The lever action rifles made today are just not designed to be subjected to the kind of use and abuse that we take for granted that our modern semi-autos can tolerate. Registration on or use of this site constitutes acceptance of our Terms of Service. You still have to give it the right inputs so itll do what you want. It's always been my contention that kinetics prevails. It was possible to do this relatively safely with the gun commonly used in the period the single-action revolver because it takes two actions to fire it: first cock the hammer, then pull the trigger. .45-70 Government/.450 Marlin Its square-shaped finger lever and eight-groove rifling identify my Marlin New Model 1895 as a 1972 first-year production, and its custom stock of American walnut identify it as one of my special rifles. When I did my series on pocket pistols, shotguns, and revolvers, I was looking at them almost exclusively from the perspective of self-defense. .50 Alaskan/.50 B&M AlaskanThe .50 Alaskan was created back in the 1950s by Alaska gunsmith Harold Johnson for Winchester Model 71 and Model 86 rifles. Is the old lever action half-cock safety really all that safe? were as common in deer and bear camps as Filson coats and L.L. How to Run a Lever-Action Rifle | Field & Stream Talking about the Marlin pistol-caliber lever actions, he says: The crossbolt safety of modern Marlins is wonderful and permits safe carry with the chamber loaded. country, frontal diameter averages around 0.700 inches. Mounting the rifle is this manner makes it more difficult to quickly align the sights on target. For best results, take your lever gun apart and thoroughly clean the action, lightly applying oil, making sure to coat any surface showing wear, because wear indicates metal to metal contact. Some lever actions will not consistently eject if you run the action too slowly or too quickly. Now I pass through fairly often on my way from Richmond, Va. to Blowing Rock to visit my sister. Second would be the screws attaching the optic rail to the receiver. I would not feel unsafe with a round in the chamber and the hammer on half-cock, but Ill certainly heed Eds warning: if the hammer does slip, the round may detonate! One stupid move that you've probably seen on TV is to wind up and give the unlocked cylinder a spin, like you're trying to pull start a lawn mower. COPYRIGHT 2023, WOMG. I recently watched one of Hikok45's vediows about a 92 Winchester he had recently bought. Marlin rifles that have the crossbolt safety tend to mess people up. The Rossi R92 .454 Casull makes a wonderful companion gun to the Ruger Bisley. The design feeds from Rugers recognizable rotary magazine platform. If theres not already a cartridge in the rifles chamber, run the lever as you raise the rifle. According to our research, our test gun dates to a first-year 1996-production run, making it especially interesting with such early models often holding greater collector interest. So just because youve got a lever action rifle thats 50 or 60 years old and still functional doesnt mean its the ideal survival rifle for the coming apocalypse. A shorter version called the .470 Turnbull is available on the Marlin New Model 1895 action. I also tried this with 30-30 cases and 150 spire points and it took at least three hits to make them pop. Then while keeping both eyes open and on the target, pull the stock into your shoulder as your eye directs the sights to the target. The lever-action isn't just for cowboys. 1 on the cover of American Rifleman differ from those found in some other articles and websites. Collectors will also note the centerfire 96/44. Then placed one my hard cast bullets in a set of vise grips held it directly in contact with the primer and hit it with a ball peen hammer no boom hit it harder no boom, after third try I noticed the nose of the bullet had flattened so I replaced it. They are supposed to be compatible with .38 Special and .44 Special respectively, but a lot of guns are noticeably less reliable and less smooth with the Specials. I've considered trying it on many occasions, but visions of looking at my teeth laying on the floor have prevented it. Henry Lever Action | Henry Repeating Arms So, whats the bottom line? .444 Marlin Older Marlin rifles with Micro-groove rifling at a twist rate of 1:38 inches can be a bit fussy when fed bullets heavier than 280 grains, but those built after 1998 with 1:20-inch twist Ballard-style rifling