Dual Tube Lever Actions?

[TruthTellers]

I was just thinking, if Kel Tec can make the KSG with two loading tubes, why don't they make a dual tube lever action rifle? Think about this: A 20 inch .44 Magnum with two 10 round tube magazines. Not only does it increase capacities, but say you were using a suppressor, you could have subsonic loads in one tube and supersonic loads in the other.

Whadda think? Great idea or am I just a stupid kid with a dream?

 

[10-96]

I had to drink a little coffee and think a minute after I read your post.

And now that I put a little thought into it, I think there may be one little niche for your idea. Isn't it Mossberg that makes the tactical lever .30-30? Anyways, whoever it is, they might bite on the idea.

I think the majority of folks who go the lever route do so for basic reasons such as balance, simplicity, ease of carry, traditionalism. If someone wants high capacity, you know the detachable clips are still king of the hill at the moment. Now that tactical levergun goes into a whole nuther direction- and that may be where such an idea would take off. How well would it do? How expensive would it be to produce? Getting a manufacturer to decide they could have a profitable game plan- that would be the trick.

I mentally tinker with ideas too. Recently, my thoughts turn to something like a Henry that feeds like a Spencer. Wondering doesn't hurt a bit.

 

[Areoflyer09]

It’d be interesting. I would find it interesting enough to look at if it was made.

I’d expect if it could be done it would have to be tube loaded instead of gate loaded, can the reciecers handle a second hole on the other side? That plus the aesthetics, I could imagine there would be an outcry from the traditionalists. Henrys get it a lot just for the tube loading aspect.

 

[Mobuck]

"Isn't it Mossberg that makes the tactical lever .30-30? Anyways, whoever it is, they might bite on the idea. "

At least it wouldn't make it any more ugly.

 

[T. O'Heir]

There's no such thing as a "tactical lever". The original Henry repeating rifle in the 19th Century was one though. Indians didn't know what was happening.
Nobody makes a dual tube lever action because there's no demand.

 

[Jim Watson]

Well, not no demand, but not enough for a gun company to do the design work and tool up for it.

Advertisement for the 1860 Henry: "A resolute man, armed with one of these rifles and well mounted, cannot be taken."

 

[10-96]

Tooling would be a huge jump. That current thing, wasn't re-tooled, it was just a regular .30-30 (and now a .22) with a bunch of different parts throwed at it.

 

[taylorce1]

Well it's an idea. While in theory it might work, realistically probably not the way you want it to. Problems I see with this concept are:

1. It adds bulk to the rifle and ruins the feel and handling characteristics of a lever action rifle. That right there would be the biggest turn off for me.

2. Having two different loads like super and sub ammunition, you run the risk of having vastly different zeros. it's highly unlikely your point of impacts will be similar using the same point of aim, except at extremely close ranges. Thus making it impractical because of th sight corrections you'd have to make . Defense shotguns don't have this issue because most of the time you're using buck shot or slugs at very close range.

3. You ruin the "idea" of a lever action. Fact is most lever guns purchased today are more for nostalgia than any other reason. Sure a few people buy them to hunt with still today, but I bet the majority are bought because of childhood memories of old western movies and TV shows.

Of course saying all that what do I know, Mossberg still sells that hideous .30-30 and .22 LR Sith AR style 6 position buttstock and forearm rails. There is probably a small market for your rifle, and who knows it might be far larger than I think. Our country was built by alot of inventive people with ingenuity and a different vision of things, so like I said it's an idea.

Now that you have the idea, next step would be design phase making sure not to infringe on any current patents. Once you're through the design phase you'll need to build a prototype for "proof of concept". Once you have that you can try to sell your idea to a firearms manufacturer or try to find the capital for your own startup. It's tough to go from idea to something tangible, but with time, money, hard work, and determination it can be done.

 

[Pathfinder45]

High capacity in a lever action is generally 14 rounds in a rifle or 10 rounds in a carbine. Other than being in a serious gun fight against several determined assailants, that will be more than sufficient. And it was quite sufficient even for that in the days when the Henry Rifle and the Winchester 1866 and 1873 rifles were still young. As the Indian Wars drew to a close, the lever-action rifle evolved to accept longer, more powerful cartridges with extended range. Although the longer cartridges reduced magazine capacity, it was found that game animals rarely stand still and wait around after the first shot. Half-magazines and even button magazines began to be popular because they shot as well, usually even better than the full-magazine version as the range increased, plus they weighed less and the extra capacity was simply not needed. By the time of the First World War, the lever-action rifle was obsolete as a military weapon, with the possible exception of the Russian-contract 1895 Winchester, but it too, loaded from a stipper-clip. So, to answer the original post: Even if you can build a working prototype, it will be virtually unmarketable. I could imagine that the working prototype could eventually make it's way on screen in a sci-fi film, but that's about it.

 

[fourbore]

It would be too much weight and defeat the purpose of a 44 lever hunting rifle.

This is a reality lost on Henry with a 7 pound (empty) 44 lever.