The Trail to Levers

octagon · Post by **octagon** » Fri Jan 31, 2014 8:53 pm

As a little kid, I loves to see John Wayne and Chuck Conners winning every battle and coming out on top of every scrape with bad guys, and always with a Winchester. I also enjoyed the Singing cowboys, Sons of the Pioneers, Lone Ranger etc...

Dad started us boys with .22s, and later, doves, after serving the mandatory time in service as a birddog to the older, more experienced shooters. When he decided you had enough maturity and gun smarts/ safety, he would start us on center fires with scopes, until you showed some skill at that level.

I shot my first deer at about 9-10, a doe that I got on the last day of the season after all my older brothers had theirs. I shot a scoped .243, the same all us kids used for the first kill. After a few years and quite a few neck shot kills with that gun, and a .270, I think my Dad saw me getting a little bored with deer hunting, as the results were always the same, hunt after hunt, one shot in the neck, and the fun part (I thought) started with the deer in the backyard, hanging from the same branch, with the big knives out.

Dad was a crack shot, and would audibly scoff, if you shot anywhere but the neck, and a dead deer did not rank high, in his book, without an instant kill, and a hole in the neck, but he would grin and give you a big "that a boy" with a neck shot.

Dad, in his wisdom, brought home a Winchester one day, new in the box, that he scored for 100.00 bucks. It was a Canadian, heavy 26in barreled 30-30. He grinned as he told me most folks don't shoot those, but leave em in the box for collecting purposes, but he would let ME decide weather to shoot it or not, and a lever gunner was born, right then, right there.

I had to change my style after that, as I would not hunt with anything else, and no longer had a range of hundreds and hundreds of yards to operate with. Outside of a few long range scope shot monster muleys I got in Colorado, I have been a dedicated lever hunter every since.

Dad passed on 2 years ago, and I took it real bad, the only real hunting partner I ever had was gone. I took a lock of his hair and wrapped it up, placing it under the but plate of the old Winchester, now covered with scratches and memories of one shot kills, hoping that we could in some small way still hunt together.

Dpris prompted these memories today, mentioning Chuck Conners and his ow road to levers, and I wondered how did some of you Boys get on the trail to Levers...

eric65 · Post by **eric65** » Fri Jan 31, 2014 8:57 pm

AWESOME STORY!

rjohns94 · Post by **rjohns94** » Fri Jan 31, 2014 9:01 pm

Very nice story.

octagon · Post by **octagon** » Fri Jan 31, 2014 10:05 pm

[quote="octagon"]As a little kid, loved to see John Wayne and Chuck Conners winning every battle and coming out on top of every scrape with bad guys, and always with a Winchester. I also enjoyed the Singing cowboys, Sons of the Pioneers, Lone Ranger etc...

Dad started us boys with .22s, and later, doves, after serving the mandatory time in service as a birddog to the older, more experienced shooters. When he decided you had enough maturity and gun smarts/ safety, he would start us on center fires with scopes, until you showed some skill at that level.

I shot my first deer at about 9-10, a doe that I got on the last day of the season after all my older brothers had theirs. I shot a scoped .243, the same all us kids used for the first kill. After a few years and quite a few neck shot kills with that gun, and a .270, I think my Dad saw me getting a little bored with deer hunting, as the results were always the same, hunt after hunt, one shot in the neck, and the fun part (I thought) started with the deer in the backyard, hanging from the same branch, with the big knives out.

Dad was a crack shot, and would audibly scoff, if you shot anywhere but the neck, and a dead deer did not rank high, in his book, without an instant kill, and a hole in the neck, but he would grin and give you a big "that a boy" with a neck shot.

Dad, in his wisdom, brought home a Winchester one day, new in the box, that he scored for 100.00 bucks. It was a Canadian, heavy 26in barreled 30-30. He grinned as he told me most folks don't shoot those, but leave em in the box for collecting purposes, but he would let ME decide weather to shoot it or not, and a lever gunner was born, right then, right there.

I had to change my style after that, as I would not hunt with anything else, and no longer had a range of hundreds and hundreds of yards to operate with. Outside of a few long range scope shot monster muleys I got in Colorado, I have been a dedicated lever hunter every since.

Dad passed on 2 years ago, and I took it real bad, the only real hunting partner I ever had was gone. I took a lock of his hair and wrapped it up, placing it under the but plate of the old Winchester, now covered with scratches and memories of one shot kills, hoping that we could in some small way still hunt together.

