56 Replies to “Bolt action or lever? Discuss”

  1. Bolt action is good for a steady hand and nimble fingers.
    Lever action is sexy, you may say, though it disturbs your aim altogether out of whack.

  4. That is a great rifle,
    I have both bolt & lever, and depending on where and what I’m hunting I use all of them.
    They don’t make the Savage 99 anymore so its a great catch.

  5. How about one of each, with the bolt being the 99’s sibling, the Model 110?

  6. I agree that the 99 is the best rifle ever designed. It’s lever action provides the capability of a quick second and third shot at near the rate of a semi-auto with reliability the SA never had. Good bear medicine should you be the victim of their usual ambush attack.
    The rifle was designed around the .300 Savage, the cartridge the military copied when they created the 7.62X54. I have no evidence to back this accusation up except that the .300 is identical to the 7.62 except for neck length and perhaps slight shoulder angle differences. The 99 is the first lever action to be able to use a spire point bullet giving it the range Darcy talks about.
    The earlier version had a rotary magazine which included a side port where a counter indicated the number of rounds loaded. The rifle was also chambered for the famous Savage 22 Hi-Power. The first of the hi-velocity varmint calibers.

  7. I personally prefer a bolt as when the drama comes in you are not taking away too much focus while reloading. Like it is there.
    I’m still learning to shoot the lever and I’m not fast by any means as I find you pull the rifle away from your cheek.
    Most important, is the resultant.

  8. Large cal. lever carbine for thick woodland hunting. Bolt for the open fields because nothing is as good for longer accurate shots like a good quality bolt action.

  9. Ummm…you should have several of both. Buy a gun…piss off a liberal. I get a warm fuzzy feeling everytime I buy a rifle or shotgun knowing that it is deeply disturbing to some commie in Toronto.

  10. Hey johnboy – good one – nothing better than pissing off Liberals and commies in Toronto. Ottawa too!!

  12. Cjunk: the 99 is not the usual lever action. It is as accurate as a bolt action and at least three times faster. No need to remove the trigger hand to work the action or remove the rifle from your cheek. All these rifles have too heavy a recoil to stay on target through a shot. Need a pipsqueak such as the 5.56 NATO for that.

  15. I have my Dad’s old “99” .300. She is about 75 years old and a thing of beauty. Rotary mag etc. She hangs in there with a 7MM Magnum ballistic wise or a .303 etc. The 800 yard shots are dreaming in technocolour. Definately will handle a Black Bear, but stay away from Grizzly Mama’s unless you sneak up and get the first one in real good.

  16. We should not be discussing this in public. It will create an ugly mess with all the lefty heads exploding.

  17. We have a German GEW 98 at the cottage..made in 1916 and it is still a tack hammer; accurate, dependable and the Mauser action is dream.
    Don’t over look a good, inexpensive mil surplus rifle..

  18. 8mm Schnauser, GEW 98 with roller coaster sights and the loooong barrel. Reach out and explode something.
    But then I don’t hunt, so I never had to hump it for miles and miles. I did carry the FN C1 for miles, I think a nice light lever action would be a lot easier.
    Nice thing about the lever over the bolt gun, its easier to carry on a horse.

  19. Compelling arguments. Still partial to the b-a Enfield, however that could change after bedding the lever 99 a few times.
    My choice would be to wed two or three of each.
    😉

  20. For hunting, lever actions are great, even the old Winchester 94 has got a new lease on life since nosler invented soft pointed bullets. They are way more accurate than the old round nose, needed in the tubular mag. Lever actions never caught on with the military because they are more difficult to use in the prone position, more prone to dirt and mechanically more complicated. My current love is Rem 700 XCR in .308. Heavy barrel, Macmillan stock, adjustable trigger, blackened stainless steel, bipod. My only complaint is that it fiddly to load because the ejection port is a bit short. If I had any spare money, I think the best all purpose rifle you can get in post C68 Canada is a Springfield Armories M1A. I think they bought the rights/tools from the government for the military M14, which is what it is. Beautiful to shoot, accurate, lots of firepower. Chinese knock offs are cheaper, and apparently not too bad, but I wouldn’t get one one principle.

  21. Holy mackerel. I couldn’t get a 1-inch group at ONE hundred yards with my .308 model 99, even if I had put it in a vice.

