lever action tricks

[sethbowman]

I will be picking up my first lever action soon and wanted so tricks to make one smoother and more accurate. Will probably get a Rossi 92 44 mag. Going to cowboy it out with Amish made leather lever pad and butt stock ammo holder. Any other real cowboy tricks?

 

[AllenM]

Steves gunz for info on a complete action job

 

[1911ly]

Large loop lever's. I have BIG hands and find it necessary. I would advise against trying tricks. Way to dangerous. But then I an sure you know that :-) Give it a through cleaning. Use will probably smooth things out. My Big Boy's action is smooth as silk. The 45-70 is getting there. Avoid polishing if you can. The Rossi's I have handle's felt nice.

Consider your self warned. Lever guns are addictive! Next thing you know you'll have a few more! I have 2 and looking for a third. 44mag is a nice round. I have a Henry Big Boy 44mag and a Henry 45-70. Next will be a Marlin 1895CB.

Have fun and be safe.

 

[midget]

Steves gunz for info on a complete action job

This

 

[sethbowman]

Well i thought I was getting one. Ha people that have them don't seem to want to part with them

 

[teddy12b]

Steves gunz for info on a complete action job

This

Steves Gunz is pretty much the Puma 92 guru. If you really wanted to you could just send him your rifle and he'd send it back slick as silk from what I've heard. In my case, I have a completely bone stock stainless 20" 44mag, except for replacing the plastic magazine tube follower with a stainless follower from Steves Guns. I've got around 500 or more rounds through it and I've worked the action probably 20 times for every single time I've fired it. In my opinion, I'd just work the action while you're watching TV and you'll have a slick gun in no time.

 

[AllenM]

I did my own lever gun action using Steve's video which was great. Quite a bit of info I would not have thought of without it

 

[teddy12b]

I did my own lever gun action using Steve's video which was great. Quite a bit of info I would not have thought of without it

I bought his DVD and I watched him walk through the process to slick up the gun, but when we start talking about trimming off steel or cutting springs, that's just over where I feel comfortable doing myself. His explanation on how best to clean the rifle was pretty nice though. Remove stock, spray, work action, spray, wipe down, re-install stock.

 

[snapping turtle]

The win 92 action is what Rossi copied on the Rossi 92. It is a smooth strong action to begin with.

i would rent or download your favorite cowboy movie and work the new action. That is normally enough to help break in and smooth out a 92. I would avoid any hammer spring replacements. The metal followers are always a good idea as plastic has no place in a lever gun. If you need further assistance you are going to have to find a gun first.

The outdoorsman in greenwood had (has) marlin 1894 44 mags (remlins) and I checked them out and found no canted sights and with dummy rounds no marlin jams. The wood looked plastic and did not fit well at the stock to frame. More expensive than the Rossi but much easier to scope than a model 92. I am a marlin fan but like all lever actions so I have no real favorites.

 

[AllenM]

The 92 I had would have never slicked up like the action job did for it no matter how many times I cycled it

 

[Roadie]

Well i thought I was getting one. Ha people that have them don't seem to want to part with them

Maybe because the person selling the Rossi in the Classifieds abides by our Rules and won't sell to someone with under 50 posts, and/or is not a Site Supporter?
Just a wild hunch..

 

[1911ly]

Maybe because the person selling the Rossi in the Classifieds abides by our Rules and won't sell to someone with under 50 posts, and/or is not a Site Supporter?
Just a wild hunch..

This right here!!! Pony up or wait. Those be the rules we all abide buy! It's not that much money.

 

[sethbowman]

thats not what i meant by nobody wanting to sell. I was simply saying there arent alot of used ones floating around for sale. That smart ass attitude is why i dont post in gun forums. But you are a mod so you must know what i meant better than i do.

 

[Que]

thats not what i meant by nobody wanting to sell. I was simply saying there arent alot of used ones floating around for sale. That smart ass attitude is why i dont post in gun forums. But you are a mod so you must know what i meant better than i do.

Bradis posted that they are due to have some in soon. Go and put some $$ down on one.

 

[actaeon277]

Maybe because the person selling the Rossi in the Classifieds abides by our Rules and won't sell to someone with under 50 posts, and/or is not a Site Supporter?
Just a wild hunch..

thats not what i meant by nobody wanting to sell. I was simply saying there arent alot of used ones floating around for sale. That smart ass attitude is why i dont post in gun forums. But you are a mod so you must know what i meant better than i do.

Didn't seem that smart assed to me.
Maybe he was iust wrong. It happens.
And if that was too much "smart ass attitude", how do you get through life, where it's worse?