Dpris prompted these memories today, mentioning Chuck Conners and his ow road to levers, and I wondered how did some of you Boys get on the trail to Levers...[/quote]

plowboy 45 · Post by **plowboy 45** » Fri Jan 31, 2014 10:15 pm

Very good story my daddys first hp rifle was bought new in 1965 model 94 Winchester 30 30 mama has apic of me holdin it when I was about 3 or 4 been hooked ever since daddy got killed in 79 guess its been mine ever since and man I could shot it very well till about 1 or so years ago my eyes are gittin a little bad lik I said very good story

Griff · Post by **Griff** » Fri Jan 31, 2014 10:21 pm

Great Story!

octagon wrote:...and I wondered how did some of you Boys get on the trail to Levers...

Mine was less straight forward. I was in the Navy, aboard a Destroyer, a few days before we got underway for our 1973 WestPac, we had a raffle to raise funds to offset part of the cost of our cruisebook and a ship's party. The 1st of several, they raffled off a Remington 870, 16 ga. I bought a $5 raffle ticket. And won. Exchanged it for a 12ga for another $6 difference between the cost of the 16 & 12. Shortly after that, the ship's store supervisor offered a 1969 Winchester 94, 44Magnum for sale for the balance owed. $39. Seems the sailor who'd ordered it had been transferred, and didn't feel it was worth completing the purchase. I couldn't pass it up!

Fast several weeks and now, while in the Philipines, I won another of the raffles... again with just the purchase of one $5 raffle ticket I won a 1972 Winchester mdl 64A... .30-30. This has become a habit. I only buy ONE raffle ticket. Don't know where the ammo came from... but, during small arms practice off the fantail, after shooting my issue weapons, I got to shoot both leverguns for the first time. Over the next few months I had the chance to sink a couple of jettisoned fuel tanks with 'em. A 44 Mag outta a levergun with either lead SWCs or jacketed HPs does a great job putting BIG holes in aluminum tanks!

I was hooked. My Chief gave me my first reloading outfit for the .30-30, a LeeLoader. I came home early during that cruise, and had to fly from the Philipines (Clark AFB) to Travis AFB outside Oakland, CA. Then down to John Wayne Airport in Orange County, CA to go home for the final time. That was an adventure! Glad it was then, not now!

Unfortunately, 3 months later my apartment was broken into and both of the leverguns were stolen, along with about $4K of camera equipment. Thieves didn't find the 1911s, the 870 or all the silver given my wife & I at our wedding. Both guns were just about non-existant as new, and while the insurance could replace SOME of the camera equipment, they couldn't locate used guns to replace them. And while the few months of going to the range and shooting them was absolute fun, I was seriously upset about being broke into. So, instead of pressing the replacement clause on the guns, I took the money. A few years ago, a forum member offered me a N-I-B 1972 mdl 64A and I took him up on it. VERY pleased. It's one of my favorite guns...

arjunky · Post by **arjunky** » Fri Jan 31, 2014 10:38 pm

Only long gun my Grandpa used was an 1894 30wcf 26" octagon. He bought a 94/22 when I was about 7 and let me use every time I went to the farm. No idea how many shells went through that gun, but it was many thousand shorts, longs, long rifle and xpediters. Thousands of gophers, rabbits and blackbirds are sorry that gun was around.
My uncle still has the .22. Other uncle got the 94 and gave to his grandson.
I've bought a 94/22 identical to original and Thanks to Chad and Victor I have 2 94's very close to Grandpa's

Byron

fordwannabe · Post by **fordwannabe** » Sat Feb 01, 2014 12:50 am

I was a lefty right from the get go, so that helped. In my time they tried to tie my left hand down so I would use my right. They tried and tried, no go, when my maternal grandmother found out she raised heck and that was the end of that. Well fast forward to 5 years of age. That same grandmother had pretty regularly taken me out shooting a right handed bolt 22 but she didn't tell my Mom or Dad. When I was 10 my Dad took me shooting and thought I was a heck of a shot(not knowing MuR had been teaching me for 5 years). When I was 12 I got to go on my first hunt where I got a rifle, not just watching "the men" hunt. My paternal grandfather, my Dad, and two great uncles all were going and they invited me. We got up earlier than I had ever gotten up in my life, got dressed and had breakfast...BEFORE THE SUN WAS UP. Weird stuff for me at that time. Then the moment...we were all standing around my Grandfathers room and he was passing out the guns......and then the words that changed my young life forever......generations of wisdom and manhood standing around watching as my Grandfather said... WELL YOU'RE TO D@MN DUMB TO USE A REAL GUN SO HERE TAKE THIS(an old Winchester 94 in 30wcf). A true Hallmark moment if ever there was one. And that is how I got started on leverguns, have always had at least one now I have a few more than that

. Tom

Pete44ru · Post by **Pete44ru** » Sat Feb 01, 2014 10:35 am

.

Nice story !

None (zero) of my family ever hunted or shot, not even owning firearms.

I did, however, have 2 Uncles who were once upon a time in the military; but they lived across the country from me - so no joy, there.

