Podcast: The Time of the Lever Gun Is Now

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You might think that the cutting edge of bolt-action and gas-gun technology is impressive, but the lever gun’s tenure as one of America’s favorite hunting rifles is an equally stunning testament to the concepts and designs of some of our very first repeating rifles.  The 2024 Outdoor Life gun test showed us just how relevant the lever gun still is, and that some gun makers are devoting the time and attention to crafting the highest quality production lever-action specimens we’ve ever seen. These guns are better made, incorporate more user-friendly features, and they’re more versatile than ever.  A New Sheriff In Town? Marlin has been one of the biggest players in the lever action world for many decades, and after being drawn from the ashes of the Remington bankruptcy by Ruger, the company has made a huge comeback. In fact, Marlin had award-winning submissions in our previous two gun tests. Marlin has been making its rifles with better function and more precise attention to detail than they ever did before — arguably becoming the uncontested top dog of lever action rifles. That is, uncontested until now. The Smith & Wesson 1854 in .44 Mag. is a well designed and executed lever gun. Photo by Scott Einsmann “No one had a newly-designed lever gun from Smith and Wesson on their bingo card for 2024,” says OL shooting editor John B. Snow, in this week’s episode. This .44-magnum-chambered lever gun made waves at SHOT Show 2024, but we reserved judgment until we could test it for ourselves. Within a day on the range, the Smith & Wesson 1854 grabbed the test team’s attention. It’s hard to find anything wrong with this rifle, including the great price. Is Smith & Wesson going to take over the lever-gun market? That remains to be seen, but Marlin and Henry certainly have a new competitor in the arena. Classical to Tactical: The Lever Gun Will Never Die If anything is apparent from the field of lever rifles in 2024, it’s that American hunters and shooters will always have an appetite and practical use for the platform. In addition to the Marlin and Smith & Wesson rifles, we tested lever actions from Chiappa/Taylor’s & Co., Henry, and Winchester. Other companies such as Aero Precision and Stag Arms are even jumping in with variations of their own.  Read Next: The Best Lever-Action Rifles We see traditional cowboy-style lever guns, wood-stocked New England brush rifles like the Marlin 336, fully tactical-ized rifles like the Marlin 1895 Dark, and everything in between. The Chiappa-made 1892 Alaskan Takedown is a top-ejecting stainless .44 Mag. that can be broken down and stowed in your go bag or backpack, and the octagonal-barreled Henry .22 is the silhouette gun of your dreams.  Many guns come and go, and trends rise and fall, but the lever-action rifle has endured the shifting winds since the days of Lincoln, and it’s here to stay.  More Episodes of the Outdoor Life Podcast The Best New Guns of the Year – The Outdoor Life Podcast The 2024 Outdoor Life Gun Test introduced us to sweet-shooting rimfires, a pile of impressive centerfires and handguns, and what might be the best bolt-action hunting rifle ever made. This episode is brought to you by Brownells. You can read the Sako 90 Adventure review at outdoorlife.com/sako90 Edited by Mike Pedersen / Eighty Five Audio. Hosted by editor-in-chief Alex Robinson. Guests are shooting editor John B. Snow and staff writer Tyler Freel. Produced by executive editor Natalie Krebs. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices The Best New Guns of the Year 57:55 The Time of the Lever Gun Is Now 43:32 The Truth About TSS Turkey Loads 52:55 Ultra-Close Range Turkey Hunting Tactics with Mike Hunsucker 46:20 The Most Remarkable Bow We've Ever Tested—and More from the 2024 Bow Test 41:58 {"attributes":{"url":"https:\/\/feeds.megaphone.fm\/RECU9575003584","selectedEpisodes":[],"itemsToShow":5,"showCoverArt":true,"showEpisodeTitle":true,"showEpisodeDescription":true},"title":"The Outdoor Life Podcast","description":"Outdoor Life has been publishing hunting, fishing, and conservation stories since 1898. Its flagship podcast brings deep-dive journalism to the issues that are most important to sportsmen and women. Hosted and produced by the editors with field reporting from our best contributors, the show airs weekly.","link":"https:\/\/www.outdoorlife.com\/","cover":"https:\/\/megaphone.imgix.net\/podcasts\/43187ef0-2f7b-11ed-a099-c7e64b459207\/image\/13848623-1616778313970-ccf50590fe7b7.jpg?ixlib=rails-4.3.1&max-w=3000&max-h=3000&fit=crop&auto=format,compress","tracks":[{"id":"podcast-track-1","link":"","src":"https:\/\/traffic.megaphone.fm\/RECU5755484380.mp3?updated=1713982610","type":"audio\/mpeg","description":"The 2024 Outdoor Life Gun Test introduced us to sweet-shooting rimfires, a pile of impressive centerfires and handguns, and what might be the best bolt-action hunting rifle ever made.