Why don't more lever guns eject from the side instead of the top

[horsemen61]

Why don't more lever guns eject from the side instead of the top ok guys I have a pre 64 model 94 in 30wcf and while I do love it I just really enjoy the fact that my marlin ejects out the side more so I ask you. Why don't more lever guns eject from the side instead of the top. I prefer it because I do better with a scope yes I understand that back then you used irons but this is dang near 2014 and when I see the Rossi 92 clones I just wish I could find a good marlin 1894 45 colt for the side eject that ain't skyrocketed in price

 

[Arkansas Paul]

Why don't more lever guns eject from the side instead of the top.

yes I understand that back then you used irons

You answered your own question. This may be nearly 2014 but the designs aren't. They're from the late 19th century. Most guys want lever guns for the nostalgia so most of them are made based on the old design. I really don't see it changing.

 

[tahunua001]

I'm sorry but I must be seriously novice when it comes to lever guns. every lever action I've seen with the exception of some of those gawdawful 12 gauge lever guns have been side ejecting.

 

[dogtown tom]

tahunua001 I'm sorry but I must be seriously novice when it comes to lever guns. every lever action I've seen with the exception of some of those gawdawful 12 gauge lever guns have been side ejecting.

The most popular lever action in history Winchester Model 94:

 

[rcmodel]

All models of the original Winchester design's eject from the top.
That includes the original Henry, 1866, 1873, 1876, 1886, 1892, 1894, and 1895.

Marlins design always ejected from the side.

But as stated above, most all of the reproductions made today are based on the Winchester design, because that's what people want.

rc

 

[Missionary]

Greetings
And if you do a little bit of research you will find Rossi makes some new side eject models. But for now the biggest lever action game is the variations of the "cowboy" games. So that is where the sales are and that is where the $$$'s flow.
There are plenty of top eject Winchesters out there that have been drilled for scopes. Pick the model that interests your lever flipping fingers and head to a place like Gunbroker and search that model. Up will pop enough scoped versions to drain your pockets real fast.
Mike in Peru

 

[CraigC]

That includes the original Henry, 1866, 1873, 1876, 1886, 1892, 1894, and 1895.

A man could work with the rifle models in that list and never find himself wanting anything else.

 

[AethelstanAegen]

A man could work with the rifle models in that list and never find himself wanting anything else.

Haha. Agreed!

 

[BCRider]

Could part of the reasoning be that the early ammo might not have been as consistent as we have now? Perhaps part of the reasoning behind the "open wide" Winchester pattern guns was the ease of prodding around inside to aid in keeping the gun running more easily?

 

[jmr40]

For practical purposes side eject is better. But most people don't buy lever guns for practical reasons. They do it for nostalgic reasons. If they want practical they buy bolt actions. It is like asking "why don't muzzle loaders load from the breach."

If someone really wants side eject Marlin has been making lever guns with side eject almost as long as Winchester has with top eject. In fact most Winchester 94's have been angle eject for about 30 years. Options are certainly there if someone want either system.

 

[1911 guy]

I wonder if putting another hole (ejection port) in the side of the receiver would weaken it more than top ejection does? Just wondering.

I know it's been done, but with newer designs. Older designs may suffer from being modified.

 

[hatt]

For practical purposes side eject is better. But most people don't buy lever guns for practical reasons. They do it for nostalgic reasons. If they want practical they buy bolt actions.

Sir that is silly. For suited tasks a lever action is just as practical as any other design.

 

[CraigC]

If they want practical they buy bolt actions.

If you don't need the range that high velocity boltgun cartridges offer, then NOTHING is more practical than a good levergun.

 

[jason41987]

question.. if you were left handed where would you rather have it eject from?.. face it, lever actions were ambidextrous long before ambidextrous was cool

 

[TheGoldenSaber]

When there is a question I don't know the answer is almost almost money. Part of it might be that the classic design didn't do that, but I would be willing to be that most of the reason is because it would cost more money to make. People are so greedy these days, and getting greedier.

<deleted>

 

[Sam1911]

Pretty simple, really. When almost all of the lever action rifles were designed, very few people used optical sights (scopes). There was no reason NOT to use a simple, open top-eject design. By the time scopes became universal, the lever-action rifle was a set thing in the American shooter's mind. If he wanted "THE" lever-action, he got a Model 94, and he WANTED a model 94 -- top eject (or angle, later) and all. If he wanted to scope it, he bought the equally tried-and-true Marlin, which happened to already feature side-eject (a fact that almost assuredly accounts for how Marlin took so much of the lever market in the last half of the 20th century).

 

[Speedgoat]

Because John Browning didn't want them to!

 

[rromeo]

If God wanted lever action rifles to have side eject, he would have politely asked John Browning to make them side eject.




Speedgoat thinks like I don but is slightly faster typing.

 

[rcmodel]

The Winchester top-eject did have one very major feature back then too.

Sort of a self-cleaning action!

Dust & water, in the saddle, or dust & water in the buggy or wagon?
Regardless of how you traveled, dust & water got inside your rifle.

SO, the side eject marlin let it in, but didn't let it get back out without taking it apart.

With the Winchester open top design?
It was well sealed against dust & water when closed due to the tight joints from well fitted parts.

But when you cycled the action, the bottom fell open, as well as the top.

You could drive a herd of cats through the action when it was opened!

So dust and water staying down inside one was next to impossible, if you wanted to let it out by cycling the action & blowing through it a few times.

rc

 

[CraigC]

Top eject leverguns, originally designed around blackpowder cartridges, are also much easier to clean than side eject guns.

 

[rcmodel]

Well, I kinda disagree with that.

The side eject Marlins are much easier to clean then any old Winchester.

With a Marlin. you take out the lever pivot screw and shake it?
All the part s fall out in a pile on the bench.

The same degree of disassembly on a Winchester to get the bolt out takes about two hours.

On the other hand, like I said.
You can just open the action on a Winchester and blow it out and be good to go.

You pays your money and makes your choices which you prefer I guess.

Myself, I have some of each so I don't worry about which is better.
My top-eject Winchesters outnumber my side-eject Marlins about 7 to 1 though!

rc

 

[CraigC]

All you have to do is turn a Winchester upside down and clean it without any blackpowder fouling falling into the action. They weren't designed for easy bolt removal because it isn't necessary.

 

[Sam1911]

They weren't designed for easy bolt removal because it isn't necessary.

I think that's what RC just said...

 

[Carl N. Brown]

For lefties (or folks who want to use a rifle ambidextrously, legal in most states now), top- or bottom-eject is often prefered to right-side eject. Although some lefties go for the rare design that allows left-side eject, but those are usually semi-auto, not lever.

I cannot count the times over the past fifty+ years I have read Winchester 94 and Ithaca 37 extolled as perfect for left-handed shooters.

 

[epoletna]

Lots of good, sensible answers in this thread, but I think the answer to the question "why don't more lever guns eject from the side" has to do with manufacturing techniques in the 1860s and 30 years after. Looking at the original Henry design and the Winchester levers that followed, they are essentially slab-sided with open top and bottom. The bolt is more or less a square block of steel with a block that slides in place to lock it ('94) or two oblong keys that slide in place to do the same thing ('86 and '92). Given that the bolt traveled back and forth on rails, you would have to cut out a portion of the right-hand rail for a side ejection port.