Best Lever Action for the UK?

New Avon Arms
Most common in the UK are rifles in gallery calibres such as .357 or .44, which will do for deer with caveats and limitations.
30-30 and 45-70 are also well known. Marlin and Winchester rifles in both calibres are plentiful, easily procured and fed.
Exotics are the Savage Model 99 and - to an extend - the BLR by Browning. The Savage was last produced in the fifties, scope mounting is more challenging, moderators a crime against firearm heritage. The 99 does come in useful calibres such as 308, it does not have a tubular magazine and you can hence load all ammunition. It's a cool rifle. I prefer the early ones in 22 Savage HP and 303 Savage. The BLR is a nice rifle and comes in useful modern calibres. Again it's magazine fed, so no need for round nose bullets. The mechanism is a pain to re-assemble and the factory trigger is US standard. If you can find one in .325 WSM, let me know as I'll have it, irrespective of the issues just mentioned. If you want to go the Winchester/Marlin route, look out for a 7/30 Waters - an excellent calibre - as well as the 307 Winchester - a 308 for lever action. Both are a match for bolt actions at sub 300. The 356 Winchester also packs plenty punch as does the 375 Win, they are great woods rifles. The 32 Winchester is a lovely round, but basically a 30-30 on an 8mm projectile. Going upward, the 348 Winchester in a great cartridge only ever made in a Model 71, which is a superb rifle. Again, production ended in the fifties.
A 7-30 Waters would be my choice if you were looking for a lever action that will cover all species in the UK. Alternative is the .307.
Good luck.
 
Andy Mauthe said:
But the original Marlins have stayed expensive here. I just wasn’t sure how many had been imported into the UK over the years
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Pistol calibre Marlins were always common here, and after the 1997 pistol ban, large numbers were imported to replace the lost handguns. As with you, prices have risen a lot especially for JMs with nice wood, the octagon barrel 'Cowboy' models and unusual ones. I bought a 44 Mag 'ported' 1894P new at a bargain price around the end of the last century. It was the best L/A shooter I ever had (50 metres range work, no field), but caused me no end of aggro as shooters on either side were spattered with burned powder particles and gasses. I traded it on for about the same as it cost me, but I saw some years back that only 10 were imported into the UK and they're now highly sought after with asking prices over £1,000.

The best Marlin I've owned out of maybe half a dozen was an early model 444S with lovely walnut and the longer barrel. Microgroove rifling not deep groove Ballard, but I never had trouble making it shoot with Berry soft lead copper electroplated bullets. A case-full of Trail Boss gave a 240gn plated bullet around 1,100 fps with mild recoil and it would group well at 100 yards shot rested. Full house 265gn Hornady JFP loads kicked just a little though. Wonderful rifle, and sold it to a mate at the rifle club who with his wife have a house full Marlins.
 
375win said:
Most common in the UK are rifles in gallery calibres such as .357 or .44, which will do for deer with caveats and limitations.
30-30 and 45-70 are also well known. Marlin and Winchester rifles in both calibres are plentiful, easily procured and fed.
Exotics are the Savage Model 99 and - to an extend - the BLR by Browning. The Savage was last produced in the fifties, scope mounting is more challenging, moderators a crime against firearm heritage. The 99 does come in useful calibres such as 308, it does not have a tubular magazine and you can hence load all ammunition. It's a cool rifle. I prefer the early ones in 22 Savage HP and 303 Savage. The BLR is a nice rifle and comes in useful modern calibres. Again it's magazine fed, so no need for round nose bullets. The mechanism is a pain to re-assemble and the factory trigger is US standard. If you can find one in .325 WSM, let me know as I'll have it, irrespective of the issues just mentioned. If you want to go the Winchester/Marlin route, look out for a 7/30 Waters - an excellent calibre - as well as the 307 Winchester - a 308 for lever action. Both are a match for bolt actions at sub 300. The 356 Winchester also packs plenty punch as does the 375 Win, they are great woods rifles. The 32 Winchester is a lovely round, but basically a 30-30 on an 8mm projectile. Going upward, the 348 Winchester in a great cartridge only ever made in a Model 71, which is a superb rifle. Again, production ended in the fifties.
A 7-30 Waters would be my choice if you were looking for a lever action that will cover all species in the UK. Alternative is the .307.
Good luck.
Click to expand...
Agreed about the Savage 99. But it was actually made up until 1998 so it had a run of 99 years (coincidence?). And the later ones came drilled and tapped for factory scope mounts. I do agree that sticking a moderator on one would be sacrilegious. And I have an early model in the original .303 Savage that I cherish. Find one in 300 Savage or .308 Winchester or .358 Winchester and you would be very well served I think.
 
