Lever guns

[Wayward Son]

Last year I sold my old Ted Williams 30-30. A friend really wanted it and I hadn't shot it in 20 years so I sold it to him.

Now, I'm looking for a new lever action but I want one in 45 Colt.

I'm looking at the Henry, Uberti 1866 and 1873. I might also consider a Uberti Henry model but I kind of like having a forend to handle onto. 

Henry makes a nice rifle but I kind of like the classic look and feel of the Uberti's

Of the rifles listed which would you recommend and why?

Thanks in advance.

[Dric902]

For fun, the Uberti

for hunting or serious work, Henry

 

.

[Fnfalman]

Buy American. Buy Henry. 

[blueiron]

Another rifle to consider is the Marlin 1894 Cowboy. It is available in the Colt caliber, has the octagon barrel, and is easy to load for and shoot.

[Wayward Son]

17 hours ago, blueiron said:

Another rifle to consider is the Marlin 1894 Cowboy. It is available in the Colt caliber, has the octagon barrel, and is easy to load for and shoot.

I like Marlin but am not sure about the quality of current manufactured ones.

[windowasher]

I have a Marlin 30 TK and it is just about the best deer/hog slayer I have ever owned

[norton]

I enjoy shooting my Henry Big Boy in .45 Colt.

I have run thousands of rounds through it.  My reloads, my cast bullets.

It smacks down steel with authority. 

Probably would be a good deer gun, for short range work.  I don't hunt but that's my guess.

 

[Wyzz Kydd]

I shoot lever actions every Saturday and own 6 of them.

If you want a rifle that looks authentic, can be worked on and made very smooth and fast you want either an Uberti 1873 or a Winchester Miroku 1873. Uberti will give you a lot more options in terms of barrel length, shape, pistol grip, straight stock, etc.  The Winchester Miroku will have few options, but it does carry the Winchester name and is slicker out of the box.  Fewer after market options though.

If you want a lever action that doesn't really look like any rifle that was made in the 19th century and piggybacks on the Henry name even though it has no connection whatsoever to the original Henrys then a Henry is for you.  It's big, heavy and robust.  It can handle heavy loads and is reliable, but it can't be made to run fast and to me it just doesn't 'feel right' in my hands.  If you're getting the idea I don't like them much you're correct.

If you want a rifle that is a bit more late 19th century, can be made to run fast and smooth and can handle heavy loads the Marlin 1894 Cowboy Competition is a good option, just be sure to buy one used that has a JM stamp on it.   Those were manufactured before Remington took over and fouled everything up. 

The Uberti/Miroku will be the most expensive followed by the Marlin, then the Henry.

I have three Ubertis in .357, one 18 inch straight stock half round half octagon barrel, one 19 inch straight stock full octagon barrel, one 22 inch straight stock full octagon barrel.  I also have an Uberti in .45 lc, 16.5 inch round barrel straight stock.  I have two Henry's, both youth models in .22 lr.  All of the have Ubertis been worked over extensively by gunsmiths to shorten the lever throw, install better springs, install a lighter carrier, and improve the triggers.  The Henry's have had trigger work and the lever throw shortened.

I've owned a few JM Marlins as well, both in .357/38 sp.  They were good guns, but I liked the Ubertis better.  Properly set up you can run 10 rounds through an Uberti in under 3 seconds. 
 

Here’s me shooting my 18 inch Uberti last Saturday.

 

Edited November 19, 2019 by Wyzz Kydd

[Rellik]

I've said for years that a lever in 38/357 is a great urban combat rifle.  

I once chrono'd a standard 38Spec load out of a lever rifle and got 1250+.  

[Historian]

Two Marlin's here.

The older one was made in 1964 and sold at a JC Penny's.    The newer one is only a few years.  The quality of them is great.

In fact.  I dare say the .45-70 is one of my favorite rounds of all time.

