Lever action

Last updated December 12, 2024

A lever action is a type of action for repeating firearms that uses a manually operated cocking handle located around the trigger guard area (often incorporating it) that pivots forward to move the bolt via internal linkages, which will feed and extract cartridges into and out of the chamber, and cock the firing pin mechanism. This contrasts to other type of repeating actions such as the bolt-action, pump-action, semi-automatic, fully automatic, and/or burst mode actions. A firearm using this operating mechanism is colloquially referred to as a levergun.

Most lever-action firearms are rifles, but some lever-action shotguns and a few pistols have been made. The Winchester Model 1873 rifle is one of the most famous lever-action firearms, but many manufacturers (notably Henry and Marlin) also produce lever-action rifles. Colt produced the 6403 lever-action Colt-Burgess rifles from 1883 until 1885 and Mossberg formerly produced the Model 464 rifle.

History

Spencer-carbine M1865, .50 inch

In 1826, a lever-action revolver was capable of firing six shots in less than six seconds. It was produced in Italy by Cesar Rosaglio and patented in 1829.^[1]

The first lever-action rifles on the market were likely the Colt's 1st and 2nd model ring lever rifles, both cap and ball rifles, produced by the Patent Arms Mfg. Co. Paterson, N.J.-Colt's Patent between 1837 and 1841^{[ citation needed ]}. The ring lever was located in front of the trigger. This loading lever, when pulled, would index the cylinder to the next position and cock the internal hidden hammer.

Multiple lever-action designs including the Volcanic pistol were designed before the American Civil War ^{[ citation needed ]} , but the first significant designs were the Spencer repeating rifle and Henry rifle both created in 1860^{[ citation needed ]}. The Spencer was a lever-operated rifle with a removable seven-round tube magazine, designed by Christopher Spencer ^{[ citation needed ]}. Over 20,000 were made^{[ citation needed ]}, and it was adopted by the United States and used during the American Civil War ^{[ citation needed ]}, which marked the first adoption of an infantry and cavalry rifle with a removable magazine by any country.^{[ citation needed ]} The early Spencer's rifle lever only served to unlock the action and chamber a new round; the hammer had to be cocked separately after chambering.

The Henry rifle, invented by Benjamin Tyler Henry, had a centrally located hammer, cocked by the rearward movement of the bolt rather than an offset hammer typical of muzzle-loading rifles. Henry also placed the magazine under the barrel rather than in the buttstock, an idea copied by most designers since.

Inside of Marlin 39A receiver Marlin39receiver.jpg — Inside of Marlin 39A receiver

John Marlin, founder of Marlin Firearms Company, introduced the company's first lever-action repeating rifle, the Model 1881. This was chambered in rounds such as .45-70 Government and .38-55 Winchester. Its successor was the 1895 solid top design, known as the Marlin 336 today. It also gave rise to the Model 1894, which is still in production.

By the 1890s, lever actions had evolved into a form that would last for over a century. Both Marlin and Winchester released new model lever-action rifles in 1894. The Marlin rifle is still in production, whereas production of the Winchester 94 ceased in 2006. While externally similar, the Marlin and Winchester rifles are different internally. The Marlin has a single-stage lever action, while the Winchester has a double-stage lever. The double-stage action is easily seen when the Winchester's lever is operated, as the entire trigger group drops down to unlock the bolt which then moves rearward to eject the spent cartridge.

Savage Model 99 rifle

The fledgling Savage Arms Company became well known after the development of its popular hammerless Models 1895 and 1899 (which became the Model 99) lever-action sporting rifles. The Models 1895 and 1899 were produced from their introduction in 1899 until the expense of producing the rifle and declining interest in lever-action rifles resulted in dropping the Model 99 from production in 1998.

Sturm, Ruger & Co introduced a number of new lever-action designs in the 1990s.

