The Savage 99. Bring it back in 300 Savage and in 250/3000. Also as a kind of ceremonial piece, how about in one of the original calibers like 30-30? (no curved butt plate, however, but with an octagon barrel)
The Win.88 in Win.308. The only other lever action that worked as smoothly as the Savage 99. Discontinued now -like the Savage 99. Of course! I liked them! (Anything I like is a kiss of death, whether a TV show or a gun)
Posts: 649 | Location: NY | Registered: 15 January 2004
I ended up with an 1893 or 94 made Marlin lever action in 25/20.
I don't know if it is because it is so vintage and in good shape or what, but it sure is an awfully nice rifle.
That or an 1886 Winchester seem awfully cool to me. I would love to get my little mitts on one in 33 Winchester, and 38/72.
Savage 99s in calibers like 38/55 , 30/30, 32 Win Special etc also float my boat quite nicely.
Maybe if I ever make it to heaven, ( if there is one) and I am allowed to hunt all I want with any rifles I wanted, then maybe then I can have such treasures come my way.
Guess I am getting too old when I dream of something like that instead of a beautiful naked blonde who just can't keep her hands off of me. Guess you have to be old to understand that.
Deke, I have not done this but I have heard of it being done , this would be a fantastic concept, hard hitting, quick firing, distance shots if need be and bordering on .375H&H in a lever! I have seen a Winchester 1895 converted to 9.3x62 and this is another great combination but nothing wrong with the new .405Win either. RLI
Posts: 276 | Location: Victoria, Australia | Registered: 24 May 2004
Savage mod 99 in EG or F models....Savage handled the high pressures of the 250 sav, 22 hipower, and 300 Sav in the 1920s. In 1955 it adapted to the 243, 308, and a bit later the .284 and 358..It was about 50 years ahead of its time...It was very expensive to build...
It was hammerless and was scope friendly and made an excellent saddle rifle then as well as today..I still shoot a them in .308 (have a 99EG and F model) and 250-3000 EG..If I am hunting horseback for deer or elk, you can bet my .308 Savage will be under my leg, not a bulky bolt gun...and one of the 308s and the 250 both shoot 1 inch for 3 shots at a 100 every time with a 3X Leupold...The other .308 shoots 1.5 to 1.75 and that close enough for Govt. work...
I also have 3 Win. 94s and a marlin that I cherish...To pick one over the other would be hard to do depending on what I was using it for...I hunt a lot with my 25-35 for deer and killed several elk with it early on...the 30-30s are long time family guns and I have a lot of respect for them and their ability...the marlin is a 30-30 with a Leupold 2.5 Alaskan scope (22mm) and it fits the gun, a class act and shoots fantastic..
Posts: 42167 | Location: Twin Falls, Idaho | Registered: 04 June 2000
A beautiful naked brunette carrying any one of those rifles would suit me!
I hate the cross-bolt and tang "safetys". Gets my goat for sure. I have (or had) and like the Marlins and Winchesters and enjoyed shooting friends' Savage rifles.
I think I'd like to have a Savage 99A in .260 Remington and a matching rifle in .358 Winchester (I know, I'm dreaming), a Winchester 95 in .303 OR .30-40, an old-style M94 Winchester with button magazine and 22" barrel in 7-30 Waters, a Marlin M1894 with button magazine and 20" barrel in .41 Magnum (.44 Mag would be good, too), and a Marlin 39M.
Lets face it, if it shoots and is classy I'll enjoy it. I guess I'm a gun slut...
Posts: 2324 | Location: Staunton, VA | Registered: 05 September 2002
I like any of Winchester's pre-64 lever-guns, but I am especially fond of the Model 1892 in .44-40. It's just a lovely, sleek, strong, handy little utility rifle that's a pleasure to own and to shoot. It's better rifle than the Model 1873 that it was designed to replace, and much more pleasurable to work with than the Model 1886 that it was designed off of.
