Live For Lever Guns

I grew up at a time when lever-action rifles ruled the deer woods. Winchester 94s and Marlin 336s were by far the most popular, but Savage 99s weren't exactly scarce. The .30-30 was the most popular chambering, followed by the .35 Remington and .300 Savage. Others, such as the .25-35 Winchester, .250-3000 Savage, .32 Winchester Special, .38-55 Winchester and even the .22 Savage High-Power were bringing home their share of venison as well.

My father's favorite whitetail rifle was a Winchester Model 92 in .44-40, a cartridge pushing a 200-grain bullet along at a leisurely 1,300 fps, delivering less than 500 ft-lbs of energy at 100 yards. Most of today's hunters would consider the .44-40 suitable for game no larger than a starving coyote, but it was America's favorite deer cartridge until Winchester introduced the .30-30 in 1895.

My first deer rifle was a Marlin 336 Sporting Carbine in .35 Remington, and in addition to deer and hogs, it accounted for one of my biggest bears.

As hunting seasons came and went, I eventually "graduated" to bolt-action rifles chambered for more powerful cartridges. But after several decades of virtually neglecting the old lever-action hammer guns, I've swung full circle during the past few years. My job requires that I continue using bolt guns on the majority of my hunts each year, but given a choice and suitable circumstances, I'll reach for a lever gun when heading to the woods.

Not long ago I hunted caribou in the Northwest Territories and took a nice bull with a Marlin Model 444 in .444 Marlin with 280-grain Swift A-Frame handloads. Soon after, I took one of my all-time best black bears on Vancouver Island with a Marlin 336 in .38-55 Winchester. Only a couple of weeks before this was written, I used a Winchester 94 in .25-35 for a deer and varmint hunt in Texas, and had a ball. I took a nice buck with Winchester 117-grain factory loads, and bumped off several coyotes with handloads (loaded individually and directly into the chamber) containing seventy-five-grain Hornady V-Max bullets. Only a few months prior to that hunt, I bagged a nilgai on the same ranch with my Winchester Model 71 in .348 Winchester. I could go on, but you get the point: I love hunting with lever-action rifles.

Nothing is more American than the lever-action deer rifle, and this alone is enough to make me feel good about hunting with one. On top of that, no other type of rifle springs to shoulder as quickly for a fast shot, and its slim midsection makes the lever gun comfortable for one-hand carry.

Lever-action rifles vary considerably in accuracy and this usually holds more true for older examples. I don't recall my 1950's-vintage Winchester Model 71 ever shooting a 100-yard group smaller than four inches, but I accept that level of accuracy because I love the rifle so much. And besides, everything I have ever taken with it has been inside 200 yards, and it's plenty accurate for that.