lever-action magazine

[beag_nut]

Looking for some possible info/leads. Does/did any firearms maker offer a detachable box magazine, lever-action rifle? Almost something like the venerable Savage 99, but with a detachable magazine. I used to own a 99, but no longer, since it was .300 Savage caliber, and I would prefer a .45-70, or pistol caliber. I have made several suggestions to Ruger that they design one, but with no success. I have a tubular mag. lever rifle, but cannot get to the point of liking it.

 

[Robert]

The Browning BLR comes in 450 Marlin but no pistol calibers. That is the only lever gun I know of that uses a box mag.

Ruger used to make a lever gun with a detachable mag. My dad had one in 44 mag. Might be worth trying to find one of those.

 

[Llama Bob]

The Browning BLR has a detachable magazine. So does the Winchester 88. So do later model Savage 99s.

In general you're not going to find a lot of rimmed cartridges in detachable box magazines. It's not a very good combination.

 

[JEB]

henry makes one called the long ranger but it only comes in 223, 243, and 308.

 

[Goosey]

I used to own a 99, but no longer, since it was .300 Savage caliber, and I would prefer a .45-70, or pistol caliber. I have made several suggestions to Ruger that they design one, but with no success.

Ruger used to make a lever gun with a detachable mag. My dad had one in 44 mag. Might be worth trying to find one of those.

Yep, the Model 96:

 

[Scooter22]

Besides the above Savage 99C did have a detachable box mag for the .308 class rounds.. Also the Winchester 1895 lever action had a fixed box mag. There have been repos and I think Winchester offers it on a limited basis in .405 Win. You want a 45-70 or a pistol cal? Thats apples/oranges. Figure out what you want then find the gun. Oh, Marlin offered the Model 62 LA in .256 Win and .30 Carbine.

 

[easy]

Ruger 96
https://www.gunbroker.com/Lever-Action-Rifles/search?Sort=13&PageSize=96&ca=5000128&mfg=1000240

 

[beag_nut]

Wow. I had never heard of those rifles. Thanks for giving me the info!

 

[Speedo66]

The rumor of early Browning BLR’s having magazines is just that. There are actually none. lol

 

[EIB0879]

The rumor of early Browning BLR’s having magazines is just that. There are actually none. lol

Yeah, I know what you mean. They are pretty scarce, guppy mags that is. I have one for my BLR (circa 1971) and I'm more afraid of losing it than some of my rifles.

 

[Speedo66]

Yeah, I know what you mean. They are pretty scarce, guppy mags that is. I have one for my BLR (circa 1971) and I'm more afraid of losing it than some of my rifles.

Mine’s also a ‘71, Belgian made .308. I’ve paid less for some rifles than the asking price for magazines.

 

[somethingbenign]

I got myself a Henry long ranger in .243. Very happy with it, my only complaint is I wish I had gotten one with irons so I could put high rise rings on it to have two ways to aim. If someone made a pistol caliber one I'd get one for sure if only for novelty.

 

[jmr40]

Winchester 88 and Sako made one at one time too.

https://images.search.yahoo.com/sea...JfMQRzZWMDc2M-?p=winchester+88&fr=tightropetb

https://images.search.yahoo.com/sea...RzZWMDc2M-?p=sako+lever+action&fr=tightropetb

 

[beag_nut]

. You want a 45-70 or a pistol cal? Thats apples/oranges. Figure out what you want then find the gun. Oh, Marlin offered the Model 62 LA in .256 Win and .30 Carbine.

A decision for me would be to get BOTH a .45-70, and a .357. Or, either one if only one was available. Unfortunately for me, the Browning BLR is not offered in .45-70. I must needle Ruger to re-introduce the 96 as a .357 mag.
As far as rimmed cartridges in a box mag, there is no problem, as Ruger had shown (and still does, for their 10-22's).
Neither the Winchester 88 nor the Sako's seem to have ever been offered in .45-70, never mind .357 Mag.

 

[jmr40]

There is a reason (actually several) why no one makes what you want, nor ever will. The primary advantage of box magazine is to be able to use pointed bullets. That's not really an option in any of the calibers you're interested in.

Ruger stopped making the rotary magazine 44 mag lever action because it didn't work very well. One in 357 wouldn't work any better. Rimmed cartridges in box or rotary magazines do create some design challenges. And the bigger the cartridge, the bigger the challenge.

For that matter none of the box magazine lever actions have ever sold well. The possible exception is the Savage. A lever action simply offers no advantage over other action types. The only reason to buy one is for nostalgic reasons and that means a traditional gun with a tube magazine. Ruger, nor any other company is going to spend the money to design a gun that only a handful of people will ever buy.

 

[Speedo66]

Well, Browning came out with their version in 1970 I believe and they’re still selling ‘em. So they’re not dead in the water yet, and they must have sold a few. Not Winchester 94 numbers, but still must be a respectable amount.

 

[someguy2800]

A detachable box mag 45-70 would be as pointless as the ammo in the mag (little joke there). The BLR, Henry, and Savage designs all exist to be chambered in high velocity pointed bullet cartridges. I think the ruger 44 mag lever is the only thing that fits your criteria. There are some bolt actions conversions in 45-70 around.