Two stores on my regular route mentioned people calling in the last week looking for lever action rifles. Then two guns I put on consignment yesterday (a Model 94 and a 336) sold within two hours of the store opening today at fair but not give-away prices.

I think its the Yellowstone effect - its the most-watched show on TV right now and the good guys (if you can call them that) predominantly use lever action rifles (Winchester 94s). In the season opener the bunkhouse crew use their Winchesters (and a length of rope) to put down a bunch of attackers who are all armed with modern tactical type guns.

I wonder if lever action sales are being affected elsewhere?

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I'm ahead of that trend. I bought my Winchester Model 94 30-30 new in 1994 when they had the 1894-1994 edition. I have absolutely no use for it, then or now, and that wasn't exactly the peak quality years at Winchester. But it shoots good, I always wanted one, and I love it. Watched too much John Wayne and The Rifleman when I was a kid.

BTW - I've watched the Yellowstone season 4 premier twice already, and will likely watch it again before Sunday night.

In East Tennessee, lever guns are always popular... Particularly the 30.30 and .357 calibers... The bigger boys still sell fairly well, but, not like the two listed...

I have a few others but it’s about all I need in the Virginia woods. 100 yds is a longish shot. It’s the one I usually grab to head out there.
I’m sure Yellowstone is helping sales. Longmire helped some earlier.

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Haven’t watched Yellowstone yet but I’ve heard it’s good. Big fan of Longmire though, another excellent show.

I think like most guns levers are in demand but I think the closing/sale of Marlin has contributed to the rising cost and lower supply. Ruger thanks s close to shipping them out though so that may help stabilize the market a little. I’ve never owned a Winchester lever but I do love my two 1894 Marlins!


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I've always liked lever action rifles. I have no doubt that popular shows and movies influence sales of many things.

Watch it from the very beginning when you do, there's a lot to know so you'll understand the dynamics of the show. Go ahead and buy all 4 seasons, because you'll want to watch it frequently.

I've thought about a lever gun, simply because I don't have one. I'd probably go for one in a handgun caliber, most likely .44M.

If the "Yellowstone Effect" is selling more lever action guns, you'd think that gun battle at the beginning of S4E1 would have AR's rolling off the shelves. One of the best modern gunfights I've ever seen on TV or the movies, right up there with the one in Heat.

Funny this thread came up today. I just started watching season one yesterday to see if it's worth watching as everyone says.

I too like the lever rifles.



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Yellowstone effect??!! Dang...and all this time I thought everyone was copying me.

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I dig lever rifles.....



I shoot a Rossi 92 in .357 caliber the most. Here's a pic from a recent outing with my 14 year old Nephew. He was shooting the 9MM AR of course, me the Rossi 92....

Yellowstone effect….thought this might be about bourbon.

I'm a lever lover!
But at my age I guess I'll have to blame it on John Wayne.

Yep, I always thought that it was a "Duke" effect that sold leverguns. I have many more lever actions than I do bolt or semi-auto action rifles.

The movie "Wind River" sold a ton of Marlin 1895s in 45-70 I heard.

Taking a lever gun out in the morning I suspect. A 444. Marlin never fails, ......... as long as a deer shows up.

Don't know about Yellowstone, but I do know that they're more than adequate for self defense in 99% of situations anyone is likely to encounter, outstanding for most hunting in the lower 48, and defeat the goofy intent of Blue State gun laws regarding magazine capacity and "evil" features.

In short, they're still great tools and an iconic, and uniquely American, design. What's not to like?

Just my $.02. I've never watched Yellowstone.

Yellowstone is a fun show I love anything with a western theme. The women on the show are easy on the eyes and lots of lever action guns whats not to like.

Uberti 1894 26 inch barrel in 30-30


Rossi 93 in 38/357

Lever gun prices are going crazy. ARs are less expensive today, who’d have thought that would happen lol. It seems especially true of handgun caliber examples. I would love to add a .357 but everyone I’ve seen is well out of my price range, some going as high as $2k, nope not gonna do it.

Yeah, I'm a "lever" kinda guy.

Only have a few in .357 mag and .44 mag

I have a few more Marlins in .30-.30

Also a few Winchester .30-.30's, and .44 mag

First pic is of my Marlins in .357 and .44 mag

Second is one of my Rossi .357's, and also my only Henry (.22LR)

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but when there is serious work to e done, you notice they are AR based gun that come out. and being LE, of course they get to have full auto.