\n\nThis episode is brought to you by Brownells. You can read the Sako 90 Adventure review at outdoorlife.com\/sako90\n\nEdited by Mike Pedersen \/ Eighty Five Audio.\nHosted by editor-in-chief Alex Robinson.\nGuests are shooting editor John B. Snow and staff writer Tyler Freel.\nProduced by executive editor Natalie Krebs.\nLearn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm\/adchoices","description_html":"The 2024 Outdoor Life Gun Test introduced us to sweet-shooting rimfires, a pile of impressive centerfires and handguns, and what might be the best bolt-action hunting rifle ever made.\n\nThis episode is brought to you by Brownells. You can read the Sako 90 Adventure review at outdoorlife.com\/sako90\n\nEdited by Mike Pedersen \/ Eighty Five Audio.\nHosted by editor-in-chief Alex Robinson.\nGuests are shooting editor John B. Snow and staff writer Tyler Freel.\nProduced by executive editor Natalie Krebs.\nLearn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm\/adchoices","title":"The Best New Guns of the Year","image":"","guid":"b4391932-fcbb-11ee-9fe9-9333e11d0b26","publish_date":"2024-04-24T16:55:00+00:00","duration":"57:55"},{"id":"podcast-track-2","link":"","src":"https:\/\/traffic.megaphone.fm\/RECU2879271082.mp3?updated=1713368093","type":"audio\/mpeg","description":"The 2024 Outdoor Life gun test showed us just how relevant the lever gun still is, and that some gun makers are devoting the time and attention to crafting the highest quality production lever-action specimens we\u2019ve ever seen. These guns are made better, incorporate more user-friendly features, and are more versatile than ever.\u00a0\n\nThis episode is brought to you by Brownells. Read the full story here: https:\/\/www.outdoorlife.com\/guns\/podcast-lever-guns\nEdited by Mike Pedersen \/ Eighty Five Audio.\nHosted by editor-in-chief Alex Robinson.\nProduced by Natalie Krebs.\nGuests in this episode include shooting editor John B. Snow, staff writer Tyler Freel, and gun test team member Matt Foster.\nLearn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm\/adchoices","description_html":"The 2024 Outdoor Life gun test showed us just how relevant the lever gun still is, and that some gun makers are devoting the time and attention to crafting the highest quality production lever-action specimens we\u2019ve ever seen. These guns are made better, incorporate more user-friendly features, and are more versatile than ever.\u00a0\n\nThis episode is brought to you by Brownells. Read the full story here: https:\/\/www.outdoorlife.com\/guns\/podcast-lever-guns\nEdited by Mike Pedersen \/ Eighty Five Audio.\nHosted by editor-in-chief Alex Robinson.\nProduced by Natalie Krebs.\nGuests in this episode include shooting editor John B. Snow, staff writer Tyler Freel, and gun test team member Matt Foster.\nLearn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm\/adchoices","title":"The Time of the Lever Gun Is Now","image":"","guid":"afa82cd2-fcbb-11ee-a305-17aa2986c7eb","publish_date":"2024-04-17T15:21:00+00:00","duration":"43:32"},{"id":"podcast-track-3","link":"https:\/\/www.outdoorlife.com\/","src":"https:\/\/traffic.megaphone.fm\/RECU3112542618.mp3?updated=1712770091","type":"audio\/mpeg","description":"In hopes of shedding some light on this very dense, wildly expensive, and unnecessarily controversial pellet material, I sat down with Adam Moser, the director of product engineering for shotshells at Federal Premium. Federal, after all, was the first major ammo company to offer TSS loads to the mass market. I also caught up with my fanatical turkey hunting buddy Josh Dahlke, the VP of content for HuntStand. Dahlke has witnessed more than 100 turkeys get shot with TSS loads. If anyone can explain the physics behind TSS, it\u2019s Moser. If anyone can detail its turkey killing capabilities, it\u2019s Dahlke.\nThis episode is brought to you by Alabama's Beaches.\nEdited by Mike Pedersen \/ Eighty Five Audio.