But, as a young kid (10y.o.) living just North of New York City (the city of my birth), I started with a Christmas gift Red Ryder (lever) BB gun (Thanks, Mom/Dad), wandering junkyards & popping casual targets.

When in the service, the 1st real levergun I glommed onto was a Marlin M57 magnum - and then I never looked back.

.

JerryB · Post by **JerryB** » Sat Feb 01, 2014 11:10 am

My dad and uncles and cousins and soon all used Winchesters and a couple of Marlins and a 99 or 2. That is about all I saw for rifles in my growing up years, when I was fifteen my dad's older brother sold me his 1892 Winchester 32wcf rifle for fifteen dollars. I have bought and traded a few since then, somehow there seems to be a bunch gathered up in the safe.

Streetstar · Post by **Streetstar** » Sat Feb 01, 2014 11:50 am

My family growing up didn't have a rich hunting history --- we were always outside, but my dad was a horseman first and foremost, and didn't mess with hunting much -- maybe a Thanksgiving weekend whitetail hunt every couple of years in Eastern Oklahoma where he grew up.
He grew up poor and hunting then in the 40's and 50's was a necessary part of keeping meat on the table --- so its not that he didn't know how to hunt, but later in life when he had an occupation that could provide plenty, I guess he didn't see the need --- this was in my adolescence/teenage years
But those occasional hunting trips, my dad always borrowed a levergun, - either his uncle George's old 30-30 , and once or twice he used a 307 from somebody -- always Winchesters

When I renewed my interest in hunting - I just used my AR-15 . Later prior to an elk hunt, dad got me a Weatherby .300 for a gift to take with me.

I returned the favor later that year when I got him a new Winchester AE 30-30 for his birthday -- even though it was a "modern" version with a safety, he loved that thing. It got him more interested in hunting again -- he still didn't go shooting per se' -- he considered any shooting outside of keeping your rifle zeroed or shooting at game as a waste of time and ammo, -- although he was proficient enough
Regrettably , when he passed , I inherited the rifle that I had gifted him a decade prior --- at the time , my meager gun safe just held a handful of bolt rifles , AR's and a HD shotgun.

I started shooting the 30-30 some, - liked it, as well, I immersed myself in some of the old westerns he used to like and just decided -- hmmm, I like this stuff too.
The 30-30 wasn't quite as versatile for some of the bigger stuff I envisioned myself hunting, so I then purchased a Guide Gun, and that's all she wrote (with a 30-30 and a 45-70 , my needs were effectively covered)
I transitioned away from the military style stuff I was trained on and started shooting "countryboy rifles" like my dad did

MrMurphy · Post by **MrMurphy** » Sat Feb 01, 2014 12:13 pm

I'm sort of the opposite. Family full of hunters, except dad after Vietnam quit before we were old enough.

I didn't start hunting till I was almost 30.

As a shooter, since I could read I've always been primarily a military type shooter. I grew up reading/handling etc about Mausers, Lee-Enfields, M14s and M1s, M16s and all that. Still is my primary interest. Most of my guns are either bolt action or black plastic.

My interest in lever actions has always been from the old west. '73 Winchesters, shootouts between the Earps and the Cowboys, etc. Reading about Teddy Roosevelt and his pile of Winchesters and similar. I am currently levergun-less, though I may cure that in the near future when I have the money. I've had a .30-30 Marlin, a .44 Marlin and shot many others. They're handy, interesting, etc but primarily, I'm a bolt action guy. Being able to hit something at 500m with irons and all that.

So while they're interesting to me, i've never been a 'hunted deer with grandpa's .30-30 for the last 40 years' guy.

BenT · Post by **BenT** » Sat Feb 01, 2014 12:39 pm

Farming family ,only had two guns from grandpa . A 12 gauge single shot stevens and a single shot springfield 22. At thirteen my dad took me to the hardware store to buy a deer rifle. It was 1977 and they had the model 94 Winchester on sale for $94. I really wanted the marlin because I could put a scope on it , but it was $149. I had a $100 and tried to get my father to kick in some money for the Marlin. But no deal. I took home the 94 and shot an 8 point my first season and started stacking up deer with it , year after year. Not knowing I was under gunned . I hunted with it until 1994 when I bought a BLR in 308.

I tried different guns in my late 20's but never found them as handy as a levergun. This is were it gets stupid. I new there was the 444 marlin , but other than that everything was a 30-30. Everytime I would go to a gun shop and ask for something with a little more range than a 30-30 they all pointed me to bolt guns. I didn't know about 94 big bores . I never even seen a BLR on a rack before 1994 when I bought mine. Years of asking a question of more power and no one ever brought up a BLR to my attention or Win big bores. Gunshops around me didn't have much use for leverguns. I killed a lot with the BLR and stayed with leverguns. My two favorite now are the Win BB 356 and Marlin 338MX.