Use in warfare

The Henry Lever-Action was used in the US Civil War and was used in the US until the Winchester Model 1866 rifle replaced it. The Spencer repeating rifle was also used in the US Civil War. Additionally, rifles using the lever-action design were used extensively during the 1930s by irregular forces in the Spanish Civil War. Typically, these were Winchesters or Winchester copies of Spanish manufacture. At least 9,000 Model 1895 rifles are known to have been provided by the Soviet Union in 1936 to the Spanish Republicans for use in the Spanish Civil War.^[2] Both the Russian Empire and the United States adopted the Winchester Model 1895 as a military weapon.^[3]

Shotguns

A modern reproduction of the Winchester Model 1887 lever-action shotgun

Early attempts at repeating shotguns invariably centered around either bolt-action or lever-action designs, drawing obvious inspiration from the repeating rifles of the time. The earliest successful repeating shotgun was the lever-action Winchester Model 1887, designed by John Browning in 1885 at the behest of the Winchester Repeating Arms Company. The lever-action design was chosen for reasons of brand recognition despite the protestations of Browning, who pointed out that a slide-action design would be much better for a shotgun. Initially chambered for black powder shotgun shells (as was standard at the time), the Model 1887 gave rise to the Winchester Model 1901, a strengthened version chambered for 10ga smokeless powder shells. Their popularity waned after the introduction of slide-action shotguns such as the Winchester Model 1897, and production was discontinued in 1920. Modern reproductions are manufactured by Armi Chiappa in Italy, Norinco in China, and ADI Ltd. in Australia. Winchester continued to manufacture the .410 bore Winchester Model 1894 (Model 9410) from 2003 until 2006.

Australian firearm laws strictly control pump-action shotguns and semi-automatic actions (Category C, D & R). Lever-action operation falls into a more lenient category (Category A & B), which has led to an increase in popularity of lever action shotguns.^[4]

Other applications

A one-off example of lever-action reloading on automatic firearms is the M1895 Colt–Browning machine gun. This weapon had a swinging lever beneath its barrel that was actuated by a gas bleed in the barrel, unlocking the breech to reload. This unique operation gave the nickname "potato digger", as the lever swung each time the weapon fired and would dig into the ground if the weapon was not situated high enough on its mount.

Cartridges

The cartridges for lever-action rifles have a wide variety of calibers, bullet shapes, and powder loads which fall into two categories: low-pressure cartridges with rounded bullets, and high-pressure cartridges with aerodynamic pointed ("spitzer") bullets.

Some lever-actions are not as strong as bolt action or semi-automatic rifle actions. The weaker actions utilize low- and medium-pressure cartridges, somewhat similar to high-powered pistol ammunition. To increase the bullet's energy at relatively low velocities, these often have larger, heavier bullets than other types of rifles. The most common cartridge is the .30-30 Winchester, introduced by Winchester with the Model 1894. Other common cartridges include: .22 calibre rimfire, .38 Special/.357 Magnum, .44 Special/.44 Magnum, .41 Magnum, .444 Marlin, .45-70 Government, .38-40 Winchester, .44-40 Winchester, .45 Colt, .25-35 Winchester, .32-40 Winchester, .35 Remington, .38-55 Winchester, .308 Marlin Express, and .300 Savage. There is some dispute about which of these cartridges can safely be used to hunt large game or large predators. Even in the largest calibers, the low velocities give these cartridges much lower energies than elephant gun cartridges with comparable calibers. However, even the smallest cartridges fit lightweight, handy rifles that can be excellent for hunting small herbivores, pest control, and personal defense.

Some stronger, larger pistols (usually revolvers) also accept some of these cartridges, permitting the use of the same ammunition in both a pistol and rifle. The rifle's longer barrel and better accuracy permit higher velocities, longer ranges, and a wider selection of game.

