Chris
NES Member
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- May 24, 2005
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Been playing with this baby a while now, and I feel I have enough rounds through it to give it a good solid review. If you google, you'll find a whole bunch of reviews and articles, so I'm going to skip the whole grouping analysis and talk more about my own findings.
The Model 89 is patterned after the Winchester Models 86 and 92 - being named as a midway between the two classic Browning rifles, able to handle the power of the .500, but feed the relatively short cartridge. Like a '92, the loading gate on the side is a potential pinch point and shooters must be sure to operate the lever smartly the full length of its travel or experience feeding failures.
Unlike most lever actions, the rear sight is mounted on the back of the bolt and travels with it as you operate the action. This creates a large sight radius for accurate alignment, and places the ghost ring rear sight at the proper distance from the eye. I did not find this location to cause any issues as the massive bolt is machined with a very tight tolerance to the receiver. When closed and locked, there is no perceptible play in the parts. The action itself is wider than a standard '86, but the difference isn't real noticeable in the handing. What is noticeable is the stovepipe of a barrel. That half inch hole at the business end is hard to miss.
Unlike the handheld arms that typically fire this load, the 89 is a lot more comfortable to handle. Although shooting hot 440 grain Buffalo Bore cartridges isn't exactly without drama, the rifle and its thick absorbing pad manage the recoil nicely. Launching said loads at nearly 2000 fps at 3800 ft lbs of energy will certainly allow the hunter to take anything that walks in the Americas. I don't know if I'd want to be looking down the barrel at an incoming cape buffalo or elephant, but even that might be doable. Not bad for a repeater that tips the scales under 8 lbs.
Using my own loads of a 400 grain bullet traveling at 2300 fps, the muzzle energy reaches an astounding 4500 ft lbs. I found the rifle manages heavy loads quite nicely. It was only when I cycled lighter 300 grain and 325 grain loads that I had any failures, but that might have been due to running these rounds when the rifle was new. Even today after some 200 rounds, A-Zoom dummy loads fail to cycle through the action reliably. Such issues have not occurred with heavy loads.
Magazine capacity in my carbine is 7 rounds. The carbine has an 18" barrel. The gun can also be had with a 22" barrel, but that configuration only has a 5 round magazine. Even the manufacturer agrees that the barrel length does not make much of a difference in ballistics, but rather adds more sight radius. This makes sense as the cartridge was designed for a handgun, not a rifle. Still, I've enjoyed a significant velocity gain in every load I've tried when compared to the revolver. Part of that is the barrel length, part due to the lack of a gap.
Fit and finish is top notch. Craftsmanship is on par with the finest firearms made. The #1 Walnut stock and metal action fit with no detectable seam. A double set screw on the lever's falling block is executed with flawless fitting. The aforementioned bolt and receiver fit was initially so tight as to be noticeably stiff in operation until several hundred cycles had been put on it. Even so, the action requires a quality lube to remain smooth.
Little touches show that the builders understand the use of these rifles. Front sling attachment is integrated with the metal forend cap rather than simply screwed into the walnut. This kind of design is common with high recoil hunting rifles. Large lever loop is comfortable with bare hands and still has room for gloves. Checkering on the grip and forend provide all weather grip.
The .500 round isn't designed for long range, dropping like a rock beyond 175 yards. However, within that range, accuracy is on par with the needs of a hunter and hits hard when it strikes its target. The Model 89 lever action is a high quality field rifle that delivers a knockdown few cartridges can.
Many thanks to Lonely Mountain Arms for putting up with me while we waited nearly 16 months for the rifle to arrive.
The Model 89 is patterned after the Winchester Models 86 and 92 - being named as a midway between the two classic Browning rifles, able to handle the power of the .500, but feed the relatively short cartridge. Like a '92, the loading gate on the side is a potential pinch point and shooters must be sure to operate the lever smartly the full length of its travel or experience feeding failures.
Unlike most lever actions, the rear sight is mounted on the back of the bolt and travels with it as you operate the action. This creates a large sight radius for accurate alignment, and places the ghost ring rear sight at the proper distance from the eye. I did not find this location to cause any issues as the massive bolt is machined with a very tight tolerance to the receiver. When closed and locked, there is no perceptible play in the parts. The action itself is wider than a standard '86, but the difference isn't real noticeable in the handing. What is noticeable is the stovepipe of a barrel. That half inch hole at the business end is hard to miss.
Unlike the handheld arms that typically fire this load, the 89 is a lot more comfortable to handle. Although shooting hot 440 grain Buffalo Bore cartridges isn't exactly without drama, the rifle and its thick absorbing pad manage the recoil nicely. Launching said loads at nearly 2000 fps at 3800 ft lbs of energy will certainly allow the hunter to take anything that walks in the Americas. I don't know if I'd want to be looking down the barrel at an incoming cape buffalo or elephant, but even that might be doable. Not bad for a repeater that tips the scales under 8 lbs.
Using my own loads of a 400 grain bullet traveling at 2300 fps, the muzzle energy reaches an astounding 4500 ft lbs. I found the rifle manages heavy loads quite nicely. It was only when I cycled lighter 300 grain and 325 grain loads that I had any failures, but that might have been due to running these rounds when the rifle was new. Even today after some 200 rounds, A-Zoom dummy loads fail to cycle through the action reliably. Such issues have not occurred with heavy loads.
Magazine capacity in my carbine is 7 rounds. The carbine has an 18" barrel. The gun can also be had with a 22" barrel, but that configuration only has a 5 round magazine. Even the manufacturer agrees that the barrel length does not make much of a difference in ballistics, but rather adds more sight radius. This makes sense as the cartridge was designed for a handgun, not a rifle. Still, I've enjoyed a significant velocity gain in every load I've tried when compared to the revolver. Part of that is the barrel length, part due to the lack of a gap.
Fit and finish is top notch. Craftsmanship is on par with the finest firearms made. The #1 Walnut stock and metal action fit with no detectable seam. A double set screw on the lever's falling block is executed with flawless fitting. The aforementioned bolt and receiver fit was initially so tight as to be noticeably stiff in operation until several hundred cycles had been put on it. Even so, the action requires a quality lube to remain smooth.
Little touches show that the builders understand the use of these rifles. Front sling attachment is integrated with the metal forend cap rather than simply screwed into the walnut. This kind of design is common with high recoil hunting rifles. Large lever loop is comfortable with bare hands and still has room for gloves. Checkering on the grip and forend provide all weather grip.
The .500 round isn't designed for long range, dropping like a rock beyond 175 yards. However, within that range, accuracy is on par with the needs of a hunter and hits hard when it strikes its target. The Model 89 lever action is a high quality field rifle that delivers a knockdown few cartridges can.
Many thanks to Lonely Mountain Arms for putting up with me while we waited nearly 16 months for the rifle to arrive.
![[shocked]](/xen/styles/default/xenforo/smilies.vb/007.gif "Shocked [shocked]")
"Isn't" price prohibitive???? Those prices seem pretty prohibitive to me..... Though if you've got the coin it's a great looking rifle.
