Let's see some Big Bore Lever Guns

The 375 win in the 94 big bore was my truck gun in Alaska .Friends had killed moose and grizzly bears with theirs .I had 300 gr round nose fmj bullets for first shot bear loads .A couple of guys I knew had shot wild buffalo with theirs in Alaska .The 375 win in a carbine has the same energy as a 14 inch 375 jdj pistol which JDJones killed elephants and cape buffalo with .I talked him a bunch about bullets to use in my 375 win IN alaskev.He has hunted Alaska with the 375 jdj for moose caribou and grizzly .

PanhandlinPat said:

View attachment 756451
My early 2000s 450 marlin, cut down to 16” and threaded. This thing in factory form with the viagra infused recoil pad was the hardest kicking rifle I owned. It now looks different, has a brown pachmayr pad and a few other tweaks, it sat on the bench for a while but don’t remember what all I did. works great for splitting firewood and knocking a deer hide free of dirt when the bullet hits it, but I’d never use this on dangerous game.

Click to expand...

You are one of the few people I know of that run the Ashley mount.
I have a few and love them, tried to get Ashley to make some more but he said it may be a while

I love Lever guns, yes, they have limitations but they are a pleasure to carry, shoot and work with, especially shorter versions. Most of my hunting involved bolt guns, but on many, if not most of those adventures, there was a Lever Gun along in the mix. I had one early Marlin Guide Gun in 45/70 that made many a mile with me. It made Africa on many trips and even took Cape Buffalo over 20 years ago.


I had several other Marlins in 45/70 as well, there was another one that made frequent trips to Africa as well, will show it later.

I also love the Winchester 1886s......... This one was much longer, and heavier than I normally care for, but I used it on a bear hunt once to good effect. It also in 45/70


Somewhere along the line I picked this one up too..... I can't remember where or how or even when, and in fact have never fired it or messed with it. It would have been a better choice for that bear hunt I think as well.......


My favorite 1886 is this one, I had SSK shorten it to 18 inches, added NECG front barrel band sight, and had a Ghost Ring for the rear. A Winchester Guide Gun. I used it for two bison in South Dakota in 2005. At that time it still had the longer barrel, I think 22 inches.


I had a few of those Guide Guns converted to 50 B&M Alaskan, .500 caliber guns. Not .510 caliber as the original 50 AK.





And of course the Hi Grade M71s, I am a big fan of those. These were made by Browning sometime in the 1980s I believe, they made 3000 Rifles and 3000 Carbines total. All said and done, I had converted 5 of these to 50 B&M AK. All with 18 inch barrels. The first 3 had forward rails for mounting a forward Scout Scope or other optic. The last two were Matching Serial Numbers, one was rifle the other carbine,with the same number except for R and the C. These two I had NECG rear and Front only. In the photos, both SSK and myself forgot to add recoil pads to the guns. I sent stock back and had pads put on later. I had not even noticed until I took the photos! HEH

BTW, I have not fired those last two guns.







I believe it was 2011 I took one of these to Zimbabwe where performance was superb.





Our friend Layne Simpson loves Lever Guns as well. He did several articles on the 50 B&M Alaskan and liked it so much he had one built for himself. Layne just could not figure out the 18 inch barrel, and against my advice did his Marlin at 22 inches, I told him that was a waste of metal, but he is hard headed. We worked together to get him some load data, and we really didn't increase his performance in the 22 inch barrel, I never did say "I told you so"....... HEH....... This is Laynes rifle.



There are a good many 50 B&M Alaskans still in the field.

I suffer from Macular Degeneration, basically leaky blood vessels in the eyes. I get injections in both eyes to keep it at bay. However in May 2024 I had a leakage in the right eye that caused a blind spot center/left. This meant that I could no longer see a scope, irons or any sight system with my right eye. Yes, I am right handed. No I can't learn to shoot left handed, I shoot better blind than left handed. Hands do not know what to do on the wrong side! After 18 months, last fall before going to Tanzania (I have been retired from hunting for 10 years, but went on an exploration in Tanzania last October) I was forced into finding a way to shoot right hand, and use the left eye. I can't believe it was so easy, I just have to have a Red Dot type sight (I prefer Circle/Dot) mounted a little high and tilt the rifle on my right side to the left, so the left eye picks it up. It was so simple, I could not believe I had struggled for 18 months before this discovery. The other day, I was showing my Son Matthew some of the Semi and Bolt guns I had set up so I could shoot again. He said "Dad, you don't have any Lever Guns Set up?". Well, that was true, But I just had not got there yet, it was in the plan to do so and I had everything needed, but just had not done it, I put priority on other systems.

