Credit for this line of thinking goes to Gabe Suarez, since his observations started this commentary. There was a discussion on his forum about lever guns and he said that they were really not fighting rifles. What does that mean? There are several types of rifles that one could pick up and use in an altercation, starting with muzzle-loading black powder guns of the Revolutionary War era through single shot rifles that require a new cartridge is individually loaded after each shot, to lever rifles, where cartridges are loaded into a tube below the barrel and then as the rifle is fired, a lever is rotated forward and back to move a cartridge from the tube to the chamber (if you’ve seen a John Wayne western movie, you’ve seen one of these rifles), and then finally some modern semi-automatic rifle that is fed from a detachable magazine that sticks out below the rifle’s receiver. Lever guns are widely available, generally used for hunting, can hold 10 or more rounds of ammunition, have a short overall length, are fast shooting and easy to handle. I like them.

Why are they not a good fighting rifle? They are if that’s all you have. So is a stick. But, as Gabe pointed out, they are not good if there is a better choice. If at all possible, choose the best choice since it’s your life that depends on it. The better choice is the more modern choice, and rifles like the AR-15 and AK-47 will easily outperform any lever action rifle in a typical fight situation. The more modern rifle holds 30 rounds in a detachable magazine, so multiple magazines can be carried and changed quickly instead of attempting to feed cartridges one at a time into the side of the lever gun. If there is a jam or other malfunction, it’s easier to get inside a semi-automatic to get the problem cleared up and get back in the fight. Lever guns do jam, and when they do, it often means disassembling them to get them fixed. While lever guns can be fired quickly, they absolutely cannot put out the sustained rate of fire that a semi-automatic rifle is capable of producing,  and the situation may dictate that necessity.

While I have focused on lever guns in particular, this can be applied to other types of guns, even bolt action rifles. Yes, they are accurate and can be fired quickly, and they do have their particular usefulness in battle. In an unknown fight situation, however, I think the outbound fire capability of an AK-47 will give a greater edge toward winning the fight. Of course, if you get to choose the location of the fight and you are the ace shot and you can pick off the enemy, then it is your call and I, too, would be taking a hard look at my 308 bolt gun. But, for “something’s happening about 75 yards out and I don’t know what it is,” I’m grabbing my AK and a pouch full of magazines. I’m not picking up a Winchester 92 lever gun and a box of cartridges. Just some thoughts for your consideration.