\nHosted by editor-in-chief Alex Robinson.\nProduced by Natalie Krebs.\nFull stories on testing TSS turkey loads here and here.\nLearn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm\/adchoices","description_html":"In hopes of shedding some light on this very dense, wildly expensive, and unnecessarily controversial pellet material, I sat down with Adam Moser, the director of product engineering for shotshells at Federal Premium. Federal, after all, was the first major ammo company to offer TSS loads to the mass market. I also caught up with my fanatical turkey hunting buddy Josh Dahlke, the VP of content for HuntStand. Dahlke has witnessed more than 100 turkeys get shot with TSS loads. If anyone can explain the physics behind TSS, it\u2019s Moser. If anyone can detail its turkey killing capabilities, it\u2019s Dahlke.\nThis episode is brought to you by Alabama's Beaches.\nEdited by Mike Pedersen \/ Eighty Five Audio.\nHosted by editor-in-chief Alex Robinson.\nProduced by Natalie Krebs.\nFull stories on testing TSS turkey loads here and here.\nLearn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm\/adchoices","title":"The Truth About TSS Turkey Loads","image":"","guid":"c8857b80-f746-11ee-acc9-2f62e6865db9","publish_date":"2024-04-10T15:13:00+00:00","duration":"52:55"},{"id":"podcast-track-4","link":"https:\/\/www.outdoorlife.com\/","src":"https:\/\/traffic.megaphone.fm\/RECU3691430826.mp3?updated=1712175766","type":"audio\/mpeg","description":"Turkey hunting at its very best is a close-range game. Few people know this better than Mike Hunsucker of Heartland Bowhunter, who hunts spring gobblers almost exclusively with a bow. Here, Hunsucker shares some tips and lessons about getting gobblers in close.\nThis episode is brought to you by Alabama\u2019s Beaches.\nEdited by Mike Pedersen \/ Eighty Five Audio.\nHosted by editor-in-chief Alex Robinson.\nProduced by Natalie Krebs.\nLearn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm\/adchoices","description_html":"Turkey hunting at its very best is a close-range game. Few people know this better than Mike Hunsucker of Heartland Bowhunter, who hunts spring gobblers almost exclusively with a bow. Here, Hunsucker shares some tips and lessons about getting gobblers in close.\nThis episode is brought to you by Alabama\u2019s Beaches.\nEdited by Mike Pedersen \/ Eighty Five Audio.\nHosted by editor-in-chief Alex Robinson.\nProduced by Natalie Krebs.\nLearn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm\/adchoices","title":"Ultra-Close Range Turkey Hunting Tactics with Mike Hunsucker","image":"","guid":"01566e4e-f1e1-11ee-b884-db30bf2078e7","publish_date":"2024-04-03T20:26:01+00:00","duration":"46:20"},{"id":"podcast-track-5","link":"","src":"https:\/\/traffic.megaphone.fm\/RECU6398455114.mp3?updated=1711480028","type":"audio\/mpeg","description":"The OL bow test is the most rigorous in the industry. We shoot all the flagship bows and crossbows for accuracy over the course of three days at Lancaster Archery. This year the most accurate bow was a true marvel, and it turns everything we thought we knew about bow design on its head.\nThis episode is brought to you by Alabama's Beaches. Read the full story here: https:\/\/www.outdoorlife.com\/gear\/best-compound-bows\/\nEdited by Mike Pedersen \/ Eighty Five Audio.\nHosted by editor-in-chief Alex Robinson.\nGuests are Scott Einsmann and P.J. Reilly.\nProduced by Natalie Krebs.\nLearn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm\/adchoices","description_html":"The OL bow test is the most rigorous in the industry. We shoot all the flagship bows and crossbows for accuracy over the course of three days at Lancaster Archery. This year the most accurate bow was a true marvel, and it turns everything we thought we knew about bow design on its head.\nThis episode is brought to you by Alabama's Beaches. Read the full story here: https:\/\/www.outdoorlife.com\/gear\/best-compound-bows\/\nEdited by Mike Pedersen \/ Eighty Five Audio.\nHosted by editor-in-chief Alex Robinson.\nGuests are Scott Einsmann and P.J. Reilly.\nProduced by Natalie Krebs.\nLearn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm\/adchoices","title":"The Most Remarkable Bow We've Ever Tested\u2014and More from the 2024 Bow Test","image":"","guid":"98313bbe-e629-11ee-98ee-9386f379ad35","publish_date":"2024-03-27T16:07:42+00:00","duration":"41:58"}],"playerId":"jetpack-podcast-player-block-291251-11"}