Lever Guns

[Malamute]

Terrible.

I had one in the early to mid 90's, it went back to the factory twice and a third time to their field repair depot, it was never right. The problem was in the feed system, the 94 action was designed for rifle cartridges, the 92 for pistol cartridges.

The most common (but not the only) problem was the action would dump an extra round that got lodged under the lifter and tied the gun up in hopeless jam with the action opened, required disassembly to clear. It got to the point where I never went to the range without the two (different sizes) screw drivers required to partially disassemble and clear the inevitable jam.

I would definitely wish one on my enemies.

This seems to be the common problem, and it indicates the link, the part that pivots down when the lever is opened. The small protrusion on the front end moves and cuts off the next round from feeding until the action is closed. Yours may have been a victim of tolerance stacking, and just putting more new parts in it wouldnt fix it. Building up the cartridge stop part of the link and carefully fitting it to the gun in question until it functions correctly is probably what it would take to get it to work, not just putting more off the shelf parts in it. With the small diameter straight wall cartridge (357) and close tolerances required on that particular round, its a very narrow range of size that works, and may be somewhat dependent on ammo being within a certain spec range, which may be an unattainable dream. It may have even worked fine with the ammo at the factory, and not with your brass or every other one than what the factory used, who knows at this point without a detailed analysis.

[fatdog]

may be somewhat dependent on ammo being within a certain spec range

my recollections of it 25 years later are vague, but I think it happened about 1 out of every 10 rounds with Winchester brass and maybe 1 out of every 50 rounds with Federal/Remington or others...so that makes sense...there are rim differences in those cases

[Clusterfrack]

That's basically what my friend told me. Bigger pistol rounds worked ok, the 357 was almost a waste of time. I was hoping he was wrong because I found a really nice 357 mag 94 Trapper yesterday, used.

The .44 mag 94 Trapper I inherited from my dad has been reliable.

[Wheeler]

Terrible.

I had one in the early to mid 90's, it went back to the factory twice and a third time to their field repair depot, it was never right. The problem was in the feed system, the 94 action was designed for rifle cartridges, the 92 for pistol cartridges.

The most common (but not the only) problem was the action would dump an extra round that got lodged under the lifter and tied the gun up in hopeless jam with the action opened, required disassembly to clear. It got to the point where I never went to the range without the two (different sizes) screw drivers required to partially disassemble and clear the inevitable jam.

I would definitely wish one on my enemies.

My anecdote cancels yours out and vice verse. 😁

[StraitR]

Anyone have experience with or thoughts on the new production Winchester 1873 models? Specifically, the .357mag version.

They seem incredibly popular for CAS/SASS, based on my recent reading. I'm heading to my local club to watch the CAS/SASS match next month, and I'm trying to get my bearings on the crazy about of guns/gear required, of which I know nothing about.

[Malamute]

Anyone have experience with or thoughts on the new production Winchester 1873 models? Specifically, the .357mag version.

They seem incredibly popular for CAS/SASS, based on my recent reading. I'm heading to my local club to watch the CAS/SASS match next month, and I'm trying to get my bearings on the crazy about of guns/gear required, of which I know nothing about.

I, sad to say, have no personal experience with the current Winchester 73s in 357. Sad, because I covet them. I covet the 16" "trapper" in particular, or a standard 20" carbine. The rifles with crescent butts dont like me, nor I them. The comments Ive seen are positive for the most part regarding the function and accuracy. Some of the cowboy action crowd seem intent on dissing them because they changed some parts or lines a miniscule amount in some way that they dont approve of. I havent been able to tell that difference, certainly not in the league that the Rossis messed up the lower receiver lines of the 92 in most versions.

The 73 in general seems very reliable. A friend with an italian 45 Colt version said he had about 50K rounds through his with zero malfunctions. Part of that is likely that the cartridge is raised completely flat on the carrier/lifter, is completely captive while its in the carrier, and feeds straight into the chamber. They dont tolerate much difference in overall cartridge length, but otherwise seem very simple and easy to run.

[Dan_S]

For someone completely...out of the loop...regarding lever actions, what’s a good model to grab...?

I wanted a .357...but I guess now, not so much.

Looking for a good camping/hiking/hunting piece.


About the most interesting gun I’ve ever carried was a 1930s manufactured lever gun in .22 LR. A prairie dogs nightmare....

[Malamute]

For someone completely...out of the loop...regarding lever actions, what’s a good model to grab...?

I wanted a .357...but I guess now, not so much.

Looking for a good camping/hiking/hunting piece.


About the most interesting gun I’ve ever carried was a 1930s manufactured lever gun in .22 LR. A prairie dogs nightmare....

What caliber type do you want? Are you a reloader? Do you want one in a caliber you already reload? What sort of range do you want? What sort of class of animals do you envision dealing with?


RE 22s The older Marlin 39s are a fantastic piece of functional history. They are simple, easy to take down to transport or clean, tend to be very accurate,

[Pit]

RE 22s The older Marlin 39s are a fantastic piece of functional history. They are simple, easy to take down to transport or clean, tend to be very accurate,

Heck ya!

[Dan_S]

What caliber type do you want? Are you a reloader? Do you want one in a caliber you already reload? What sort of range do you want? What sort of class of animals do you envision dealing with?


RE 22s The older Marlin 39s are a fantastic piece of functional history. They are simple, easy to take down to transport or clean, tend to be very accurate,

Well, I’d been eyeing the .357 since I could stick a bowers 9mm can on it easily....


I don’t currently reload, though I’m hoping to change that.

I’m pretty much going down the ‘practical’ and ‘simple’ rabbit holes, and I think that a high-ish capacity light/slim lever gun of some sort fits the bill quite well. Unfortunately, I think the .357 would be pretty much ‘ideal’ so....what’s similar, but actually, oh, I dunno....works? Gasp.

What would you suggest...based on your practical assessment for a general purpose hunting/hiking gun in your area?


As far as what type of animals... deer, big cats, would be the top end. I’m not planning on going looking for anything too ridiculous. I’d reckon a .45-70 would be a good investment if I ever do get a chance to do some hiking trips in Montana/Idaho....shrug.