Why Lever-Action Rifles Are Popular Again

Above, a Winchester 94 on display at the Cody Firearms Museum. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

When I bought my used Winchester 94 made in 1962, I had been on the lookout for one for some time. I wasn't following any trend at the time, because there was no trend when I made my purchase in 2019. 

At the time, prices for pre-64 Winchester 94s were reasonable. Mine was under $500 and in good shape. Since then, something clicked with lever-action rifles with people and now they are among the hottest firearms on the market, new models and used classics.

Firearms News posted an article on why lever-action are popular today. 

They begin it with:

For much of the early 2000s, it seemed as though the lever-action rifle's best days were behind it. Almost as if it was time for the old cowboy gun to ride off into the sunset. Looking back, the expiration of the Federal Assault Weapons Ban in 2004 immediately changed the American commercial firearms market. It unleashed an enormous firestorm for AR-15s and other modern sporting rifles. Manufacturers poured their resources into black rifles, optics, accessories and tactical gear. For a while it seemed like anything labeled “Tactical” would sell, and so with money to be made everything became tactical.

Meanwhile, many lever-action models quietly disappeared from production, and some shooters began viewing them as little more than nostalgic reminders of a bygone era. Chambered for strangle old rimmed cartridges and typically without optics or even a Picatinny rail, who would want such a piece? To many, they seemed like obsolete old designs that in the time of the GWOT were obviously out of style. Obviously the old 19th Century lever-action rifle’s time had come to an end. That prediction turned out to be spectacularly wrong.

To read more, go here.