[Borg warner]

On ‎11‎/‎11‎/‎2019 at 2:51 PM, Wayward Son said:

Last year I sold my old Ted Williams 30-30. A friend really wanted it and I hadn't shot it in 20 years so I sold it to him.

Now, I'm looking for a new lever action but I want one in 45 Colt.

I'm looking at the Henry, Uberti 1866 and 1873. I might also consider a Uberti Henry model but I kind of like having a forend to handle onto. 

Henry makes a nice rifle but I kind of like the classic look and feel of the Uberti's

Of the rifles listed which would you recommend and why?

Thanks in advance.

If it's just for fun, get the Uberti. But if you ever want to use it for hunting, get the Henry. The Henry will handle hotter ammo, and the tube loading makes it easier to unload the rifle without cycling the rounds through the action. The Henry's are top quality and have the best customer service and support in the business.

Another alternative is to find a used JM Marlin in good condition. I wouldn't recommend getting a new Marlin. their quality control is hit or miss and their customer service is not what you get from companies like Henry, Ruger, or Savage.

[Historian]

3 hours ago, Wyzz Kydd said:

Here’s me shooting my 18 inch Uberti last Saturday.

 

John Wayne wants your autograph, sir.

[Wyzz Kydd]

12 minutes ago, Historian said:

John Wayne wants your autograph, sir.

I wish I could have met the Duke.

[janice6]

John Wayne's yacht:

"...USS YMS-328 is a decommissioned US Navy YMS-1-class (YMS-135 subclass) Yard Mine Sweeper (YMS), built in Ballard, Washington at Ballard Marine & Railway in Ballard, Washington (Seattle)…."

to search https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_YMS-328

  

[Historian]

4 hours ago, Wyzz Kydd said:

I wish I could have met the Duke.

You and me,too, sir.

 

[Borg warner]

4 hours ago, Wyzz Kydd said:

I wish I could have met the Duke.

I met him once. It was about 1977 and I lived in Los Angeles in Studio City on Ventura Blvd in a guest house behind an antique store about a half a block away from a place called The Sportsman's lodge which was a place that was popular with actors in the forties, fifties, and sixties but was not as popular as it once was by the seventies. I just liked it because they had good drinks and I could walk there from my house and sometimes some good looking women would come in for a drink.

You could either go into the bar through the Hotel lobby or around the back but it was a lot easier and more direct to go in though the lobby. As I was walking towards the bar there was a couple blocking the doorway and they were arguing, but trying to keep their voices down and the man was a big guy with his back to me.  And the woman says, "Do we have to discuss this here?" And then the man spoke, and his voice was unmistakable and he said, "Well... I wanna know what the PROBLEM is!" and his wife sees me and says, "Honey! This man want's to get by!" And he turns to me and steps aside and smiles politely and says, "Oh sorry buddy, go right  ahead!" And sure as ****, it was John Wayne!

And I thanked him and nodded and smiled at both of them and went into the bar. Under the circumstances, it wasn't a situation where I could have struck up a conversation, but just having been up close and personal like that with the Duke himself totally blew me away. And he died a couple of years after that in 1979.

Edited November 20, 2019 by Borg warner

[Fnfalman]

23 hours ago, Borg warner said:

If it's just for fun, get the Uberti. But if you ever want to use it for hunting, get the Henry. The Henry will handle hotter ammo, and the tube loading makes it easier to unload the rifle without cycling the rounds through the action. The Henry's are top quality and have the best customer service and support in the business.

 

Or you can get the Henry that has both tube loading and side loading capabilities.  As soon as Henry comes out with a black receiver instead of brass, I'd get me one in the old Thutty Thutty.  It's been a long time since I've had a lever .30-30.

[Borg warner]

26 minutes ago, Fnfalman said:

Or you can get the Henry that has both tube loading and side loading capabilities.  As soon as Henry comes out with a black receiver instead of brass, I'd get me one in the old Thutty Thutty.  It's been a long time since I've had a lever .30-30.

