My lever action defensive rife or "Cowboy assault rifle" if you will...

[natdscott]

Hahaha!! No thanks!

 

[rhino]

There is such a reason. I have taken lever guns to gun school, carbine classes. They do not function long before they fall apart.

They will "work" within a limited scope. As long as you keep this in mind, have fun and get trained up.

That would be my concern too. Starting with my first carbine class with Louis Awerbuck in which one of the students had a .45 Colt lever gun, I've seen them have issues.

Now, given that, my concern is for factory stock lever guns. If someone has their rifle modified the way cowboy action shooters often do, then it should both cycle more smoothly and sustain harder use and a larger number of rounds fired before there is an issue. The guns can be made to work well, but not all can without such modification.

 

[VERT]

My first defensive long gun was a Marlin in .357 Mag. I put a set of Skinner Peep sights on it. At the time money was there but tight and my wife said I could have what I could justify, no ARs. So I bought a “deer rifle”. Truth is I liked the gun but it just never shot like I wanted. Also had the bad habit of pulling rims off the cases when it got dirty. I traded the gun once I acquired an AR.

Dad has a 16” Henry with big loop and Skinner Sights in 44 Mag. Super nice gun and overall a better choice then my Marlin. Only issue is the Henry does not load from the side. So I guess he is limited on ammo.

 

[ru44mag]

I'm not a fan of buckhorn sights, so I went with Steve's guns again for their rear peep sight that replaces the stupid bolt safety.(QUOTE)

I tried to find this peep sight you speak of with no luck. I have a skinner peep sight on my 1894 Marlin Cowboy and love it. It would be awesome to replace the ugly bolt safety with a peep. Do you have a website?

 

[ru44mag]

My first defensive long gun was a Marlin in .357 Mag. I put a set of Skinner Peep sights on it. At the time money was there but tight and my wife said I could have what I could justify, no ARs. So I bought a “deer rifle”. Truth is I liked the gun but it just never shot like I wanted. Also had the bad habit of pulling rims off the cases when it got dirty. I traded the gun once I acquired an AR.

Dad has a 16” Henry with big loop and Skinner Sights in 44 Mag. Super nice gun and overall a better choice then my Marlin. Only issue is the Henry does not load from the side. So I guess he is limited on ammo.

No loading gate is the only thing that keeps me from buying a Henry. They fixed the model 1860 in 1866 by adding the loading gate. So why in 2018 is there still no loading gate?

 

[Kirk Freeman]

That would be my concern too. Starting with my first carbine class with Louis Awerbuck in which one of the students had a .45 Colt lever gun, I've seen them have issues.

Now, given that, my concern is for factory stock lever guns. If someone has their rifle modified the way cowboy action shooters often do, then it should both cycle more smoothly and sustain harder use and a larger number of rounds fired before there is an issue. The guns can be made to work well, but not all can without such modification.

Both Fritz and I had heavily modified lever guns to make them "more reliable".

Lever guns are cool and you can act all cowboyish and stuff, plus "everyone was looking at me" which is why most take goofy crap to the range or gun school, but for fighting lever guns are less than optimal.

 

[daddyusmaximus]

I tried to find this peep sight you speak of with no luck. I have a skinner peep sight on my 1894 Marlin Cowboy and love it. It would be awesome to replace the ugly bolt safety with a peep. Do you have a website?

https://store.stevesgunz.com/index....oducts_id=10&zenid=15l577onvg1mup40m1gh55u9q5

 

[daddyusmaximus]

Both Fritz and I had heavily modified lever guns to make them "more reliable".

Lever guns are cool and you can act all cowboyish and stuff, plus "everyone was looking at me" which is why most take goofy crap to the range or gun school, but for fighting lever guns are less than optimal.

Glad you said FIGHTING... That's a big distinction. I agree that for FIGHTING... as in "knowing ahead of time that you're going in harms way" a lever gun is very less than optimal. For that I defiantly want my AR. My AR is my SHTF gun. It's my FIGHTING gun.

This concept is a DEFENSIVE rifle/carbine, one that you have at the ready, just in case, because if you ever do need it, you probably won't be in a protracted firefight running through mag after mag...

For that use a lever gun is a in fact viable tool. Here we're talking about a bear wandering in your camp, or getting rid of a couple of home invaders, but not a platoon size element of raiders in a SHTF environment.

This concept is akin to a daily carry pistol, only in a more potent, and more accurate carbine form, but not an all out combat weapon system. Remember I just called it a "Cowboy Assault Rifle" to **** off liberals... it's a defensive weapon only.