Some of these cartridges (e.g. the .50-70 Government (1866) and .45-70 Government (1873)) are developmental descendants of very early black powder metallic cartridges. When metallic cartridges and lever actions were first invented, very small, portable kits were developed for hand reloading and bullet molding (so-called "cowboy reloading kits"). These kits are still available for most low-pressure lever-action cartridges.^[5]

Stronger lever-actions, such as the action of the Marlin Model 1894, can utilize high-pressure cartridges. Lever-action designs with strong, rotary locking bolts (such as the Browning BLR with seven locking lugs) safely use very high-powered cartridges like the .300 Winchester Magnum, .300 WSM, and 7 mm Remington Magnum. Tilting block designs such as the Savage Model 99 are also strong enough to handle much higher chamber pressures.

Many lever actions have a tubular magazine under the barrel. It's not uncommon to see extra ammunition stored in externally mounted "shell holder" racks (usually as "sidesaddle" on one side of the receiver, or on the buttstock) for quick on-field reloading. To operate safely, cartridges for these should have bullets with rounded tips, and some use rimfire primers rather than centerfire primers. The safety problem is that long-range aerodynamic supersonic bullets are pointed. In a tubular magazine, the points can accidentally fire centerfire cartridges. A related problem is that some pointed bullets have fragile tips, and can be damaged in a tubular magazine. Some lever actions such as the Savage Model 99 can be fed from either box or rotary magazines. The Winchester Model 1895 also uses a fixed box magazine, and was chambered for a variety of popular commercial and military rifle cartridges at the time. More recently, spitzer bullets with elastomeric tips have been developed.^[6]

Lever-action shotguns such as the Winchester Model 1887 are chambered in 10 or 12 gauge black powder shotgun shells, whereas the Model 1901 is chambered for 10-gauge smokeless shotshells. Modern reproductions are chambered for 12 gauge smokeless shells, while the Winchester Model 9410 shotgun is available in .410 bore.

Comparison to bolt-action rifles

While lever-action rifles have always been popular with hunters and sporting shooters, they have not been widely accepted by the military. Several reasons for that have been proposed.

One significant reason for this is that it is harder to fire from the prone position with a lever-action rifle than it is with a bolt-action with either a straight pull or rotating bolt.

While lever-action rifles generally possess a greater rate of fire than bolt-action rifles, that was not always a feature, since, until about the turn of the 20th century, most militaries were wary of it being too high, afraid that excessive round consumption would put a strain on logistics of the military industry.

Tubular magazines, similar to the one used on the first bolt-action rifle and used on hunting lever-action rifles to this day, are sometimes described as a problem: while a tubular magazine is indeed incompatible with pointed centerfire "spitzer" bullets developed in the 1890s (discounting recently invented elastomer-tipped ones) due to the point of each cartridge's projectile resting on the primer of the next cartridge in the magazine, lever-action rifles actually adapted for military use (such as the Winchester Model 1895, which saw service with the Russian Army in World War I) were fitted with a box magazine invented in the late 1870s.

Another explanation for the lack of widespread use of lever-action designs stems from the initial inability to fire high-pressure cartridges made possible by the invention of smokeless powder in the 1880s. Safe operation could only be carried out by using low-pressure cartridges in the toggle-lock lever-action rifles such as the Henry rifle and the following Winchester Model 1866, Winchester Model 1873, and Winchester Model 1876 (which was used by the mounted police of Canada). The newer lever-action rifle designs, notably the Winchester Model 1886, Winchester Model 1892, Winchester Model 1894, and the Winchester Model 1895, with a strong locking-block action designed by John Moses Browning, were capable of firing more powerful higher-pressure pistol and rifle cartridges.

In the end, the problem was economical. By the time these rifles became available in the late 19th century, militaries worldwide had put cheap bolt-action rifles into service and were unwilling to invest in producing more expensive lever-action rifles.

Due to the higher rate of fire and shorter overall length than most bolt-action rifles, lever-actions have remained popular to this day for sporting use, especially short- and medium-range hunting in forests, scrub, or bushland. Lever-action firearms have also been used in some quantity by prison guards in the United States, as well as by wildlife authorities in many parts of the world.