I'd love to see USRAC -- or someone -- turn out a modern Model '92 right here in the good ol' US of A (not Japan, Brazil, Spain, or Italy) that has no worthless safety-lawyer gimmick, and which features honest craftsmanship. Not likely to happen, though, and I think Winchester has just-plain lost it for the duration.
A good modern substitute for the Model 1892, though, is Marlin's Cowboy Competition Model 94. This is one fine rifle, beautifully made and finished, and it's astoundingly accurate as well. This little gem is marlin's finest modern rifle. Yes, it has that confounded crossbolt ssafety, but that's the only drawback.
Since it's neglected by everyone else here, I'll vote for the 1881 Marlin, esp. the trim later models in .38-55. It had beautiful lines and a simple mechanism but was not very strong.
Posts: 980 | Location: U.S.A. | Registered: 01 June 2003
I felt one of the new 1886 el repro 45/70's tonight...a fellow poster and myself have purchased them and his arrived first...mine is still in the states. It is the first time I had worked the action on an 1886 and I can see why people rave about them it locked more solid than any other lever gun I have handled and although they are a Jap made repro rifle it was finished very nicely. It also pointed like an english bird gun. When mine arrives I know I will get used to it quite quickly. I also have a Marlin 1895ss 45/70 an it has the advatage of being scope friendly. The 1886 has a bit of charm with it though that the marlin does not have.
Posts: 7505 | Location: Australia | Registered: 22 May 2002
I read you have imported into Australia a pair of 1886's I too am in Australia , can you please tell me if there are any more available and best way of importing. Thanks RLI
Posts: 276 | Location: Victoria, Australia | Registered: 24 May 2004
Yes, I handled one of those newer 1886's at a local show, and I was tempted to get one for conversion to .33 WCF. Perhaps it wasn't as broken in as my friend's 1895 in .45-70, but it was noticeably stiffer.
The smaller Rossi's (1892 clones) are delightful. If I could get a levergun that trim and smooth with a chambering with more oomph, I'd finally break open the wallet for one. Until then I'll stick with my single shots.
Posts: 980 | Location: U.S.A. | Registered: 01 June 2003
get on to the legendry arms website and e-mail them, they wghere most helpful. Then talk to your gundealer about getting him to help with the paper work. Legendry will ship the rifle to Simpsons a licensed FFL who charge $200US to do the export permit. Your gundealer will help arrange the B709 (import permit). Be preared for a wait, I have been organising this since Jan...It should only be a few weeks away now. They handle oh so very nice...so I feel it's worth it.
Posts: 7505 | Location: Australia | Registered: 22 May 2002
PC, I imported a Winchester 1895 in .405Win last year but the gundealer over in USA does not export now and yes it was long wait , Thanks for the tip. RLI
Posts: 276 | Location: Victoria, Australia | Registered: 24 May 2004
RLI I'm the other poster that has the 1886. PC forgot to mention that Simpsons also charge about $100USD for freight, thats airmail, on top of the $200USD. Simpsons export page They are a licensed FFL so you could buy a firearm and have it delivered to them, like PC and I did. The only other exporter that did rifles I could find that had a web site was Griffin & Howe and they charge $500USD plus freight. There was another but they would only handle shotguns.
Posts: 787 | Location: Melbourne, Australia | Registered: 15 January 2002
Best all time is Savage model 99, my favorite currently manufactured is Marlin. I like Win 86 and 71 but I need a scope these days. Win 92 is great fun to shoot, but doesn't really fill any real need for me.
Posts: 3174 | Location: Warren, PA | Registered: 08 August 2002
They did seem a little disorgainised on the phone and they claim to be having trouble with the email, but that all said the export happened within the time frame they outline on their web site. It was about 8 weeks from when they received the import permit from my end.
How much have they quoted Stu? My gunsmith charged me $160AUD to do the import - could have done it my self but then I would have to have gone to customs and still taken the gun to a dealer to do the transfer(probabley $20). As it was it took over 2 weeks to get the gun clear of customs.
