We need a Lever Gun Appreciation Thread....

Show the pictures, give us a description and tell us how/where you acquired it

I'll start with my small collection of lever guns

my first lever gun was one of my favorites....

I was cruising the WAC show back in the fall of 2005, I had $275 in my pocket and came across this NIB Winchester model 94 "Trapper" (saddle ring carbine) in 44 Magnum, it had a 16" barrel and real walnut, sure it has the cross bolt safety, but that has never bothered me. It was made in the old New Haven plant (1994 I believe)



My second lever action was also a Winchester model 94, a standard 30-30 made in 1973, I paid $250 for it at a gun show in Elma. It had a Williams peep site. I later sold it to buy something else.





My next lever action was a Marlin 1895 GS in 45-70 with an 18" barrel, JM stamped (2002 vintage) straight grip and walnut stocks. It also had an aftermarket peep site from Wild West Guns, I found this gun on the used rack at Cabelas, it had a colored tag (I think it was to mean it was used and not functioning) with a note stating it had feeding issues. The price was $499, naturally I bought it and after disassembling the gun, I found the plastic mag follower had been broken into several pieces.




My next lever gun was this 1950 vintage Winchester model 94, 30-30, standard model with 20" barrel. I traded a CVA .50 rifled musket for it, I only have $100 in the gun




Then I bought a Marlin model 39 from a WAGuns member, it was a first year model that needed complete refinishing, I don't remember what I paid for it



I ended up trading the model 39 for a 1951 vintage 39A (straight across) the guy was a collector and wanted a 1st year production



At some point I bought this Winchester model 250 .22, I think I paid $50 for it, I refinished the gun, have yet to shoot it yet



Then I bought this Marlin 1894 in 44 Magnum (20" barrel, 1975 vintage) from the same WAGuns member that sold me the model 39



Then I acquired a collection of 25 guns, in the collection were a bunch of lever guns, I would have liked to keep them all, but I made an agreement with my wife...I would get to keep a few and sell the rest.

In the collection was this Marlin model 1881, made in 1896. It was chambered in 45-70



and this Marlin model 39A (1957 vintage)



and this Winchester model 1894 .32 Winchester Special made in 1904



and this Winchester model of 1892 in 32-20 (1907 vintage)



and this Winchester model 1901 10 gauge shotgun (1913 vintage)



and this Savage Model 99 in 303 Savage, made in 1912



and this Savage model 99 in .22 Hi-Power made in 1917



The collection also included this Winchester model 1892 in 25-20 (1904), this one I kept, finish isn't the greatest, but the action is butter smooth. The reason I kept this one is that my neighbor wanted to buy it and my Father wanted to also buy it....my Grandfather owned one and my Father shot it a lot when he was a kid, so for him it was nostalgia....so to solve the dilemma I kept the gun and took them both shooting with it....ammo is expensive! I am still looking for reloading dies and brass.



My last acquisition was this Marlin 1894 model Cowboy Limited in 45 Colt (2000 vintage, JM stamped), it was part of a trade, I have yet to shoot this gun

First you have to admit you have a problem...

^^^ My name is TCB and I am powerless over my lever gun addiction...

All joking aside, that is a seriously awesome collection of lever guns. I am lever gun poor (and rifle poor in general). Back in my young adult years (80's and 90's) I had always wanted to buy a Winchester 9422 in 22LR. Unfortunately I was cash strapped back in those days and never picked one up. Then Winchester discontinued production and used prices soared.

Recently I was at the local gunsmith and what was on the wall but a used 9422 in great condition for $800. Way less than they go on GunBroker. So I snatched that puppy up on the spot. Had the smith strip off the crappy scope on the gun and replace it with a peep sight. I'm leaving the LOP at factory stock so the whole family can enjoy killing empty soda and soup cans. It's become one of the favorites for my stepdaughter and her husband when we visit their place in Kaufman.



Thinking to pick up a Marlin in .35 Remington in the not too distant future for wintertime hog hunting here in Tejas. Though am strongly considering picking up some new shotties: a Beretta 1301 Tactical for HD/training and a Beretta 694 for sporting clays (they make them in left hand since I am one of 'those' people). So have to pace out the purchases over time. We'll see how it all plays out.

BLR '81 Lightweight .308Win.
My 45th BD present from the family.

We have lots of Henrys, Winchesters, Marlins, Rossis and a few Brownings.

The Henrys and Brownings are the smoothest action by far compared to any of the others.

Still looking for a lever in .444 tho.

Beautiful collection!

This thread gets the blood pumping but not to my brain

Marlin 1894 , .357 Mag. Made in 1981 (?)



A member here posted this gun wanting input on the best option to refinish this rust covered gun. Naturally everyone is all “Cerakote , Duracoat , krylon, re - blue. “
And I’m all. “A little Kerosene mixed with ATF and a well worn green scotchbrite pad. It will clean up just fine. “.
Then a few months later I see it pop up For Sale . For a VERY reasonable price. I could not type fast enough to get my PM sent. I’ll Take It ! I’ll take it !! And guess what. The seller did absolutely nothing to the gun. No scrubbing and no sanding. Perfect !
I think I took an unauthorized extended lunch to run and pick up this gun.
It was specked with rust spots. Like someone (not the seller he got it this way ) took it out in the rain. Then put it way for a year.
So I did my thing. Completely disassembled. Soaked it in a mixture of kerosene and ATF. And for an hour or so every night I gently scraped and picked off the rust flakes using only brass tools. A pick and chisel like device made out of a smashed 30/30 cartridge.
I also slicked up the action a bit. Add some XS sights. And here it is. It’s not perfect. But it’s good enough for me. The rust on the barrel came off fine. And you can hardly tell. But the receiver does have a fair amount of blemishes.
It’s a fun gun to shoot. And I’ll never get rid of it.

Perhaps this is sacrilege in what appears to be a purist thread. But hey, it’s a Rossi.

Here’s my threaded 38/357 Rossi lever.

I was at my range shooting suppressed when some guys came down from the upper range house to see what was being shot. They said it sounded like an air rifle but made such a loud impact when the bullet hit the target it couldn’t possibly be an air gun.

Work by SPR Industries

You're not kidding.

This all started with some bitching about the high price of lever-actions . . . this thread isn't going to help that situation!

That sure is pretty!

Let me shovel some more on....

I went on the hunt hard in 2019 for my 1st lever action by calling every shop I could find in WA. I sniffed around the forums, online auction sites, and armslist before calling over 50 different gun stores as far east as Wyoming . Ultimately I stumbled across an old armslist add for this 1886 take down in 45-70. After about two weeks of communication and planning I took a leap of faith and mailed the guy a personal check that he held for a week while it cleared. After that his FFL sent it to mine and I had the biggest sigh of releaf when I walked into the FFL and Brian was grinning ear to ear... "Boy did you find a beauty!"

I haven't gotten to exercise it much thanks to the rona and life. But it is coming out this weekend along with some fresh reloads. At some point I'd like to have a peep sight put on but till then I'm gonna practice with the buck horns.

A couple 9422s. The top one is a CDNN special edition with color case hardening and the bottom one is a Winchester commemorative edition with fancy walnut.

Schoolboy, your FFL wasn’t lying! Check back after you shoot it this weekend!

Cruffler, what the hell is this advanced photography stuff you’ve got going there?! What are your secrets??