I was finally able to fondle one yesterday and I really like it.

I've had every common lever action ever made and think this one would be near the top of my favorites list.  

Anybody have one?  

They look interesting but I don't have one either.

A guy in GD bought one, I don't remember his user name.

Sold my Marlin and finally got rid of the Henry X. Just waiting to find one.

Bit of advise don't buy a Henry and expect to resell it for much.

They look nice in the gun mags, and I'm thinking hard about buying one.

The accuracy doesn't seem great - most write ups have been 2 inches or so at 50 yards, which doesn't seem very good.  But I haven't seen what other lever actions shoot - is that similar to ones by Marlin/Ruger, Henry, etc.?

My old JM marlin 45/70 will shoot under 2 inches fairly easily at 100 with reloads.

And probably factory ammo, just never tried any.

The shop got in 2 of them chambered in 44Mag a couple weeks ago, if one of them had been in 357Mag I probably would have snagged one. The barrel threading is 11/16x24 which I thought was kinda weird, why didn't they do them in 5/8x24?

It's my understanding that many 40 cal rifles are threaded 11/16 x 24 to keep someone from putting 30 cal, 5/8" muzzel devices or cans on the end, with exciting results!

There are crossovers that'll go to standard sizes.

Bought one on GB today - was 1180 plus all the tax / shipping / transfer fees, etc.

Should be in my hot little hands in a week or so.  Looking forward to it - I don't have any lever actions, and this one seems all kitted out with what I wanted to see - stainless, plastic furniture, big loop, ghost rings with a rail, .44 mag, full length mag tube, and threaded.

Waiting for a blued model with wood and no rail.....
I doubt I'll ever see one.

I'm looking forward to reading your opinions once you've ran a few rounds through it.

For a standard version, probably not, but S&W is making a blue and wood high grade version, that's 3 grand or some such, and limited numbers, if you really want that style.

Should be nice, the only issue I've read about them is so/so accuracy, like 2" at 50, which isn't great, as that would be about 5 at 100, which is bordering on shotgun slug territory.  One reviewer used irons and has non-working eyes like the rest of us Gen Xers, so I'll put a red dot on it.

Which leads me to a question - what red dotish to use?

I have a couple of Sig Romeo 5's, and they've worked well on everything I've used them on.

Something like that, or should I try to keep to the slimmer profile of the rifle, and go with more of a pistol sized dot?  I have a Holsun HE507C-GR on my FN 510, and I really like it.

I like the low profile red dot idea, until someone comes out with a longer rail mount - then I become a scout scope fanatic

It's my understanding from the reviews, but not verified, that the 1854 is the same footprint so to speak as the Marlin series, so the rail that's used on that one, plus stocks and foreends, can be used.

I picked mine up last week, just now getting around to taking pictures of it and doing a write up.

Attached File

I'm pleased so far with the 1854, with the caveat that I haven't taken it out the range yet, and if it shoots foot groups at 50 yards and jams, I'll change my mind about it.

It seems solid and well made.  Nice and light, and handy.  Excellent sights.  I've not seen a gold bead front sight before, but it really does catch the light, even low light.  The ghost ring in the back is excellent too - I'm no good anymore, or really ever, with leaf rear sights - can't really focus on where the front sight is in it, so the ghost is far better.

Trigger pull is excellent.  I can feel 4 distinct phases - the initial take up, then a sear engagement, then a bit of movement, then solid until the break.  I don't have a trigger gauge, but others on YouTube have it 3-4 pounds.

The removable tube magazine would make it easy to unload without working the action - though I don't know how often you'd use it.

The action seemed smooth, and I didn't bang my finger too much on the lever.  Though it's much better with the 550 cord wrapped around it.

I like the scope rail that only covers the receiver, instead of the much longer one on the Marlin Ruger.  Just a looks thing.

One reviewer on YouTube said several of the screws holding it all together were loose, so I checked all of them.  Most at T20 torque bolts (the bigger ones in the reciever), with a few T15 and T10 ones too.  None of the T20 ones were loose.  A few of the smaller ones, like the ones for the scope mount, the front sight, and the handguard, could be tightened up.  There's no torque value given for anything so I just tightened them till it seemed they torqued up and there was good resistance.

One thing that is unusual about it is the floppy trigger.  Hammer up or down, the trigger isn't held in place by spring tension, so it sort of flops back and forth.  It's not a big deal but it's something I've not seen before on a firearm.  

I set mine up with a leather shell carrier off Amazon.  Lots of them list 308 and 30/06 shells, and those are about the same size in the main case as a .44.  So any of those will work.  I bought a buffalo hide slide off Amazon too - a model I'd bought before and works and looks nice.  I had some old QD sling mounts in a drawer and used those.

It has M-loc slots at the 3, 6, and 9 O'clock positions, but be aware that they are very short, and a 5 slot Magpul rail won't fit in it.  Which I found out after buying one.  So I ordered a 3 slot model and will see if that fits.

I also bought a Hughes Precision crossover to use with .578" x 28 TPI muzzle devices and cans, and it works well.  Cost like 20 bucks or so.  I also got one of their muzzle brakes, threaded for the same 11/16" pattern as the rifle comes with, and it looks good on it.  I'll see how much it reduces recoil when I fire it, and what the rifle sounds like with .44 Special subs.

I paid $1180 for it on GB, which seems to be about the going rate you can find pretty easily, along with lots of $1500 ones too.

The instruction manual talks about the .357 and .45 Colt version of it, and what ammo to use for those.  So it looks like S&W will be selling versions in those caliber as well, and just went ahead and included that info in the manual, to be able to print up one version and have with all the models.