Posts: 787 | Location: Melbourne, Australia | Registered: 15 January 2002
Ha! -- the things one will stumble across here. I'm moving to Melbourne later this year. Simpson's is 50 miles west (very nice selection of old guns). I can leave my rifles in a shipping box at a friend's place until I have done the paperwork in Australia and then have my friend ship them from Simpson's. Thanks.
Posts: 980 | Location: U.S.A. | Registered: 01 June 2003
Welcome to Australia! When your guns arrive they have to go to a Gundealer to be registered or if a temporary visitor you have to have permission before you arrive, I have a Gundealer's licence and I am located in Melbourne so if you need help please contact. Thanks Steve
P.S. What type of firearms are you wanting to bring in as some are prohibited ?
Posts: 276 | Location: Victoria, Australia | Registered: 24 May 2004
I too agree on the '92 Win. It's actually more of a love affair with the '92. So much so that I've attempted to accumulate a harem of 92's.
My favorite is an old 44-40 carbine that has been converted with a Numric Arms barrel in 44 Rem. mag. that is used often to bust some porkers. Since the cartridges are similar, the 44 mag. feeds flawlessly.
I also have the "lawyer designed" current Win. production that is made in Japan that I dislike with a passion.
Posts: 622 | Location: Mossyrock, WA | Registered: 25 April 2004
The old steel framed BLR '81 in .358 is great but it is hard to improve on the 45-70 Marlin Guide Gun. Accuracy, power, in a lightweight package. Easy on the pocketbook too.
Posts: 128 | Location: East Central NC, USA | Registered: 26 May 2002
Lee, Just got one, and while I think the Winchesters are for the most part wildly over rated, and over priced, I must confess that the 71 is changing my opinion, at least for this model. I'm a Marlin fan, love em! Ez to work on, side eject, stronger action, but as I start to shoot the 71, it is the smoothest of them all, and that 348 cartridge is awesome! Now to rebarrel it to a 350 Alaskan to suit all my boolit moulds is the next step, got a green mountain 27" octagon in 35cal that I'd love to get on it. Ahhh, the projects never cease,,,,, {). Cheers, R*2
Posts: 129 | Location: NorthEast | Registered: 20 January 2003
Nothing can hold a candle to the Savage 99. Even ole P.O.Ackley called it the strongest lever action made. Beautiful saddle gun...light and accurate. I too wish they could bring it back with the rotary magazine...till then I will keep the ones I have.
I love the take down models...definitely ahead of their time. The .300 savage is a underestimated and underused cartridge...handloaded it will do anything a .308 will do.
My $.02
swede
Posts: 44 | Location: North Central ND | Registered: 21 December 2003
Much as I like my Savage '99, I have to say that I think the BLR's and Win '88's have a few edges. The turnbolt/lever designs are capable of some unsung accuracy, they are strong as any lever action and I like the one piece stock on the 88. It wouldnt hurt my feelings if Winchester brought them back with a hinged floorplate instead of the drop box.
That being said, I think that the best lever gun ever made just might be the large frame lever hanging in the John browning museum that never saw production, it bears a strong resemblance to the proverbial brick shithouse.
Posts: 10166 | Location: Tooele, Ut | Registered: 27 September 2001
I have a pre-81 Blr, a model 88 and a Savage 99 and I like all of them so much I can't choose. If push came to shove, it might me the Blr because it was my first deer rifle.
Posts: 314 | Location: Abilene,Tx. USA | Registered: 21 October 2000
Since I own three lever rifles at this time, I thought I would throw my two cents in all it's worth.
I have owned several models of the 99 Savage, but the one that has stuck with me the longest is a cheap old 99E in .243 Win. It is truly a "beater", at best, but it has been well kept, functions as smooth as butter, and I can count on it being dead-on every time I pick it up. I only wish it was in a larger caliber, although the .243 has performed quite well on everything I've shot with it.
