which lever gun to buy

Likely get more results by posting a question abut rifles in the rifle area, even if said rifles do use pistol ammo.

Actually threads in the rifle area on "pistol caliber carbines" have been rather popular of late.

Edit: Thanks for moving this to rifles Mods.

-kBob

I have a Henry Big Boy in 44 mag and it is somewhat heavy so there is very little recoil but if eyesight is an issue, maybe a "skinner" peep sight would be helpful. The make them in 45 LC too.
I would buy it again, no regrets and smooth action.

I found a Rossi Model 92 to go with my three single action revolvers, all of them chambered for .45 Colt. I really liked the short overall length with the 16" barrel and how fast and easy it is to bring it on target.

new marlins are pretty good. they run about 600.
Rossi's and marlins both need work out of the box to slick them up and cycle like you want a lever gun to. All nice and smooth. It's pretty easy to do a marlin, not so much a rossi.

+1 on the Rossi, I have the .357 version in stainless to accompany my 4 5/8 Ruger NV and GP100. I really like it and with a very few mods. It is a very nice shooter.

+ another one for the Rossi. This was my '92, that got away.

It was a .45 Colt. Relatively easy to slick up. I took it apart, coated the guts with Semi-Chrome, put it back together and worked the action a million times (give or take), took it apart, cleaned and lubed put a spring kit (Wolff?) in and put it back together. I used it in the 100yd stage of a "Rifles of the West" competition for several years. Wish I'd have kept it.

stoky

I bought my Model 92 used but LNIB. The action was already broken in and in great shape. Love the look of your Rossi; especially in that configuration and with the tang mounted rear sight.

There seems to be a lot of back and forth about whether the Rossi's are up to snuff against the Marlins. I own both and prefer the Rossi hands-down.

It has a smoother action, has just as good of fit and finish and cost about $200 less. Another issue I struggle with on the Marlin .44 is that they have notoriously oversize barrels. Mine is around .433. My mold casts .432 bullets so I either have to shoot jacketed bullets or get a new mold made. Even powder coating them doesn't quite get them up to size.

Don't get me wrong. I think Marlin has come a long way over the last few years. If the bullets are the correct diameter, it is a tack driver but so is the Rossi and it costs a whole lot less.

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I own Winchester, Marlin, Browning (Miroku) and Rossi lever guns and while the finest is the Browning B92 in .44 mag, the absolute! best value is the recent-production Rossi. They're a little dirty from the lack of proper manufacturing "hygiene" but give it a thorough once-over out of the box they're good to go. They're great shooters! and if you're so inclined the action feel is tunable with a slicking and a springing with parts and info from ---> Steve's <---.

I've got leveritis and own a few myself. I can't ever imagine selling a lever action. I have been keeping a close eye on Marlin lever actions ever since I bought a crummy 2011 remlin one. The. 45-70s I have handled in the last six months were are well made. I wouldn't hesitate to buy a new one.

Do the rossi's have that odd safety on top?

I have a per-cerberus Marlin 1894C in 357 and absolutely love it. I have no experience with other lever actions, but as mentioned above the action is easy to slick up plus with receiver being drilled and tapped it's easy to add aftermarket peep sights or scope mounting. I have the Williams fire sights and also use a Simmons whitetail 1-5x20 depending on the competitions I'm doing. I've shot over 3.5k rounds through it, only having the typical marlin jam during the first 500 rounds. Once I fixed this, zero problems ever since.

Are Rossi rifles predrilled for adding a sight like a Lyman peep to the side?

-kBob

The Marlin Classic in 45 70 can be loaded from very mild to wild. At the distances you are contemplating even a very mild 325 grain round would be devastating on a coyote. Plus the 1895 has that totally classic Buffalo Gun look.

Sheepdog1968 said:

Do the rossi's have that odd safety on top?

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Rossi 92's have a safety on top that can be left alone and not used, removed and plugged, or replaced with a peep sight.

"Are Rossi rifles predrilled for adding a Lyman peep to the side?"

No, but there are other options. As previously mentioned, you can remove the top safety and add a peep. They also come predrilled on the barrel for a scope mount for a scout scope. Another option is drilling one hole in the tang for a tang sight from Taurus, Marbles, or Lyman. The octagon barrel models come predrilled.

I recently bought a Rossi 92 and did so with a certain amount of trepidation. Unfounded though, the rifle was flawless in finish and mechanics. I had a tang sight installed, and replaced a working ejection spring with a weaker one so the empties wouldn't fly too far. I sprayed the moving parts with brake cleaner and re-oiled. That's it for a great gun I paid $430 for.

Thanks Speedo66. I've liked the look and feel of the Rossi's but hated the safety. I would put a rear peep on it. Is there a specific rear peep that does this?

