On lever's and pump actions

VertigoBE · Nov 24, 2025

Dear AH friends,
Seeing a recently started thread on pump rifles, and having read many threads on lever rifles, one topic always comes up, when adding big calibers into the mix: "Lever or pump action rifles do no have a strong enough action, for the .375 and up calibers".

I've always wondered about why this would be? Imagine any straight pull rifle, for example the venerable Blaser R8. What would be the difference in operating the bolt with a lever or pump slide, instead of the side attached bolt "lever". As far as I can tell, no part of the strength of the bolt mating and locking into the barrel, is coming from how the bolt is being operated. It comes from the locking lugs in one form or the other.

Perhaps someone can explain to my simple mind, why no one ever built something like this? The R8 and many other straight pull rifles have more than proven to be strong enough to be used with up to .50 calibers (.500 Jeffery). What if the bolt assembly would move forward and back, not due to a "lever" attached to the side, but rather operated like a levergun, or a pump action of sorts?

This is mostly an academic question (the answer being that there is not much demand for such) but it still begs the question why no one technically could do this.

Looking forward to your input!

V.

Ridge Runner · Saturday at 3:51 PM

A good question. Since today's available materials are much stronger.

A few months ago I got back into lever guns, original production Winchester and Marlin, and really hadn't much thought about why no big calibers in a lever gun.

Browning produced the BLR in various high power, (30-06, 270, etc,) bottle neck calibers with a detached box magazine for North America big game hunters.

Marlin lever actions are considered to be much stronger than Winchester lever actions using modern smokeless powders.

And then there is Henry firearms claims to have a strong lever action design.

I can only hypothetise that it has to do with the lever action design.

The locking lugs are behind the bolt, and the bolt is straight face versus having the locking lugs at the front of the bolt that lock the bolt at the chamber as the bolt is rotated.

When lever actions were first introduced black powder was still the prominent powder. There was a smokeless black powder but it isn't the same smokeless powder that was being developed in the late mid ~1880ish.

I have original Winchester 1892 and 1894 both manufactured to handle both black powder and the new (1880's) smokeless powder. From what information I have found is that lever actions prior to 1894-96 time frame had weaker locking lugs. From 1894 to current production lever actions have stronger locking lugs, but are still located at the rear of the bolt/action making for a weaker design than the rotating bolt design.

skydiver386 · Saturday at 5:24 PM

You are absolutely correct that the locking lugs and their recesses or seats are the determining factor in an actions strength, not how the action is operated.

My guess is that pump's, like lever rifles, slowly lost popularity because they were perceived to be less accurate than bolt action rifles.

Once the bolt action became the standard Military rifle in most countries, and refinements made civilian bolt action rifles reliable and accurate, the pump and lever rifles declined in popularity.

roklok · Saturday at 6:02 PM

To answer your question in the simplest way, it is possible. Just like you hypothesized, if you added a Rube Goldberg type sliding fore-end and a linkage rod to the bolt handle to a Blaser R8 you would have a pump action capable of handling some of the largest DG cartridges. Or do the same to a Beretta BRX1 type action with rotating bolt. The part of the equation missing would be means of holding the action closed until the round is fired, adding a pump action to a Blaser R8 would require you not to exert any rearward force on pump handle until you fire, otherwise bolt would be unlocked out of battery if action is cocked. Pump actions have a action bar that locks the action until hammer drops. Adding a lever would not necessitate an action lock, as the user naturally holds the lever shut during the firing process.

Browning built/builds lever actions (BLR) and pump actions (BPR) in belted magnum cartridges, one of these could be built in .416 Taylor or .458 WM. It certainly is possible, the question is would it sell ?

skydiver386 · Sunday at 9:47 AM

roklok said:
To answer your question in the simplest way, it is possible. Just like you hypothesized, if you added a Rube Goldberg type sliding fore-end and a linkage rod to the bolt handle to a Blaser R8 you would have a pump action capable of handling some of the largest DG cartridges. Or do the same to a Beretta BRX1 type action with rotating bolt. The part of the equation missing would be means of holding the action closed until the round is fired, adding a pump action to a Blaser R8 would require you not to exert any rearward force on pump handle until you fire, otherwise bolt would be unlocked out of battery if action is cocked. Pump actions have a action bar that locks the action until hammer drops. Adding a lever would not necessitate an action lock, as the user naturally holds the lever shut during the firing process.

Browning built/builds lever actions (BLR) and pump actions (BPR) in belted magnum cartridges, one of these could be built in .416 Taylor or .458 WM. It certainly is possible, the question is would it sell ?

A pump or lever in a capable African DG caliber could certainly be built on one of the Browning actions. Although not 100% technically correct, I've always thought of the Browning actions as a having a Weatherby MKV bolt, so the strength is there. These rifles were factory chambered in magnum cartridges and had a magnum bolt face, extractor, ejector, etc., so it should be technically possible.

With an experienced shooter, a pump or lever rifle in a DG caliber would be faster on the second and third shots than any bolt gun.

The question that's already been asked is, with the momentum so firmly in favor of the bolt action, could a pump or lever rifle make any headway in the DG market?

roklok · Sunday at 11:18 AM

Same for the Remington 760, lockup is very strong with the multi-lug artillery style bolt and they are chambered in modern high pressure cartridges. A scaled up version of the 760 in dangerous game cartridges would certainly work, probably not financially feasible however.

Another rifle with possibilities is the Krieghoff Semprio, it is also available in belted magnum chamberings. It is a "reverse" pump action, and should also be able to be modified for DG cartridges.

On lever's and pump actions

VertigoBE

Ridge Runner

skydiver386

roklok

skydiver386

roklok

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