Many newer lever-action rifles are capable of shooting groups smaller than 1 minute of angle (MOA), making their accuracy equal to that of most modern bolt-action rifles.

Additionally, another advantage over typical bolt-action rifles is the lack of handedness: lever-action rifles, with similarities to pump-action shotguns, are frequently recommended as ambidextrous in sporting guidebooks.

Related Research Articles

In firearm designs, the term single-shot refers to guns that can hold only a single round of ammunition inside and thus must be reloaded manually after every shot. Compared to multi-shot repeating firearms ("repeaters"), single-shot designs have no moving parts other than the trigger, hammer/firing pin or frizzen, and therefore do not need a sizable receiver behind the barrel to accommodate a moving action, making them far less complex and more robust than revolvers or magazine/belt-fed firearms, but also with much slower rates of fire.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Semi-automatic rifle</span> Type of autoloading rifle

A semi-automatic rifle is an auto-loading rifle that fires a single cartridge with each pull of the trigger, the part that fires the bullet. It uses part of the fired cartridge's energy to eject the case and automatically loads another cartridge into its chamber. This is in contrast to bolt-action or lever-action rifles, which require the user to manually chamber a new round before they can fire again, and fully automatic rifles, which fire continuously while the trigger is held down.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Action (firearms)</span> Functional mechanism of breech-loading

In firearms terminology, an action is the functional mechanism of a breechloading firearm that handles the ammunition cartridges, or the method by which that mechanism works. Actions are technically not present on muzzleloaders, as all those are single-shot firearms with a closed off breech with the powder and projectile manually loaded from the muzzle. Instead, the muzzleloader ignition mechanism is referred to as the lock.

Winchester rifle is a comprehensive term describing a series of lever action repeating rifles manufactured by the Winchester Repeating Arms Company. Developed from the 1860 Henry rifle, Winchester rifles were among the earliest repeaters. The Model 1873 was particularly successful, being marketed by the manufacturer as "The Gun That Won the West".

A repeating rifle is a single-barreled rifle capable of repeated discharges between each ammunition reload. This is typically achieved by having multiple cartridges stored in a magazine and then fed individually into the chamber by a reciprocating bolt, via either a manual or automatic action mechanism, while the act of chambering the round typically also recocks the hammer/striker for the following shot. In common usage, the term "repeating rifle" most often refers specifically to manual repeating rifles, as opposed to self-loading rifles, which use the recoil, gas, or blowback of the previous shot to cycle the action and load the next round, even though all self-loading firearms are technically a subcategory of repeating firearms.

The .45 Colt (11.43×33mmR), often called the .45 Long Colt, is a rimmed straight-walled handgun cartridge dating to 1872. It was originally a black-powder revolver round developed for the Colt Single Action Army revolver. This cartridge was adopted by the U.S. Army in 1873 and served as an official US military handgun cartridge for 19 years, before being replaced by the .38 Long Colt in 1892. Although there has never been a ".45 Short Colt" cartridge, the .45 Colt is frequently called the ".45 Long Colt" to better distinguish it from the shorter and less powerful .45 Schofield cartridge, which was also in use around the same time as the .45 Colt.

A magazine, often simply called a mag, is an ammunition storage and feeding device for a repeating firearm, either integral within the gun or externally attached. The magazine functions by holding several cartridges within itself and sequentially pushing each one into a position where it may be readily loaded into the barrel chamber by the firearm's moving action. The detachable magazine is sometimes colloquially referred to as a "clip", although this is technically inaccurate since a clip is actually an accessory device used to help load ammunition into a magazine or cylinder.

Pump action is a type of manual firearm action that is operated by moving a sliding handguard on the gun's forestock. When shooting, the sliding forend is pulled rearward to eject any expended cartridge and typically to cock the hammer or striker, and then pushed forward to load a new cartridge into the chamber. Most pump-action firearms use an integral tubular magazine, although some do use detachable box magazines. Pump-action firearms are typically associated with shotguns, although it has also been used in rifles, grenade launchers, and other types of firearms. A firearm using this operating mechanism is colloquially referred to as a pumpgun.

