lever action work expensive help..

[REVL33]

ok I'm picking up my 1894 in 357. tomorrow and if any of you have followed my thread on the search for a lever action you will know I wanted this rifle as defensive carbine as my #1 reason for buying as I live in ca and will not own any nuetered self loading any thing until laws change or I move I have two 357. revolvers so I'm sticking to keeping the only caliber for now.

my question for all of you in lever land I would like to make this rifle more on the tactical side I know bad word around these parts but find doing so is very expensive if I send it off to wildwest guns or grizzly to have the work done I don't have that kind of money around heck it was hard enough to fund the purchase alone.

here is what I would like I don't like blue guns at all so I would like to have it refinished in a black duracoat or something very durable and corrossion resistant #2 synthetic stocks in black with pistol grip style #3 some good sights like skinner or ghost ring #4 and last but not least just reliable real simple works everytime rifle is there any work I could do myself to keep cost down or parts I could buy and install myself ive searched the webs and it's tough to find stocks and parts that don't cost a small fortune.

any and all help is appreciated ideas links services stuff you've done yourself that might help.

 

[jimmyj]

K.I.S.S.
Why not leave it "as is". A "Lever" has worked from the factory "as Is"
for over 150 years. Put your extra coins toward ammo.

 

[kwselke]

The idea of a pistol grip tactical plastic stock on a 1894 seems like it would make the thing difficult to grip and cycle. I'm with jimmyj, leave as is.

 

[Faulkner]

I don't particularly like ghost ring sights for low light situations, you might want to check on that.

Aftermarket synthetic stocks are available . . . try Cabela's or Brownell's.

 

[DeadAye]

A pistol grip on a lever gun would just slow cycling down considerably....
The 1894 platform works great as is so why try to mess it up?

 

[ladder13]

I use Skinner sights on my levers, they're much easier to focus on for me and improved my shooting leaps and bounds over the factory sights. Scopes don't look right on lever guns, imo.

 

[redhawk]

+1
XS has ghost ring sights if you want them. But as Jimmyi said, its worked well for many years and under some very difficult conditions. Blueing and wood stocks hold up just fine. Put your money into ammo and practice, its the guy pulling the trigger that's important.

 

[doublesharp]

why try to re-invent the wheel?

 

[REM 3200]

Lots of range time will "slick up" the action. I would add a red-dot rather than a ghost ring sight.

 

[Bullet Bob]

It's the fashion among the younger set to change everything as soon as they get it - not just guns, but watches, phones, anything and everything.

I'm okay with that, it's your money and property, do what you want.

But most of the things you mention will lower the value, but that may not matter to you. Personally, I'd put a fixed 2x Leopold on it and shoot it for a while before making any changes.

 

[Grayfox]

Shoot it first. Then make only the changes you feel are absolutely necessary. Who knows, you just might be happy with it as it is.

 

[Wingmaster]

Spray paint?

Wingmaster

 

[redlevel]

Get the Skinner sights, or not.
Forget everything else.
Spend your money on ammo.
Shoot a bunch.
The 1894 is a wonderful platform for aimed,
effective fire as is, either in the traditional calibers,
or most any of the pistol calibers.

 

[buck460XVR]

Shouda bought the Mossberg.......

 

[Cpo1944]

The .357 lever guns are relatively rare and hard to find, why molest a fine rifle? I`m In the leave it alone camp. Protect the finish with a good coat of wax , buy a bunch of ammo and practice practice practice. PS the Skinner sight is a good option.

 

[RonJ]

I have put XS sights on mine. The basic sight serves well as a ghost ring. I ordered a Merits adjustable aperture which screws into the XS which works better in bright light. A LER scope tops it off which makes it about as TACTICAL as I want.
If traditionalists harumpf about the scope that's ok. I need it to see. The XS sights are a nice back up. Short of the caliber I think Colonel Cooper would be pleased!

 

[redlevel]

If traditionalists harumpf about the scope that's ok.

HARUMPF!!

I get the part about needing it to see, but that scope just don't look natch'ul on a lever gun.

Here's my Marlin with Skinner sights. Thing is, I shoot my Winchester 94 Trapper in .45 Colt just as well with the factory sights. I do like the Skinner sight with the large aperture, though. It doesn't look like a camel's hump on a mule, either.
(I'm just kidding, RonJ)

 

[gregintenn]

Tactical and lever rifles don't mix.

At most, I'd get a Williams Foolproof receiver sight. Anything else you do will just be wasting money and ruining a classic and nearly perfect rifle.

 

[Mule Packer]

REVL33, if you're mind is made up, there probably isn't a heckuva lot I can say to change it. But...here's my two cents worth, and it might not even be worth that much...but you asked for opinions, so here goes.

First off, the lever action platform is probably what can be considered as one of the first (if not the first) tactical assault rifles.

In my mind, it is still a very viable assault rifle for a couple of reasons. First, it's lightweight. Second, it's maneuverable. Third, it has a relatively high magazine capacity. (My 1894 pictured below will handle twelve .357 cartridges in the magazine.) Fourth, with practice, you can fire it almost as fast (if not as fast) as a semi-auto. Fifth, it doesn't look like the proverbial "Zombie Apocalypse" gun.

Here's a model 92 Trapper in .45 Colt. It has an eight-shot capacity. It's in stainless and the only thing I modified on it was that I had it bead-blasted. It's my truck gun and in the years that it's ridden in the back seat of my truck or in a scabbard on the side of my saddle horse, I've never felt under-gunned.

Maybe they don't look like the black plastic tactical assault rifles we've all come to recognize, but I've always felt that the bottom line is how well the gun does it's job.

Of course, you probably knew all that stuff anyway, or you wouldn't have chosen the lever action platform in the first place. I guess I'm just sayin', if it ain't broke...don't fix it.

There y'go...just my view from the saddle.

 

[Alpo]

I'm curious.

Everyone, or so it seems to me, thinks by "pistol grip" you mean an AR15-type stock.

Is that what you want, or are you looking for something like a Black Shadow?