The Right Levers
“Daddy…can I borrow your .30-30…if you’re not hunting this afternoon?” I had practiced that line no less than thirty or forty times before I finally got up the courage to ask my dad about letting me use his Model 94 lever-action deer rifle. My personal deer rifle at the time was my maternal granddad’s single-shot Remington Model 33 .22 rimfire. I had shot dad’s .30-30 Winchester a couple of times, knew how to work the lever, let the hammer down on a live round to keep it “on safe” and how to cock the hammer when I was ready to shoot. Dad had not yet mounted the Weaver K4 scope to his rifle via a side mount, as he would do in the future.
“Yes you can, I have to deliver the horse I’ve been training back to the owner this afternoon.” He continued, “There are three shells in the rifle. That should be more than plenty if you do get a shot!” I was thrilled. It was my first time hunting with a “real” deer rifle! During those pre-double digit years of age, I dreamed of owning two “deer rifles”: a lever action .30-30 like my dad’s and a .270 Winchester bolt-action like my hero Jack O’Connor.
I wish I could tell you I shot a deer that afternoon with Dad’s lever action, but no. Back then, deer were few and far between; even seeing a track was noteworthy!
Then, one day, while in the 5th grade, I saw a photo of Teddy Roosevelt astride a horse. In his hand, he held a lever-action rifle. I was totally enthralled! I showed it to my mom and Dad and told them someday I would own a rifle like the one in the picture. “Had one just like it. It’s a Winchester Model 1895. Mine was a .30-06. It’s one of the few guns I sold. One of the men I rough-necked with badly wanted it. I sold him that rifle and bought my .30-30 lever-action.”
I knew from that moment on someday I would own a Model 1895. That did not happen until very recently when I got a call from the owner of a local gun shop, Schubert’s Guns. “Just got in a Model 1895 and also a Model 99 Savage, but not in .300 Savage.”
I borrowed my brother Glenn’s .300 Savage lever-action to take my first mule deer on a high ridge north of Kent, Texas, back in 1970. That was my reason for wanting a Model 99 chambered in that round.
I asked him to please hold the Model 1895 for the ten minutes it would take me to get to his shop.
Long interested in lever actions, a few years ago, while on staff with SHOOTING TIMES, I had hunted with a Marlin lever-action chambered in .45-70 Government. I used it to take black bears, whitetails, javelinas, and wild hogs. I mention it because, like my Dad, it’s one of the few guns I have sold, although I have donated a lot of guns to wildlife conservation organizations, particularly DSC. I sold the Marlin to Jim Bequette, who had been my boss and editor while I was on staff with SHOOTING TIMES and also a long-time friend. Jim is the only person I would ever consider selling that rifle.
Back during the winter of 2023, I again became interested in hunting with lever-action rifles. I was mostly interested in hunting with three rounds;:.45 Colt (Long Colt), .44 Mag (because it matched the .44 Mag Taurus revolvers with which I hunted), and the venerable .30-30 Win.
After doing some research, I got in touch with the PR/Media person at Rossi. I knew Rossi produced some nicely accurate, good-looking, and fun-to-shoot lever guns, and they are chambered in the three rounds that interested me.
I ordered two Rossi Model R92s, a .45 Colt and a .44 Mag. A few days later, I ordered an R95 .30-30 Winchester. After doing the appropriate paperwork at Schubert’s Guns, I grabbed some Hornady ammo and headed to the range on my property.
Initially ,I set up targets at 25-yards. First, I shot my open-sight R92 .45 Colt using Hornady’s 225-grain FTX LEVERevolution. From a solid rest, I put three shots into an about 1-inch group, just to the right of the bull’s eye. I made a slight adjustment to the backsight, then fired three more shots. This time all went easily into the 2-inch bull. My intention in hunting with the .45 Colt was to limit my shots to within 550 yards. After letting the barrel cool, I shot the combination at 50-yards. All three shots were easily within a 3-inch circle immediately around the bullseye.
Next ,I loaded three 240-grain XTP Hornady Custom rounds into my R92 .44 Mag. Taking an fine-bead I put those shots in a three-fourths-inch group just above the bulleye at 25-yards. Then I loaded another three rounds and shot at the 50-yard target. My group was dead-on and about one and a half-inch in diameter. No doubt I could shoot accurately farther, but like with the .45 Colt I planned to limit my shots to 50-yards or closer.
Once I had shot both m92s, I loaded my Rossi .30-30 Winchester R95 with Hornady’s 160-grain FTX LEVERevolution ammo. I shot three times at the 25-yard target. They formed a tight clover leaf. At 50 yards, my 3-shot group expanded to a 1one½-inch group. Three more shots at the 100-yard target produced a 3-inch group.
I will admit, I impressed myself with shooting the groups I did, not because of the guns and ammo, but because it had essentially been many, many years since I had shot an open-sight rifle. No doubt, with better eyesight or more practice, my groups will likely tighten considerably. Still, I was satisfied knowing I could easily hit a deer’s vitals and quickly and humanely kill it out to 1100 yards with the R95 and out to 550 yards with my R92s.
Hunting in western Texas, I was able to take an ancient 8-point with my .44 Mag R92 and a second buck without browtines with my R95 .30-30. I also used both to take does. By paying close attention to the wind and moving only when those deer were looking away, I was able to get within 50 yards of all the deer I shot with those two lever actions. Before the year was over, I was able to take a big wild hog with my R95 as well.
My intention this coming hunting season is to take at least a couple of whitetails with my R92 .45 Colt and, shoot a deer with my Model 1895 .30Govt06, and to again hunt with my.44 Mag and .30-30 Win Rossi lever-action rifles.
Being on the lease I am a member of in western Texas, I can take several deer bucks including one I consider a trophy, and the others, usually up to 4, have to be management bucks. My guests and I, can also take several does, usually up to 8 or more. Thankfully, our lease is under a Texas Parks and Wildlife Department’s Managed Land Deer Permit, which also allows us to hunt from October 1 through the end of February.
Fortunately, I also hunt other similarly permitted properties where I can shoot several does as part of our management programs, plus bucks on some properties as well. And yes, all the venison derived from taking those is utilized by my family, friends, and those in need of protein in their diet.
I really do like my Rossi lever-action rifles for a lot of reasons. They are, with appropriate Hornady ammo very accurate, are fast handling, good-looking, and, are economically priced. They are fun to hunt with! Not only have I been using them for hunting deer, but also when hunting for hogs. Admittedly, I also use my Mossberg rifles, some equipped with Avient rapid heat releasing barrels. All are topped with Stealth Vision scopes, particularly fhen hunting, where I might have a chance of taking a monstrous whitetail buck at ranges longer than I would feel comfortable taking a shot with my open-sighted lever actions.
My Rossi lever-action rifles are truly fun to shoot and hunt with. They take me back to a time when I was a youngster begging my Dad to let me hunt with his lever-action deer rifle!
Professional wildlife biologist/outdoor communicator, Larry Weishuhn, known to many as “Mr. Whitetail”, has established quality wildlife management programs on over 12,000,000 acres throughout North American and other parts of the world. He has hunted big game with rifle and/or handgun on six continents. Larry is a Professional Member of the Boone & Crockett Club, life-member of numerous wildlife conservation organizations including the Dallas Safari Club, Mule Deer Foundation, and Wild Sheep Foundation. He currently serves on the DSC Foundation Board of Directors, is one of three co-founders of the Texas Wildlife Association; is a member of the Legends of the Outdoors Hall of Fame and the Muy Grande Hall of Fame; he too, received the Zeiss Lifetime Achievement Award among many other honors.