In the last week, I set two of my lever guns up that I could shoot using my left eye. In both cases I used the Williams Red Circle/Dot sight. I tried a few other things, but did not like them on the lever guns, so settled on the Williams which I had two left over from other projects............

First was one of the Guide Guns in 45/70, I had used this gun in Africa several times taking various critters, the biggest was a giraffe.





One of my Favorite Lever guns is a Marlin Pistol grip version converted to 50 B&M Alaskan, this was the inspiration for Laynes rifle, since Layne had it and used it in some of his articles. I tried a Holosun and a Primary Arms sight on this gun, but did not like either of those, and used the last Williams on it as well.








Now I have a couple of Lever Guns I can shoot again............... I think I will set up one of the M71s in 50 B&M Alaskan with the forward rail next, then I have 3 Lever Guns to work with.............

michael458 said:

I love Lever guns, yes, they have limitations but they are a pleasure to carry, shoot and work with, especially shorter versions. Most of my hunting involved bolt guns, but on many, if not most of those adventures, there was a Lever Gun along in the mix. I had one early Marlin Guide Gun in 45/70 that made many a mile with me. It made Africa on many trips and even took Cape Buffalo over 20 years ago.

I had several other Marlins in 45/70 as well, there was another one that made frequent trips to Africa as well, will show it later.

I also love the Winchester 1886s......... This one was much longer, and heavier than I normally care for, but I used it on a bear hunt once to good effect. It also in 45/70

Somewhere along the line I picked this one up too..... I can't remember where or how or even when, and in fact have never fired it or messed with it. It would have been a better choice for that bear hunt I think as well.......

My favorite 1886 is this one, I had SSK shorten it to 18 inches, added NECG front barrel band sight, and had a Ghost Ring for the rear. A Winchester Guide Gun. I used it for two bison in South Dakota in 2005. At that time it still had the longer barrel, I think 22 inches.

I had a few of those Guide Guns converted to 50 B&M Alaskan, .500 caliber guns. Not .510 caliber as the original 50 AK.

And of course the Hi Grade M71s, I am a big fan of those. These were made by Browning sometime in the 1980s I believe, they made 3000 Rifles and 3000 Carbines total. All said and done, I had converted 5 of these to 50 B&M AK. All with 18 inch barrels. The first 3 had forward rails for mounting a forward Scout Scope or other optic. The last two were Matching Serial Numbers, one was rifle the other carbine,with the same number except for R and the C. These two I had NECG rear and Front only. In the photos, both SSK and myself forgot to add recoil pads to the guns. I sent stock back and had pads put on later. I had not even noticed until I took the photos! HEH

BTW, I have not fired those last two guns.

I believe it was 2011 I took one of these to Zimbabwe where performance was superb.

Our friend Layne Simpson loves Lever Guns as well. He did several articles on the 50 B&M Alaskan and liked it so much he had one built for himself. Layne just could not figure out the 18 inch barrel, and against my advice did his Marlin at 22 inches, I told him that was a waste of metal, but he is hard headed. We worked together to get him some load data, and we really didn't increase his performance in the 22 inch barrel, I never did say "I told you so"....... HEH....... This is Laynes rifle.

There are a good many 50 B&M Alaskans still in the field.

I suffer from Macular Degeneration, basically leaky blood vessels in the eyes. I get injections in both eyes to keep it at bay. However in May 2024 I had a leakage in the right eye that caused a blind spot center/left. This meant that I could no longer see a scope, irons or any sight system with my right eye. Yes, I am right handed. No I can't learn to shoot left handed, I shoot better blind than left handed. Hands do not know what to do on the wrong side! After 18 months, last fall before going to Tanzania (I have been retired from hunting for 10 years, but went on an exploration in Tanzania last October) I was forced into finding a way to shoot right hand, and use the left eye. I can't believe it was so easy, I just have to have a Red Dot type sight (I prefer Circle/Dot) mounted a little high and tilt the rifle on my right side to the left, so the left eye picks it up. It was so simple, I could not believe I had struggled for 18 months before this discovery. The other day, I was showing my Son Matthew some of the Semi and Bolt guns I had set up so I could shoot again. He said "Dad, you don't have any Lever Guns Set up?". Well, that was true, But I just had not got there yet, it was in the plan to do so and I had everything needed, but just had not done it, I put priority on other systems.