Same here. I've been waiting for a 357 or 44 mag Browning or Winchester to come up on the internet for a few years. My budget is $1000 and so far I haven't found one. I lost a Browning 92 a few months ago when it went a few bucks over my first and only bid. Since then they seem to have gone up even more so I may remove myself from all the craziness. If I'm going to pay that much money for a rifle I think I'll start looking at a 45-70 single shot something or other. They seem to be in the not-so-hot category right now. Walt never carried a single shot rifle.

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Never watched the show (I once met Costner and he's an a--). Just gave my last lever action to my daughter and SIL (an 1892 short rifle take-down in 38-40), along with a custom Vaquero converted to 38-40. Both case-hardened and engraved.

The increase in lever gun sales may be because hunting season just opened.

I have to admit, I put away a single action and broke out a favorite lever gun while watching the show.

The TV show is one of the best ones going and probably has caused renewed interest in lever actions. I’ve only got two, a Rossi Ranch Hand .357/38 and a Mikoru made 1895 take down in 30.06. I’d like to pickup a Winchester 94 in 30-30. Forgot about my Norinco 1887 copy in 12ga.

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I've been seeing a LOT of gun press articles on leverguns lately. That may be due to Yellowstone also. Actually, I guess that's likely.

I've got a Marlin 39A Original Golden and a B92. In .22 I've got a Henry golden boy. Favorite of those to actually shoot is the Marlin.

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Western movies and TV shows in the '50s and '60s revived the Colt SAA. Dirty Harry drove sales of the Model 29 through the roof, Quigley Down Under renewed interest in large caliber single shots, The Walking Dead made Python prices go crazy. So yeah, why not Yellowstone spiking lever action prices? I just got back from the Wanenmacher gun show and lever gun prices definitely are up.

I dunno about that. Seems to me like the lesson of the highway shootout scene is that if you want to shoot a lot of rounds and not hit anything, use full auto.

The show Longmire had the same effect about ten years ago.

For a long time I jokingly referred to my pre-Remington Marlin 44 mag as my "assault" rifle for when phtf. Had no interest in an AR or mini 14, both of which I have now. The mini is my primary phtf rifle at this point. The rest are toys. Bought the Marlin in '99, $300 on sale at Big 5.

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9tenz

A modern weapon does not a first class shooter make. An "obsolete" weapon does not make a first-class shooter less than a first-class shooter.

Buzz Mills, the owner of Gunsite told a story some years ago about an old Sheriff from Montana that showed up at a tactical rifle class with a finish-challenged Winchester 94 carbine. Now this class was full of high speed tactical types, all of whom were, of course, shooting AR's of various types. Buzz said that old man embarrassed 'em all with that .30-30, just shot circles around them. He had obviously been shooting it for many years, and he gave up nothing to the autoloaders that put many bullets in the air at once but didn't hit much of anything. A guy who knows what he's doing with a lever gun is a man go be respected! I currently have 17 lever rifles in 7 calibers and I have no plans to send any of them down the road any time soon.

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Everybody could shoot

**Apologies for the drift** but isn't Buzz Mills the owner of Gunsite? Clint Smith essentially shut down Thunder Ranch for onsite training in the coming year and will be doing traveling courses mostly.

Yellowstone effect?!? I'm thinking Yellowstone is a little behind the curve.

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Kinda like the Quigley effect with Sharps rifles.

You're correct. I knew that too. Not sure what I was thinking! Edited to correct the error.

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When I see guys/tv shows with lever action rifles. I think. Geez they're like me...........Don't forget lever action shotguns like the Browning designed Win. 1887. Came in 10 ga & 12 ga.

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I have always liked lever action rifles and I still have a few. "Dallas on Horseback" is what I think of "Yellowstone", it gives a new definition to soap opera IMNSHO, and it wouldn't surprise me if the TV watching public suddenly became enamored of lever rifles accordingly but it doesn't cross my screen, I gave up on it very early because it's so silly.









I have more but no pictures.............

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The boys carry Lever Actions, but still carry Glocks in their holsters which is a pretty cool juxtaposition of old vs new in my opinion. Remember in season one when Casey whacked that Grizzly with an almost point blank shot with his lever action

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Thought the same thing. The safest place to be during that shootout was in front of Casey’s AR. So much for being an ex SEAL.

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I’ve got that model by Norinco in 12ga. Works flawlessly with low brass #8 and S&B 00 buck.

