.
I always liked the Ruger 96 series leverguns, although many say they are 'ugly' because they aren't Winchester 94's.
Funny though that many of the same folks find
Winchester model 88's "collectable"
And they will say how cool it is they got hold of a
Marlin model 62.
And of course a
Savage model 99 is a collector's dream-gun for many of us.
But those Ruger 96's were deemed ugly and silly.
I guess guns are like presidents and artwork - you only get your picture on money after you're dead, and the value of your art prints goes up after you're dead - I suppose we take certain gun models for granted until they are no longer available - they all of a sudden we appreciate and miss them...
I've done that myself - never bought those cheap M1 Carbines or Mosin Nagants or 98 Mausers or SKS's when they were in the barrels for sale cheap at the local gun shop - now wishing I'd picked up several of each. Thankfully I didn't make the same mistake with the Ruger 96's (
While I only have ONE Winchester levergun - a 94BB in 375 Win - I have Ruger 96's in 17 HMR, 22 LR, 22 LR Integrally-suppressed, 22 WMR, and 44 Mag). Sweet guns for sure. And I don't think they're "ugly" either (but I have a face for radio, so the bar for beauty is low in my case
).