usually shoot 300-grain bullets quite accurately. Even so, I want to tackle the issue of reliability, because this is an area where there seems to be a lot of common misconceptions. Mag. They only went off when the exposed lead was flattened and the jacket material came in contact with the prime. It is supposed to be suitable for hunting. When we saw a Ruger Ninety-Six appear at the Guns.com Vault, we simply had to have a closer look. Tens of millions of lever action rifles have been produced in the last 160 years. There are a lot of very old but still functional lever action rifles out there. in the hands of no small number of Alaskans still account for game ranging in size from blacktail deer to moose, and todays controlled-expansion bullets make the grand old cartridge more effective than ever. Factory lever gun ammo comes with round nose bullets. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. Yet here we are, holding a Ruger Model Ninety-Six, or Model 96, one of multiple lever-driven rimfires and centerfires from days past. 7mm bullets tend to be longer for caliber than .30 caliber bullets. No. While Ruger no longer produces the Ninety-Six or any dedicated lever guns they are no longer completely out of that market. And remember, if after cycling the lever you discover you do not need to shoot anymore, immediately lower the hammer, engage the cross-bolt safety, or both. Dont place the guns butt to your shoulder and then try to raise the muzzle to the target. This numerically-named lever action refers directly to the year it was launched 1996. .30-30 WinchesterRifles in .30-30 Win. Soon after Marlin made the old .45-70 Govt front-page news again, new bullets became available for it, and those weighing 300 grains.from Sierra and Hornady continue to drop deer like bolts from the blue. I think thats an excellent feature, especially if you value function over form. A more specific aspect of lever action design that tends to cause problems is the liberal use of screws, especially in the receiver. I wish survival oriented topics werent entrenched in this nostalgia for the better times that never actually existed.. The truth is that, compared to almost any other rifle being made today, lever actions are more delicate and prone to failure. This restriction is made under protest, but we have to do this to comply with Californias infringement on the freedoms of speech and association of the NRA and our members, supporters, and the general public. Most of todays lever actions are still based on designs from the late 1800s. could a system's HDD spin up when you tell system to go to sleep? You can have the tiniest burr or manufacturing defect in a single part and the gun will stop cycling altogether. Is there any risk of shooting yourself if you reload a shotgun like Usually, this happens if you get in too much of a hurry or youre not very familiar with the gun. I gained a renewed respect for very skilled handling of the old guns when I started cowboy action. The Marlin lever actions, for instance, have a crossbolt type safety that blocks the hammer; the Rossi leverguns use a rotating safety in the bolt which locks the firing pin. I know they load for several of the pistol cartridges. RevolverGuy 101: Dos and Don'ts - RevolverGuy.Com Your granddaddy could have taken a handful of deer every hunting season with his .30-30 and still not have fired more than two hundred rounds total in a 40 year period. The Spin Cock. Scopes & Optics Zeiss S3 4-25 PRS Scope Review - Best Bang Under $2500??? This is one trick I really wanna learn, but afraid to try. What you don't want is a bullet with a point small and hard enough to act as a firing pin when your line of bullets in your leverspoon move around under recoil. When both exit the muzzle of a rifle in .45-70 Govt at 2,100 fps, the 325-grain FTX delivers 20 percent more punch at 200 yards than a 300-grain hollow-point. JerryB II Corinthians 3:17, Now the Lord is that Spirit: and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty. Though it came topped with a variable-power riflescope, wed be just as pleased with the quality irons. Given the popularity of spinal manipulation, its safety requires rigorous investigation. Richard Mann was born and raised in West Virginia and has hunted from the Montana mountains to the green hills of Africa. load with a stouter bullet. However, after shooting the lever gun youll need to stroke the action. The kind