MrMurphy · Post by **MrMurphy** » Sat Feb 01, 2014 12:45 pm

Sharps are technically lever guns......and Billy Dixon nailed an Indian at 1500 yards with iron sights with one.

That long range enough for you?

octagon · Post by **octagon** » Sat Feb 01, 2014 5:11 pm

Griff, I always thought that when the Boy gets stout enough, I would give him the 94 and replace it with a 64. I've only seen one around here, but it was butched and WAY too much denero. The forearm was slimmed way down, and re-blued. Whatever I replace it with, it has to be 30-30, the perfect Texas caliber in my experience.

OldWin · Post by **OldWin** » Sun Feb 02, 2014 9:26 am

It's funny, when I was a kid, levers were all there was really. My Dad didn't have a lot of guns. The only rifle he had was a circa 1920 94 eastern carbine in 30WCF. My Grandfather was a Maine game warden before the war (the good ole days). He had the guns he needed but wasn't a "gun guy". He used a model 64 in 30wcf. A strange choice for a warden I always thought.
To both these men, and most others I knew, the 30-30 was the end all, be all of cartridges and the Winchester 94 the only worthy delivery system. All other calibers and rifles were owned to make up for some short coming of the end user. No strong opinions at my house! I was probably 10yrs old before I realized that not every 94 was a 30-30 and not every lever action was a Winchester.
When I was 12, my Dad saved all his birthday and spare money and bought me a pre-64 94 carbine in almost unfired condition. We went to the local gunshop/gunsmith, who had a shop in a room in his house. My dad let me pick between the 94 and a brand new Ruger 44 carbine, it didn't take 2 seconds to decide and both men approved.
I made a lifelong friend that day. The shop owner is my Dad's age and is still in limited business. I spent every evening in his shop all through my teen years learning about old Winchesters and Colts, soaking up all the knowledge I could. When I wasn't there I was reading in my Dad's gunroom that I convinced him to set up and start reloading in. When I think back, I don't know how the old gent put up with such a pain in the #%$& kid with no money. It DID pay off though, I've bought countless old guns from this man. I've fixed his vehicles, ATV's, woodsplitters, etc. He has given me more stuff and done more free work for me than I could possibly pay for. His own son had no interest in firearms to my amazement. He became a second father to me and has many times suggested me taking over the shop.
These three men are the reason for my interest in old levers. My Grandfather passed in 94' (I guess kinda appropriate). He took a lot of stories with him but I have hundreds of pictures and artifacts.
My Dad is still my shooting buddy at 72 and I kind of passed on my old gun interest to HIM. I've given him more guns than he gave me but I can never repay him.
I still visit my friends shop once a week to sit around the stove and shoot the breeze. Maybe step out back to try out a gun he just took in trade or help with a project.

Thanks for listening guys. I've been lucky.

P.S.
I will try and post up some of Gramps old pictures sometime.

veeman · Post by **veeman** » Sun Feb 02, 2014 11:41 am

My interest in leverguns was pretty much self taught. My dad never was into hunting or guns, farming was his life and love, no time for anything else. Both my grandpa's were fishermen, and once got together to take me fishing. Greatest day fishing ever, I was like 12 at the time, each had 2 poles, non stop bluegills. I remember bringing home 72 blue gill and 1 bullhead. Dont know why I remember that but it's stuck with me all these years. Anyway, leverguns, A neigbor did alot of shooting, and it was one of his muzzleloaders that was my 1st gun fired ever, and I was hooked! I was 13. Here in Illinois we cant hunt much with rifles, but that guy let me shoot his 22's whenever he was out shooting. My first 22 was a Marlin m60, wore it out, bought another. Then came a 94 Ranger 30-30. That was my 1st Levergun, then a 9422, which I still have, had to sell the Ranger due to divorse, but bought another as soon as I could. I have 8 levers now, 5 winchesters, 2 rossi's and the big browning 86, my favorite. Someday I'll get to hunt with them, other than gofers groundhogs and sparrows.

rangerider7 · Post by **rangerider7** » Sun Feb 02, 2014 1:43 pm

My mother's father was a trapper for a living. He had a saddle ring carbine 1894 Winchester in 30-30. It was all I looked at as a kid. What else would I love?

Meeteetse · Post by **Meeteetse** » Sun Feb 02, 2014 4:29 pm

rangerider7 wrote:My mother's father was a trapper for a living. He had a saddle ring carbine 1894 Winchester in 30-30. It was all I looked at as a kid. What else would I love?

