Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Rifles 45-70 lever guns.

What is all on the market for sturdy,handy and accurate 45-70 lever guns. I hear good things about the Ruger made Marlins and the Henry rifles. It’s been awhile since I ran a lever gun and kinda have an itch for one.

Winchester still has the 1886. Most people have been buying Henry's. I like JM stamped Marlins myself

Yep, the older, JM stamped Marlins are the way to go.

I have a Rossi 44 mag lever action if that piques your interest.

I’d find a used 1886 EL. Aside from the inability to mount a scope they’re twice the rifle any Marlin ever dreamed of being.

I bought Uberti 1886 Hunter Lite about six months ago and it is a sweet rifle. It is very well balanced and light. I have a 1972 made Marlin to compare it to and the Uberti is superior in just about every way. I was surprised at how accurate it is and it is very pleasant to shoot even coming in at about 7 pounds.

When my Marlin causes me the first problem, I might consider an 1886 until then I'm not fixing what isn't broke

Nothing wrong with a good JM Marlin I had one at one time however this Pedersoli 86/71 crossed my radar several years ago and I couldn't pull out the plastic fast enough...Really a beautiful accurate well made shooter..,love it !

If you are going to scope it then go with the older Marlin. If you plan to use open sights the Browning 1886 from the 1980s is the gold standard in my opinion. I have owned just about all of them at one time or another. I have not owed one of the new Pedersolis though.

The Uberti/Pedersoli rifles don’t have that atrocious tang safety that the newer Winchesters have.

I have a JM Marlin that is a real dream and great quality.

My son has a 1895 Marlin made by Remington. Fine rifle. It will let you know it went off when shooting some of the heavier loads. Very accurate too. All in all, a fine rifle.

Just to stir the pot a bit, here is a Winchester 1895 to consider. Mine is a .405 WCF, but the 30-06 is cool too. With the box magazine, it loads from the top.

Just recently acquired one very similar, but mine is in 303Br.

I like the short guide gun configuration. A buddy of mine has one and it is surprisingly accurate.

So do I. My first was the stainless version, a Marlin 1895 GS. I did find that with the top end loads the Marlins are capeable of handling, and when using the heavier bullet weights, the lever with straight stock design 'could' be a little hard on the fingers. My Son couldn't live without that rifle and now he has it. On a later deal I replaced it with a Marlin 1895 GBL and another part of that deal was Magnum Research BFR that I
couldn.t resist.

Older JM Marlins. The older the better usually. But the Henry’s are nice too

That rifle in 303 checks several cool boxes. Jealous.

JM Guide Gun with a Leupold 2.5X Scout scope. Will do clover leafs at 100 yds with a target that fits the optics. Really like the scope as it's well out of the way for all manipulations. A dark timber elk unit, but I've not scored with it yet.

I have yet to 'introduce' my 95 in 303Br to some field use but plan to do so on Vancouver Island Blacktail Deer next season. May be a chance to precede that if I can work in a spring Blackbear hunt.

I feel your pain with the tight lever loop. I once had a Marlin guide gun in 450 Marlin. I believe the first year they came out. Accurate,reliable and all other great things except the tight lever loop. That thing would rap my knuckles every time.