Bear Bums – Bear Hunting

When it comes to hunting, “tradition” is associated with a lever-action rifle; especially the old flat-sided Winchester and Marlin rifles chambered for 30-30 Win. However; these aren’t the only lever rifles that enjoy success with big game hunters. According to Sportsafield the Browning BLRtops the list. With the introduction of modern powders, at about the turn of the century, many gun calibers and gun types fell out of favor. Other calibers weathered the storm of change and survive even until now. One such caliber is the 30-30. The last few years saw the introduction of plastic tipped bullet technology making it possible to stack bullets safely without having the old blunt ended bullet we once thought needed for lever guns.

Killed with a 100 year old Winchester 30-30 lever gun

These new technology’s make the choice of a lever gun as “the best” a very, very difficult question to answer. Now, I guess we can’t rule out grandpa’s old 45-70, or 25-35. Even the 30-30 becomes quite the little spit fire.

I’m not suggesting blowing off the dust and using the antique levers and your favorite big bore gun. We should all be careful when it comes to sticking a souped up bullet in an old gun. However, I now have added respect and use for the old levers and find myself not just using them more often in the field but checking them out at the local retail used or new gun spot.

Now back to the modern Browning lever. (all Browning levers are not modern) Browning’s BLR was introduced in 1971. This rifle was Browning’s offering to the lever action lover and over the years has gained notoriety and a following with avid hunters. The nice thing about the Browning BLR is the rotating bolt allows for positive lockup and the side ejection makes scope mounting easy. It also has datable box magazine the rounds are fed through. Remember the clip or box does away with any worry about the end of the bullet hitting the firing pin of the one behind it as in the case of the cylinder feed type lever gun.

Browning BLR

The Browning BLR is chambered for .22-250 up through .325 WSM and most popular cartridges in between, including the other WSMs–.270 WSM, 7mm WSM, and .300 WSM. If it’s a long-action cartridge you want, the BLR is also chambered in .270 Winchester, .30-06, 7mm Remington Magnum, and .300 Winchester Magnum.

The BLR can be used for almost any shooting, from plinking to hunting. Since the BLR can be chambered for so many different cartridges, it has very many uses. The .22-250 and .243 Win can be used for small game such as coyotes, the .308 is very suitable for deer or elk hunting. Large calibers will handle almost any large game in North America.

Little maintenance (parts and pieces are easy to get from Brownells, Midway USA, etc) is needed to keep the lever-action rifle in working order. A lever rifle is designed so that if it is dropped in the dirt or mud all you need to do is wash it up, dry it out, and it will remain operational. The typical level rifle is shorter and lighter than a bolt action rifle and the thin profile makes the lever-action rifle a natural fit in cramped areas.

For the big-game hunter, modern technology combined with old, proven designs means that lever guns can now equal the performance of the most modern rifles on the market.

The lever guns have been around now for over 130 years. They’re here to stay and that’s a very good thing. Great gun companies like Browning, Marlin and many others produce, fun to use, rifles in the lever style. They shoot good, look good (especially next to you on a horse, butt forward, of course) and make a great addition to your gun collection. I hope your gun collection also contains grandpa’s ancient lever as well!

notice my lever-action rifle in the scabbard - butt forward