DammitBoy
Member
Same as my experience. Mine's the 16" stainless in .454 - my only lever action now. Sold my Marlin and my Winchester.
Do good lever guns still exist?
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Same as my experience. Mine's the 16" stainless in .454 - my only lever action now. Sold my Marlin and my Winchester.
Swing
Member
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My best experience lever guns are older ones. The only one I regularly shoot is a gentle used pre-64, Winchester 94 in .30/30. I love that gun and it handles so nice.
I have a Marlin too in .45/70. It works fine now, but it took two trips, both on my dime, back to the factory to even get it to cycle. How one screws up a levergun that bad is beyond me. I still like it, but I get the urge to sell it from time to time.
I have a Marlin too in .45/70. It works fine now, but it took two trips, both on my dime, back to the factory to even get it to cycle. How one screws up a levergun that bad is beyond me. I still like it, but I get the urge to sell it from time to time.
DeepSouth
Random Guy
Opinions are subjective, even yours.
The Henry's are pretty good quality, even though you may not like them.
The Winchesters are nice, if you want to pay the price is up to you.
The Uberti's are also nice but again, pricey.
The Marlins aren't as bad as they're made out to be, as far as I've seen.
Lots of people like the Rossi's fine and have had no problems with them.
The rest I have no idea about, but every Pedersoli I've ever seen was very nice but I've never shot one of their lever guns.
So the answer to your original question is, Yes!
Good lever do still exist.
If they met your criteria and price, I can't say about that.
My 2¢
Worth exactly what you paid for it.
gonefishin1
Member
The Henry 45-70 doesn't have a brass receiver. I just got a mossberg 464 and i love it. I shot a box through it a couple days ago. Only thing that doesn't impress me on it are the sights
Capybara
Member
My 1952 Winchester 1894 in .30-30. $400.00 from a pawn shop in Az a year and a half ago. Great gun, pleasure to shoot.
Apachedriver
Member
She's a beauty. One day I'll have one just like yours.
Wait! I do have one that looks just like it.
But it's a 1968. I wanted an old Winchester for a long time and grabbed this one for $300 when it came up. I should've waited longer. (Sigh) She's my "sniper" rifle. It turns out that as long as I feed one round at a time from the top, she's very smooth and accurate. The problem turns up when I try to feed it from the mag tube. FTFs and FTEs all day long. She now sits over the fireplace until I get more time to figure out her issues.
But like I said, one day I'll have one just like yours.
rswartsell
Member
All you have to do is spend a lot of money. The Miroku "Winchesters" by my experience leave no complaints. Lotta $ though.
Speedo66
Member
I noticed you didn't include the Browning BLR in your first post, curious as to why.
My BLR in .308 is light, short, and accurate.
You can get new ones in almost any configuration: blued, stainless, take down, pistol grip, straight grip, and your choice of 14 different calibers. Typical Browning superior fit and finish. What's not to like?
My BLR in .308 is light, short, and accurate.
You can get new ones in almost any configuration: blued, stainless, take down, pistol grip, straight grip, and your choice of 14 different calibers. Typical Browning superior fit and finish. What's not to like?
On Thanksgiving morning this past November, I sent an e-mail to Mr. Imperato asking if his new original Henry would be manufactured in .45 LC - to my dismay, he answered me. Had several e-mails back/forth; very nice man - told him that I had never considered a Henry product because they are just too gaudy for me but I had lots of interest if the original Henry came in the .45 - he said no so that's that. If I run across a nice Winchester, that is what I will buy.
CraigC
Sixgun Nut
Rossi: Notorious for poor quality control.
Not true, Rossi makes a good rifle for the money.
Marlin: Widely reported to have suffered in quality since being taken over by Remington. I've handled new Marlins recently that had actions so stiff that I thought they were "locked" somehow. They weren't.
Enough older guns on the market it shouldn't matter.