My story is about the same. Growing up in Wyoming most of the family friends were ranchers and all had Winchester 94's in 30/30. In fact most had a shotgun, a 94 and a .22 of some sort and that was it. They were satisfied, so I always figured they knew best since they lived and hunted in the country all the time. My Dad had a Mdl. 94 and I used it for my first deer. Never considered I needed anything else until I was told how poor a choice it was. I bought a .308 bolt gun with a scope and funny thing, the deer, elk and antelope didn't fall down any differently. I have always been a "spot and stalk" hunter because that is what you do in mountain country, so my shots have generally been the same distance no matter the gun or caliber. As I have gotten old(er) I appreciate the Mdl. 94, 30/30 even more. Simple is better and leverguns are hard to beat.

AJMD429 · Post by **AJMD429** » Sun Feb 02, 2014 6:24 pm

I read Mel Tappan's "Survival Guns" as a high-schooler, and liked the concept of minimal ammunition inventory able to feed a variety of weapons. So...as I bought firearms, I started with this progression...

1. Ruger 10/22 (22 LR)
2. Ruger Mark-I (22 LR)
3. Ruger M-77 (6mm) - first 'powerful' rifle
4. Ruger Super Blackhawk (44 Mag) - first 'powerful' handgun
5. Marlin 1894 (44 Mag) - companion to the Super Blackhawk

(I'd have stuck with my Ruger theme, and bought a Ruger 96/44 if they were available yet, but the Ruger 44 semiauto carbine was the only 44 Mag rifle I could seem to find, and it seemed too 'iffy' for reliability and low in capacity, vs. the Marlin levergun. Besides, I'd inherited an old Marlin 32-20, and kind of liked the levergun concept.)

The first thing other than paper targets I shot with the Marlin 44 Mag was a chipmunk (head shot at 25 yards), and the second was an escaped 'feral' chicken which kept tearing up a neighbor's garden. Both those shots at such dangerous game were one-shot stops, so after that I was sold on leverguns...

6. After that, of course a Ruger Mini-14 cam along, then
7. A Contender so I could shoot 223 from a handgun, (and someday 32-20, or 25-35, but never wound up getting either.)

Many years later, I picked up a Ruger 96/22, which was my second levergun, and came to be one of my favorites. Another decade went by before I got a third levergun, which was another Marlin in 357 Mag. At that point I started realizing that the leverguns were the ones I got out when I wanted to have FUN shooting, and that little 357 earned my respect as one of those 'always hits the target' guns, only second to the 6mm, which was of course bulky, but always hit with precision.

Another period of time, and I occasioned upon a long-action Marlin in 444 Marlin, and realized that not only could leverguns be 'fun' or 'practical', but they could deliver a whopping THUMP fairly far out there, as well. I've been constantly scratching the itch of levergun-itis since then...

ollogger · Post by **ollogger** » Sun Feb 02, 2014 8:40 pm

Couldn't tell ya how many lever guns ive had, wont tell ya how many I have now

but it started in 1960 with a daisy, 68 I bought a 30-30 marlin with my money I earned
1970 I bought a 300 sav. & from there it was mostly lever guns, a few magnum bolt guns also
my Dad was a 3 gun man for years with his old crow bar 99 sav. with its 26 in. oct bbl. 30-30
a 22 & a shotgun, growing up in the Indian head part of Wisconsin most of the guys had a Lever
gun of some sorts at that time

ollogger

Mescalero · Post by **Mescalero** » Sun Feb 02, 2014 8:58 pm

I see all sorts of levers on the res.
I made the mistake of thinking I could pass some of these treasures along to members of this forum.
I offered a Marlin straight stocked in blown out .30.30 the only offer I got wanted to seriously low ball the offer.
I had to go back to the Mescalero and apologize for putting him through this.
I will NEVER do it again.
These are my people, they have earned more respect than that.

JerryB · Post by **JerryB** » Sun Feb 02, 2014 10:12 pm

Mescalero, my slow talker friends up in the four corners still use the 30-30 for deer and elk too. Why change what works good!!

piller · Post by **piller** » Mon Feb 03, 2014 10:19 am

I didn't get a lever until I was in my late 20s. Where I lived as a kid, we had pheasant, quail, rabbits, and coyotes. The people who hunted coyotes used .270s and usually ran them with greyhounds. When I lived in Lawrence, KS, a friend invited me to go deer hunting. I was in college and living on a pretty limited income, so I found what I could afford. It was a used Marlin 336C in .30-30, and it was really accurate. I took my first deer that year with it, and was hooked. Later, after graduation, I bought a bolt action in .270 and used it around Manhattan, KS where there was a lot more open space. A few years later, I was living in Dallas, TX and got a Ruger Super Redhawk in .480 Ruger. I saw that Rossi was making a M92 in .480 caliber, and that sounded like a good match for my pistol. I had only had that M92 for about a year when I had the opportunity to take a Water Buffalo hybrid at Action Outdoor Adventures in Hondo, TX. That is where 86er has had a few levergunner events at, and it is where SightHunter09 took her Elk. Back when I got my .270, PillHer sneaked the Marlin out while I was at work and she took it to a gunsmith to have it fitted to her. She took her first deer with that rifle, too. I got a Guide Gun a couple of years after I took the Water Buffalo hybrid, and then I got another Marlin 336 in .30-30. My second .30-30 is nowhere near as accurate as that C model is. My Guide Gun went with me to Africa and took a Wildebeest. It did a great job.