The .44-40 Winchester (10.8x33mmR), also known as .44 Winchester, .44 WCF, and .44 Largo, was introduced in 1873 by the Winchester Repeating Arms Company. It was the first metallic centerfire cartridge manufactured by Winchester, and was promoted as the standard chambering for the new Winchester Model 1873 rifle. As both a rifle and a handgun caliber, the cartridge soon became widely popular, so much so that the Winchester Model 1873 rifle became known as "The gun that won the West."

<span class="mw-page-title-main">.22 Winchester Magnum Rimfire</span> Rimfire cartridge

The .22 Winchester Magnum Rimfire, also known as the .22 WMR, .22 Magnum, .22 WMRF, .22 MRF, or .22 Mag, is a rimfire cartridge. Originally loaded with a bullet weight of 40 grains (2.6 g) delivering velocities in the 2,000 feet per second (610 m/s) range from a rifle barrel, .22 WMR is now loaded with bullet weights ranging from 50 grains (3.2 g) at 1,530 feet per second (470 m/s) to 30 grains (1.9 g) at 2,200 feet per second (670 m/s).

The .30-40 Krag, also known as the .30 U.S. and .30 Army, was a rifle cartridge developed in the early 1890s to provide the U.S. armed forces with a smokeless powder cartridge suited for use with modern small-bore repeating rifles to be selected in the 1892 small arm trials. Since the cartridge it was replacing was the .45-70 Government, the new cartridge was considered small-bore at the time. The rifle ultimately selected for use by the Army was the Krag–Jørgensen, formally adopted as the M1892 Springfield. The cartridge was also used in the M1893, M1895, M1897, and M1900 Gatling guns.

Marlin Firearms is an American manufacturer of semi-automatic, lever-action and bolt-action rifles. In the past the company made shotguns, derringers, and revolvers. Marlin owned the firearm manufacturer H&R Firearms. In 2007, Remington Arms, part of the Remington Outdoor Company, acquired Marlin Firearms. Remington produced Marlin-brand firearms at its Kentucky and New York manufacturing facilities. In 2020, Sturm, Ruger & Co. bought the Marlin business from bankrupt Remington Outdoor Company.

A rim is an external flange that is machined, cast, molded, stamped, or pressed around the bottom of a firearms cartridge. Thus, rimmed cartridges are sometimes called "flanged" cartridges. Almost all cartridges feature an extractor or headspacing rim, in spite of the fact that some cartridges are known as "rimless cartridges". The rim may serve a number of purposes, including providing a lip for the extractor to engage, and sometimes serving to headspace the cartridge.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">.30-30 Winchester</span> Rifle cartridge designed by the Winchester Repeating Arms Company

The .30-30 Winchester / 7.8x51mmR cartridge was first marketed for the Winchester Model 1894 lever-action rifle in 1895. The .30-30, as it is most commonly known, along with the .25-35 Winchester, was offered that year as the United States' first small-bore sporting rifle cartridges designed for smokeless powder. Since its introduction, it has been utilized alongside the development of flatter shooting cartridges, most prominently those derived from designs subsidized by interest in military expenditures. The .30-30 has remained in widespread use almost entirely because of reliable effectiveness in civilian applications, and has put food on the table for millions of people in hunting situations.

The Marlin Model 336 is a lever-action rifle and carbine made by Marlin Firearms. Since its introduction in 1948, it has been offered in a number of different calibers and barrel lengths, but is commonly chambered in .30-30 Winchester or .35 Remington, using a 20- or 24-inch barrel. Currently, several models with a 16-, 19- and 20-inch barrels are available in .30-30 Winchester. The Model 336 is now back in production as of March 27, 2023.