 

[1911ly]

Yeah, me things he has a thin skin. We say a lot more aggressive things in play around here. Plus seeing there was one in in the classifieds at the time, I saw Roadie's assumption plausible.

Getting pissy with a mod when you have 10 post or less, Amazing!!

 

[mospeada]

Buy a Marlin 1894. Far better levergun. '92s are such a PITA to work on and no amount of work will get you a '92 that will outrun a Marlin 1894 that is similarly looked after. An 1866/1873 are also very nice, but not as strong as either the '92 or Marlin 1894. Of course my experience is shooting Cowboy Action Shooting, so your needs may be very different, but when I hear "slicked up '92" it sounds like nails on a chalkboard.

 

[teddy12b]

Buy a Marlin 1894. Far better levergun. '92s are such a PITA to work on and no amount of work will get you a '92 that will outrun a Marlin 1894 that is similarly looked after. An 1866/1873 are also very nice, but not as strong as either the '92 or Marlin 1894. Of course my experience is shooting Cowboy Action Shooting, so your needs may be very different, but when I hear "slicked up '92" it sounds like nails on a chalkboard.

What have you seen from your fellow competitors in terms of lever gun reliability? I'm curious because back in the day when I was having the marlin vs puma 92 debate I did a lot of reading on marlin forums and about the puma 92's. The marlin forums at least at that time were especially plagued with a hit or miss case of the "marlin jam". It seemed to only be with the 44mag for some reason and the 357 mags didn't have the same issue. I was a marlin fanboy at the time and it took a lot to get me to try out the 92, but I read enough about jamming problems with the marlins that I didn't want to take the chance. At the time, I'd already owned a marlin 336W, an 1895, and a 1895G that were all reliable. I still did some research on what was going to be the best lever gun for hunting and honestly I wanted to try out a 92 because I'd already ran enough rounds through marlins, and the 92 has a way of bringing out my inner John Wayne.

 

[mospeada]

What have you seen from your fellow competitors in terms of lever gun reliability? I'm curious because back in the day when I was having the marlin vs puma 92 debate I did a lot of reading on marlin forums and about the puma 92's. The marlin forums at least at that time were especially plagued with a hit or miss case of the "marlin jam". It seemed to only be with the 44mag for some reason and the 357 mags didn't have the same issue. I was a marlin fanboy at the time and it took a lot to get me to try out the 92, but I read enough about jamming problems with the marlins that I didn't want to take the chance. At the time, I'd already owned a marlin 336W, an 1895, and a 1895G that were all reliable. I still did some research on what was going to be the best lever gun for hunting and honestly I wanted to try out a 92 because I'd already ran enough rounds through marlins, and the 92 has a way of bringing out my inner John Wayne.

There are still '92s out there shooting in CAS, but the majority are 1866/73 with Marlin 1894 filling in most of the rest. The Marlin Jam IMO was overstated, but if you got one, it was PITA as the round goes under the carrier and many a time, you get a round on top too! That said, it just doesn't happen that often and there is an easy, preventative fix for it, so in my mind, it isn't a problem unless you don't know about it and get really unlucky with you particular rifle. The '92s typically jam up when levered too fast and the nose of the bullet hits the upper part of the chamber throat, so it's pretty easy to rectify, but happens a lot more and I've not seen a fix for it. The most reliable '92s I've seen are the few originals I've seen chambered in .38-40, the bottle necked case doesn't tend to hit the upper chamber throat and you have the larger throat with a smaller bullet, so it cycles easier.

For reliability, the Marlin is tops with the 1866/73 and then the '92. This might be a bit skewed since the 1866/73 repros are typically modified with short stroke kits that if not done right, induce problems. Henry Big Boys seem reliable, but I don't see many. The lightnings (pump repros) that I've seen are jams waiting to happen.

All that said, I have a buddy with a Navy Arms '92 in stainless that seems pretty bulletproof unless he doesn't clean the extractor. (Marlins & 1866/73s are still faster and smoother).

If you aren't competing, the '92 is a fine gun and yes, John Wayne.

 

[teddy12b]

I don't compete with mine as I bought it with the intention of hunting and plinking. I think right now I've probably got around 700 rounds through it and I haven't had any jams using hunting bullets like the 240gr JHP hornady xtp. I've tried seom 320gr hard cast round that would occationally get hung up, but I don't consider that to be a normal bullet for that caliber. Those 320's were more for seeing how much pain I could put my shoulder through.

The Henry's are a fine lever gun. The only complaint I've heard about them is that they're almost too nice to use. Kinda like taking a Cadillac pickup off roading.