375win said:
Most common in the UK are rifles in gallery calibres such as .357 or .44, which will do for deer with caveats and limitations.
30-30 and 45-70 are also well known. Marlin and Winchester rifles in both calibres are plentiful, easily procured and fed.
Exotics are the Savage Model 99 and - to an extend - the BLR by Browning. The Savage was last produced in the fifties, scope mounting is more challenging, moderators a crime against firearm heritage. The 99 does come in useful calibres such as 308, it does not have a tubular magazine and you can hence load all ammunition. It's a cool rifle. I prefer the early ones in 22 Savage HP and 303 Savage. The BLR is a nice rifle and comes in useful modern calibres. Again it's magazine fed, so no need for round nose bullets. The mechanism is a pain to re-assemble and the factory trigger is US standard. If you can find one in .325 WSM, let me know as I'll have it, irrespective of the issues just mentioned. If you want to go the Winchester/Marlin route, look out for a 7/30 Waters - an excellent calibre - as well as the 307 Winchester - a 308 for lever action. Both are a match for bolt actions at sub 300. The 356 Winchester also packs plenty punch as does the 375 Win, they are great woods rifles. The 32 Winchester is a lovely round, but basically a 30-30 on an 8mm projectile. Going upward, the 348 Winchester in a great cartridge only ever made in a Model 71, which is a superb rifle. Again, production ended in the fifties.
A 7-30 Waters would be my choice if you were looking for a lever action that will cover all species in the UK. Alternative is the .307.
Good luck.
Click to expand...
Moderators were made by Maxim with an offcenter hole so you could use open sight then he invented them. Then the US government put a 200$ tax stamp on moderators so they were not as popular any more then a new gun costed 20$. The other use for Maxims invention became standard on cars.
 
There is also a Winchester 88 lever action made in .243 .284 Win and .308 I have two 88 magazine in .284 if anyone needs them.
 
So as a complete ignorant regarding lever action rifles
A .30-30 is .30 cal bullets?
Bit have to be round nose ?

Paul
 
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If you can find one, I'm on the hunt for Henry X model in .30-30, can't find one for love nor money, couple dealers apparently have had .30-30 on back order from Viking for over a year now with no signs of that changing anytime soon.
 
sauer said:
So as a complete ignorant regarding lever action rifles
A .30-30 is .30 cal bullets?
Bit have to be round nose ?

Paul
Click to expand...
Yes .308” diameter bullets in the 30-30. And yes they need to have flat or round bullets to ensure you don’t have a chain reaction in the tubular magazine upon firing from the bullets hitting the primer of the cartridge in front of it. The one exception to this “rule” is the relatively new soft “rubber” tipped bullets by Hornady. They are made specifically for use in tubular magazines in Lever Rifles. They sell the bullets for home loaders and they sell them loaded in factory ammo under the name of Leverevolution.
 
Nobody has mentioned the Sako Finnwolf. I have only seen them in pictures but they were chambered in 243 and 308. Where there ever more than just a handful in the UK.
 
Bowland blades said:
Flat nose in a tube mag ! box mag models do exist though rare
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Yes they sure do exist. Browning BLR, Henry Long Ranger, are two that I’m aware of that are currently being produced. The Savage 99 allowed the use of pointy bullets too but they are getting harder to find. There’s also the Winchester model 1895 which uses an internal box magazine that accommodates pointy bullets too. I think you can still get one of those.
 
Andy Mauthe said:
Yes they sure do exist. Browning BLR, Henry Long Ranger, are two that I’m aware of that are currently being produced. The Savage 99 allowed the use of pointy bullets too but they are getting harder to find. There’s also the Winchester model 1895 which uses an internal box magazine that accommodates pointy bullets too. I think you can still get one of those.
Click to expand...
But i am talking about the supply of lever actions here in the UK , Not in the USA!
Here they have a market but not so many dealers and the importers are it seems Not really into bringing in guns that might gather dust .
Just getting back into an indoor range shooting and there is not a lot about and i am not too far at all from Kranks who are perhaps the biggest in this type of firearm in the uk
 
Bowland blades said:
But i am talking about the supply of lever actions here in the UK , Not in the USA!
Here they have a market but not so many dealers and the importers are it seems Not really into bringing in guns that might gather dust .
Just getting back into an indoor range shooting and there is not a lot about and i am not too far at all from Kranks who are perhaps the biggest in this type of firearm in the uk
Click to expand...
Yeah I’m sure it’s a challenge. Just like it’s a challenge here in the USA for me to get many European brands of guns. I’m currently working on getting a Heym SR21 here and basically it’s possible but it will be imported singly as Heyms are brought into the States on a per order basis. So I feel your pain. But I admit that Lever Action rifles are plentiful here and I in fact have several from Savage, Marlin (the original Marlin) and Winchester (the original Winchester). I have a nice Marlin in 30-30 that I would gladly sell but I would have no idea how the export/import process works. But I’m sure it’s possible.
 
I shot a Marlin .444 lever action for red deer in Scotland, with home loads it met all the requirements and stopped the largest red stags very well out to 200 yards, seems like it’s nearly obsolete now with so many new straight wall cartridges.
 
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