Lever Action

  Cowboy up with the action that won the west! The lever action is most noted for its presence during the westward expansion of the United States, and is often associated with the idea of the Wild West.  Despite its deep association with the United States, the action was actually developed in Italy in 1826 by Cesar Rosaglio, and patented in 1829, though Colt claims to have produced the first lever actions for the market in the late 1830's.  Moreover, despite the actions American association and its portrayal in media (like Nathan Algren's disgruntled and drunken exhibition in the beginning of The Last Samurai), the action was not adopted by many militaries around the world.  The nature of the action to load the next round was substantially faster than most previous firearms, but it also made it complicated to fire from the prone (lying down) position.  On top of this the action was competing with the bolt-action which was invented around the same time period and accomplished the same improvement in firing rate without the awkwardness of chambering another round while on the ground.

Nonetheless, its reputation among frontiersman doesn't come from nowhere; they are slender firearms can be easily carried in satchels, across the back, and on horseback. Fire one with us today and find out how much cowboy is in your blood.