What is your most useful levergun?

[bcraig]

I rarely use it, but my 9422M paired up with my stainless Single Six with both cyls would be the last two I'd get rid of. Ok, I'll keep that LCP, too. Never leave home without it.

I had one of the 9422M years ago,really liked the rifle but did not care for the 22 Magnum.
I saw it as too much for gray and fox squirrels,Not enough for coyotes which can be very difficult to kill .Sold it

Had several of the single sixes but always shot better with a Ruger Automatic 22 Pistol or a Browning Buckmark.

Got a LCp and Ruger brand 7 shot Magazine loaded with Winchester FMJ flatpoints that is always in the front shirt Pocket of a Proper Khaki shirt and a Glock Gen 3 that is always in the the Pants pocket of a Propper brand of Pants in a MIC trigger Guard Holster.
Carry a Glock 33 Round Magazine in the Truck for the 26

In the process of Smoothing up a Rossi 92 38/357 Stainless for use mainly with Remington 38 Special 158 SWC Hollowpoints for inside the House Home defense and HSM RNFP for occasional plinking.
Both Loads will be Subsonic from the 16 inch barrel by my knowledge gathering on the net.
Low noise and low recoil.

I also Have a Rossi 92 Stainless 44 Magnum ,Looking for a 44 Special Loaded ammo similiar to the the Remington 38 special ammo in both bullet design ,Hollowpoint soft lead at subsonic Velocities.

[jkbrea]

Winchester .357 Trapper. Shoots any .38 or .357 I put in it.

[joepb]

Browning 358, because it just works.........Joe

[AJMD429]

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"...At about 1200 fps, they go through 4 railroad ties sitting side by side. I tried 3 shots and all 3 bullets were not recovered..."

I need to develop a 50 caliber load at about 1200 ft per second from my 500 Smith & Wesson lever gun. That seems to be the sweet spot for hardcast to go through just about anything.

[Old Savage]

45-70

[mickbr]

easy question for me, a 44 mag rossi 92. That and a 223 wby vanguard are my only centrefires and the 44 sees the most use. It handles hogs and other varmints from subsonics to full power loads.

[Scott Tschirhart]

To be 100% truthful, my most used (and by proxy useful) lever action is a common Henry 22 that hangs on a peg by the back porch door with an old hunting shirt hanging over it.

That makes sense. A .22 is a very useful tool.

[Paladin]

One of the two Rossi's the .44 Mag or the .357 Mag gets carried the most when walking the dogs. With the cats around you don't know when they want to play and both are set up for night use.

[JimT]

Truthfully it is the one I have at hand when I need it.

[jeepnik]

[Scott Tschirhart]

With only 100 of the 480 Ruger R92’s made, you and I have a good percentage of the market. Mine really loves a 350 powder coated gas checked Miha bullets with 16.5 grains of HS6. It shoots better than I can. Will kill a squirrel or a Bison. Very handy, very accurate.

I’m going to try that load of HS6 in my double rifle.

[Bearskinner]

The nice thing is it’s powerful enough to shoot at range, or hunt with, but not so nasty a few rounds thru a revolver, and you’re done for the day. It shoots well in short and long barrels. Nice strong, but mild load.

[Scott Tschirhart]

The nice thing is it’s powerful enough to shoot at range, or hunt with, but not so nasty a few rounds thru a revolver, and you’re done for the day. It shoots well in short and long barrels. Nice strong, but mild load.

Yes and I don’t need to crowd the upper end to get what I want out of this cartridge. I need to shoot it at longer ranges and see what happens.

It’s more important to find a load that groups well and that works with this rifle’s regulation than to have raw power. The heavier bullets will take care of that.

[Bearskinner]

Absolutely. Accuracy is paramount to full power. A .480 with standard weight bullets (300-370) will cleanly take anything in the lower 48, and do great on most everything in Africa. I think the ability to shoot accurately and put your shot exactly where you want to, is much better than firing a howitzer in the general direction.

[COSteve]

I think your answers are all over the map because the question is too vague. By too vague I mean 'Most Useful' for What? Everyone has a slightly different 'useful' purpose in mind for their leverguns so comparing the answers are largely meaningless.

Some may take theirs out for self protection, some may take theirs out for plinking, some may use theirs for CASS competitions, some may want long range, some may want short range, some may want a silencer or heaven forbid a scope.

The use defines the usefulness of a particular platform, not the other way around.

[hfcable]

I think your answers are all over the map because the question is too vague. By too vague I mean 'Most Useful' for What? Everyone has a slightly different 'useful' purpose in mind for their leverguns so comparing the answers are largely meaningless.