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I recently purchased a 1994 vintage grade 1 BL-22 in near mint condition. I noted there are now a total of 16 lever actions in the safe including the BL-22 and

- 3 Model 9422s (an XTR, a Legacy, and a Trapper);
- 3 pre-64 20” Model 94 carbines in .30-30;
- 1 1926 26” Model 94 rifle in .30-30;
- 1 26” Model 94 Classic in .30-30;
- 1 20” Big Bore Model 94 in .375 Win;
- 2 24” Model 94 Legendary Frontiersman rifles in .38-55;
- 1 Armi Sport NRA commemorative Model 92 takedown in .45 Colt;
- 2 Rossi Model 92 rifles in .357 Mag, one 20” and one 24”; and
- 1 Rossi 20” Model 92 carbine in .45 Colt.

The number rises to 19 if you count the falling block lever actions including:

- 1 1859 Sharps Berdan in .54 caliber (paper cartridge);
- 1 1885 26” Browning in .30-30; and
- 1 Sharps Quigley Model in 45-70.

I have a pile of Lever Actions and started with a Red Ryder... in the heart if Miami, FL.



My favorite though is my Marlin (JM stamped) 1894CSS in .357 Magnum. It pairs nicely with my Ruger New Vaquero in .357 Magnum.

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Don’t forget The Rifleman with Chuck Connor. I bet that show sold a few lever guns!

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I know its probably confirmation bias, but the only person looking at long guns at Sportsmans yesterday was a 50 something guy checking out an Uberti 1873 (the only lever gun they had) while his wife looked at him with crossed arms and a raised eyebrow.

Kevin Costner's non-woke show Yellowstone was most watched show or movie last week | Daily Mail Online

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“What you got, ain’t new.”

The 1887 was also quite popular due to another movie.

I’ve got a pair. They’ll put deer on the ground.

Marlin 336 (.30-30) and Henry Big Boy (.357 Magnum)

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For woods hunting I’ve been a big fan of the Model 94 in .30-30 for about 30 years now, although I prefer the rifle pattern to the carbine pattern.

This is my favorite, a 1926 vintage Model 94 26” rifle. It’s a 1.5 MOA rifle with the tang sight.




However, I’m also a big fan of the .357 in a lever gun as well.

I have Rossi Model 92 rifles in both 20” and 24” lengths and both are 2 MOA accurate at 100 yards.





With Federal’s 158 gr JSP in either the Champion or American Eagle load it gives a muzzle velocity of 1820 FPS with 1178 ft pounds at the muzzle (enough to meet the requirements in states that require at least 1000 ft pounds of muzzle energy) and 1349 FPS and 638 ft pounds at 150 yards. With a 150 yard zero, it has a maximum mid range trajectory of +3 1/4”at 85 yards and is 4” load at 175 yards, so it’s a point blank proposition out to 150 yards with some margin for range estimation errors.

That only runs about 300 ft pounds behind the .30-30 and only gives up about 50 yards of effective range, while cutting a slightly larger hole.

I also think the non-evil (usually exempt from those laws) features of the lever action started giving them more traction a few years ago, considering that both Marlin (dark series) and Henry (X series) came out with "tactical" versions of their leverguns.

You can tell when something has become "trendy" when the gun magazines start pumping out the articles focusing on lever action "self defense" style rifles, which has increased overall interest in lever actions.

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SWCA #1830 SWHF #222

Could be but I have not watched the show and have been buying Marlins for years now. The price on them has gone up since most Remlins were never made well and then out of business.
My 58 336 30-30 here.

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When I first saw this picture I though:

That guy sure had a lot of levers.

Then I listed mine and I realized I had more lever actions than were in the picture.

I guess I have enough.

But if a nice Browning BLR comes along in 243, I'd be tempted to add another.

I have a 308 BLR and it's one of my favorites. It needs a little brother.

Then there is now a 6.5 Creedmoor BLR....

A lot of thing are probably driving the lever gun increase, from Yellowstone, to hunting season, to the loss of the garden variety the Winchester and Marlin rifles that used to be abundant and relatively cheap.
When Winchester stopping production, it drove up the 94's and took Marlins with them a few years ago, and they never been cheap since..
Who knows what will be available going forward in the next few years?
I like them myself, but at these prices, I am glad that I am not looking for any more of them.
The 30-30 has been one of my favorite calibers, and a match made in Heaven for shooting lower powered cast loads. Easy to load, cheap, accurate and lots of fun..

Yeah Yellowstone is definitely Hollywood. Fun to watch but pretty hokey. And I love to watch westerns. Probably has to do with the fact of being a 6th generation Montanan. My grandparent's ranch was located 7 miles from the Yellowstone Park boundary.

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