New lever rifles

[TheTinMan]

Suprised no one has mentioned the king of lever action rifles. The Savage 99.
Here is one from 1952 an EG in .300 Savage.



The only company to make Marlin lever action rifles is….well…Marlin. Not Ruger not Remington. Marlin. Everything else is a clone.



Lever guns are not plastic posers trying to be an AR.
YMMV

There is no doubt that the Savage 99 is a wonderful, classic lever action rifle.

I respectfully disagree with you about the Mayodan-made Marlins being “clones” and inferior in some way. A pre-1956 Marlin is a different animal from anything made later, including JM marked models, that is true. The same way that a pre-model number Smith & Wesson or a pre-1961 Colt were hand-fitted, unlike later manufacturing regardless of who/what owned Colt or S&W at the time. Are my Model 66s or my .44 Classic Hunter “clones” of Smith & Wessons? No, but they aren’t the same quality as my .357 Combat Magnum or 1956 .44 Magnum either.

Frankly I was surprised that Ruger didn’t use investment casting for the new Marlin receiver, but they did not. Still forged. The design is unchanged since Marlin added the cross-bolt safety in 1983. The barrels are hammer forged now. That simply is a superior process in terms of consistency and accuracy, and there’s no more of that “micro groove” rifling nonsense. (Microgroove rifling was a cost cutting measure in the 1950s.). The ejector is made of better metal - that part was such trash in some Marlins 2 or 3 companies made aftermarket replacements.

All that said, I would love to get one or more pre-56 Marlins. It will have to wait until after I find the Registered Magnum and pre-64 Winchester Model 70 of my dreams though.

 

[SS336]

There is no doubt that the Savage 99 is a wonderful, classic lever action rifle.

I respectfully disagree with you about the Mayodan-made Marlins being “clones” and inferior in some way.

I’m sorry you read into what I said that they were “inferior in some way”.
That’s not what I meant. I meant that they were not Marlins.
Anymore than a Uberti single action is a Colt single action.
Any firearm made today might or might not be better made, even by the same company.
Pre and post lock S&W’s for an example.
Didn’t mean to disrespect you or your Mayodan-made Marlin.

 

[ISCS Yoda]

For the record, "replica" is a far better term than "clone". If you literally "cloned" a Colt SAA is would not say "Uberti" it would say "Colt". Etc.

And I venture to say that this is about as incorrect as it gets:

And it's not the cowboy action shooters. They keep cowboy costumes and handlebar mustaches alive, that's it.

I'd wager that the volume of sales of lever rifles to cowboy action shooters, particularly in pistol calibers, far, far exceeds such sales to any other market. Probably the same for single-action revolvers and coach guns, too.

 

[Dvus]

I am a traditional lever action fan to the extent that the only Henry I would consider is the original 1860 or modern replica. However, the modern variations work for many people and I would never begrudge them their choice to have what they want. But I will never be seen pairing a Glock with any of my lever guns. That's what Colts are for.