wvfarrier · Post by **wvfarrier** » Wed Feb 05, 2014 9:02 am

Awesome stories! Practically everyone in my family owned two or three leverguns. I used them exclusively til I left for the Army. Got back into them a few years ago. Something about the feel of one. Like holding an old peacemaker

M. M. Wright · Post by **M. M. Wright** » Wed Feb 05, 2014 11:22 am

In about 59 or 60 I spotted this 94, 25-35 standing in the corner of a filling station in Gravette Arkansas. Bought it for $22.50. It was in this exact configuration, well maybe it has a few more dings and scratches since all three of my sons killed their first deer with it. I've had many others, levers and not but it is still a favorite with me.

KWK · Post by **KWK** » Thu Feb 06, 2014 7:59 pm

octagon wrote:... how did some of you Boys get on the trail to Levers...

There were no shooters in my family. The friend who first took me shooting liked levers, and the first centerfire repeater I fired was one. Having started with a lever, the turn bolts have always felt clumsy, and the pumps feel loose in the fore ends. I'd like to get my hands on one of the modern German straight pull bolts to see how they feel, but a lever action can do anything I care to do with a rifle.

DPris · Post by **DPris** » Thu Feb 06, 2014 10:58 pm

When I was a kid, I watched several of the nighttime TV westerns when they were new.
Roy Rogers on Saturdays. Gene Autry, old serials on TV, lotsa Westerns of all eras.
John Wayne in later years. And so on.

The Winchesters were simply a part of the natural world, I thought, and I've retained that impression all the years in between then & now.
In looks, function, and operation, they're just...comfortable.

I now own several, including a 1905-ish Marlin .22 that was my Grandpa's, and the '51 Model 94 my Dad gave to his father brand new the year before I was born.
I've worked with several others, and I'm always happy to try out a new one.

My local leather guy's about halfway through crafting a custom two-gun scabbard to ride up under the roof of my 2-seater ATV. The two long guns selected for expeditioning, high and low, in that machine are a short-barreled Remington 870 shotgun, and a Marlin Guide in .45-70.
Riding inside the roll cage, both will be instantly accessible if needed in a hurry, and the Marlin will handle anything on two feet or four in the continental US.

Browning confirmed today the ringlever 1892 Winchester model they've brought back again is in the works, should be here in a couple weeks.
I have the little 16-inch Rossi ringlever & a 16-inch Winchester Model 94 Wrangler ringlever.
Also have two Mare's Leg versions.

Two of my favorite .22s are a short Winchester 9422 & a short Marlin .22 Cowboy version levergun.

There is no other type of rifle I feel as comfortable with, and no other type of non-semi-auto rifle action that works as quickly when needed for multiple shots.

The uniquely American levergun is simply....right.

Denis

geobru · Post by **geobru** » Sat Feb 08, 2014 3:25 am

My first lever was a Daisy BB gun, but my love for levers started with my dad. Above the piano in our living room was a nice 4 point buck that dad shot with his old 1894 rifle in 30WCF. I listened to that story numerous times over the years, and dreamed of the day when I would be able to go deer hunting. After shooting a giant bull elk with that rifle, and having some trouble bringing it down, he bought a surplus A3-03 for $35 in the 60's. He was like a lot of people back then, he had a rifle, shotgun and a 22 rifle. He sold the Winchester to a cousin for $5 when I was too young to care, but lurking in his closet was an old 1886 Winchester 40-82 that he bought in about 1929 at an auction for $1.50. The half cock safety didn't work, and there was no ammo for it, but periodically, I would sneak into his room and pull that old rifle out and jack that lever over and over again. There was something about the sound of that action working that made a lasting impression on my young mind.

Fast forward to 1977. I was engaged to be married, and my wife and I decided to splurge on two things that we had wanted to get, but thought that it would be hard to afford once we were married. She bought a sewing machine and I bought a BLR in 308. I was intrigued by the short throw lever offered by Browning, especially after working the action of that 86 for all those years. My wife paid for that sewing machine over the years by making clothes for our six children, including my daughters wedding dress, and I kept the family in venison for 3 decades. Both proved to be good investments and paid for themselves many times over.

Fast forward to 1995. Before my dad passed away, he gave me that old 40-82. I finally started shooting it in 2008 and since then have repaired the safety and have developed some good loads for it. I found this site when I was looking for 40-82 load information, and I found out that there were others that were also intrigued by lever action rifles. Since then I have acquired a few other levers, and enjoy shooting and reloading them. Other than the 22's I shoot that 40-82 more than any of the other guns.