In the last week, I set two of my lever guns up that I could shoot using my left eye. In both cases I used the Williams Red Circle/Dot sight. I tried a few other things, but did not like them on the lever guns, so settled on the Williams which I had two left over from other projects............

First was one of the Guide Guns in 45/70, I had used this gun in Africa several times taking various critters, the biggest was a giraffe.

One of my Favorite Lever guns is a Marlin Pistol grip version converted to 50 B&M Alaskan, this was the inspiration for Laynes rifle, since Layne had it and used it in some of his articles. I tried a Holosun and a Primary Arms sight on this gun, but did not like either of those, and used the last Williams on it as well.

Now I have a couple of Lever Guns I can shoot again............... I think I will set up one of the M71s in 50 B&M Alaskan with the forward rail next, then I have 3 Lever Guns to work with.............

Click to expand...

Great pictures and story Michael!
Congrats on figuring out a solution for your eye issue as well…

AustinM said:

This post reminded me that I need to take some pictures in the near future of my big bore leverguns.

Got 2 1895 Marlins modified for 45-90 and 510 Kodiak Express (50-110)
1894 Marlin in 50 AE, stretched action to 1.9" OAL
BHA 500 S&W

Looks like another gentleman has talked me into a marlin-like action that can handle the 500 bushwacker. Noted he was getting a hardcast 700 gr bullet to 2700 fps in a 26 inch barrel...I think that'll just about do it!

Levers are what I grew up on and still one of my favorites to handle!

Click to expand...

Pictures are appreciated!

michael458 said:

I love Lever guns, yes, they have limitations but they are a pleasure to carry, shoot and work with, especially shorter versions. Most of my hunting involved bolt guns, but on many, if not most of those adventures, there was a Lever Gun along in the mix. I had one early Marlin Guide Gun in 45/70 that made many a mile with me. It made Africa on many trips and even took Cape Buffalo over 20 years ago.

I had several other Marlins in 45/70 as well, there was another one that made frequent trips to Africa as well, will show it later.

I also love the Winchester 1886s......... This one was much longer, and heavier than I normally care for, but I used it on a bear hunt once to good effect. It also in 45/70

Somewhere along the line I picked this one up too..... I can't remember where or how or even when, and in fact have never fired it or messed with it. It would have been a better choice for that bear hunt I think as well.......

My favorite 1886 is this one, I had SSK shorten it to 18 inches, added NECG front barrel band sight, and had a Ghost Ring for the rear. A Winchester Guide Gun. I used it for two bison in South Dakota in 2005. At that time it still had the longer barrel, I think 22 inches.

I had a few of those Guide Guns converted to 50 B&M Alaskan, .500 caliber guns. Not .510 caliber as the original 50 AK.

And of course the Hi Grade M71s, I am a big fan of those. These were made by Browning sometime in the 1980s I believe, they made 3000 Rifles and 3000 Carbines total. All said and done, I had converted 5 of these to 50 B&M AK. All with 18 inch barrels. The first 3 had forward rails for mounting a forward Scout Scope or other optic. The last two were Matching Serial Numbers, one was rifle the other carbine,with the same number except for R and the C. These two I had NECG rear and Front only. In the photos, both SSK and myself forgot to add recoil pads to the guns. I sent stock back and had pads put on later. I had not even noticed until I took the photos! HEH

BTW, I have not fired those last two guns.

I believe it was 2011 I took one of these to Zimbabwe where performance was superb.

Our friend Layne Simpson loves Lever Guns as well. He did several articles on the 50 B&M Alaskan and liked it so much he had one built for himself. Layne just could not figure out the 18 inch barrel, and against my advice did his Marlin at 22 inches, I told him that was a waste of metal, but he is hard headed. We worked together to get him some load data, and we really didn't increase his performance in the 22 inch barrel, I never did say "I told you so"....... HEH....... This is Laynes rifle.

There are a good many 50 B&M Alaskans still in the field.

