LEVER ACTION LIFESAVERS

When it comes to personal defense sometimes simpler is better. There are any number of quality semi automatic rifles available, but many are priced beyond the reach of the average shooter or those on a budget. Frankly, for those who cannot practice at least monthly the manually operated rifle has much to recommend. For home defense, as a truck gun, or for general use on a farm or camp the long gun has much to recommend. The handgun is best suited for concealed carry and for defense against unforeseen problems. But the long gun excels at static defense. Among the better choices for personal defense is the lever action rifle. The lever action rifle is dependable simple and handy. The lever action is flat, with no protruding magazine. The lever action is easy to store. Generations of Americans cut their teeth on the lever action rifle.

Unfortunately we also have to consider what is politically correct. There are jurisdictions in America that make owning a handgun difficult. It is far easier to purchase a long gun. And long guns are easier to transport. Current federal law allows non residents to purchase a long gun out of state. Overall, many factor favor the long gun. But the greatest factors are performance. Lets face it, compared to a long gun the ‘ weak .38’and the ‘strong .45’ are more alike than they differ. A .30-30 carbine offers considerable advantage. If loaded with the new Hornady LeverRevolution round, the .30-30 offers greater ballistic effect and range than ever. Plus, the carbine is very friendly to fire and use. My personal Winchester .30-30 rifle is fitted with Ashley Express aperture (sometimes called peep) sights. These sights are a great advantage in a long gun used mainly for personal defense. The .30-30 has been proven in use by peace officers for over a hundred years. The .30-30 was also used heavily during the Mexican revolution. The cartridge is plenty accurate as well. The Winchester lever action rifle is considered one of the all time great hard use go anywhere do anything rifles. My personal rifle has managed to group five shots of the Hornady bullet into two inches at fifty yards, plenty for personal defense. However, a dedicated hunting variant with a Bushnell scope will do the same at a long 100 yards. That is accurate enough for most problems.

A very interesting rifle is the Rossi R 92. . It is also marketed under various trade names but Rossi manufactures the rifle. The Rossi is offered in .357 Magnum, .44 Magnum, .44-40, .45 Colt and .454 Casull. The .357 may be used with .38 Special loads, the .44 Magnum with .44 Special loads, and the .454 with .45 Colt loads. These are light and handy rifles with much to recommend. When chambered for a short pistol cartridge the lever action has far more leverage, allowing very rapid work to be accomplished. The Rossi is a copy of the Winchester Model 92 but with modern heat treating and certain improvements. I am not wild about the new safety lever, the hammer is safety enough. But in these PC times I suppose I can tolerate the safety on a lever gun.

The manual of arms of the lever action is simple. Load the magazine through the gate. (The .454 Rossi also offers loading through the magazine tube by unscrewing the tube end.) Lever the action open and shut it briskly. The hammer is now cocked. You may either fire or carefully lower the hammer and cock the hammer for a shot at a later date. All lever action rifles should be kept chamber empty, although the rebounding hammer of the Rossi is a safety feature. It is easy to quickly lever a round into the chamber. I normally prefer rifle carbine carbines. As an example, I strongly prefer a .223 rifle to any 9mm, .40 or 10mm automatic carbine. But in the lever action rifles we are looking at a different story. The .357 Magnum is a good defensive cartridge. When fired in a carbine the cartridge gains over 200 fps in velocity. The .44 Magnum and the .454 Casull are grand cartridges, capable of taking medium game to over 100 yards. The .44-40 is one of the great combination calibers of all time, a great light recoiling cartridge in both the handgun and the carbine. But the .44-40 is not likely to be on the shelf at Academy Sports or Dick’s Sporting Goods. The .45 Colt is more common.

I have used the .454 Casull carbine extensively. Cor Bon produces a medium velocity load that is about in .44 Magnum territory and a wide number of semi custom .454 loads as well. The 240 grain JHP is more than adequate for personal defense or deer sized game. The heavy loads using bullets over 260 grains are credible for any game on the North American continent. While the .30-30 has more penetration by most accounts if I needed something- from a felon to a grizzly-to go down right now I would choose the .454 Casull. If you handload for the lever action rifles, cast bullets are a good resource. I have used Magnus cast bullets with excellent results. They are hard enough for 1500 fps or a little more and give good accuracy. For the faster calibers such as the .44 Magnum and .454 Casull the Hornady XTP bullet has practically an unequaled reputation. The XTP is an accurate bullet, with just the right nose forward bias. There is plenty of bearing surface for accuracy and the XTP is designed to expand and penetrate and never fragment ever at velocity higher than the original design parameters. As one example, the XTP is among a very few bullets in .357 Magnum caliber that may be countered on for use in the Magnum carbines. A 125 grain .357 Magnum at 2,000 fps plus is a very interesting performer. In the .44 Magnum, the 300 grain XTP offers both heft and accuracy.

Even in a perfect world where you have the funds to purchase a two thousand dollar AR 15, there are obvious advantages to the lever action rifle. The fact that the rifle will survive, function, and even thrive with little or no maintenance is a big plus. The advantages in penetration and the ability to cleanly take medium size game with powerful big bore cartridges is another advantage. When all is said and one the lever action rifle is quite simply a live saver of the first order. Don’t neglect this important resource.

Captions

beginning with photograph at the lower point on page

This is among the author’s favorite go anywhere do anything rifle. This is a Winchester Model 1894 fitted with XS aperture sights.

The short Trapper version of the Winchester is a viable home defense rifle. It handles pretty smart in close quarters.

The Puma in .454 Casull offers unprecedented power in a light carbine.

The Rossi R92 is a very, very nice lever action rifle. The octagon barrel is not necessrry but makes a nice tough.

This is a heavy JSP from Cor Bon. Such a load in .44 Magnum caliber offers more real power at close range than a .30 caliber rifle.

A stainless lever action? We never had it so good.

This is a saddle ring carbine in .44-40. This is a wonderful all around light carbine that hits hard at moderate range.