Tactical lever actions - what's the appeal?

[Mtn_Infantry]

Daddy like!

You should look into Mad Pig Customs Thumpers

 

[Datchew]

 

[Woodcarver]

Mad Pig customs. They have a John Wick version, which strangely, isn't a surprise...

What I have noticed is not only are there all of these accessories happening, but every time I go to my gun store there is a new manufacturer of levers from scratch, that I have never heard of before. Most recently, Citadel?? Then there is Hugtek, which has a crazy amount of CNC machining in their rifle for a theoretical 400 dollars.

The original one, as far as I know is the Mossberg, which came out at peak zombie time.

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Then the other side of the thing is the companies like Wild West, that have been trying to make actual tactical lever guns, which is to say, doing things that would make a lever gun more potent, as a stopping rifle, or a hunting rifle. The improved triggers, sights, followers, type of mods, along with action jobs and cartridge upgrades. Mlok had not even been invented...

Quite a few years ago I got to shoot a customers WW in 416 Rigby. If I recall correctly, it held 4 rounds in a rotary magazine. When he first handed it to me, the first impression was it was heavy (for a lever gun). But with that cartridge, the weight was marginally on the light side when I shot it. He was looking to sell it, but at that time, the cartridge and the money were too much for me and my wallet.

 

[Woodcarver]

that sounds like a ton of fun! now you have me wanting to go out and see if I can bang a gong at 500 with a 45 LC lever lol..

You can! I used my 92 Winchester in 44-40 to bang the steel buffalo, 'scuse me, bison, at the Ben Lamond range after most of the SASS shoots. A good Lyman tang peep made it almost as easy as with the Sharps. But you do have to listen close to hear the ding; 205gr doesn't clang as loud as 405gr.

 

[michael458]

To each their own, but the whole tactical lever action trend just makes no sense to me. What's the draw? Are they just great fun to shoot or what? From a practical standpoint, why not just use an AR platform?

I love lever guns, always have. I have a few. No, I don't have a "Tactical Lever Gun", but I can see some advantages to such a thing, even though it does not particularly appeal to me. The handguard and rail provide great versatility to add sights, lasers and very important lights. Very desirable for a Home Defense sort of firearm. Yes, in most circumstances a Semi platform would be more desirable, however, keep in mind that there are many circumstances that a Semi is not, and cannot be owned, or taken or available at all.

Pre 2005 almost every trip I made to South Africa I carried a handgun. Those were great days. I carried a 3 inch Kimber Ultra 45 ACP most of the time. With the RSA Permit in hand, soon as you got to your vehicle, put your gun on, go concealed anywhere you wanted, perfectly legal at that time. I was also on occasion took a 2 inch 5 shot 45 Colt Taurus, that I also carried to Zimbabwe in the early days a few times.

My Wife is South African, we also had a vehicle we kept for our very frequent visits, and we were all over the country sometimes visiting family and what have you.

In 2005 this all changed with the new gun laws, you were no longer permitted to carry or have a handgun as a visiting hunter or non resident. You could get special permission for Hunting, but you needed to have a hunting handgun, and as far as I know or understood, you were not allowed to strap on and go about your business, hunting handguns only allowed on the HUNT.

My Solution to this Problem..........

Winchester M94 16 inch 45 Colt Lever Gun. Now, this is the only photo I have of this gun so disregard that cheap ass red dot thing that is mounted on it, and just imagine without that, just how handy and short this is. I found it very nice to have along, riding in the back seat of our little truck, covered by a jacket of course, but very easily available in case of need.

That little lever gun found itself going all over Africa for several years, it was also in ZImbabwe and Tanzania as well. Of course you guys all know that a Semi gun in Africa is a big NO....... I think it is even difficult to get a Semi Shotgun in country, but I am not so up on that to be honest. But for sure, no rifles...........I found the little lever gun the perfect solution for my needs. I figured I could pretty much get myself out of any situation with 8 rounds of 45 Colt, handy and very fast.

And it was extremely handy when in camp as a camp gun............. And was reasonably capable of taking a few animals along the way too......

Now you can also accomplish the same thing with various shorter 45/70s, Guide Guns and such. Or even a little 16 inch 30/30 would be great as well, or various other cartridges could serve that purpose too.........

Perhaps you live in a Communist state here in the US, where Semi gun are frowned upon (personally I would not live in such a crap hole as that--but some folks are stuck there), then a good lever gun might be the answer, a "Tactical Lever Gun" in those circumstances might make a lot of sense. Remember, sights lights and lasers easy to attach.......... Go Green if you go laser. Normally I set up with irons, Scope/red dot, and laser as well.... light on starboard front.......

My Newest "Tactical Lever Gun" is a new Rossi M92 in 45 Colt at 16 inches. I have not been able to complete the mission just yet because of an eye issue I am afflicted with, but hoping soon to finish this project. It is a very neat little gun, perhaps a tad bit better handling than the Winchester, stronger being a M92 as well.

This is it with factory sights that have been replaced with a top rail and peep/ghost ring sights....

I found a neat little attachment from Skinner that mounts on the tube, and allows you to mount a light on a short rail. Lights are important, as most of the time your requirements are going to be in low or no light. These can even be damn handy on bolt guns............

I took a look at several sights to add to the Rossi Rail, none of which I cared for at all......all were a no go.......

Might could use the forward scout scope to do some test work... but not as a permanent feature.... If I can get my eye sight back in the right eye, I will use only the Ghost Ring Peep on this gun.

Or, perhaps maybe the Williams type Circle Dot reticle, here is one of my good friends setup with the Williams that does sit lower on the gun....... I have a couple of these to try as well......

Lever guns certainly can work in many different scenarios and circumstances. Like I said, I personally a little more traditional with my lever guns, but I would never ever have any issues with a "Tactical Lever" if that is what someone wanted. There are great advantages in some scenarios over the more traditional type lever gun. The more the better...............