As it turned out, I got to within 185 lasered yards of a representative buck on the first morning of the two-day season and decided to pull the trigger. No problem. Even at 185 yards, the idea of using a .30-30 on pronghorn prior to Hornady's breakthrough ballistic development would have been a study in optimism. With it, this old warhorse of a cartridge in a traditional lever gun like the 464 has all the accuracy, a flat-enough trajectory and enough downrange energy to take deer-size game out to 250 yards.

It wasn't until early 2008 that I received a production example of the 464 that I could examine at leisure and test in a more comprehensive manner. To do so I mounted a Sightron Big Sky 1.5-5X using Weaver low rings. The production guns are furnished with an ambidextrous hammer extension that makes cocking and uncocking with a low-mounted scope a lot easier.

In addition to Hornady's LeverEvolution 160-grain Flex Tip load, I had some Federal Classic 170-grain Sierra Pro Hunter, Winchester's 150-grain Power Point and Remington's 170-grain Core Lokt factory loads. The trigger on the test gun was smoother and lighter than I remember it being on my hunting gun, and the safety moved more easily. Other than that, everything else seemed about the same.

This time I had a concrete bench to shoot off of, and it showed in terms of groups that were tighter, though not a lot, from the ones I had gotten in New Mexico. My smallest three-shot group with the Hornady load was one inch even, but the average for five three-shot groups was 1.6 inches, which was about .3 inch better than I got on a previous range session.

The Winchester load was close behind, averaging 1.85 inches. No tiny groups with it, but they were very uniform--nothing over 2.1 inches and nothing smaller than 1.45. I figure that if I'd had a little more magnification than 5X, my sighting error would have been less, and I might have gotten those group averages down by maybe an eighth-inch or so. Still, that's decent accuracy for a bolt action, let alone a lever gun having a much longer lock time and rear lock-up.

Only time will tell if the new Winchester Repeating Arms Co. will resurrect the Model 94, but if it does, this new Mossberg will stand up very well in any kind of comparison. Adding to its appeal is its price: It carries a suggested retail of $473, which represents a real value when compared with the competition.

All in all I think the 464 is a worthwhile addition to the ever-growing Mossberg product line, and I'm betting it will be given a warm reception by those legions of lever lovers out there. And we've just learned that there will be a companion .22 rimfire version of the 464 coming in the fall of this year. Judging from the catalog picture, it looks remarkably like the Winchester 94/22. The rimfire 464 will be all blued steel with a hardwood stock. The gun will weigh 5.6 lbs. and measure 353⁄4 inches with its 18-inch barrel. The full length tubular magazine's capacity is 13 rounds.