bolt action or lever action rifle?

Question

Why are bolt action rifles more popular than lever? Lever actions have a higher rate of fire.

Answer 1

Most, but not all lever actions use a tube type magazine. Bullets rest with the point of one bullet against the head of the brass, right at the primer. This means that you have to use a flat nosed bullet or the point of the bullet will smack into primer of the round in front of it under recoil. The results would not be good.

Flat nosed bullets simply don't have the ballistic coefficient needed for flat trajectories. And that limits the effective range of those types of lever actions.

One exception is the Browning lever action rifle. It uses a box magazind and therefore can use pointed or spitzer shaped bullets. Another recent innovation that helps lever actions ammo perform better is the recent introduction of a soft tipped pointed bullet by Hornady.

Lever actions tend to faster than a bolt action for follow up shots, they also tend to handle really nice. Yet they normally don't have the kind of accuracy and range that a bolt action does.

Again the Browning is a bit of an exception. Due to its unique design it is capable of using high pressure cartridges and the bolt actually cams into place like a bolt action does. It can and does handle cartridges like the .308 Winchester, the 7MM Remington Magnum and the .30-06. However it is larger than your average lever gun and heavier.

A bolt action has a lot more choices in caliber, normally is somewhat more accurate and to many shooters it fits them better therby allow them to be a better shot in the field. Unless I was hunting in heavily wooded areas, a bolt action would be my first choice.

Answer 2

The question never came up in UK, Europe or Africa. In the US, lever actions were more popular at one time, when shots were short and great power was not needed. After WW I, the '03 Springfield became familiar, and its power and accuracy were noted out west, where long shots at larger animals were to be found. As a deer hunting rifle, the Savage 99, Winchester 88 and Browning BLR are still quite good for just about anybody, but those with more traditional lines and tubular magazines are short-to-moderate range propositions in a day when more long shots are taken, and many want a rifle that can do for elk and moose as well as deer, and many of the lever actions are not strong enough to handle the more powerful cartridges. And today most people grew up with bolt guns, so the lever action is headed for limitation to nostalgic use only. Rate of fire is inconsequential to hunters.

Answer 3

Because most rifle owners use them for hunting. While bolt actions are more accurate, (generally speaking) than lever, most hunters take pride in waiting to take a GOOD shot, thus needing only one. My personal opinion is that if you need a high rate of fire, you PROBABLY shouldn't have taken the shot. All that being said, despite owning a lot of bolt action rifles in better performing calibers, the first one that comes out of the cabinet on deer opener is invariably a Model 94 in 30-30. It's light, short, easy to carry all day, more than adequate for the short shots, and most importantly, I LIKE IT. If it was the 1800's, and we could regularly expect to use the rifles for self defense, I'm sure it would be the other way around.

Answer 4

That wasn't the case until after WW one when the servicemen got ahold of the Springfield '03. That superior rifle and 30-06 cartridge played a huge role in the popularity of bolt action rifles. Levers have always had a faithful following and seem to be increasing in popularity as of late.
Got Ammo?

Answer 5

Many levers shoots MOA @ 100 yards. A deer will never know the difference between being killed by a bolt action or a lever action.

My Marlin 1894 (it weighs only 6 pounds loaded) holds 10 rounds and can be reload as I fire. It will launch those ten shots accurately in 16 seconds. A lever is also more friendly to those of the left handed crowd.

Levers ROCK!

EDITED TO ADD: The Turks decimated the Russian army with lever action Winchesters.

Answer 6

The 44 magnum is a little more powerful and will have more recoil than .357. You can hunt medium size game with a .44 magnum rifle depending on your states laws. The .44 magnum rifle can shoot .44 magnum and .44 specials and the .357 can shoot .38 specials and .357 magnum. The .357 would be great for target shooting and plinking with because of the cheaper ammo. And personally I would go with a Lever Action over a Bolt action in those calibers. Much cheaper, practical and more round capacity

Answer 7

Bolt action guns are the most accurate configuration and will shoot rings around and lever action gun. You only need one shot if know what you're doing. Lever action guns are good for stalk hunting in brush areas and are good for around 100 yards.

Answer 8

Lever actions are more for bush guns where the animal is really close up. A bolt action rifle has more range and is for shooting distance.

Answer 9

Lever actions are possibly the worst rifles to own for several reasons. Yes they can perform well and are nice guns, but the bolt action has so many advantages. Because of the lever action's design they can be quite unsafe and they are a pain to clean. Bolt actions are very simple in comparison making them alot more reliable which is the most important trait of a hunting rifle. Bolt actions are also easiest to diassemble making cleaning easy. You can very easily remove the bolt making it possible to clean the barrel in the proper direction (chamber to muzzle). They are also safer and more accurate actions. They get my vote.

Answer 10

Bolt action rifles are more accurate