  22. That Savage lever is a strong action……with a magazine allowing pointy bullets…
    Me I have a weakness for martini actions……
    Yeah I know single shot….and I know Custer’s crowd didn’t fare well against all the indians in the world riding in on them with Winchesters (stupid left the Gatlings behind)…..But those 45:70s did a fine job for Reno and Bentine’s associates….they kept all those same indians at the bottom of that hill.
    The lads at Rooke’s drift left a lasting impression on the Zulu impi’s using Martini-Henry’s.
    Earlier the Turks at Plevna….using US built Peabodys (the basis for all the Martini’s) reached out and slaughtered a $hitload of Russians before providing a “teachable momment” with short range Winchester 44rimfires.
    The Ruger #1 is a fine example but with the after market trigger discontinued….it is now really a pricey, but fine wall ornament…..unless you get connected with a guy with a fine stone, a steady hand and a lota talent.
    It makes no sense…why built a long range smoke pole with a lousy trigger….it’s like making and selling a dull knife…..
    SA versus lever…..mostly an ammo issue….both can be fussy about dimensions and loads….
    There is nothing magical about the 308/7.62 NATO….30 cal, short neck, fairly short cartridge, rimless….all factors favouring use in automatics…..the legendary BREN is still cranking—converted to .308…..originaly a Czech gun it was first designed for the rimless Mauser 8mm…..

  24. I love my .32 Winchester lever. But I prefered my grandfather’s bolt Lee-Enfield whenever he let me use it.
    But give me an FN FAL 🙂

  25. Neither!!!
    The best rifle for the sporting gentleman is none other than the manly Ruger No.1 – chambered to your preference.
    This breechloading antisonofab*tch machine is handsome, and evokes the glory days of sporting rifles!
    Mind you I am ten pounds of chit in a 5 lb. bag on such matters, so your mileage may vary.

  27. I had a 99. It was a strong action and very accurate. However I found that reloading brass should be kept to no more than two or three firings because of head separation. Actually, there are many factory loadings readily available for the .308 everywhere in Sask. Not really much savings in reloading.

  28. good on ya
    a tool is only as good as the tool holding it!
    My son got his first moose in a canola field near perdue last fall with a late ’50’s rotary mag 308 99.
    Shot it 3 times with 180gr sp’s and I thought he missed from 60yrds. grabbed the 99 to reload and waffled on “do i shoot or do I let him miss again?” when it fell over dead standing. 3 shots to the boiler. pretty happy 15yr old considering he skunked me!
    cheers and good hunting

  29. @Phantom: I miss the FNC1A1. /sigh Whatever happened to all of them when CF went to the C7? Did the Liberals all melt them down and make paperweights?

  30. Couple other levers I would consider are the winchester model 88 and the brownning blr. Both have non-tubular mags like the savage and are thus designed to fire “pointy” bullets.
    I have a blr in 308 and love it…easy to cycle and smooth. Handy little gun.
    My favourite though is my model 70 (FN) featherweight deluxe in 30/06. THe featherweight is one of those rifles that just seems to have everything right. Gorgeous, hunting accurate, and so on. The riflemans rifle.

  31. Buy them all, but when the grid fails, and the psycho-bikers come for your family, a military bolt action is the most reliable weapon you will ever get your hands on. Have one of each; an SMLE, a Mauser 98, and Mosin. They have killed every kind of game out there. The ammo is cheap and widely available so are the rifles. No excuse for not being prepared for armagedon. T

  32. When I first got married, I bought a Model 99 308 Savage. The wife (now ex) thought it was too much money, so I sold it, bought her a “Sanyo” stereo, and used what was left buy a Winchester 94. (30-30.)
    That was OK then, I was 26. Today, I don’t hunt too much. I will however someday own a 99. My favorite all time “weapon” is my Remington “wingmaster.” 12 guage.

  33. The Savage 99 is a totally under respected sporting arm. It was the first short throw lever action with a rotary clip and decently reamed and chambered barrels. Made for spitzer point rounds it was the first quick action repeating rifle chambered for high speed loads that fit nicely in a saddle boot.
    I had one givento me by my uncle. It was built in the 30s and chambered for the 250 savage round. Best little white tail and varmint gun I ever owned. Fun to shoot >> Fast, good accuracy and you could get a quick follow up shot without moving the front sight too far off target. Wish I had it now as a collector’s piece.

  34. One more vote for bolt.
    My “cold dead hands” rifle is a Mauser model98 in 30-06 Springfield, and NO, it’s not one of the ubiquitous military surplus Mausers, it’s the real hand-made deal. Incredibly, I got it at an auction I stumbled upon. Then I had to take it home on the subway, at the same time as everyone was taking the subway to the football game so it was packed. Not much conversation on that subway car…

  35. Still have my Savage 99 (.308 win)! Great gun and has taken more deer than any other I own. Has been parked for several years now in favor of some new tricks, but I’ll never get rid of it, and it will definitely see the field again.
    Nice post.

  36. As far as bolt action verses lever verses semi Auto – It all depends on your application. The Savage 99 I own has killed more deer than I care to admit, but it has never shot a deer twice! One ran about 20 feet once. I go with Jim on a Ruger number one for pure deer hunting. The Savage has always been a beautifully balanced, quick pointing, LIGHT rifle to pack and kick around. You can’t go wrong with it or anything you like and can stick some copper within a few inches of where your aiming.
    I can get sub 1″ groups with a couple of bolt actions I own, but none have killed deer any faster than the old 99.
    If hunting Elk or Sheep especially at any serious distance, out comes the .300 win mag in bolt action.

