Understanding lever actions guns, can somebody help me?

[DaveInGA]

Howdy all,

After reading some of the posts on this forum relating to Henry and Rossi lever actions, then linking over to the Ross site and reading a bit, I realize I'm short on knowledge about the pros/cons of various lever action rifles.

I've worked on a few, just smoothing up actions as they came through the shop, but these were mostly guns the owner's had bought and wanted tuned for competition. My buddy, who was by far the more knowledgeable on them, handled most of them. For some reason, he strongly preferred the earlier Marlins without the cross bolt safety and didn't much care for any other brand. He gave me some reasons, but they've been lost in over a decade since we had the discussion.

I always had an interest in owning just one single action lever, most likely in 30-30 caliber, though that is not a fixed in my head caliber, as I've realized reloading for a rifle and a pistol I have calibers for has a great deal of benefit, such as .38/.357.

What I'm trying to understand is what is the differences between these various manufacturers, what are they making and what are the benefits of each? Since I'd like to buy one and only one. How do I pick between the manufacturers? I'll be honest, this would be more of a toy, not a serious hunting gun for me, as I lean towards bolts and/or semi's. But if I own it, I want it to be a good gun, with great sights and tuned for quality, lasting operation.

Can you advise on the various manufacturers and what they're really offering?

[Maximumbob54]

I will say this much about the Rossi R92... It's very much a budget friendly Brazil clone of the Winchester 1892. Being a budget gun, you always need to look over any gun but budget guns need that extra bit of attention. You can hold out for a Winchester, Browning, or several other brands but they will all cost more. IMHO, the 1892 trumps buying a Henry or Marlin in size, weight, and handling. But that's super subjective to who is handling what. The one advantage the Marlin has is the ability to mount a scope as usual instead of the action requiring a scout scope mount. I may be wrong in this part but I think there is more support for the 92 action out there. The Rossi rifles in particular have a few devoted webstores to them offering some great upgrades and parts swaps. I think they are just so prolific that there's more for them out there.

[RBHarter]

I've had a Marlin 1895CB the only mistake in buying it was that for $20 more I could have had a Winchester 94 also in 357 mag . That's only because I could have quaded my money on the Winchester. The Marlin wasn't the least bit picky about loads or bullets , so long as they were longer than 38 button nose wad cutter. I even mucked about with some TC bullets and what amounted to a 9x23 rimmed to use up some split neck 357 brass. It was well fitted and what roughness was there when I took it out of the box smoothed out by the time I finished the break in process ,which after several rifles I've decided is of negligible value.

I have a Rossi 92' in 45 Colts . The fitting is good in mine the wood is proud but not excessive. The lift guide slots needed to be polished and in truth a lot more could be done but it is now 100 % reliable as long as I keep the Remington brass out . This is fine because the companion Ruger doesn't particularly like the Remington brass either. 1 additional bug is that the bbl is very thin under front sight presenting a dip there . I also wish I had held out for an 18 or 20" bbl over the 16" .
It is a little more touchy about bullets and speeds . I've weeded out the problem mould and beat the chamber slop through fire forming and neck sizing.

The 18" Marlin gained 400 fps for every load over its companion 6 inch 357 Sec 6 and would share brass with it and a S&W 38 special . The 16" 45 Colts only gains about 200 fps over the 7.5 Ruger.

The Rossi was $500 3 yr ago the Marlin in 2005 was right at $300 and the Winchester was about 330 . Now the 1895, 94 and 92 are very different rifles . The 1895 is a much simpler assembly although I think there are a couple of complex machining cuts . The 92' was made with files and a drill press as does the 94 . The 94 was also more cost effective to make .
The 1895 bolt locks in the front half and the bolt is supported full length on both sides and the top.
The 94 is accused of having a springy bolt due it's rear locking lugs which are part of the bolt .
The 92 bolt rides in grooves in the reciever and has 2 heavy locking bolts and is alleged to be the strongest of the 3. The 92 was scaled up to become the 96' which was chambered for behemoths like the 45-90 and 405 Winchester.

