Maybe there’s already a thread to this effect somewhere on the site, but I’m going to post this one now. I had thought to do so because of
@Tom Leoni 's thread about the use of single shots.
My heart belongs to lever actions, and that likely got its start with my first ever gun – an Ithaca Model 49 that was given to me well before the age of ten. I loved that rifle. I still do – I still have it. I still occasionally hunt small game here in Alaska with it. So my infatuation with lever action rifles started early, and now, at age 55, far and away most of my rifles are lever actions.
When I went to Africa for the first time last May, I took two: my Marlin XLR in .338 Marlin for plains game, and my 1895 GBL (.45-70) for buffalo (I also killed a zebra with it). Both worked magnificently, as I knew they would: I have great confidence in them.
So I guess with this thread I’d love to see/hear/learn two things. First, for those with a similar affection for lever actions, I’d love to see photos of your successes. I am aware of a handful of names that have never been bashful about sharing of their affinity for lever action rifles. I’m hopeful they’ll chime in, but I also hope maybe this’ll pull a few more hunters out of the woodwork so to speak.
Also, for outfitters in Africa: how often do you get clients who bring lever actions? I ask this because my outfitter had said they get very, very few. In post hunt discussions on the drive to the airport – going over all aspects of the hunt – lever actions came up after the fact and he admitted that in checking guns to make sure they were empty before putting them back on hunting rig… they certainly felt less familiar than bolt actions. It made me wonder how many guys bring lever actions with them to Africa; I’d love to hear from those of you who guide about this. Thanks in advance.
Photos provided show my go-to MXLR. Top photo: 2020 caribou hunt in March. I am MUCH more proud of what's behind me. By the snowmachine in the distance is my daughter's first caribou, which she dropped with a single shot at 170 yards. Mine was shot a brief moment later and took a couple shots - it was moving pretty good on the first and required an anchoring shot. Distance was about 200 yards. Bottom photo: my second impala from last May. It was high up on a hill with a bunch of ewes. One shot at 209 yards brought it down almost immediately.
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