  37. End of the world situation – needs a “battery of Arms”.
    Obviously semi auto is king for barricade verses zombies situation. Ammo needs to be plenty.
    Bolt Action for sustenance hunting. (always include .22 rimfire & shotgun in inventory).
    Shotgun, pistol – home invasion.
    Lever, semi auto carbine – scouting, patrolling.
    All of the above to arm your idiot friends who didn’t ever own one to add defensive parimeter & hunting partners! Strength in numbers.

  38. @saskatoon
    “do i shoot or do I let him miss again?”
    Heh, I remember my dad saying to me 35 years ago that he was thinking the same thing. But in my case, I’d missed twice. Hey, iron sights! He shot and took the 4-pt white tail down in the heart. Scared the bejeezus out of me. Then he explained his thought processes…
    I didn’t get my first one until the next year, with the .32 lever Winnie.

  40. For the Armageddon situations the ammo is more important than the gun. Have something that shoots .308 Win and something that fires .223 Rem. In .223 get a Ruger Mini 14. Its not the greatest gun but its cheap and not restricted of prohibited. I used to have a Steyr AUG, now the property of Allen Rock. I have to content myself with a Remington 700 VTR, which is a nice little heavy barrel job. Its handy, and robust enough to use as a club if you have to.

  42. I like both, I grew up using the old man’s .30-30 lever, a good coyote killer. My current favorite is a .270 Winchester, easier on the shoulder than some of the larger calibers. A 12 gauge is still the best choice for taking out skunks etc. around the yard, less chance of collateral damage!

  43. @karthanon I missed the FNC1A1 as well when we switched to the C7. There were a few sold for a few years as surplus until Bill C68 came down and squelched any further sales of military semi-automatic rifles. A few might still be around that were grandfathered but that’s about it.

  44. Karthanon
    “@Phantom: I miss the FNC1A1. /sigh Whatever happened to all of them when CF went to the C7? Did the Liberals all melt them down and make paperweights?”
    No accounting for peoples tastes. The usual elements likely had a psycho-sexual experience scrapping them.
    The C1 was perhaps the worst member of the vast, global familly of FALs.
    It’s main failing was the flame cut receiver which prematurely cracked…..only in Canada..pity.
    Meanwhile the Canadian made C7 is in a field all it’s own. A fully developed M16 Armalite with a hammer forged barrel and many upgrades.
    That said the C7 is a maintainence nightmare with the “Armalite system” gas tube fouling the breech area/lockwork. A piston short or long is vastly superior.
    The FAL is a heavy, awkward load much like the Thompson smg but if you do succeed in getting it to the party is a good dancer.

  45. I love my .308 Browning Lever Rifle (BLR). Nothing makes a coyote run faster than 5′ gouts of dirt flying up behind it’s ass…
    But on the other hand I love my bolt action .30-06 Steyr prohunter. The massive bolt makes a nice soft “click” when the lugs engage. A true Deer Slayer!

  46. Yep, the Savage 99 is a pretty nice looking rifle that I have admired many times but haven’t had space for. Darcey, I wish you many successful hunts with the 99. As for myself,being raised a dedicated bird hunter with the 870 Wingmaster, the pump-action Remington 760 was always what I thought would be my big game rifle.However between the economy of starting on a .303 lee-enfield and then a couple of seasons with a Win 94, and finally a steal of a deal on a BSA bolt action in .30-06, I haven’t made the switch to pump action. Plus, its real hard to beat the dependability of most bolt action high powered rifles.

  47. Gunney99 at August 31, 2010 9:27 PM: Nope. I’ve shot 99s extensively and they can’t group anywhere near what a respectable bolt can, especially after about 2 barrel warming shots. The 99 is quick for sure, short, and weighted nicely towards the back which makes it a nice bush gun.
    Another problem with the 99 is that ejecting a chambered round is messy … you literally have to eject it. Sucks in heavy winter clothing and snow.
    But over-all a very underrated rifle, with a very nice price tag.

  48. I’m going to take notes although rifles don’t hold much interest for me, like say, a Pentax K-7 DSLR or a Chevy Corvette Gran Sport. On the other hand, archery is compelling. How should one get started? I was a natural in high school but the bow was so lightweight, suspect repeating that success with a compound will be more than a challenge.

  50. Mazzuchelli: Archery can be very expensive but … challenging, and incredibly rewarding. The internet is full of sites that’ll get you started. Be sure to do your reading before you go shopping so you don’t get ripped off. For the greatest challenge, stick to recurves.

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