Mossberg: Not known for it's rifles, though their 464 is more tempting than the competition right now. Still, the idea of a Mossberg rifle just seems strange to me, like buying that Savage shotgun.
Mossberg has traditionally made a lot of rifles. There is a proliferation of .22 rifles Mossberg made over the years. It's only strange because you've never heard of them. Which I find "strange".
Henry: Most of their rifles have gaudy, ugly, brass receivers and silly octogon barrels that accomplish absolutely nothing but adding weight. In fact, most of their rifles are extremely heavy compared to competitors, which negates one of the most important advantages and appeals of lever guns. Their only decent offering is on the pricey side too, which I would tolerate if it was a company I could take seriously.
The first leverguns ever made had brass receivers. As do reproductions of the original 1860 "Henry" and 1866 Winchester. As they also had octagon barrels. The octagon barrel on the Henry is only heavy because they made it that way. The Marlin and Winchester models are only very slightly heavier than their round barrel counterparts. The Henry is 2lbs heavier than its Marlin counterpart, both with octagon barrels. Lots of folks pay extra for octagons. Again, a little information goes a long way.
Winchester: Extremely expensive, though I may get one if nothing else pans out.
They're expensive because they're far and away a better made rifle than anything else in existence. Infinitely better than the older domestic Winchesters.
Not true, Rossi makes a good rifle for the money.
Marlin: Widely reported to have suffered in quality since being taken over by Remington. I've handled new Marlins recently that had actions so stiff that I thought they were "locked" somehow. They weren't.
Enough older guns on the market it shouldn't matter.
Mossberg: Not known for it's rifles, though their 464 is more tempting than the competition right now. Still, the idea of a Mossberg rifle just seems strange to me, like buying that Savage shotgun.
Mossberg has traditionally made a lot of rifles. There is a proliferation of .22 rifles Mossberg made over the years. It's only strange because you've never heard of them. Which I find "strange".
Henry: Most of their rifles have gaudy, ugly, brass receivers and silly octogon barrels that accomplish absolutely nothing but adding weight. In fact, most of their rifles are extremely heavy compared to competitors, which negates one of the most important advantages and appeals of lever guns. Their only decent offering is on the pricey side too, which I would tolerate if it was a company I could take seriously.
The first leverguns ever made had brass receivers. As do reproductions of the original 1860 "Henry" and 1866 Winchester. As they also had octagon barrels. The octagon barrel on the Henry is only heavy because they made it that way. The Marlin and Winchester models are only very slightly heavier than their round barrel counterparts. The Henry is 2lbs heavier than its Marlin counterpart, both with octagon barrels. Lots of folks pay extra for octagons. Again, a little information goes a long way.
Winchester: Extremely expensive, though I may get one if nothing else pans out.
They're expensive because they're far and away a better made rifle than anything else in existence. Infinitely better than the older domestic Winchesters.
gotboostvr
Member
I really wanted the 454, but wanted some interchangeably with my 29-2, I don't have anything in 45LC, or 454.
I didn't have a winchester to sell, but did part with a 336 in 35Rem that was a very nice rifle, it had just become redundant.
Badlander
Member
Rossi: Notorious for poor quality control.
Not true, Rossi makes a good rifle for the money.
Rossi does make some good rifles...... They also have poor quality control. Not saying they are alone in this. But they do put out A lot of garbage.
Not true, Rossi makes a good rifle for the money.
Rossi does make some good rifles...... They also have poor quality control. Not saying they are alone in this. But they do put out A lot of garbage.
CraigC
Sixgun Nut
Is that based on issues with their 1892's, or something else??? You can't damn their 92's because people have problems with their revolvers.
Jason_W
Member
I'm of the mind that with any mass produced item, regardless of price, you run the risk of buying a lemon.
Maybe what really counts is a company's willingness to rectify major problems.
Badlander
Member
CraigC... 1892 Rifles. I admit to having A personal problem with Rossi 1982s. I own A good one in .45 Colt. This rifle is A good one. Problem started when I bought A second one in .357. It was used like new. (not new I know)
It looked like new because you could not get cartridges into it. After talking to Rossi and finding they would do nothing for me, I attacked the problem myself.