Some may take theirs out for self protection, some may take theirs out for plinking, some may use theirs for CASS competitions, some may want long range, some may want short range, some may want a silencer or heaven forbid a scope.

The use defines the usefulness of a particular platform, not the other way around.

true, and ....well....thats why i have a hundred or two lever guns, almost all of which are my most favorite and most useful !!

[COSteve]

I must agree. Each one of mine is the most useful one for what I use it for too.

[piller]

Absolutely. Accuracy is paramount to full power. A .480 with standard weight bullets (300-370) will cleanly take anything in the lower 48, and do great on most everything in Africa. I think the ability to shoot accurately and put your shot exactly where you want to, is much better than firing a howitzer in the general direction.

The 400 grain LBT style Long Flat Nose bullets at around 1100 fps are capable of as much as I have ever needed. Having used them on wild pigs, it is best to watch out for what is behind the pig. It takes about 1,200 pounds of alimal to stop those bullets. H4227 gives good accuracy. 275 grain Barnes bullets loaded slow are super comfortable to shoot and deadly on practically anything.

[AJMD429]

My RUGER 96 in 44 MAG is quite useful indeed! 44 Special for quiet and zero recoil practice, 240 grain ammo for deer, and 270 grain ammo for bear. - TR

I really like mine, but I often thought it would be cool if they ever made them in 45 Colt or 480 Ruger

[Griff]

I keep expecting to see someone change their answer from last year when the thread started...

[samsi]

I keep expecting to see someone change their answer from last year when the thread started...

I don't know that I've ever answered this one since it would be whichever one I'd used last, though it's probably the plain old post-64 '94 carbine. In addition to 150 and 170 jacketed loads I keep a box of 170 cast and a box of lightly loaded Speer 100gr Plinkers handy. It covers all the bases pretty well.

[EG73]

Erma EG73 (German copy of a 9422M) in .22 magnum. It’s shot a couple hares, but mostly a few hundred cans

It’s also my only levergun, although I did just purchase a 92 in 25-20. A friends giving me a sack of cast 80gr bullets, I’ve got some 2205 powder. Someone on another forum had dies listed 2 days ago so bought those. Just needed primers and cases.
So wife wants to try her hand at leather craft, so had to clean up a table for her. Lo I find a receipt from 2015. 100 X starline 32-20 cases. What!? I don’t remember this. Where the heck..? So open the second draw and yay! There’s an untouched bag! So that’ll be brass solved too!

[Scott Tschirhart]

My most useful levergun has not changed. The 94-22 Mag still does everything I need on a daily basis and it rides under the seat of my pickup all the time.

I imagine it would do fine if I needed it for self defense. I know that it’s good for coyotes and armadillos. It’s accuracy enough to make up for the lack of power and I don’t think your typical Antifa soy boy is any tougher than a coyote.

[Grizz]

I keep expecting to see someone change their answer from last year when the thread started...

I remember this discussion going way back. Marlin Forum until it crashed. Then another one that crashed. Then another one. And finally washed up on this river bank . . . It's a topic of endless fascination . . .
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Marlin Guide Gun.jpg

> we B stickin' together . . . PLUS the 39A can be bundled and the two take up about the same amount of space . . . covered from 700Gr to 39Gr . . . . seems OK to me Those two plus the 12Ga fit into a custom caisson built to crate them on a boat . . .
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> been thinking on it . . .

[piller]

It’s accuracy enough to make up for the lack of power and I don’t think your typical Antifa soy boy is any tougher than a coyote.

My experience is from Army training, but not actual combat. Few humans have the willpower to continue like a wild animal after sustaining a serious injury. A 22 Mag can cause plenty of damage to coyotes and humans. I do not want to get shot by a 22 Magnum.

[windy]

32WS model '94 16" Wrangler; a bit of a handful with full-deck Hornady Lever ammo, but I load it down for small game with a small dose of Trailboss powder under a Nambu bullet so it's a twofer gun. Depending on what' I'll most likely encounter, I carry one size in the chamber and the other next up in the tube.

[PriseDeFer]

Winchester 3030 ...that and an old Western Field 12 gauge pump are house guns, on call 24/7.

[jeepnik]

It’s accuracy enough to make up for the lack of power and I don’t think your typical Antifa soy boy is any tougher than a coyote.

My experience is from Army training, but not actual combat. Few humans have the willpower to continue like a wild animal after sustaining a serious injury. A 22 Mag can cause plenty of damage to coyotes and humans. I do not want to get shot by a 22 Magnum.

Even a .22 lr AR-7 can make a tough talking / threatening wanna be thug crawfish. But it still felt might small at the time.