of forces and vibrations a gun is subjected to when its fired are the same kind of forces that often make screws want to unscrew themselves. Gun Twirling - TV Tropes Everybodys got a set of Torx bits and the screws are a lot harder to damage than the flat head screws. Lever Action. Any rifle will last 100 years sitting in a gun safe as long as it gets oiled every once in a while. It can be engaged as opposed to, or for added safety, in conjunction with lowering the hammer. The Ninety-Six series, like most firearms lines, have highs and lows. When I was growing up lever action rifles (with the exception of the Savage 99) had no safeties. Join Date: Mar 2003. Wish List Gun? The most common serious adverse events are vertebrobasilar accidents, disk herniation, and cauda equina syndrome. This is safer than carrying with the hammer down and safety off, because in that manner the gun could fire if the hammer were struck or the rifle dropped. As a result, they typically have poor downrange performance. by Ysabel Kid Fri Sep 06, 2013 8:39 pm, Post Lever Action Rifles :: Guns.com Fri Sep 06, 2013 5:19 pm, Post Fast forward to today and most lever actions come with some sort of safety. Henry X Model .357 and .44 Magnum: Classic Meets Modern, Taurus 856 TORO: An Optics-Ready Carry Revolver, Finding Concealed Carry Holsters For Women. There's a scope for nearly every hunting scenario Sign up for the Field & Stream newsletter and get the latest intelligence straight to your inbox. As American as Chevy's 454 big-block engine, the lever gun has been around since before the Civil War. While Hornady LEVERevolution ammo does indeed flatten their trajectory and extend their effective range somewhat, it won't turn cartridges like the .30-30 Winchester or the .45-70 Government into flat-shooting, EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT HORNADY AMERICAN WHITETAIL AMMO, What Makes the Marlin 336 America's Most Popular Lever-Action, 9 Fastest Bullet Velocity Rifle Cartridges on the Market Today, Winchester .30-30: Five Great Rifles Chambered for the Iconic Deer Hunting Round, 300 Winchester Magnum: All There is to Know About the Caliber. Its part three of our Lever Action Rifle Series! This law also restricts communications that promote an organization such as ours. Again, just because a gun is manually operated doesnt make it inherently reliable. This is only part 1 because Im aware this is not the John Wayne rendition, so Im working on a resolution to get a shorter barreled rifle so I dont alleviate the burden of having two collarbones.Movie:The Quick and the Dead (1995)Music:Ghostriders In The Sky Cover(Instrumental)Originally by Johnny Cashhttps://youtu.be/XnGCmZkh7n4#gunspinning #leveraction #spincocking I've heard this before, but more about the 1860 Henry repros where you drop the rounds in from the end of the barrel when loading it. is a "better" cartridge than the.243, but it has never caught up. That plan works as well now as it did years ago, but the latest crop of bullets from various companies offers those of us who love to hunt with the old tubular magazine lever guns even more options from which to choose. Though it might seem unsafe, the best way to unload a lever gun is to cycle the cartridges through the action. To be sure your finger does not find the trigger you can grip the lever loop with all four fingers. Keep the muzzle pointed in a safe direction and bring the hammer back to half-cock. Anyone know how to spin cock a lever action? - AnandTech Forums During the video, he made the coment that round nose bullets should not be used in rifles with a tube magazine, since the nose rests against the primer of the one in front of it. But, as is the case with any firearm, there are some tips and tricks that can help you be safer, faster, more reliable, and maybe even more accurate with your lever gun. Anyway, thats todays video. That mechanical complexity is part of why lever actions tend to be relatively expensive to make. The Ninety-Sixes were chambered not only for .22 LR but also .22 WMR and .17 HMR. There is no need to baby the action; run it like you mean it. Repeat this until the magazine tube is full. If you took that same rifle to a cowboy action match or some kind of rifle class, it very well could choke within the first five minutes. .32 Winchester SpecialI recall as a youngster campfire debates among adult hunters that was about .30-30 Win. Lever action - Wikipedia