A Call to Lever-Action

I recently got back from a road trip across the Western states; Montana, Idaho, Oregon, and Washington. It was a great trip through a beautiful part of the country. The rockies, and the plains, all the gorges and buttes had me half convinced, half pretending, I was the Duke in a Spaghetti Western. Then again, nothing snaps you out of a cowboy daydream like passing a Hooters on the lone prairie.  The Wild West isn't what it used to be, which isn't necessarily a bad thing, but it did get me thinking about a quote I recently read in Field & Stream.

They may have been intrepid, but the homesteaders sure weren't very clever. This mountain in MT is named Pinnacle Peak.

A letter to the editor complained about a recent review of several rifles, all of them bolt-actions. The author of the article defended his choices with a very astute observation "this is a bolt-action nation. It has been for a long time." I don't think anyone could argue with this statement, but I do think it is indicative of a problem in our gun culture.

Ask any hunter or marksman what action is most reliable and at least ninety percent of them will tell you a bolt-action. The key feature being a bolt-action's consistency in gripping the rim and positioning the round. Bolt-Actions also tend to have fewer problems than semi-autos or lever-actions (tube-fed at least) when it comes to jamming. But the greatest single reason people love their bolt-actions (myself included) is accuracy. Bolt-actions have long been held to be the most accurate of rifles, and they have made their mark on shotguns as well, being a popular choice amongst turkey hunters and slug-gunners. All good marks considered, I still believe we deeply over value bolt-actions, and for one reason, our gun culture has a hollow foundation.

These days who has time to go out plinking with the .22 every weekend? Hell, who can legally shoot a gun within 20 miles of where they live? Not so many people anymore. But shooting small calibre rifles is still undoubtedly the best (not to mention cheapest) way of improving your abilities as a shooter. There is a severe lack of repetition, practice, and development of muscle-memory, amongst a large base of the hunting population. They learn to shoot, they sight-in at the start of the season, and they make up for their own shooting inadequacies with tech.

Sub-MOA, free floating barrels, mega scopes, are all fantastic advancements in gun technology, but for as much as we covet these features in a new rifle, how many of us are actually accurate enough shots to truly appreciate the difference? As our guns have gotten more accurate we are able to rely on them more, and many of us have gotten sloppy and remiss with our skills.

This is where the Wild Wild West comes in, I want to see more lever-actions. Classic 'True-Grit' lever-actions with buckhorn sights. Why? Because few guns look so good, work so long, and teach you to shoot as well as a lever-action with irons. The lever-action is still a very reliable rifle, it won't correct your mistakes for you, but it will teach you to shoot better. There are a lot of fine .22 lever actions out there as well. Henry Repeating Arms (which patented the first repeating rifle in 1860) makes several great models, particularly the Henry Golden Boy, that perform great and don't wear out the wallet. Browning and Marlin also make some very nice small caliber lever-actions, although I've not tried either myself.

The Henry Golden Boy. Offered in .22 LR & Magnum, Walnut stock, brass plate, $500.

Don't mistake me, I dote on the accuracy of rifles as much as any other gun nut, but learning the basic skills of shooting are just as vital to making a long shot as a scope. Truthfully, how often do any of us take 300 yard shots? Considering skill-level and tech-capability, there aren't that many shots over 250 that I would take, for me it's a question of sportsmanship and humane behavior.

Instead of always focusing on the accuracy of our guns, lets focus on our own accuracy, so when that really long shot comes we can take it confidently. Plus, everyone looks good with a lever-action.