I never had a lever gun. But living here, it would be wrong not to have one. So after doing some research I ended up with a Mod 94 Winchester in 30-30. I thought it is not easy to get more Americana than that. Folks may argue about that but it works for me. Mine is from 1948

For plinking be hard to beat the Henry lineup. For hunting opportunities the BLR is pretty hard to beat ! Far more versatile caliber selection.

This would be a possible route to go if you're just wanting a "classic" levergun to go bang with on the cheap.

https://chuckhawks.com/puma_92_carbine.htm

Those rossi 92 copies aren't as cool as original winchesters or as "authentic" as some of the Italian repros but they can be found for a good price and for the most part check all the boxes.

even those are up to about 750+ for a hundred more you can be in a henry

I thought about those and back when they were 400 and all the others were 6-700 for a 357 , 44 , 45 lever gun they made more sense.

of course back then you could get a post 1964 model 94 for about 350-400 and a 336 used in the Glenfield wood for 250-300

Love those old Winchester rifles. Beautiful pile of guns you have there.

Marlin 336 in 30-30. Hand loaded 170 gr Sierra RN. Williams peep mounted to the rear of the action.

Ridiculous accurate out to 100 yds. I am talking 1-2 inch groups WITH A PEEP!!

Took a while to find the load and primer combo, but she's a peach. 40 years old.

Tried the leverevoluion ammo in this one. Zero luck. Wished it would have worked.

45/70? I have the Marlin Guide Gun in one. Love that rifle, short, light, easy to pack and very comfortable to shoot. Those that go on about 45/70 recoil either have never shoot one or are shooting Buffalo Bore or similar loads. Most factory 45/70 ammo is anemic due to all the old trapdoor rifles around that it is unsafe to shoot any even relatively high pressure loads in. I hand load for mine, usually either 405 grain bulk Remington corelocs or 405 cast bullets I cast myself. For reference the "factory duplication load" in most reloading manuals is 33 grains of 4198 for a 405 grain projectile. I load 39 grains with the corelocs to get them to expand properly (the factory loads don't mushroom at all, the jacket is too thick for the velocities generated) and anywhere from 33 to 39 grains with the cast bullets. In a six and a half pound gun recoil is MUCH lighter than my Savage 99 in 308, I would say felt recoil is on par with your average lightweight 260 or 6.5 Creedmoor.

Marlin first introduced their guide gun in 45/70 and 450 Marlin with a ported barrel, they had so many complaints they soon dropped that feature. I would never recommend getting one with a ported barrel, they are absolute ear breakers and not only is there no noticeable difference in recoil, Marlin never claimed there to be any. The ports were designed to reduce muzzle flip, I've yet to shoot a lever action rifle (or any other manual action) where there was enough muzzle flip to slow me down getting back on target after chambering the next round.

Other than the ported model I can highly recommend the Guide Gun, but then I've been happy with every Marlin lever gun I have shot except the ported ones. Savage 99s were also a very nice lever gun, although they do tend to have more felt recoil than other models chambered in the same caliber. Brownings are very nice, and come in Magnum calibers. Winchester 94s, are traditional, and the old ones are generally very smooth, it is an inherently weak action though so if you like pushing the envelope with hot loads, steer clear. Nothing wrong with Henry's, but in my opinion they are overpriced for what they are. If you are looking at rimfires there are lots of good ones out there, but Ruger made one in 22 and 22 magnum that looks like a lever action 10/22 that is accurate, reliable and will feel comfortable and familiar to anyone used to a 10/22.

My old Marlin 336 30-30 shoots a 1/2 inch group at 100 yards all day long with the Leupold 1x4 scope I have on it.Not bad for a carbine brush gun.Winchester Power Points 170 grain.Killed a mountain of deer with it over the past 40 years.