What a GREAT way to honor my dad and to perpetuate the use of our forbearer's classic tools of the trade!

Ragnor · Post by **Ragnor** » Sun Feb 09, 2014 11:08 pm

Started with a hand me down Daisy 1894, was awful proud to shoot apples on the tree at the age of 5. Thru the years borrowed Winchester 94 in 32 and the my first lever I purchased was a 9422 then a Marlin 1895, then I had something. I got addicted and had better jobs and more leverguns and hunting trips with them. There are worse things a guy can do with his time and money. At least that is what I tell myself.

C. Cash · Post by **C. Cash** » Mon Feb 10, 2014 12:03 am

Started with cap guns and westerns....roaming the deserts around Mesa, AZ as a young kid with my Dad. We shot alot. First gun at age 4 or 5 was an Ithaca 49 single shot lever. Family split up when I was 12 and I went to live with my granparents and uncle, and heard stories of Texas and Oklahoma where they were from. Their stories and the library fed my obsession for all things old west. My Uncle was a Ruger SA and levergun man.....and a true horseman and cowboy. He took time with me and we rode, shot and fished a good bit. Never liked any guns much other than levers, singles, doubles and SA's....long rifles speak to me as well. On my 14th Birthday Dad sent me a 70's Mod. 94 in 30/30. That was it....still smitten with that particular rifle model to this day, though I have warmed to Marlins a good bit as well.

Mescalero · Post by **Mescalero** » Mon Feb 10, 2014 8:34 am

Mesa was actually a seperate community back then?

C. Cash · Post by **C. Cash** » Mon Feb 10, 2014 9:34 am

Mescalero wrote:Mesa was actually a seperate community back then?

Yeah you could easily walk out of your neighborhood and be in the desert. We drove up toward Canyon Lake alot to shoot....was easy to pull off on the road up there and have a serious shooting session. Gilbert and Chandler were out in the middle of nowhere. As you know.....all paved over now.

Mescalero · Post by **Mescalero** » Mon Feb 10, 2014 10:51 am

The first time I came to Phoenix, Apache Junction and Phoenix were a long way apart.
Look at it now

Grizz · Post by **Grizz** » Mon Feb 10, 2014 12:02 pm

I grew up shooting guns, coached by my Dad. When I was in high school I shot the first deer with a scoped Savage 99 .243. Have shot them with a variety of leverguns, bolt guns, and wheel guns since then. My son shot the first deer when he was about ten, with a Marlin 1894 .44 mag. He has shot game with bolt and leverguns since. My daughter shot the first deer when she was young, I forget her age but I remember the day, stalking to 10 yards, one shot. She has taken game with leverguns, bolt guns, and her wheelgun. Kind of a family tradition by now.

Panzercat · Post by **Panzercat** » Mon Feb 10, 2014 4:39 pm

Griff wrote:Mine was less straight forward. I was in the Navy, aboard a Destroyer...

Wow. Why weren't my cruises like that? Of course, it was an aircraft carrier... In Clinton's Navy :\

My road to leverguns was slightly less eventful. I was determined to own something when I got out of the military and started off with a Mossy 500. It was a decent firearm, but not something you would want to plink with for extended periods (slugs get tenderized the shoulder) and it wasn't exactly asthetically inspiring, either. Leverguns... Not sure how I actually arrived at the decision to go with a lever, but I loved the mechanical aspect of the action and watching it work. Found a Marlin 30-30 Stainless on backpage (since I had sold the mossy by the same venue) and haven't looked back.

Grizz · Post by **Grizz** » Mon Feb 10, 2014 8:23 pm

Mescalero wrote:Mesa was actually a seperate community back then?

Not only that, but there was nothing but desert on the north side of Camelback, all the way to Mayer. Folks died every year between there and Cave Creek. You could plink anywhere north of Squaw Peak, since renamed.

Most of the places where we played are paved now. It's hard to recognize much any more.

Prescott was not much more than Jerome. There was no golf course in Dewey, just some dusty houses scattered around. Mayer had the brick stack and still had some of the flavor of the mill. The vertical shafts out on the ranches were full of water, seemed bottomless, and weren't fenced off.

And the alligator juniper standing dead trees were free for the taking. Great firewood.

Grizz

Old Time Hunter · Post by **Old Time Hunter** » Mon Feb 10, 2014 8:49 pm

octagon wrote: how did some of you Boys get on the trail to Levers...

Great story, makes one pause to reminisce...

Could not have been much over six years old when a neighbor handed me a dusty old Daisy saddle gun he had hanging up on the wall in his garage...but it wasn't the first lever gun I had seen either.

