Lever action day

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Nice rifles in this thread!

My humble collection:

Right: '68 Savage 99 .308win
Middle: '52 Marlin 39
Left: '76 Win 94 .30-30.
I'm only babysitting this one for a friend. I have had it (and 9-10 others of his) in my gun room since early 2020 while he's waiting for a safe to be delivered. I have absolutely no use for it but, I want it.
I made him a fair offer recently but it was the last rifle his father purchased before passing away so it's sentimental to him.
I understand.

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My pair of Savages, an 1899 and a M99, 22 Sav HP and 300 Sav.

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David Hoback said:
I’ve always secretly admired the Marlin 30-30. When I purchased my first rifle at age 18, that was the one I had been eyeing. As it turned out, I instead happened on a Savage 111 in 30-06 at my local Kmart (when Kmart was cool enough to sell guns/ammo), and that set off a rather loyal following of Savage by myself. Although I’ve not owned any levers myself, I’ve always harbored that “young man’s” fascination with them. I remember one day at the range after getting my Model 111 and thinking the 30-06 was the end all, a man came to shoot with his rather solid looking Lever Action. Much beefier looking than the Marlins I had held so many times before. Then, sitting next to me, I assumed it was a 30-30 because ALL lever Actions were, right?? (My thinking back then). But after lighting off a few with a significant “BOOM” that made my 30-06 blush, I asked him what it was. For the life of me, I can’t remember what make/model he said, but it was my first interaction with a 458 Win Mag. I was more than a little impressed at the time.

Ahh! Young memories.
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If you are a true savage afcienado you need to acquire a model 99 and scratch 2 itches at once. :rofl:
 
Interesting little story on my 99.
Dad bought it after returning from Vietnam.
Used it only a year or two before realizing he need some cash when he found out my mom was pregnant with me.

So, he sold it to a coworker in '70 for the princely sum of $200 and a "handshake" agreement that if it's new owner ever decided to sell it, my dad would get 1st chance.

Lo and behold, years later, a 10 year old me answered the telephone one evening (right in the middle of dinner which was a big no no in those days) and was greeted by a man asking to speak with my dad.

Turns out he was ready to sell and remembered his agreement.

10 minutes later my dad I were in the car to meet him.

He sold the rifle back to my dad, in the same condition he bought it for and for the same price: $200.

I'm 51 now and my dad has been gone since '05 (Vietnam finally got got him but it took 35 years) and, of course, I'm still in possession of the rifle and nothing in heaven or earth will separate us.

My own son has claimed it and that's as it should be.

Thanks for allowing me to get off track for a minute.
 
9x56MS said:
Once you carry a lever gun hunting you will no longer yearn for a sling. They just feel natural in your hand. They come to the shoulder without even thinking about it.
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I've carried several different lever guns when hunting for many decades, including Winchester Models 94 and 1886 and a Savage Model 99, but if you've ever had to haul a deer out through heavy cover for any kind of distance you might understand why my hunting rifles all have a sling of some sort. Whenever feasible, I use quick-detachable studs so that, when on a stand or in any other circumstance where a sling might get in the way, I can simply remove it and stow it in a pocket.
 
Y-T71, great story...and thanx from this Vietnam vet for your Dad's service.

Here's mine...a 99 built in '51 in .300 Savage...one of my most accurate hunting rifles...for the first three-shots out of a cold bbl. with Sierra 150 gr Spitzers, it'll do right at an inch, and has the smack of a .308 too. I scoped this one with a Weaver K4 of the same vintage. The combination is my 'cross the bean field' rifle for my deer stand here on our farm.

Shown in this pic with my Marlin Texan in .30-30 (another great deer rifle).

Best regards, and sorry for the loss of your Dad.

Rod (USAF FAC w/5th Special Forces, lll Corp, RVN '70 & back again in '72-'73)

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Rodfac said:
Y-T71, great story...and thanx from this Vietnam vet for your Dad's service.

Here's mine...a 99 built in '51 in .300 Savage...one of my most accurate hunting rifles...for the first three-shots out of a cold bbl. with Sierra 150 gr Spitzers, it'll do right at an inch, and has the smack of a .308 too. I scoped this one with a Weaver K4 of the same vintage. The combination is my 'cross the bean field' rifle for my deer stand here on our farm.

Shown in this pic with my Marlin Texan in .30-30 (another great deer rifle).