Respectfully, Russ
Posts: 65 | Location: Washington State, Columbia Basin | Registered: 01 January 2003
To be honest, the "best" Lever rifle is probably whichever one I am shooting or just holding at the moment.
I would like a good receiver sight, octagon barrels to order from 16" to 24", good to great wood, calibers of your choice, and smooth actions from the factory.
Posts: 87 | Location: On permanent vacation in the South West | Registered: 02 January 2004
My favorite lever gun, by far, is my Savage 99 in .300 Savage. Butter smooth action, easy to carry and very accurate. I've resisted the temptation to put a scope on it. When the iron sights got too fuzzy I put a tang sight on it. I can't think of anything you could do to improve on the rotary magazine models.
After the Savage 99 my next choice would be anything Marlin.
Posts: 17 | Location: SE Ohio | Registered: 23 October 2003
I have seen a couple of guys mention that they thought the Marlins were stronger than the Winchesters. I'm not sure where this idea came from, but testing has not shown this to be the case. A guy in Cody did some conversions on a variety of actions to 454 Casull, with some intersting results. The main point in regards to this question is that the Marlin 336 (same action as the 1895's in 45/70) failed faster than the winchester angle eject 94, and an older (1920's) 94 lasted longer than the angle eject gun. The winchester 92 action held up better than any other for the extreme pressure loads of the Casull. All references (by the smiths that do the work) regarding large caliber conversions, such as to 50 Alaskan and 50-100-450, 50/110 etc have been to the effect that the 1886 winchester/Browning action is stronger than the Marlin action, but the Marlins were popular because of the lower cost of the guns. They are all up to about anything we will ever do with them, so none of this "strength" question is of much consequence to anyone that is using these guns in the original calibers, or for higher performance loads that are in the sane range for hunting etc but it just is interesting that we have the idea that one is "better" than another because it's "stronger" when the evidence does not support that position.
Back to the original question, I prefer the Winchester/Browning 1886. Not because it's "stronger" (it is) but because it is smoother to load, can be single loaded with a small game load or the chamber cleared much simpler than the Marlin. It feels nicer in the hand carrying also than the Marlin with it's lever hinge bulge. For anything more than the once-a-year deer hunter, the Winchester/Browning 86 is more user friendly. I don't use a scope on my levers, I have a vey nice early (1974) Marlin 1895 45/70 with a scope, but I can't remember the last time I actually shot it or even had it out of storage.
For something less than a grizzly country rifle, the 1894 Winchester is just about right. The 30/30 is good as a defense/house/truck/deer gun, but I just had one re-barreled to 38/55 to use with heavy hunting loads. Looking forward to getting it back in hand to shoot and work on loads. This may be the new favorite 1894 caliber for me. Found some fancy grain wood for it also.
Winchester Model 71 gets my vote. After carrying my '71 Deluxe for an entire elk season, my Dad's Model 94 seems too puny. Too bad I can't make myself convert one to .450 Alaskan. Who needs a scope on a rifle like that? IMHO, it ruins the lines and balance of a fine rifle.
Posts: 597 | Location: Lake Andes, SD | Registered: 15 April 2004
the question was which one is the best not which one do we like the best!!
In which case I would have to go with a Savage M-99, its handles all the modern short rounds like the 250, 300 Sav.,243, 308 win., 284, etc.
I love the savage 99, got a couple of them in 250 and 308, I love the old Marlin 30-30s and all the Winchester lever guns and have a passel of them, but the best would have to be the savage 99, followed by the Browning BLS and Win. 88 in that order IMO....
Posts: 42167 | Location: Twin Falls, Idaho | Registered: 04 June 2000
The early lever rifles with tubular magazines never made sense to me. I know they are cute and historic and all that but since I hunt to get something I don't use them in the field.
I feel the 99 Savage is an outstanding design. It will take a low mounted scope, shoot pointed bullets, use modern cartridges, are very well made and carry well. I also like the hammerless design.
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