I suffer from Macular Degeneration, basically leaky blood vessels in the eyes. I get injections in both eyes to keep it at bay. However in May 2024 I had a leakage in the right eye that caused a blind spot center/left. This meant that I could no longer see a scope, irons or any sight system with my right eye. Yes, I am right handed. No I can't learn to shoot left handed, I shoot better blind than left handed. Hands do not know what to do on the wrong side! After 18 months, last fall before going to Tanzania (I have been retired from hunting for 10 years, but went on an exploration in Tanzania last October) I was forced into finding a way to shoot right hand, and use the left eye. I can't believe it was so easy, I just have to have a Red Dot type sight (I prefer Circle/Dot) mounted a little high and tilt the rifle on my right side to the left, so the left eye picks it up. It was so simple, I could not believe I had struggled for 18 months before this discovery. The other day, I was showing my Son Matthew some of the Semi and Bolt guns I had set up so I could shoot again. He said "Dad, you don't have any Lever Guns Set up?". Well, that was true, But I just had not got there yet, it was in the plan to do so and I had everything needed, but just had not done it, I put priority on other systems.

In the last week, I set two of my lever guns up that I could shoot using my left eye. In both cases I used the Williams Red Circle/Dot sight. I tried a few other things, but did not like them on the lever guns, so settled on the Williams which I had two left over from other projects............

First was one of the Guide Guns in 45/70, I had used this gun in Africa several times taking various critters, the biggest was a giraffe.

One of my Favorite Lever guns is a Marlin Pistol grip version converted to 50 B&M Alaskan, this was the inspiration for Laynes rifle, since Layne had it and used it in some of his articles. I tried a Holosun and a Primary Arms sight on this gun, but did not like either of those, and used the last Williams on it as well.

Now I have a couple of Lever Guns I can shoot again............... I think I will set up one of the M71s in 50 B&M Alaskan with the forward rail next, then I have 3 Lever Guns to work with.............

Click to expand...

I’m not sure how to reply. Wow! Thank you for sharing! You have some unbelievably beautiful guns there! I appreciate hearing the background and seeing the hunting photos! Now I actually have lever gun envy to go along with my bad case of DG rifle envy. This forum is dangerous. Thank you all for that!

45-70guy said:

You are one of the few people I know of that run the Ashley mount.
I have a few and love them, tried to get Ashley to make some more but he said it may be a while

Click to expand...

I recommend them to anyone looking to scope a marlin. Get a blank stare when I do, I don’t know why anyone would want a high mounted scope on a lever gun.

PanhandlinPat said:

I recommend them to anyone looking to scope a marlin. Get a blank stare when I do, I don’t know why anyone would want a high mounted scope on a lever gun.

Click to expand...

I agree 100%; of all the levers I own, only two are scoped. An old 336 that was a deer catcher for a good friend and a 39A that belonged to a great uncle with a fondness for knocking squirrels out of trees. I can’t bring myself to rearrange what worked for those fellas for decades. As for myself, the levers that I shoot and play with most wear a mixed bag of either Skinners or Ranger Point Precision peep sights,

I am concerned, however, that as my eyes get more out of whack that the peep sights will no longer hold their own…

PanhandlinPat said:

I recommend them to anyone looking to scope a marlin. Get a blank stare when I do, I don’t know why anyone would want a high mounted scope on a lever gun.

Click to expand...

I have never seen them but glad you posted yours. Just placed an order for one. I sold my 1895 but feel the need to replace it.
My 3 big bore levers below.

Browning 71 still in 348 that will soon get a makeover to 50-110.

Winchester 1895 in 405 with a few added custom accessories.

Browning BLR rebored and rrechambe3d to 375 WSM.

@michael458 I’d love to know more information about the scout scope mount you have on your model 71. I’ve been looking for an away to mount a scope on mine, and yours looks like a great set up.
Any help/info about it would be greatly appreciated

TTundra said:

I have never seen them but glad you posted yours. Just placed an order for one. I sold my 1895 but feel the need to replace it.
My 3 big bore levers below.

Browning 71 still in 348 that will soon get a makeover to 50-110.

Winchester 1895 in 405 with a few added custom accessories.

Browning BLR rebored and rrechambe3d to 375 WSM.


View attachment 756563

Click to expand...

Very nice! I have an ultralight 2.5x I’ve been meaning to put on there. With that 1.75-6 you hardly know it’s there, I imagine with the ultralight it will feel like it did with irons.

