Where are all my Cowboy Action shooters- Question for you

[USSA-1]

Okay guys, I need some help.

I'm in the market for a nice lever action rifle.  I'm leaning towards a pistol caliber (44 mag./ 45 Long Colt), but I have no idea about quality, reliability, durability, or smoothness of action.

Recently, I've noticed a lot of new players (Uberti, Navy Arms, Cimarron arms, USAF, Taurus etc.) other than the traditional Marlin and Winchester. 

Which ones should I consider and which ones should I stay away from?  Also, any thoughts on needed gunsmith work would be appreciated.

Additionally, any thoughts on the pump actions rifles (I think it's a Colt Lightening?)  They would seem to be a more natural choice considering the pump action nature of shotguns.

Thanks,
USSA-1

[Hazcat]

Puma 92 and Steves Gunz http://stevesgunz.com/ are all you need to know.

Caliber?  Cowboys shoot mostly .38.  Hunting / defense I say .44.  I have a .454 / 45 that is a real thumper with the .454 and real mild with cowboy 45 and with reload .45 pretty much anything you want.

[twyacht]

PUMA! ask Ksail, and Haz, and me in about 3 weeks.

The new, 44-40, Uberti's, and a Sharp's duplicate,  and/or 45/70, when you care enough to send the very best.

A whole variety available, I'm glad to see you don't just shoot on the "dark side"..

http://www.navyarms.com/html/66_-73_rifles.html

I like the 1873 Winchester Deluxe Border Model in 44-40, the best of the iron sights. IMHO. AND when you need to send "a big piece of lead" to the target.

[Hazcat]

Michael B has a Puma as well.  I believe he also uses Steves Gunz to slick 'em up.

[Majer]

USSA-1
 You won't go wrong with an older Rossi 92 once it has been slicked up. I agree with the others on having "Steve's Guns" do the work. They are great guns, reliable and accurate. You might want to keep your eye open for a Browning B-92 in .44 mag, They are great out of the box, But a little pricey and getting harder to find.I would recommend you stay away from the pump action rifles (Colt Lightning copies) I have heard a lot of people who have them aren't very happy with them.
 Hope this helps, Just holler if you have any more questions.

[Sponsor]

[Grizzle_Bear]

The Rossi/Puma is a great gun. The one I have never needed any "slicking up" it was good out of the box.  It is a .44-40.

The Winchester 94 is likewise good in .44 Magnum.  Mine has the John Wayne big loop lever, and yes, you can spin it around and work the action with one hand. 

If you want something more traditional, the toggle-link guns (Henry, 1866 and 1873) will do you well. All made by Uberti/Beretta.  They have their idiosyncrasies, being particular about overall cartridge length, and needing to be levered firmly.  The .44-40 cartridge was designed for the 1873.

My best advice to you is to stay away from any rifle in .45Colt.  The cartridge doesn't have enough rim for reliable extraction.

Grizzle Bear

20 years a cowboy shooter
Senator, National Congress of Old West Shootists

[Rastus]

OK...all good.  Now, how about something with a magazine?   You are likely cutting the length back to a carbine or SBR and, yes, I thought they never were really pretty, but how about a Browning BLR? 

With the BLR you have the advantage of :

1)  Magazine fed.  Have a custom mag designed and built (start a trend) with lots of capacity.
2)  Many, many calibers, expand to .243, .308, 7MM 08, etc.
3)  Easier to convert to an SBR.  No tube to deal with.
4)  They can be had in take down models.

Whaddya' think?

[USSA-1]

Browning makes a fine rifle, but I intended to stay with the pistol calibers.

I've already got a Marlin 45-70 lever action for my rifle and I like the "high capacity" of the pistol caliber magazine tubes.

Grizzle_Bear,

No 45 Colt? Really?  I'd never thought of the 45 LC not having enough case rim.  Looks like it's 44 mag time.

What about the 454 Casull?  Anybody chamber a lever action for this?

USSA-1

[Hazcat]

I have a PUMA .454 Casull.  FUN to shoot and you will never feel 'under gunned'.  It also fires the .45Colt.  I have had no problems with it cycling either round. 

[Walter45Auto]

If you're considering A Marlin, you can't go wrong. My dad had an old Rossi 92 in .45 Colt that was awesome. Rossi is Puma now, so assuming the quality hasn't changed, I'd think they'd be good ones. Next levergun I want to get is a Puma 454. I want one with a 16 in barrel and large loop lever. (What can I say? I'm a John Wayne fan!)