Best regards, and sorry for the loss of your Dad.

Rod (USAF FAC w/5th Special Forces, lll Corp, RVN '70 & back again in '72-'73)

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Thank you for your service as well Sir! and you got a couple of very nice rifles there!
 
9x56MS said:
If you are a true savage afcienado you need to acquire a model 99 and scratch 2 itches at once. :rofl:
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Let me expound. I am a Savage enthusiast, loyal to the 110 series Action. I’ve owned many through the years, but at this stage of the game, I ONLY build them from stripped Actions. As I build ALL my rifles/pistols the last 8+years now. My current bench rifle started life as a used Model 10 junior, that I stripped down to bare Action, Blueprinted and is now a seriously built rig! Highly customized, and sitting in a Mirage URL Chassis.

Not a big fan of the Model 99. And although I still have a soft spot for the Marlin Lever, I have no use for one. I’m not about pistol cartridge rifles & no use for straight wall, or Rimmed cartridges. And when it comes to having a ready “carbine” style rig with many cartridges at ready, I’m an AR builder since the beginning in 2004/5.
 
Shot this group standing off-hand @ 34yds. A hunting rifle, in the woods, shot the way it was made for! I do love this little rifle, it's gonna be hard to resist taking it for hunting these woods on foot! 20220702_134143.jpg
 
I only have one lever gun. I was talking to Dad about picking up a .357 lever gun and he runs out and gets me this H001 Henry for my birthday lol.
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Had difficulty with the sights (bad eyes) so I white lined them but I shoot this one better with optics.
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I fell in love with the Win 1894 .30-30 as a kid. On the ranch my Grandfather had one in his gun cabinet in the living room, along with several other guns, but the 1894 just looked and felt right. I only got to hunt deer with it (and him) once, and we saw nothing, but it was a thrill I never forgot. When he passed away in 1990 my Uncle inherited that rifle (he still has it) and I received three other firearms.

When I turned 18, the first gun I bought was a Win 1894 .30-30 so I could have one like my Grandfather’s. Sadly that rifle, a Savage 99F .308 my Dad gave me and a Browning A-Bolt .338WM, were sold when I hit a rough patch in college. As much as it hurt, keeping a roof over my head and food in my ‘fridge for a few months outweighed sleeping in my failing car with my guns until I got another job and was able to get back in the black.

Things have been rosier since, so over the decades I have accumulated several lever guns; all but one were bought (a worn, battered and hideous 1894 Golden Spike commemorative my Dad got somewhere is now mine.)

Not counting that one, which I may soon send off to be cut to 16.5” and refinished, the safes hold;

My sons Henry youth .22.
Henry H001 .22
Henry .22, Mag
Win 1894 .30-30 carbines (x2, the second one was a deal i couldn’t pass up.)
Win 1894 .44 Mag Trapper
Rossi 92 .357 16”
Rossi 92 .45 Colt 16”
Pre-safety JM Marlin 336 .35 Rem. (The first and only scoped lever I own, and the only lever I have that shoots consistent touching-cloverleaf groups.)
JM Marlin 1895 Guide Gun (factory ported) .45/70
JM Marlin 1895CB 26” .45/70. This is the last lever gun I’ve bought to date, it was a spotless pawn shop find that I just had to have.

Many of my levers have peep sights and folding rear sights installed.

I have owned two others; the first was a 1990’s Rossi 20” .357 that looked amazing. The wood was a darker zebra-striped wood and the bluing was fantastic. But, I quickly grew to hate it because it refused to consistently feed anything I tried, even after going to a CAS-recommended gunsmith twice to be worked on. I ended up having more $$ into the gunsmithing tally than it cost me to buy.

The second was a Win 1894 Legacy .45 Colt with the 24” barrel. Aesthetically, as muck as I tried I just could not wrap my head around the God-awful dished out safety button that just ruined the looks of the beautiful 1894. I also grew to opine that the long barrel just didn’t jive with the compact .45 Colt round for me (YMMV). Both of these guns were sold without any remorse.

IMHO, you just can’t go wrong with a nice lever gun.

Stay safe.
 
I got hooked on Marlin Levers when my father got me this 30-30 for my first deer rifle. He's since borrowed it back and has used it as his deer rifle the last few years.

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I've picked up several others since then, like the .35 rem and .444 Marlin I've been using for the last few years.

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