My Model 1881 Marlin in 40-60. This rifle may be a bit anemic for African dangerous game. It was designed to kill bison and Indians. Alas, it's very difficult nowadays to get a license for either of those species.

Brickman301 said:

@michael458 I’d love to know more information about the scout scope mount you have on your model 71. I’ve been looking for an away to mount a scope on mine, and yours looks like a great set up.
Any help/info about it would be greatly appreciated

Click to expand...

Yeah, that is an incredible rail, unfortunately for us NOW it is a problem. SSK Industries built all my rifles and all the B&M Series, SSK sold to DFricke of Lehigh, he has now sold it to someone else, and SSK Industries no longer exists. I think it is SSK Firearms, but they no longer do any Custom Rifle work at all. So we are screwed on that deal. I still have two of the M71s with the forward rail. The Scout Scope works OK, but it is horrible for field of view up close, it is just not suitable for doing work close range. The Leupold Scout Scopes are the meanest toughest Leupolds that ever existed, I have 4-5 of those left over. I have never busted one of these. I have busted every other Leupold made, so much so I had to get rid of them since I could not keep one running. I have had one of those scout scopes on a 510 Wells on big Ruger Magnum since the rifle was built and it still has not busted, so they are tough. But so limited due to the horrible field of view, at 10 yards on a lion, you see a tan brown spot and nothing more! Not good for DG hunting at all. I Never used a scout scope in the field because of that.

I wish we could find a solution for those M71s and the 1886s as well...... I was lucky to get SSK to put those on when they were up and running. At least I can mount some sort of Circle/Dot up there and be able to see it......................

TTundra said:

I have never seen them but glad you posted yours. Just placed an order for one. I sold my 1895 but feel the need to replace it.
My 3 big bore levers below.

Browning 71 still in 348 that will soon get a makeover to 50-110.

Winchester 1895 in 405 with a few added custom accessories.

Browning BLR rebored and rrechambe3d to 375 WSM.


View attachment 756563

Click to expand...

I’ve been eyeing the 405’s for quite some time.

michael458 said:

Yeah, that is an incredible rail, unfortunately for us NOW it is a problem. SSK Industries built all my rifles and all the B&M Series, SSK sold to DFricke of Lehigh, he has now sold it to someone else, and SSK Industries no longer exists. I think it is SSK Firearms, but they no longer do any Custom Rifle work at all. So we are screwed on that deal. I still have two of the M71s with the forward rail. The Scout Scope works OK, but it is horrible for field of view up close, it is just not suitable for doing work close range. The Leupold Scout Scopes are the meanest toughest Leupolds that ever existed, I have 4-5 of those left over. I have never busted one of these. I have busted every other Leupold made, so much so I had to get rid of them since I could not keep one running. I have had one of those scout scopes on a 510 Wells on big Ruger Magnum since the rifle was built and it still has not busted, so they are tough. But so limited due to the horrible field of view, at 10 yards on a lion, you see a tan brown spot and nothing more! Not good for DG hunting at all. I Never used a scout scope in the field because of that.

I wish we could find a solution for those M71s and the 1886s as well...... I was lucky to get SSK to put those on when they were up and running. At least I can mount some sort of Circle/Dot up there and be able to see it......................

Click to expand...

Thanks for the response.
The only other solution I’ve seen for the 71’s and the 1886’s is the Turnbull restoration’s receiver red dot mount.
I’d prefer to have a scope, but looks like I’ll have to settle for a red dot.
Thanks again.

A little Henry 45-70 action…love the levers!
Local hog…local late season doe hunt…and hunting on the Mexican border.

My first 1895 , one of many but this one is the work horse that fills the freezer

AustinM said:

This post reminded me that I need to take some pictures in the near future of my big bore leverguns.

Got 2 1895 Marlins modified for 45-90 and 510 Kodiak Express (50-110)
1894 Marlin in 50 AE, stretched action to 1.9" OAL
BHA 500 S&W

Looks like another gentleman has talked me into a marlin-like action that can handle the 500 bushwacker. Noted he was getting a hardcast 700 gr bullet to 2700 fps in a 26 inch barrel...I think that'll just about do it!

Levers are what I grew up on and still one of my favorites to handle!

Click to expand...

Marlin like action?