February 19, 2022 Saturday at the Movies: Review of Lever-Action Rifles These rifles were the ones that “Won The West”. Today, lever-action rifles are still popular among hunters and cowboy-action shooters. Rimfire lever guns are great for shooting at reactive targets from a short range. Lever guns are easy to carry and can be very effective against varmints. For this Saturday-at-the-Movies installment, we feature eight videos about lever-action rifles. These videos cover modern lever guns and older lever-action rifles from the 19th century. Three of these videos feature sophisticated 3D animation that allows you to look inside the rifles and see how the internal mechanisms work to feed, fire and eject cartridges. The video shows how the lever works to feed the case from the under-barrel tube. It also shows how the hammer is fired and cocked. Finally, it demonstrates how the shot is fired. This video also discusses lever-action rifle history. It shows the Winchester 1873 and popular modern lever-action firearms.Classic American Lever-Action Rifles – Hickok45’s insights Hickok45 is one the most knowledgeable YouTube gun reviewers. He owns several lever guns. This video has been viewed more than 2.5 million times. Hickok45 shows the original Henry Rifle and the brass-receiver model-1866 (aka “Yellowboy”) in this video. He then reviews Winchester’s models 1873 (Centennial) and 1876 (Centennial). Next, Winchester designs by J.M. Browning — the Model 1886, Model 1892, Model 1894, and the lastly the unique model 1895 with vertical mag. The Model 1895 was a favorite model of President Theodore Roosevelt. This Hickok45 video has been viewed 2.5 million times on YouTube. This video is a fascinating history lesson for 19th century lever guns if you have the time. Hickok45 also demonstrates the cartridges that are used in the rifles. This video features reviews from several YouTube hosts, including.22 Plinkster. This video is a great starting point for anyone who is considering buying a modern lever-action rifle to hunt or defend their home. Before you buy, we recommend that you visit a gun shop to inspect the rifles, and to work the actions. Some lever guns operate much more smoothly than others. You will also need to inspect the triggers and consider the options for mounting optics. This video shows a few lever guns, including the Henry Side Gate Lever Rifle, Winchester Model 1866 Short Rifle (replica), Browning BLR Lever Rifle, Marlin Dark Model 336, and Marlin 1895Custom Shop 45-70. Seven Reasons to Own A Lever-Action Rifle. We have a variety lever-action rifles including Marlins and handsome replica Uberti 1866 or 1873 rifles. The lever gun design is a subject that deserves much more attention. Lever guns are lighter and narrower than modern bolt-actions. The replica 19th century lever-action rifles can be tuned to run very smoothly and quickly. The modern lever guns are a good choice for hunters because they can mount scopes and fire high-velocity ammunitions. This video explains why every serious shooter should own at least one lever-action rifle. This video has more than 15 million views on YouTube. The Model 1873 was a highly successful Winchester rifle. Winchester marketed it as “The Gun that Won the West”. The original Model 1873 was produced between 1873-1823. It is still available in replica versions. The original Model 1873 was chambered for a.44-40 cartridge. This was the first significant centerfire cartridge. Later, the 1873 was produced in.38-40 as well as.32-20. All of these were popular handgun cartridges. There were four versions of the Model 1873: a rifle with a 24-inch barrel, a carbine with a 20 inch barrel, and a “musket”, which was intended for military contracts and made up less that 5% of the production. The standard rifle-length version was the most popular in 19th century. However, Winchester could make rifles to any length the customer desired. This 16-minute review covers a modern Henry Big Boy sidegate lever-action rifle that is chambered for the powerful.44 Magnum round. This rifle is a testament to modern manufacturing techniques and has a great fit and finish. This review shows how fast a modern lever gun can cycle. This would make a great home defense rifle, as it can share ammunition with a defensive revolver. Weapons Explained’s host notes that the Winchester Model 1894, designed by John Browning, is the most popular of all Winchester repeating rifles. The Model 1894 was the first to be chambered for.32-40 and.38-55 cartridges. Later, it was compatible with a variety calibers like.25-35 WCF and.30-30 and.32 Winchester Special. Winchester was the first company to manufacture a civilian rifle chambered for the new smokeless propellants, and although delays prevented the .30-30 cartridge from appearing on the shelves until 1895, it remained the first commercially-available smokeless powder round for the North American consumer market. “Marlin 336XLR Tactical Style Lever-Action Rifle Now for something a little different. This Marlin 336XLR lever-action rifle has had a tactical-style forearm and rail-mounted optic added. The suppressor is also included. The rifle performed well, the reviewer said: “Recently, I received this Marlin 336 XLR lever-action rifle and all my preconceptions about tactical lever action rifles have now changed. It was a modern and capable way to repurpose an old-school platform. “More Information about Lever-Action RiflesWant more information on lever-action rifles?” RifleShooter magazine published an interesting article entitled “The 10 Greatest Lever Action Rifles of All Time”. Brad Fitzpatrick, a writer for RifleShooter reviewed a variety of lever guns over the past 150 years and came up this list of ten “all star” lever-action rifles.
Henry Rifle, 1860
Marlin 336
Marlin 1895/444
Ruger 96/44 Savage Model 99
Winchester Model 1873/73
Winchester Model 1888/88
Winchester Model 1892/92
Winchester Model 1894/94 This will be controversial. Is the Winchester model 1866 Yellowboy, the favourite of Native Americans, still available? Is there the Winchester model 1895, Teddy Roosevelt’s beloved gun? There are many other options, but it is hard to fault them. The classic 1860 Henry Rifle is definitely on the list. The classic 1860 Henry Rifle surely deserves to be on the list.
