My 16 year old son has sort of been drifting away from hunting lately, but out of the blue theh other day he tells me he'd like to have a lever action 45-70. I am thinking about buying him a 45-70 for his 17th birthday in a couple of weeks. I have never owned a lever action other than my BL-22, but am familiar with the popular brands of lever actions, Marlin, Henry, etc. Though I know the names, I can't say I know much about the quality of any of the brands, or maybe which rifle models to stay away from. I have looked at some rifles online and am familiar with the general prices. I'm not looking to break the bank on a birthday present, but would like to find a good quality rifle for him. I don't think he wants the brass receiver on the Henry, but he might like stainless and black or laminated.
I appreciate any advice you might have.
Thanks,
Dan
45-70 is ridiculously over-priced ammo if you don't reload. Make sure you're happy spending $50/20 for hunting ammo.
And leverguns are way too expensive for what you get.
If you can find a used Marlin 1895, great. Otherwise Henry is the only sub-$1000 option. Ruger was asking $1200.
Easy cartridge to reload, but jacketed bullet choices are few and spendy. You don't need a fancy bullet with 45-70, but guys buy the high priced stuff anyway.
I wouldn't buy a new levergun today as the prices are out of whack for what you get.
I reload and I've put about 3k rounds through my stainless guide gun. Fun gun. Very packable carbine. Great 150yd cartridge. But when I give it away to the grandkids, it will go with as much ammo as I can load up.