Henrys are overpriced and overhyped, Rossis are so so, Marlins are made by the failing cerebrus company that has made remingtons, bushmasters POS,....no quality...maybe a bolt action Ruger, mine shoots 1 1/2 groups in .44 mag. A friend of mine bought a new Henry .44 mag, wouldn't even chamber a round, he took it back...the cabelas guy told him it was the third Henrys returned that week. lever actions are fun, unfortunately not a lot of quality right now from what I seenand heard.

I love my Henry Big Boy in 45 Colt, and it was butter smooth straight out of the box.

Sheepdog1968 said:

Thanks Speedo66. I've liked the look and feel of the Rossi's but hated the safety. I would put a rear peep on it. Is there a specific rear peep that does this?

Click to expand...

http://store.stevesgunz.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=20_30&products_id=5

I'm pretty sure it's just a plug to fill the hole with a skinner lo-pro installed in it, but by all accounts it works.

I have the Winchester 94 Trapper in .45 Colt. I changed the rear sight to a Williams peep, and my old eye manages the peep a little better than the original open sight. The Trapper is a hoot to shoot. I, too, enjoy the "thud" of the .45 Colt.

One point to make about the Winchester 94: Never short-stroke the lever. Work it like you mean it. Otherwise it'll jam, and you'll have to at least partially disassemble it to clear the jam. At least, that was my experience, but I'm beyond that learning curve now.

Great little rifle, and I think I paid ~$500 for it, slightly used.

Keep in mind, there are a bunch of post-64 Winchester 94s out there at very good prices. And you can find .30-30 ammo everywhere.

Just an idea if you're on a budget.

The trend seems to be going towards pistol caliber lever long guns. Like a lite beer, same great taste, less calories.

Although Marlin and Winchester make them, they're both pricey in relation to the Rossi's. From comments I've read about the recent offerings from them, I'm not sure there is any additional quality to justify the higher prices anymore. Plus, Rossi seems to have improved their game.

I'd suggest that it's a case of "you can pay me now or you can pay me later". If you want great out of the box looks and performance I'd say you need to pay up front and buy a Miroku made Winchester.

If you're a little bit handy at tinkering and totally breaking down your lever rifle and re-assembling it does not cause you to break out in a cold sweat I'd suggest a Rossi which you'll slick up with a spring kit and some basic internal de-burring work. Steve's Gunz sells the spring kit and a DVD of how to do a basic slicking up job on a Rossi. And all told for the Rossi and kit with DVD you're looking at roughly half the cost of the Miroku rifle. And when done you'll have a slick handling 1892 rifle.

For the safety I'd add a plug and then mount a proper adjustable rear peep. The plug peep is a slick idea but it's totally nonadjustable.

Another hint to aid the slickness of how an 1892 cycles is to use a fairly firm crimp on the cases. You want to be able to drag a finger nail over the crimp without it catching to any great degree.

I've been using my own Rossi in .357 for the past 7 years of cowboy action. I've gone quite a bit past the basics for internal work but if you do the highlights mentioned here you'll be very happy with a Rossi.

The last time I did a couple of rifles for friends I made replacement plugs for the bolt mounted safeties that were done from a regular fractional drill bit. The tang of the drills isn't hardened so they can be cut and filed with regular hand tools. The "crown" was spun and filed to a pleasant shallow dome shape in a hand drill and a small round jeweller's file used to form a notch for the retention pin. I can't recall for sure but I think the drill was the 13/32 size. But either way it was just a regular fractional drill size. The drill bit is just 3/8 shorter than before and is still usable.

The wood finish used on the present Rossis leaves much to be desired. In the last couple I stripped the very muddy and pinkish looking coating (a very tough finish and likely a 2 part coating of some sort) and applied a stain tinted boiled linseed finish that looked WAY better.

The result of some very basic work is a great handling 1892 action rifle that is very slick to cycle the lever and has a delightfully light trigger. The Miroku looks a LOT better with no doubt at all. Miroku selects lovely wood and does a nice colour case hardening job. But a slicked up Rossi works just as well where it counts.

I've never opened up or worked on a Marlin 1894 so I can't say anything about that option.

BCRider said:

For the safety I'd add a plug and then mount a proper adjustable rear peep. The plug peep is a slick idea but it's totally nonadjustable.

The wood finish used on the present Rossis leaves much to be desired. In the last couple I stripped the very muddy and pinkish looking coating (a very tough finish and likely a 2 part coating of some sort) and applied a stain tinted boiled linseed finish that looked WAY better.

Click to expand...

I believe the safety peep is adjustable for elevation, but not windage.

The wood on my new Rossi purchase was very nice, as was the finish. I used 0000 steel wool to take the shine off, and applied several coats of Birchwood-Casey Sealer + Filler to fill in the pores and grain. Then several coats of their Tru-Oil to protect it. I'm waiting the recommended 7 days to apply their Stock Sheen + Conditioner to take the gloss off and give it a matte finish.

If my gun is any indication, Rossi has gotten their act together.