I bought a Lightning BLR in 1997, after it caught my attention with its stock that looked like something from a nice double shotgun. I had purchased a Winchester '94 Trapper shortly before, because of purely practical reasons, not because I thought it was pretty. I still find such lever rifles as the Winchester '94, and all modern-era fat-stock Marlins, to be not really attractive, merely utilitarian, like a Glock or SIG pistol or something like that. A BLR, while not gorgeous, is a step up, in my mind, from most current lever rifles. There are beautiful lever rifles, indeed, such as a Winchester 1886 or 71. Of course, the proof of a rifle's beauty is in how it handles, and how it shoots. My Lightning BLR showed itself to be quite satisfying in that regard. My more recently purchased straight-gripped BLRs have yet to prove themselves, but with their laminated stocks and stainless finish, I bought them for utility, not beauty.