This is the proper condition for a lever-action rifle right before it's fired. I can load 13 but I usually only load 5 at a time. That is to say when the trigger is moved the hammer is released which in turn fires a round. I did, and thanks again to all who replied! However, have no fear, for its easy enough to shoot this one as-is. by 1894c Fri Sep 06, 2013 4:55 pm, Post dies than .25-06 Rem., .204 Ruger, .270 WSM, .300 Rem Ultra Mag and .338 Win Mag. If you have a safety on your levergun, Id suggest that you use it. by Pete44ru Fri Sep 06, 2013 9:30 am, Post Not many shooters associate the Sturm, Ruger & Co. logo with cowboy guns. I have actually done a fast cock on my leveraction by working the action one handed while the gun itself remains relatively stationary, it takes quick hand movement but isnt as bad on the hand or the gun. Or would you be better off with a rifle designed sometime in the last century? Make sure you have an empty gun; then double-check that its empty. Theres even a cocking indicator located at the tang. Like the other A-Frames, front and rear lead cores are separated by an integral partition with the front core bonded to a thick copper jacket. I guess I'd like to find out if this is something I need to be concerned with. It would seem to be a rather implausible happenstance under normal conditions, but there you go. And remember, a little goes a long way. The A-Frames construction allows Swift to design a bullet for low-velocity expansion on soft targets, such as deer, without sacrificing penetration on larger game. So I put a witness mark on each screw with a paint marker so I can tell if any of them start to back out. The iron sights are again similar to the 10/22 with a brass-beaded blade front and folding rear. Estimates of the incidence of serious complications range from 1 per 2 million manipulations to 1 per 400,000. New bullets make me anxious to head to the woods with one of my all-time favorite rifles. So there you have it. by rbgfishboy Fri Sep 06, 2013 8:10 pm, Post The Barnes 225-grain XPB offers more penetration than conventional lead-core bullets weighing as much as 240 grains. Whenever one part moves, all the parts have to move, and they all have to move at the correct time and in the correct order. I liken them to the hammer of Thor. Modern Bullets in Lever-Gun Cartridges - American Rifleman .348 WinchesterI used to have a Winchester Model 71 with a 20-inch barrel, a nicely checkered stock, and Winchesters 98-A aperture sight sitting atop its bolt. By comparison, bolt action rifles really are pretty straightforward machines. If the rifle is equipped with a cross bolt safety, this is the time to use it. The 400-grain bullets from Speer and Barnes are good choices for larger game but even they can be a bit soft at velocities attainable in the Marlin 1895 and Ruger No. If in doubt, just load two; if you're hunting that's all you need anyway. With a 30-percent improvement in ballistic coefficient, retained velocity of the Hornady 200-grain FTX at 200 yards is about the same as for a flat-nose bullet of the same weight at 125 yards, and that increases its effectiveness on deer. 5 Ways to Control a Car Spin-Out - Fix Auto USA Here is a personal anecdote about shooting round nose bullets from a tubular magazine rifle. (I still think they would have sold more .307 ammo). I have a Winchester John Wayne .32/.40 with the rounded lever. Note that, though these guns outwardly resemble the 10/22, the majority of parts are not interchangeable. Barnes, Hawk and Nosler have been making the bullets for quite some time, and Swift recently hopped aboard. If any of those begin coming loose, Ill start to have problems with accuracy. Same thing with this bolt action. Clearly 45-70 is excellent in a lever gun. - Quora Answer (1 of 13): Is gun twirling safe to do in real life? This is the third installment of our Lever Action Series. I'm not throwing rocks at the other manufacturers like Savage . It features an attractive American walnut stock, smooth action, side ejection, and a 3/8 grooved receiver for mounting a scope. While so much focus falls on the new Ruger-Marlins, we always appreciate the opportunity to look back at Rugers own early foray into the lever-driven genre with the Ninety-Six. Some lever-actions can be purchased for just a few hundred dollars, while others may cost over $1,000, or more. I really didn't think I would experience this, but I was curious