 

[Kirk Freeman]

Glad you said FIGHTING... That's a big distinction. I agree that for FIGHTING... as in "knowing ahead of time that you're going in harms way" a lever gun is very less than optimal. For that I defiantly want my AR. My AR is my SHTF gun. It's my FIGHTING gun.

This concept is a DEFENSIVE rifle/carbine, one that you have at the ready, just in case, because if you ever do need it, you probably won't be in a protracted firefight running through mag after mag...

For that use a lever gun is a in fact viable tool. Here we're talking about a bear wandering in your camp, or getting rid of a couple of home invaders, but not a platoon size element of raiders in a SHTF environment.

This concept is akin to a daily carry pistol, only in a more potent, and more accurate carbine form, but not an all out combat weapon system. Remember I just called it a "Cowboy Assault Rifle" to **** off liberals... it's a defensive weapon only.

Guns are like golf clubs or hand tools. No "best", just different uses.

I have a fondness for lever guns as I have . . . I have a friend that has more than several, but for a scrap or general purpose, no thanks. Good to experiment though, thanks for showing us yours.

 

[Leadeye]

A good long barrel Uberti/Winchester 1873 will hold 18 44-40s and is very smooth right out of the box. Never have put a scope on anything except a Marlin though. Peep sights on the tang work well for the Winchesters.

 

[throttletony]

wow, awesome!!

 

[ru44mag]

https://store.stevesgunz.com/index....oducts_id=10&zenid=15l577onvg1mup40m1gh55u9q5

Thanks! Looks like a modified Skinner sight. The apertures are for sure the same.

 

[BeDome]

Very clever.


But that rounded lever kind of scares me. It should be outlawed.

 

[charley59]

Beautiful Gun. Congrats! Keep in mind true "cowboy assault rifles" have black stocks.

 

[daddyusmaximus]

Very clever.


But that rounded lever kind of scares me. It should be outlawed.

If I wanted it to be outlawed, I'd put a bayonet on it made out of a straw...

 

[ru44mag]

There is such a reason. I have taken lever guns to gun school, carbine classes. They do not function long before they fall apart.

They will "work" within a limited scope. As long as you keep this in mind, have fun and get trained up.

I have no intention of using my lever guns in classes or competitions unless maybe I get into cowboy shooting. I always thought they would work for self defense if I had nothing else better. I have used a Marlin or Rossi 44 mag for the past 10 years to hunt with, and no issues from the Marlin and none from the current Rossi. My first Rossi had a loading gait issue. I was just curious, what should I look for as far as them falling apart? Is there some preventative maintenance to keep them from falling apart while deer hunting?

 

[Leadeye]

I think lever guns can hold up quite well, I have Winchesters still shooting after 100 years.

 

[fullmetaljesus]

I have no intention of using my lever guns in classes or competitions unless maybe I get into cowboy shooting. I always thought they would work for self defense if I had nothing else better. I have used a Marlin or Rossi 44 mag for the past 10 years to hunt with, and no issues from the Marlin and none from the current Rossi. My first Rossi had a loading gait issue. I was just curious, what should I look for as far as them falling apart? Is there some preventative maintenance to keep them from falling apart while deer hunting?

What bullets would you recommend for deer hunting with a 44mag

 

[rhino]

I think lever guns can hold up quite well, I have Winchesters still shooting after 100 years.

Lasting many decades with modest use is not the same as firing 500-1000 rounds each day for three days.

 

[daddyusmaximus]

Lasting many decades with modest use is not the same as firing 500-1000 rounds each day for three days.

As a defensive rifle to be used in a self defense role (not a go to battle role) you wouldn't ever be firing 500-to 1000 rounds in rapid secession with a lever gun.

Well, not unless you were defending yourself from an invading army like a Red Dawn scenario, or a large scale Mumbai type attack...

You would clearly want a semi-auto rifle with detachable box magazines for faster shooting, and reloads to go to war with.


Some of you guys got your panties all in a bunch. Is it because I called it a "Cowbow Assault Rifle" and that has the words Assault Rifle in there? Did that confuse some of you? If you read... IT"S A DEFENSIVE RIFLE. It should have no more demands place on it than a handgun would for daily carry. The name is only to poke fun with leftists. Every one knows you don't want to go to war with a rifle you have to load one round at a time through a loading gate in the side, and you needs a screwdriver to tighten screws with every so often.

However, having been deployed to combat 3 times in my 28 years of service, I can say that unless you are in the attack, or repelling an ambush, actual shooting comes in spurts, and you shouldn't do it alone. You probably could make a rifle like this work for you pretty well inside 100 yards, minus the spraying ammo to keep heads down to cover movement.