See, my Grandpa and my Father, along with most of the men folk around me growing up never had much else other than single break shotguns and the occasional Trapdoor. First bolt gun I ever saw was my Dad's 16GA Ithaca bolt with a poly-choke.

Grandpa had a Model 1892 Winchester (Made in 1896, I still have it) that his Dad handed down to him some where around 1910 or so. Dad had a circa 1941 (118XXXX) Model '94 chambered for the 32 Win Spec that he had acquired from his uncle. Great Uncle Bud had a Savage 99 that the paper company gave him after he came back from the war (WWII) so he gave my Dad his never used '94 (Uncle Bud ordered it right after Deer hunting in '41, probably had a poor hunt with the slug gun and felt the need to have a proper hunting tool. Unfortunately the war interceded and he was off to the South Pacific for the duration. The rifle arrived at Great Grandma's doorstep in June of '42).

So, from the time I was knee high to a grasshopper, there were levers in my life. Heck, by the time I was ten or so, it seemed as though I was the official lever gun cleaner. Pa, Grandpa, and the rest of the older gents would go down to the range they had along the lake and sight their levers in, then dump them by me to clean. They had quite an arsenal too, besides Pa and Grandpa's, a few stick out in my memory...Horace's Model 1873 in 38WCF, Miller's '86 in 38-56, Uncle Henry's '89 Marlin in 38-55...bunch more too...Uncle Bud always had his Savage 99 in 300.

So it seemed, as it always was intended, that the natural procession of life dictated that when it came time...I was bound by tradition to carry on. Therefore, at the ripe age of 11 when I first was allowed to tag along to my first annual deer hunt, it never occurred to me that once I was a bonafide hunter that I would not be carrying a lever gun. So when my Gramps handed me a vintage Ideal chambered in 25-20 that first year, my feelings were slightly hurt. But, like when absence makes the heart fonder, abstinence makes the desire stronger. My goals were to have a lever gun, just like the real men.

Took a couple years of saving, but by gosh at the ripe age of 14, along with a sale Treasure Island was having, I scored my first lever gun. $39.00 for gun only or $49.00 for the whole kit and caboodle. I opted for the whole enchilada, a brand spank'n new Glenfield Model 30 (30-30), a Tasco 3 X 9 scope, a leather gun case, a sling, and a box of Winchester 170 gr Silvertips. Sat in front of the store with my Swiss Army knife and mounted the scope and sling, threw out the box and rolled the gun case into my backpack. Headed straight down the road towards the Nike site (they had a youth hunting deal going on, I was going hunting!).

That was forty-five years ago this coming October.

A lot of freezes and thaws have past since then, the bridge that I passed over on the way to that Nike site has been replaced multiple times. It now has six lanes across from being a two lane bridge made from creosote timber with asphalt over it. Things have changed, lost my Grandfather back in '87 and my Father this past August, along with almost everyone else I used clean guns for. And, I have acquired both my Grandfather's '92 in addition to my Father's '94...those, along with an additional twenty...thirty or so other leverguns to get where I am today. But, my affinity for a good levergun still burns with the same light as the memory of the first.

Mescalero · Post by **Mescalero** » Mon Feb 10, 2014 10:06 pm

The view out my picture window is the southside of camelback mountain, I am right up against it.

Grizz · Post by **Grizz** » Tue Feb 11, 2014 9:50 am

I lived closer to the canal, near 64th, went to arcadia hs. Used to climb to the top of Camelback at night to watch the planes at sky harbor. Used to climb into the caves in the daytime for some shade. used to roll boulders down the north face and fly model airplanes off the top. rarely ever saw anyone else on the mountain, I probably thought it was mine... Heh

I love the memories but don't miss the heat that nearly killed me.

Ravenman · Post by **Ravenman** » Tue Feb 11, 2014 10:33 am

Great story octagon. As Jeff Cooper said: the past is an other country!
My first levergun was a Winchester 9422 and I never lost the virus and still own this gun. My first "real" centerfire levergun was a Winchester 94 Antique 30-30. Also still in my collection. So many followed and kept the John Wayne spirit alive.

Mescalero · Post by **Mescalero** » Tue Feb 11, 2014 10:38 am

It is my understanding that every able bodied Swiss citizen is to keep a battle rifle in his home at all times.
How hard is it for you to own personal firearms?

Ravenman · Post by **Ravenman** » Tue Feb 11, 2014 12:01 pm

@Mescalero: We have very liberal gun laws in Switzerland. If you will know more about the swiss gun laws, see my post here: http://forums.1911forum.com/showthread.php?t=296684

Mescalero · Post by **Mescalero** » Tue Feb 11, 2014 12:08 pm

Looks like my house when I get them all in one place.
Nice country.

Post by **Old Savage** » Tue Feb 11, 2014 4:21 pm

Began with a Mattell 1873 lever.