if anyone had actually seen this happen or know someone who has. by rbgfishboy Thu Sep 05, 2013 9:11 pm, Post Point the gun in a safe direction toward the ground and firmly place your thumb on the hammer. I have used the 280-grain A-Frame on caribou, and its performance left nothing to be desired. The recommendation for dealing with a chambered round would seem to need changing; rather than lower the hammer to half-cock, one presumably simply puts the safety on. Obviously, a thumb screw is a lot easier to check and keep snug without tools. Adverse effects of spinal manipulation: a systematic review Copyright 2023 National Rifle Association, Women On Target Instructional Shooting Clinics, Volunteer At The Great American Outdoor Show, Marion P. Hammer Women Of Distinction Award, Women's Wildlife Management / Conservation Scholarship, National Youth Shooting Sports Cooperative Program, Loading Bench: The Marlin Model 444 & Its Cartridge, The 10mm Auto: History & Performance of a Potent Pistol Cartridge, F-Class World Championships In South Africa | An NRA Shooting Sports Journal, Loading Bench: The Marlin Model 444 & Its Cartridge | An Official Journal Of The NRA, Lessons Learned From a Ballistician | An Official Journal Of The NRA, Shotshells: Interpreting the Numbers on the Box | NRA Family, Rifleman Q&A: Colt Serial No. Keep in mind the weight of the gun and the intensity of the load are factors as well. Shown with a Bill Snow blade, brass match case and Barranti Leather cartridge carrier. Lever Action - Hunter-ed.com I dont doubt his findings, though I wonder just what it takes to get the hammer to fall from half-cock! Round nose bullets in a lever gun - Paco Kelly's Leverguns.com NEXT:EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT HORNADY AMERICAN WHITETAIL AMMO. Hey, welcome to the forum. They are really good at those things. Once this unconstitutional law is struck down or repealed, this restriction will be removed. Oct 17, 2017 Hornady makes "LEVERevolution" bullets specifically for tube fed rifles. The trigger pull on our test gun has some creep and breaks between 5.75 and 6.25 pounds. I suggest starting with purple Loctite 222 because its made for small diameter screws like these. Single action revolvers don't have swing-out cylinders, but that doesn't make them immune to being damaged by a careless handler. You are using an out of date browser. The optic mount screws are probably the most likely part of the gun to give me trouble. For that reason, the major ammunition manufacturers have traditionally loaded popular lever-action cartridges with round- or flat-tipped bullets to prevent recoil from causing the tip of one cartridge from detonating the primer of the cartridge in front of it. I want to finish up with a story I heard recently that I think summarizes all of this pretty well. This particular specimen appears to have been stripped of its original finish at some time, but it remains a lovely piece. All of my other Marlins are of post-54 vintage and have a shelf on the half-cock notch, which seemingly prevents hammer fall when the trigger is pulled. Lever actions are tons of fun, and still useful for some things. There is a special model that is a replica of the one used in Rooster Cogburn which would work. I think its important to point out that not all Marlins have a half-cock ledge. best way to document a noisy "extreme bass" driver in the neighborhood. I really cannot complain because in barrels of the same length, the .308 Marlin duplicates .307 Win. Stop getting your information from Hollywood. Do not slam on the brakes or speed up when your car starts to spin out. Over the years, lever action rifles have kind of gotten a bum rap when it comes to their accuracy. Nothing stirs the spirit of a rifleman more than a lever. G-boronice town. It can be argued that the 6mm Rem. Theres some debate over whether the magazines are interchangeable, but parts manuals do list three separate magazine models for the 10/22, 96/22, and bolt action 77/22. and others that use a bullet diameter of 0.510 inches. Weve all been taught about the half-cock notch on lever action rifles. However, when you buy something through our links, we may earn a commission. Screws Everywhere. The rifle used in my tests, a Marlin Model 336 ADL with a 24-inch barrel, consistently shot the Hornady bullet inside 2 inches at 100 yards. In that world, at that time, those rifles were ubiquitous. I