The quintessential American rifle--the lever action. From left to right: a 1950s-era Marlin 336 and a Pre-'64 Model 94 Winchester (both in .30-30), a Marlin 95 in .444 Remington.

Gun history is a northern lake at winter's end, appearing as a pathway of solid ice when in fact every slippery step may plunge the unwary traveler into frigid waters. Manufacturing records, yellowed with age; fragile personal notes; catalogs from the past; writings of yesteryear; collections; museums--these and other clues bond together to tell the story of firearm development.

We know that by far the major advances in shooting technology originated in Europe. The envelope--we call it a jacketed bullet--belongs to Majors Bode and Ruben of Switzerland circa 1880, five years before French chemist Vielle invented smokeless powder for that country's 8mm Lebel.

But while the English did have the lever-operated Needham magazine gun, it paled against the breed belonging to the red, white and blue. Furthermore, Paco Kelly, in An American Heritage--Leverguns, tells us that "There was a black-powder single-shot rifle brought out in the 1830s that had an underlever that opened the piece." It was a Yankee invention. Respected authority of his day (and ours) W.W. Greener wrote in The Gun and Its Development, 1910 edition, "The Spencer appears to have been the first successful breechloading magazine rifle; it was patented in the United States in 1860." This Civil War repeater had a buttstock tubular magazine with each cartridge levered into battery one at a time. A little later the Henry came along, followed by Winchester, Marlin and Savage, all American lever-action rifles.

Quo vadis? Where have they gone, those leverguns born and bred in 19th century America? Nowhere. Lever-action rifles thrive from Brazilian jungles to North Pole ice floes. They're especially at home in whitetail thickets east of the Mississippi. Along with hunting, Cowboy Action Shooting boosted the old-style rifle three limbs higher on the popularity tree.

Ruger's 2002 catalog explained it well: "There is a world of tradition inherent in the lever-action carbine. It is a quintessentially American design, recalling the days of the Old West and generations of hunters. Tradition aside, the lever-action carbine is an immensely practical shooting system. It is compact, rugged and reliable and offers quick follow-up shots when needed with just a brief flick of the wrist."

What we believed about bolt-action superiority over leverguns has been trampled beneath the hooves of a steed called reality, especially in accuracy and action strength. There is no doubt that the next national benchrest match will be won by a bolt-action rifle. There is also no doubt that a lever-action rifle could be built to compete.

Recently, a Marlin Model 336 Cowboy .38-55 rifle came my way. My shooting partner, Ron Cox, and I took the 24-inch-barrel rifle to the range to wring it out. Out of the box, open iron sights only, the first bullet from a cold bore cut a circle out of the upper left-hand corner of the aiming point. The next two created one figure-eight hole at the bottom of the one-inch square. Total group size at 50 yards ran .8 inch center to center.

This Savage Model 1899 .30-30 with a 26-inch barrel left the factory in 1901. In 2001 the author used the rifle to take a fine Wyoming antelope buck.

After chronographing several rounds, Ron, a former SWAT sniper, shot another group. This time three shots created one hole .266 inch center to center. We're in the process of mounting a 12X Leupold scope on the Marlin to satisfy curiosity about 100-yard accuracy. I have Mount McKinley confidence in this rifle's ability to put a bullet right where it belongs on game up to moose size. That bullet will weigh 240 to 300 grains, handloaded to double-century velocity.

Bolt-actions stand more pressure than leverguns. However, Browning's Lightning BLR contains high-intensity cartridges just fine, including the 7mm Remington Magnum. The famous Savage 99, now sleeping ignominiously by the side of the main track, fired the .243 and .308, among other modern rounds. Winchester's Model 88, after a totally unsuccessful attempt at a coup over the Model 94, came in the excellent .284 Winchester, that cartridge also hidden today under a shovelful of unconvincing press. The late, great Sako Finnwolf with four-round magazine was also available in .243 and .308.

Long before these rifles existed, Winchester's 1895 lever-action fired the .30-06 Springfield. While the original Model 1894 locked up with hotter loads, later versions were, and are, capable of handling more breech pressure. Several fine cartridges followed the new 94 design, including the 7mm Waters (7mm/.30-30) and .307 Winchester, a rimmed .308--almost. There is also the .356 Winchester, stronger than the famous .35 Remington. The .375 Winchester, an excellent cartridge, is a puzzlement. This cartridge is ballistically, but not interchangeably, a .38-55. My own .38-55 handloads keep up with it.

A trio of Marlins: The 336CC (top) is offered in .30-30 or .35 Remington. The Model 1895GS (center) is chambered for the .45-70 Government cartridge. Born in 1873 for the Trap Door Springfield, it now hammers out 350-grain bullets at 1,900 fps. In .44 Magnum/.44 Special, the 1894SS (bottom) has a 10-shot magazine and is the stainless steel twin of the standard Marlin 1894.

Cartridges for lever actions bridge the waters with .22-caliber speed rockets on one side of the river to heavy-bullet bigbores on the other. For a while, Remington had the .30-30 Accelerator firing a .22-caliber bullet at about 3,000 fps. Marlin's .450 cartridge is the .458 American wildcat, a shortened .458 Winchester retaining the belt. It launches a 350-grain bullet with bear-stopping performance. The .444 Marlin is another powerhouse. Hornady offers a fine 300-grain bullet for the .444 pushed at 2,000 fps with 51 grains of H-335.

The ancient .45-70 Government thrives in lever actions. It's big-game formidable with bullets ranging from 300 to 500 grains. The .405 Winchester is back, and the .38-55 has a new lease on life, which it deserves. It shoots several bullets extremely well, such as Hornady's 220-grain HP-XTP and the Laser Cast hard-lead missile. Redding/Saeco has fine bullet moulds for the .38-55, including the standard 255-grain Round Nose Flat Point, but also a 225-grain to the left of it and a 300-grain to the right. Lyman also has superb bullet moulds for the .38-55. Current lever-action chamberings also include the .38-40, .44-40 and .45 Colt. The .357 Magnum/.38 Special (and .38 Special only) are offered, along with the .44 Remington Magnum. And of course the .30-30 cartridge continues to shine like a ruby in the sun.

There is no lack of lever-action big-game rifles to choose from. Winchester's limited New Model 1895 shoots Teddy Roosevelt's admired Big Medicine round, the .405 Winchester. The same company's Model 94 Black Shadow is reminiscent of the most handsome 94 of all, the Model 64. This one is available in .30-30, of course, as well as .44 Magnum. There is the Model 94 Big Bore in .444 Marlin. The 94 Big Bore Side Eject comes in .307, .356 or .444. The 94 Trapper has a 16-inch barrel.