The Winchester Model 1894 rifle is a lever-action repeating rifle that became one of the most famous and popular hunting rifles of all time. It was designed by John Browning in 1894 and originally chambered in either the .32-40 Winchester or the .38-55 Winchester. Two metallic black powder cartridges. It was later the first rifle to chamber the smokeless powder round, the .30 WCF in 1895. In 1901, Winchester created the new .32 Winchester Special caliber with production of rifles starting in 1902.

The Marlin Model 1894 is a lever-action repeating rifle introduced in 1894 by the Marlin Firearms Company of North Haven, Connecticut. At its introduction the rifle came with a 24-inch barrel and was chambered for a variety of rounds such as .25-20 Winchester, .32-20 Winchester, .38-40, and .44-40. Variants in other chamberings remain in production today.

The following are terms related to firearms and ammunition topics.

The .38-55 Winchester / 9.6x53mmR cartridge, also known as the .38-55 WCF and the .38-55 Ballard, is a centerfire rifle cartridge. It was based on an earlier cartridge called the .38-50 Ballard Everlasting that was introduced in 1876 by the Ballard Rifle & Cartridge Company. The .38-55 Ballard was originally a Black-powder cartridge as used in Ballard and Marlin Firearms from 1876 onwards for various single-shot target rifles. Their 1893 lever-action rifle was also available in 38-55 using a Black-powder only barrel, or another barrel designated "Special Smokeless Steel" capable of safely using 38-55 cartridges loaded with the then relatively new and higher pressure smokeless powders. It was later offered by Winchester in its Model 1894, who usurped the name calling it the 38-55 Winchester, although it was an exact dimensional copy of the 38-55 Ballard. Winchester continued to use the round in various rifles until about 1940, and also used it in a few commemorative editions of rifles since then. In addition, Marlin offered it in some 336s, and it was used in non-lever action rifles such as the Remington-Lee bolt-action. The .38-55 Winchester is also the parent case for the .30-30 Winchester, .32 Winchester Special, and the .375 Winchester cartridges.

A repeating firearm or repeater is any firearm that is designed for multiple, repeated firings before the gun has to be reloaded with new ammunition.

References

↑ "Antologia; giornale di scienze, lettere e arti". June 24, 1832 – via Google Books.
↑ Mercaldo, Luke; Firestone, Adam; Vanderlinden, Anthony (2011). Allied Rifle Contracts in America. Wet Dog. p. 83. ISBN 978-0-9707997-7-7.
↑ Mercaldo, Luke; Firestone, Adam; Vanderlinden, Anthony (2011). Allied Rifle Contracts in America. Wet Dog. pp. 77–78. ISBN 978-0-9707997-7-7.
↑ Salna, Karlis (4 March 2016). "Imports of Adler shotgun pouring into Australia". The New Daily. Retrieved 8 March 2020.
↑ "The Best Portable Reloading Press". Reloader Addict. Retrieved 29 July 2017.
↑ "Spitzer Bullets for .30-30 Reloaders: Boing, Boing, Boing!". Real Guns. Retrieved 29 July 2017.

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[1] "Antologia; giornale di scienze, lettere e arti". June 24, 1832 – via Google Books.

[arc5-2] Mercaldo, Luke; Firestone, Adam; Vanderlinden, Anthony (2011). Allied Rifle Contracts in America. Wet Dog. p. 83. ISBN 978-0-9707997-7-7.

[arc1-3] Mercaldo, Luke; Firestone, Adam; Vanderlinden, Anthony (2011). Allied Rifle Contracts in America. Wet Dog. pp. 77–78. ISBN 978-0-9707997-7-7.

[4] Salna, Karlis (4 March 2016). "Imports of Adler shotgun pouring into Australia". The New Daily. Retrieved 8 March 2020.

[5] "The Best Portable Reloading Press". Reloader Addict. Retrieved 29 July 2017.

[6] "Spitzer Bullets for .30-30 Reloaders: Boing, Boing, Boing!". Real Guns. Retrieved 29 July 2017.

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