thoroughly enjoyed Rick Hackers recent article on the Colt SAA and its 150-year history, but I am confused by the fact that the photos of Serial No. 4) Depress the trigger again; hammer will have audible "click" 5) Continue to depress trigger, manually cycle the action and eject the snap cap. Still, the flush-mount, rotary mags are yet another familiar and proven piece of the pie. The Henry Axe is topped with a polished brass bead front sight and no rear sight. Just because it's reliant on manpower to cycle the action doesn't necessarily mean it's robust. He retained the others for parts he couldnt make (which were few). But even back then, a lot of people believed they were too fragile to be used in that role. It can happen but not with rn bulits. by mark08 Fri Sep 06, 2013 6:23 pm, Post Is that really any better than the old half-cock notch? See you're in Greensboro. That is the weakest link. And thats okay. The trigger pull on our test gun has some creep and breaks between 5.75 and 6.25 pounds. In a lot of instances this is true. correct ammo for .44 mag lever rifle | Firearms Talk It can be loaded via the side gate, or you can remove the cap of the magazine tube and drop rounds in like most Henry models. The rimfires of our focus wear an 18.5-inch barrel topped with iron sights. In the moment of recoil the more spring pressure (from strong springs and also the more cartridges that are in the magazine) the less the cartridges move around. In 2015, Mann began contributing to Field & Stream to cover guns, ammunition, ballistics, and hunting. Is the old lever action half-cock safety really all that safe. We discuss most anything here politely. Feb 7, 2013. pump guns as anything else. Well I know that for one thing you really need the large loop lever like John Wayne had or a very tiny hand or you are going to rip your fingers off. There are some aftermarket thumb screws available to replace the lever screw for Marlin and Henry rifles. Ruger's Lever-Action Model 96 Review :: Guns.com In addition to the FTX bullet, Hornady also offers the MonoFlex bullet as an option for certain cartridges as well. Because todays lever actions are made with hunting and plinking in mind. Remington Ammunition has given sportsmen in states with straight-wall hunting regulations, particularly those who favor lever-action rifles, a potent, yet soft-shooting, new chambering for the short-range harvesting of deer-size game, hogs and even black bears. The best way to avoid stoppages is to perform frequent maintenance, only use factory or proven ammunition, and when you run that lever, run it like you mean it. Just because we all have a little cowboy in us, does not mean we all come into this world knowing how to run a lever gun. But when its finally time to emerge from your nuclear fallout shelter and rebuild society, youre probably going to want an AR-15. Even stouter bullets capable of taking any game on the planet were designed specifically for this cartridge by its co-developer Michael McCourry and are available from Cutting Edge and Northfork. So I dont do it much anymore. If the overall length of the cartridge is too short, it might move around too much when its on the carrier and that can cause some hiccups in the feeding cycle. Called the Lever Action Series, all have flat-nose profiles and are currently available in 0.308-inch-diameter (150 and 170 grain), 0.348-inch, 200 grain, 0.458-inch, 350 grain and two others, 0.474-inch, 400 grain for the .475 Turnbull and 0.509-inch, 450 grain for the .50 Alaskan, .50-110 Win. Reddit, Inc. 2023. Winchester Model 1866. While the 96/44 was set up for Rugers proprietary rings, the rimfire 96s accept standard equipment. Learn more . Back then, the .32s supporters had young minds convinced it killed deer more quickly but upon growing up it dawned on us that both cartridges push 170-grain bullets along at about the same velocity, making them performance peas of the same pod. There are very few magazine ignition instances, but they have been recorded. I spent a year at Guilford many years ago. Based solely on a relatively short production run, demand will always remain high for the Ruger 96s. Speaking of 10/22 accessories, the classic Ruger-style 10-round rotary magazine finds its way to the 96 series. Spl. Which is why I said I'm waiting for the side loading gate version of the case hardened 45-70. Here is my question.

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