It’s been awhile since I’ve played with a lever gun. The most recent was a .357.
The loading gate was tight and not a fun part of the process. Is a larger gate, like that of a .44 or .45 more user friendly?
Seems like it would be less likely to pinch. I think my wife would enjoy a light lever rifle but not if she dreads loading it. Or maybe gloves are the answer?
I’m not worried about ammo cost I can reload whatever caliber.
30-30’s are tight, so I’d say it will make little to no difference.
Easy reloading at the reciever is something we’d really like.
Ability to mount optics & a suppressor, too.
16 in barrel, wood furniture.
So simple, probably lots of people would like such a configuration, so obviously, nobody makes such as thing.
I’m assuming her experience is with a side-gate loading lever gun? She might enjoy a tube fed lever action much better, and they are easy to load. Sucks to have to take the tube out, but loading/unloading is much nicer. I have a tube loading Henry Big Boy in 44 Mag and love it.
That’s not a bad idea, getting a Henry with both the gate and removable mag tube.
I’d really like an optic on it. Suppressor threads very desirable.
Big Boy X fits that description. Threaded barrel, gate or tube feed, easy to put an optic on.
https://www.henryusa.com/rifles/big-boy-x-model/
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I have a pistol red dot mounted to mine Big Boy 44 Mag. I just added a pic rail section on the receiver and put a Vortex Viper red dot on there. Makes shooting it even more fun
That looks good…wood would be nice.
The Big Biy X is great. I have one in 45Colt. Not bad to load through the gate as I use that for loads with 300gr bullets as they don’t quite fit through the tube opening.
Ron3, Don’t know how you are loading it. One method is to not push the cartridge all of the way in and use the next one to push it and repeating. It helps to not pinch on every round. You can dehorn the offending area/parts, I heard the new Marlins have this area dehorned as part of the manufacture/assembly. Gloves will get caught in the gate.
Thanks.
I haven’t fired a lever in several years. Never had one long and never had a pistol-caliber one.
Just something I thought might be fun to explore / experience and want the wife to enjoy it, too.
I realize you’re currently looking at magnum pistol caliber calibers for a lever gun, but have you considered a .223 Remington?
The Browning BLR can be had in .223 with a 20” barrel, feeds from a flush mounted box magazine (no pinching issues), and easily mounts an optic. Plus you get to use cheap ammo you can find anywhere, and recoils very little. Downside is the barrel is 1-12” so above 55gr bullets will not shoot well.
There are plenty of other caliber options though if recoil sensitivity isn’t an issue.
Just a thought.
No, but thanks.
We like to shoot steel at closer ranges. Pistol ammo suppresses better, and I reload only pistol ammo so far.
I have a relative with early, takedown Savage 99’s. Thin barrels, box mags, ammo counters, aperture sights. Light rifles. One in .300 Sav, one .303 Sav. I’ve fired the .303 sav. It zeroed fine and is pleasant to shoot. It’s pretty tempting to trade for that rifle but I’d have to load for it and no upgrades should be done to it. (It’s not even tapped for a scope mount)
I totally understand the fun of a pistol caliber lever gun. I want to add a new Ruger-Marlin at some point in 44 mag.
But do yourself a favor, especially if you have kids who shoot, and get a .22LR. They are so much fun! And a great way to build skills using a lever.
A basic Henry is an easy way to start…
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No kids. Dislike .22.
I remember now I did briefly have a Marlin 39A.
Was nice. Would have kept it if it was CF.
You can “tune” the loading gate to allow easier loading. Check out the Marlin website, I know it’s there, for sure; Winchester and Henry probably have similar info for their rifles.
If all else fails, Steve’s Guns (https://stevesgunz.com) can do it for you.
Thanks
I wasn’t planning on it but I got a Rossi Ranch Hand in a trade. It’s the .357 mag pistol.
It seems like many guns that it’s just a base to build on. Not much by itself but SBR it, add a full wood stock, get it threaded, suppress it, add a dot optic, and you’ve got a $2800 double-stamp fun-gun.