lever gun

[Will York]

I inherited a model 88 Winchester in .308. Haven't seen one of those mentioned. 5 round detachable magazine; .243, .308 or .358. A curious mix between a traditional lever action and a modern bolt action.

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Like the M99 Savage with its rotary magazine, the M88 Winchester's box magazine allows the use of cartridges with spitzer bullets--a major advantage. I always liked the M88 and the semi-auto version M100. The introduction of the .284 Winchester round in that format was a match made in heaven--as close to a lever-action .270 as ever was made. Always thought it was a shame the design--and that cartridge--fell out of favor. The main physical drawback to the M88/M100 in my mind was the weight of the receiver which was a heavier, more massive piece of steel than that of the Model 94 (also a factor with the Model 99 Savage). Both the Savage and the M88/M100 also have very long lever throws compared with the M94. But possibly the biggest disadvantage of both the M88/M100 and the Savage 99 was that they never enjoyed the huge popularity of the M94's fostered by the movie industry.

 

[medicnatt]

If you can find one, a Winchester 1894 model 357. if not a 3030 would be fine too.

 

[Garth Reckner]

Hi, not a Busse owner (yet) but I happened upon this thread..

Here's my Marlin 1895MR in .450 Marlin I had WWG do some work on about 7-8 years ago. Shortened barrel to 16.5", BB stainless finish, and ported. Added a big loop lever, ghost ring rear sight, hooded front sight, forward rail for long eye-relief scope (Leupold fixed 2.5x), trigger work. One of my favorite rifles! Lost a little velocity by cutting down the barrel, but still getting 1600 & 1800 FPS w/ 420 and 405 grain bullets - which is more than enough

Very nice. I can see why it is one of your favorites.

Garth