There's nothing wrong with a Rossi if you're looking for a copy of the Winchester '92. Lots of folks use them in cowboy action shooting.
The Miroku Winchesters are extremely nice and well made. You can get a Winchester '66, '73, or '92. The Model '66 is a brass frame and looks great.
Uberti makes great reproductions of the '66, '73, and '92. Most cowboy action shooters use them to compete and put thousands of rounds through them every year. Cimarron Firearms and Taylors & Co. are the two top Uberti importers but EMF does as well.
The Henry lever action are nice looking and well made, but with the exception of their Henry 1860 Original, none of their guns are a copy of something from history.
The Marlin lever guns used to be the preferred firearms of cowboy shooters and still have a huge following.
All of these can be found for you price point if you watch. There's a Uberti '73 in the classifieds right now in .45 Colt for just a little over what you want to spend. That caliber will put a deer down very easily if you do your part.
You can also watch the classifieds on https://forums.sassnet.com/index.php?/forum/14-sass-wire-classifieds/ Non-SASS members are allowed to buy off the forum, just no selling.
Some REALLY great info here guys, thanks so much! I'm keeping my eyes out for a newer Marlin 1894CB (I really like the look for the octagon barrel) now. I may end up buying new even though it's a bit more than what I was budgeting, but I'm keeping an eye on the classifieds for a 2nd hand one.
I have been shooting Marlin levers of every caliber and configuration since 1971. This JM thing is just wrong. If you get one that is made after 2018 you cannot find a better quality made production gun. All mine are fit very well and have the sweetest actions out of the box than anytime in my Marlin history. Sure the transition was a rocky road but the end product we have now is afar better sample than all of my JM. It is not what you read.... irs what you know...
I will be glad to give a Hands On comparison as to why I consider the new Marlins better than anything out there today.
Obviously you have never held or shot any Miroku Brownings...