That's when I found the hammer and the loading gate were bad castings. After much reaserch to figure out how to get past the phone guys at rossi I finally got to higher ups and they did fix the problem.
During this time I was on every gun board that deals with Rossi 1892s and have read that I was A long way from alone, many have problems with the 1892 Rossi.
I am not saying they do not make some good rifles. They do. I just recommend that folks inspect the one they want carefully before laying down their money. That is where I screwed up buying the second one. The first one made me over confident.
It looked like new because you could not get cartridges into it. After talking to Rossi and finding they would do nothing for me, I attacked the problem myself.
That's when I found the hammer and the loading gate were bad castings. After much reaserch to figure out how to get past the phone guys at rossi I finally got to higher ups and they did fix the problem.
During this time I was on every gun board that deals with Rossi 1892s and have read that I was A long way from alone, many have problems with the 1892 Rossi.
I am not saying they do not make some good rifles. They do. I just recommend that folks inspect the one they want carefully before laying down their money. That is where I screwed up buying the second one. The first one made me over confident.
RainDodger
Member
I'm not going to argue with anyone's opinions because that's exactly what they are... so I'll tell you MY opinions! (Remember, they're worth exactly what you're paying for them.)
I've got a 1942 Winchester in .30 WCF. Wonderful rifle, works as expected, QC is your basic old Winchester. No complaints.
My Uberti repro of a '73 Winchester - gorgeous wood and steel, nice wood, excellent QC, no problems at all and it's a blast to shoot (.357).
My Browning 92 in .44 Mag, made by Miroku - Great QC, excellent fit and finish, flawless, tight functioning.
You can't go wrong with any of those 3, but you have to pay for them. If you go with a Winchester, my recommendation is to find an old one that hasn't been messed with. My '42 is pristine and cost me $500 about 2 years ago.
Rossi: every one I've seen has wood that's about like a medium quality fence post with some kind of reddish stain on it, and it feels like it has a clunkier action than any of the aforementioned weapons.
Remember... it's just an opinion. I think you get exactly what you pay for with most lever guns.
I've got a 1942 Winchester in .30 WCF. Wonderful rifle, works as expected, QC is your basic old Winchester. No complaints.
My Uberti repro of a '73 Winchester - gorgeous wood and steel, nice wood, excellent QC, no problems at all and it's a blast to shoot (.357).
My Browning 92 in .44 Mag, made by Miroku - Great QC, excellent fit and finish, flawless, tight functioning.
You can't go wrong with any of those 3, but you have to pay for them. If you go with a Winchester, my recommendation is to find an old one that hasn't been messed with. My '42 is pristine and cost me $500 about 2 years ago.
Rossi: every one I've seen has wood that's about like a medium quality fence post with some kind of reddish stain on it, and it feels like it has a clunkier action than any of the aforementioned weapons.
Remember... it's just an opinion. I think you get exactly what you pay for with most lever guns.
DM~
Member
IF you really are a "chain smoker", you won't live long enough to wear ANY of them out....even if you never clean them!
DM
DM
Doc7
Member
Browning BLR and a trigger job
Kentucky-roughrider
Member
I have not personally dealt with it but everyone has said that Henry's customer service is the best industry.
tahoe2
Member
I didn't read every post, did anyone mention a Savage Model 99, I've seen them used in LGS and internet auction sites from $300-$600 in 30-30, 300 Savage and 308 Winchester. Just a thought!
jim in Anchorage
Member
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Actually the first Henrys were iron frames. So if you want to be truly authentic...
Rossi's aren't bad, and are even fun if you like to tinker. I have 4 of them and it takes about 3 hours with a fine file to smooth out the rough spots. Now they are all super smooth - maybe too much. My '41 Win 94 feels really rough along side of them, but it's also containing a lot more power.
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