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Which is faster?A Bolt Gun or Levergun?

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23 August 2004, 11:13
jaycocreek
Which is faster?A Bolt Gun or Levergun?
Which one will be faster to cycle..A .338 RUM or a .457 Wildwest Mag Levergun(with a 405 bullet over 2,000 fps)?Both with 43 ft lbs of Recoil? Your opinion....

Jayco.
23 August 2004, 12:33
Tailgunner
Fastest is a double rifle, than a auto loader. As far as to which of your 2 options is faster, that's going to depend on the shooter.
Put the first shot in the right place and you won't need to worry about it.
23 August 2004, 13:32
lhonda
In my limited experience, I would say a lever, as with a bolt gun, the trigger hand must move from, and back to the trigger after every shot, whereas with a lever gun, the hand, while moving in an arc, is not repositioning from the bolt to trigger after every shot.

Leighton
23 August 2004, 14:21
stubblejumper
With heavier recoiling rounds the recovery from recoil time can be longer than the action cycling time so the actions become much less of a factor.An experienced shooter can cycle the action while the gun is being resighted after the recoil effect.
23 August 2004, 19:48
Mark
I'd agree with stubble here. The time difference between the shots has more to do with handling the recoil rather than cycling the action. I think a better designed stock on the bolt gun for handling recoil would negate any advantage of the lever. Now if we are talking 30-30 levels that is a different story.
24 August 2004, 01:16
PC
Out of those two a lever for sure I would think....is this a trick question
24 August 2004, 03:53
Mark G
I shoot a T/C Encore single shot rifle. It has always been fast enough for me. I make one clean shot, and then walk over and collect my game. Seems fast enough for me.



Seriously though. I would prefer the bolt gun, but that is my opinion. But I don't see the need to be shooting a .338Rum all that fast! One good hit from that round will quickly take the steam out of any animal on this planet.
25 August 2004, 16:26
SST
I read an article about the fastest actions some time back. If you practice with both action types, you'll probably be surprised to find that there isn't much difference between a lever gun and a bolt action for cycling time. Have someone time you on cycling both action types. I think you'll be surprised, although both actions are a tad slower than a pump action rifle.
25 August 2004, 18:48
johnnyreb
I remember reading an article in Gun Digest a few years back about the speed of the second shot on various repeating rifles. The author was recalling shooting contests he saw as a child that consisted of two containers of water, one at each end of a board, which balanced the board on a central support. The idea was to shoot one container, and then the other one as it was falling, but before it hit the ground. The only guns that were competitive were semiautos, pumps in low-recoiling rounds, followed by lever actions in low-recoiling rounds. No bolt action rifles were even close. The author had a point when he asked the question "How many bolt action shotguns do you see shooting double clays on the skeet range?" Kind of tongue in cheek, but it does ring true...
26 August 2004, 16:35
stubblejumper
The original topic was



Quote:

A .338 RUM or a .457 Wildwest Mag Levergun(with a 405 bullet over 2,000 fps)?Both with 43 ft lbs of Recoil? Your opinion....








your reply was



Quote:

The only guns that were competitive were semiautos, pumps in low-recoiling rounds, followed by lever actions in low-recoiling rounds








Since it was stated that the 338ultramag and the .457 wildwest mag lever gun ,both deliver 43ftlbs of recoil,any data based on low-recoiling rounds would not necessarily be relevent data to base assumptions on.
26 August 2004, 16:55
David_Parenteau
You guys ever seen how fast Finn Aggaard could cycle his bolt action dangerous game rifles.His hand is just a blur.Of course,he's not your average shooter either.
Dave
26 August 2004, 17:00
Wstrnhuntr
Stubblejumper has a valid point, but didnt really answer the question. IMHO it would be tough to discern which were faster if there were two guys each practiced at fast cycling the actions in question. Still, two things that would be a factor is the length of the throw, and the simplicity of operation. Simplicity meaning less work from the human side of the coin. Muscle contractions take time, more of them take longer and the bolt requires movement in two different directions to open and two more to close. Not so with the lever. But a lever design could require motion over a longer distance.

I would put my money on the lever, but either one with a trained hand should be able to rechamber a round before recovering from recoil with those boomers making it a moot point.