32-20. It is not light or handy, but still a load of fun. And nostalgia... Left the Winchester warehouse in 1890.
Click to expand...

Nice. And I thought the 26 in Marlin 1893 was long.
 
NIGHTLORD40K said:
I like levers that can shoot pointy metal boolitts...
View attachment 1085959
View attachment 1085960
View attachment 1085958
:)
Click to expand...

DSC07506.JPG
When I first got my Savage 99 in .30WCF, I was excited that I could load it with pointy bullets. I soon discovered though that the only bullet I could seat normally and still feed were 125 grainers, (the .30-30 action is short) which I don't consider a "real" bullet in the .30-30. Kind of a "toy" bullet. But doing much research into pointy vs. round nose, I found that at the maximum range that I would ever shoot, the difference in trajectory was miniscule. The big difference is retained energy with the pointy bullets, in which case a 125 pointy won't have more energy than a 170 grain round nose, at my self imposed range limitations.

So...I'm happy with the 170's for hunting, and 180's for close range bear repellent when wandering the outback. However, in the .300 savage or the .308, pointy is good!
 
Cump, in today's market, you stole that Rossi. Well done!

A friend just picked up a 20" stainless R92 in .357 and I was very impressed with how slick the action is. Rossi has really upped their game if his sample is any indication. It's much smoother than my ~10 year old blued 20" R92 .357.
 
Aside from my R92 in .357, I also have an Interarms 65 in .44-40 (.44 WCF). I bought this last year used off Gunbroker. The best I can tell, it was made in the 90s. When I got it, the gun looked great on the outside but the action was rough. I replaced the ejector and hammer springs with lighter ones from Steve's Gunz and did quite a bit of deburring. It's now quite slick and feeds well.

A previous owner installed the sling swivel studs. I added a carrying strap from the Hunter Company that looks like a simplified US M1907 sling. It's a really handy package.

082921-interarms65.jpg

I added a lever wrap from D4 guns because until it broke in, you needed to work the action like it owed you money.

lever-wrap-side.jpg

So far it's more accurate with my black powder handloads than smokeless loads. TBH, I haven't done a bunch of experimentation, though. The good thing is that because .44 WCF brass is thin it keeps all the fouling out of the action and in the bore, and cleanup is easy.
 
Last edited:
Cump said:
I recently picked up a Rossi 92 16 inch 357 for $579 after tax from Sportsmans. Pretty good in today's market. Got to shoot it today along with my Miroku Win 92 20 inch in 44 mag. Some subjective observations below.

But I'd like to read others bragging about their lever guns, with pics.
View attachment 1085915

I unfortunately sold two previous Rossis, but this one doesn't have as stiff of action as I remember. It is still stiffer than the Winchester, and ejects empties 10 feet away (perhaps because of more forceful cycling) while the Win plops them 3-4 feet away. The Winchester has a little bit of side-to-side play in the lever when locked up. The Rossi does not. On the other hand, the Rossi's forend has a negligible amount of play while the Winchester's does not. There are no visible fitment defects with either. The Winchester has prettier bluing and wood.

The Rossi cycled both 38s and 357s without issue, and I shot it about as well today indoors as I did the 44 out to 25 yards. Trigger was clean though heavier than the Win.

The 16 inch is handy, but I felt the 20 inch pointed better for me.

Of course there is less felt recoil with factory 357 than factory 44 mag. I don't think the Rossi is much lighter, even though shorter, because of more metal in the barrel. Man, I like the push of thr 44 recoil.

View attachment 1085924
Click to expand...
Thought I was the only shooter left in this country who like the thump of recoil. Seems everyone is going 223 and 6.5 creedmore. Give me a 358 anytime.
 
Dave Markowitz said:
Aside from my R92 in .357, I also have an Interarms 65 in .44-40 (.44 WCF). I bought this last year used off Gunbroker. The best I can tell, it was made in the 90s. When I got it, the gun looked great on the outside but the action was rough. I replaced the ejector and hammer springs with lighter ones from Steve's Gunz and did quite a bit of deburring. It's now quite slick and feeds well.

A previous owner installed the sling swivel studs. I added a carrying strap from the Hunter Company that looks like a simplified US M1907 sling. It's a really handy package.

View attachment 1086288

I added a lever wrap from D4 guns because until it broke it, you needed to work the action like it owed you money.

View attachment 1086289

So far it's more accurate with my black powder handloads than smokeless loads. TBH, I haven't done a bunch of experimentation, though. The good thing is that because .44 WCF brass is thin it keeps all the fouling out of the action and in the bore, and cleanup is easy.
Click to expand...

Looks nice. I agree that my sample of one newer Rossi feels slicker than those I had manufactured about 10 years ago ...

Bp seems appropriate for 44-40.
 
Like a little "thump" in your lever action?
Look no further than .45-70!

I like my lever guns very much.
They work well within their limitations.

I'm glad Henry and Rossi are in the game.
Just wish MSRP would tamp down a little bit...


The way things have gone for Marlin are surprising, but at least they get to live on in some form. Mine see low usage nowadays; so much harder to replace than just a few short years ago.
 
tubeshooter said:
Like a little "thump" in your lever action?
Look no further than .45-70!

I like my lever guns very much.
They work well within their limitations.

I'm glad Henry and Rossi are in the game.
Just wish MSRP would tamp down a little bit...


The way things have gone for Marlin are surprising, but at least they get to live on in some form. Mine see low usage nowadays; so much harder to replace than just a few short years ago.
Click to expand...

Someday. I have had the pleasure of shooting it from a BFR and Marlin. It was/is on my wishlist, but then reloading became a bit more difficult and costly ...
 
Cump said:
I definetly like the push. Very different shooting experience and rhythm than an AR15, for instance.
Click to expand...
Never shot an AR-15 but put several thousand round thru M-16’s not much rhythm to the jam- o-Matics. My son says they have them straightened out pretty well now with the M-4’s.Not much push from either.
 
20220626_214350.jpg
Sorry for the poor pic, best I could do on short notice. But I had get into this thread, my Levers are my original favorites! The Marlin on left I've had since 1982, it's killed the most deer, several other critters. The Mod 64 Win in middle, it's my bestest favorite rifle, as Forest would put it! It's just an extension of my brain and arms, no rifle ever handled, come to point, all the necessities, like a 64 Win! BUT, the 94 on the right, I just got last year, it's not blooded yet, but it's running the Mod 64 a tight race for 1st place, I do love open sights, and this one is an accurate jewel!
And they're all in 30-30. I've come to the conclusion, if you reload & hunt N. America, from sea to sea, equator to the artic, all I'd want is my 30-30 & 30-06, and wish I had a 308 and 300WM to cover everything! But here, my 30-30's and 06 got it all covered! But the 06 with scope is probably gonna carry the flag in my old age, maybe?
 
What's the coin in the stock about on the 64 in the Middle.....Special edition?
 
Yes it is, a 1971 NRA Centennial. The barrel is stamped Mod 94 for this purpose, but in 72-73, this same rifle is marked Mod 64a. They quit making the Mod 64 in 1957, then came back in 71, 72, 73.
 
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