I'm with you, I like the blued guns better than the brass. That side loading Henry also comes in 38-55 and 35 Remington, two calibers that being a reloader, I actually like more than the 30-30. At this time, the side loading guns do not come in any of the pistol calibers.  That doesn't bother me, though, I don't consider the side gate loading more "traditional" than the tube loading since the tube loading I actually the original way the First lever actions (the original Henry's) were made.

And the Tube loading really has no real disadvantage but cowboy shooters don't like it because it doesn't look like what they consider traditional and worse yet it's slower to reload for competition. But for hunting, you aren't going to need a fast reload and what's nice about the tube is you can empty the magazine without cycling the cartridges through the action which is what many people like about clip-fed rifles.

[Fnfalman]

20 minutes ago, Borg warner said:

I'm with you, I like the blued guns better than the brass. That side loading Henry also comes in 38-55 and 35 Remington, two calibers that being a reloader, I actually like more than the 30-30. At this time, the side loading guns do not come in any of the pistol calibers.  That doesn't bother me, though, I don't consider the side gate loading more "traditional" than the tube loading since the tube loading I actually the original way the First lever actions (the original Henry's) were made.

And the Tube loading really has no real disadvantage but cowboy shooters don't like it because it doesn't look like what they consider traditional and worse yet it's slower to reload for competition. But for hunting, you aren't going to need a fast reload and what's nice about the tube is you can empty the magazine without cycling the cartridges through the action which is what many people like about clip-fed rifles.

About the only advantage I can think of is reload on the go with the side loading feature. 

[Borg warner]

3 minutes ago, Fnfalman said:

About the only advantage I can think of is reload on the go with the side loading feature. 

True, but in a hunting situation there's no pressing need, after you've either hit what you were shooting at, or if you've missed it, to have to top off your magazine so that you maintain a large ammo capacity.

In either combat or in competition that's an advantage but not in a hunting rifle especially a lever action that has a fairly high capacity compared to a bolt action.

[DrB]

I have my Grandathers Marlin 30-30 early  60's Vintage.. 

Dave...

[Wyzz Kydd]

On 11/20/2019 at 4:54 PM, Borg warner said:

I'm with you, I like the blued guns better than the brass. That side loading Henry also comes in 38-55 and 35 Remington, two calibers that being a reloader, I actually like more than the 30-30. At this time, the side loading guns do not come in any of the pistol calibers.  That doesn't bother me, though, I don't consider the side gate loading more "traditional" than the tube loading since the tube loading I actually the original way the First lever actions (the original Henry's) were made.

And the Tube loading really has no real disadvantage but cowboy shooters don't like it because it doesn't look like what they consider traditional and worse yet it's slower to reload for competition. But for hunting, you aren't going to need a fast reload and what's nice about the tube is you can empty the magazine without cycling the cartridges through the action which is what many people like about clip-fed rifles.

The original 1860 Henry was a tube loading lever action.  That follower under the barrel presents a challenge though.  CAS shooters typically aren't as worried as you might think about speed reloads with a tube loaded rifle because they're going to do the reload 'over the top' by opening the lever, placing a round on top of the carrier and pushing it down, then lever the gun and fire.   I've done that with my 1873 before, but I'm faster through the gate at about 1.5 to 2 seconds for a reload. Here's a video from the same day as the one above.  10+1 rifle, 10 pistol and 4 shotgun in 17.07 seconds clean, with a mandated rifle reload.  You can see me reload it through the gate at the beginning of the stage.

 

[willie-pete]

Whatever you get you need to tactical it up a bit.

 

 

 

[Wyzz Kydd]

24 minutes ago, willie-pete said:

Whatever you get you need to tactical it up a bit.

 

 

 

I suspect I can shoot my Uberti a lot quicker than I could run that thing.

[blueiron]

8 hours ago, willie-pete said:

Whatever you get you need to tactical it up a bit.

 

 

 

Needs a bipod.