For big bore lever actions, I’ve owned a BLR 358, a 1886 in 45-70, a Marlin 444, a couple 44 Mag Marlins and a light weight Marlin 45-70. Plus a Marlin 35 Remington.
The light weight Marlin 45-70 is a rifle that I don’t care to load to heavily as it can become unpleasant for me to shoot.
If I were to own just one rifle and it had to be a lever action that BLR 358 would be a good choice for me. Or if I had to have a rifle in a scabbard that 358 would be a good choice.
I like my Marlins and I think the new Remington Marlins are as good as the older Marlins. But the one thing I don’t like about the Marlin 45-70 and 44 Mag is the inability to feed the cast bullets that I like.
The 1886 is too heavy.
There’s pluses and minuses for each.
If I were to have only one lever gun (keeping my bolt guns) it wouldn’t be any if the above. It would either be my ‘94 in 32 Win or my ‘92.
I really like that 32! I would like to try a 38-55 in a pre-64.
How about in a 'big bore'? ;-)
