MatthewVanitas
Member
Greetings all. I have limited experience with Winchester-style lever action rifles, just shot a buddy's 30-30 at the range.
Then read the recent review of Winchester's reintroduced .25-35 lever rifles http://www.gunblast.com/Winchester_25-35.htm and found myself rather curious.
I'm under the impression that lever's didn't have safeties in the old days, then got the crossbolt, now have the tang safety. Is that the case? When it has a safety, do you carry it cocked-and-locked? Can you decock it on a live round and carry it hammer-down/off-safe safely?
Is a manual safety on a lever-gun just lawyerproofing? Ordinarily, I think tang safeties are very convenient on a conventionally-stocked rifle, but it does screw up the very spot you need to mount a tang sight on a lever.
It's mainly an academic question for me, since I have a T/C carbine w/ 45-70 and .223 barrels to take hunting, or an M1 Garand if there's not too much hiking involved. Moving to Austin this fall, and really hoping to get a chance to take a shot at the feral pig population. I figure either of my big rifles should suffice for that. Just hope there's some sort of THR anti-pig event I can attend.
Thanks for any info to enlighten a young whelp as to the proper handling of a levergun. -MV
Then read the recent review of Winchester's reintroduced .25-35 lever rifles http://www.gunblast.com/Winchester_25-35.htm and found myself rather curious.
I'm under the impression that lever's didn't have safeties in the old days, then got the crossbolt, now have the tang safety. Is that the case? When it has a safety, do you carry it cocked-and-locked? Can you decock it on a live round and carry it hammer-down/off-safe safely?
Is a manual safety on a lever-gun just lawyerproofing? Ordinarily, I think tang safeties are very convenient on a conventionally-stocked rifle, but it does screw up the very spot you need to mount a tang sight on a lever.
It's mainly an academic question for me, since I have a T/C carbine w/ 45-70 and .223 barrels to take hunting, or an M1 Garand if there's not too much hiking involved. Moving to Austin this fall, and really hoping to get a chance to take a shot at the feral pig population. I figure either of my big rifles should suffice for that. Just hope there's some sort of THR anti-pig event I can attend.
Thanks for any info to enlighten a young whelp as to the proper handling of a levergun. -MV