The real difference in modern production is the final fitting of parts . I would bet that Rossi assembles the rifles with parts that fit with minimal wiggle room . Winchester and their contractors fit all the parts to a minimum/maximum specifications as I suspect Henry does as well . Marlin used to fall somewhere on the better fitted end .
The thing is that you have to pay for the difference between the Rossi where the final fit assembler does 20 rifles a day vs in the FN plant that does 5-7 .

[Fyodor]

Sorry, I can't help a lot, I only know the toggle lock lever guns that derived from the original 1860 Henry, and I guess you're not talking about that.

[GasGuzzler]

RB did a great job above ^^

FWIW the Marlin is a $900 gun here used, the Winchester is a $1200 gun here used, and the Rossi is a $500 gun here used....all plus/minus a wad of bills (in .357).

The Rossi is good for those that like to tinker and customize because of the tolerances, finishes, and materials.

[Ranch Dog]

Really can't add much but will try.

Current production Marlins are Remington made. Started off horribly five years ago but have gotten better. Still kind of taking a chance unless you study serial numbers and get a current year rifle.

Pre Remington Marlins are known as "JB" Marlins. Owners consider them to have doubled in value because of the "JB" stamp on the barrel and they typically sell for that but they are still the same old Marlins they were. I have a gun store worth of them and I have sold a gun store worth of them.

Rossi... I like them but they might require a bit of tinkering. The Rio Grandes are no longer in production but still available, their action is based on the Marlin 336 but in most cases the parts are not interchangeable with the Marlin. Parts from RG are no longer available. If Rossi (or Taurus for that matters) stops production so does the flow of parts. That is a real negative in my book.

The Rossi 92 is a great, strong rifle with replacement parts available. Current production is for the 357 Mag, 44 Mag, & 45 Colt. They have offered a 44-40 Win, 454 Casull, and 480 Ruger in the past. 454 Casull is still plentiful on Gunbroker but a dealer probably could not get one for you.

I have no experience with the Henry's and they are finally offering some rifles that I'm interested but I'm too deep in the other brands. I would have to order one in as none of the shops in my area carries them.

Here are the cartridges that I have chambered in leverguns:
218 Bee
25-20 Win
30-30 Win (2)
32-20 Win
32 Win Spl
357 Mag
35 Rem
375 Win
38-55 Win
41 Mag
44 Mag (2)
444 Marlin (2)
454 Casull
45 Colt
45-70 Govt
480 Ruger

Honestly, I would be hard pressed to pick a favorite and will just let my estate settle it for me.

[DaveInGA]

Gentlemen,

Thank you for the postings. It helped me greatly in understanding the ins and outs of lever gun manufacturers. I'll have more questions in the future, but I'm still in recovery mode from the kidney stone (56 year old men heal slowly and with a bit more pain I am learning.), so I'm sleeping a lot and missing things.

At some point, I may want to put a lever in my collection, just one and when that time comes, I'll be using this information and collecting a bit more data.

Thank you all,

Dave

[Poppop]

Hi again
I have a Marlin 336 in .30-30 about 50 years old. Still shoots great and accurate. Not very expensive. Also it's no beauty meaning I wouldn't hang it on the wall.
A .357 @ 180gr using CFE-P at 5.2gr will give a 903 ft/s vel. and 27,200 pressure
A .30-30 @ 170 gr using IMR 3031 at 27.5 gr will give you 1959 ft/s vel and 27,500 pressure
If you are shooting a lot for target and don't care about total accuracy at 100 yds, the .357 is great brcause it's cheaper and easier to load .357 than .30-30 IMO
I think the fun is in the .30-30 kick.

[btoran]

Differing scopes were mentioned already, but here's the lowdown. The marlin ejects shells from the side (just above where they are loaded). on the winchester and rossi they eject out the top (which was original design of these rifles). So on a marlin you can use a regular rifle scope, which sits fairly close to the eye. On the others, scopes are mounted forward of the reciver and a different type of scope with longer eye relief is needed. Personally, I preferred the lines and less weight of the rossi. I did an action job on mine (and had never handled a gun, let alone worked on one before), and the gun is ridiculously smooth. The wood work also needs some attention, with tru-oil being used by many owners.

[Poppop]

Even on a side ejecting Marlin, the scope has to be a little forward because of the placement of the hammer. Also since the rifle is sort of a carbine, no more than a straight 4X power scope is needed for 100 yds so look for a scope with a short length and light weight.