Hunting

Smith & Wesson’s 1854 Lever Gun

By: Chris Mudgett

Traditional with a hint of new-school, S&W gets it right the first time

Several years ago, lever-action rifles enjoyed a brief resurgence in popularity before fizzling out after the larping crowd nearly ruined the essence of the platform by bolting every imaginable accouterment to it and labeling it an AR-15 alternative. I don’t think it is, and apparently, neither does Smith & Wesson.

Built on a forged 416 stainless-steel receiver, the 1854 uses the same round-style bolt you would find on larger big-bore platforms, such as 45/70. Highlights of the receiver include a flat-faced trigger, a mid-sized lever loop for gloved hands, easy-to-operate cross-bolt safety, and a side loading gate. Machine work was outstanding, with zero burs or tooling marks.

Earlier in the year, Big Blue introduced the 1854 with some very tasteful and pragmatic upgrades over a traditional lever gun. Conceptually, it’s nice to see that the company took the “svelte bush gun” route instead of the “over-accessorized, boat anchor” angle that’s prevalent today. Smith and Wesson put it best when they said this rifle “seamlessly melds precision engineering and timeless design with modern features.” Let’s take a closer look at what this means.

Smith & Wesson has a unique advantage over others in this market in that it has the ability to tap into an incredible catalog of designs, breadth of product offerings, and a broadly experienced engineering team that’s encouraged to think outside the box. A good example of this is the 1854’s action, which is extremely clean and crisp right out of the box, with no visible burs or tooling marks. Racking the slightly oversized loop forward and aft provides proof positive of this. It’s not just the smoothness of the action but the 1854’s ability to reliability feed and extract cases like a high-dollar custom rifle from a boutique shop. Smith & Wesson nailed it the first time.

Compared to Marlin’s 1894 Classic chambered in the same 44 Mag cartridge, the profile of the 1854’s 19.25″ barrel stainless steel is substantially larger, necessary in part to the muzzle’s 11/16”-24 muzzle threads. A removable magazine tube allows rounds to be dumped out the front without cycling them through the action. A fixed gold bead handles front sight duty.

The trigger pull and hammer operation are equally smooth. The trigger shape is one of the few nods to modern trends you will outwardly notice on this rifle. Flat-face triggers are currently in vogue, but for a good reason; a trigger that breaks at 90 degrees is simply easier to shoot for most and provides greater leverage, resulting in the perception of a lighter pull — always a good thing on a lightweight rifle. A cross-bolt safety is well-placed, functional, and intuitive to use.

In a nod to the current state of lever guns, without going overboard with tactical accouterments, the polymer forend is given M-LOK accessory cuts at 3,6 and 9 o’clock. While a white-light illuminator might come in handy for hog hunting or defensive rolls, we made use of the M-LOK to mount a Midwest Industries Universal Shell Holder, which holds two 44 Magnum shells at the ready.

Another subtle modernized feature is found at the far end of the rifle’s ideally textured composite forend: three M-LOK slots, one at 3, 6, and 9 o’clock, are beveled nicely into place. Should you insist on adding a white-light illuminator, you can do so with class, panache, and functionality —especially if using an offset mount — maintaining the smooth lines and slim feel to the forend. A far better use of the M-LOK slots, in our opinion — especially on the forend’s right side — is a Midwest Industries Universal Shell Holder that perfectly fits a pair of 44 Rem Mag cases, just in case you need 12 rounds instead of the nine rounds the tube magazine is capable of holding and one for the chamber.

The muzzle of the 1854’s 19.25-inch stainless-steel barrel with 1:20″ RH Twist 8-Groove Rifling is threaded 11/16-24 for installing a suppressor or muzzle brake. A lightweight, compact-length titanium constructed suppressor is ideally suited to this platform and would certainly be our preference not to impede the balance or handling of this exceptional field gun, but most cans rated to 44 Magnum do not fall into either the lightweight or compact categories. Regardless, lever rifles are excellent suppressor hosts, similar to bolt action rifles, as no additional sound or gas emits from the receiver area of the platform to negatively affect shooter comfort. Instead, everything gets pushed out the bore, leading to a very comfortable big-bore rifle to shoot for range or hunting applications.

On Target’s 1854 was tested using Trijion’s Huron 1-4x24mm riflescope, which we felt was a perfect match to the rifle’s practical range and hard-use intentions. We mounted the Huron in a set of Larue Tactical rings, which allowed us to co-witness the rear XS Sight Systems adjustable ghost ring and gold-bead front iron sights. The included removable hammer spur makes thumbing the hammer much more convenient with an optic in place.

The slightly longer barrel length also suppresses rather well compared to a shorter 16-inch and allows for that impressive 9+1 round capacity from its nearly flush-fitting extended magazine tube. The magazine tube is removable out the front, allowing you to dump ammunition without cycling it through the action.

The receiver is constructed of 416R stainless steel and compatible with Marlin 1894-hole pattern optic mounts, but ships with a pre-installed Picatinny optic rail from the factory. A gold bead front sight paired with an XS Sights rear ghost ring provides a fast and accurate iron sight picture. Still, we took full advantage of the Picatinny rail to mount a Trijicon Huron 1-4x24mm, which we found provided the optimum balance of weight, optical clarity, and power range for the dense cover terrain in which we expect to use this package.

Synthetic furniture adds to the all-weather, hard-use capabilities of the 1854 — you won’t think twice about taking this rifle out in foul weather. Texturing, which we found to be perfect in its abrasive levels when both wet and dry, can be found on the pistol grip and forend. A soft rubber buttpad helps take the sting out of hotrod 44 Mag loads.

I chose to performance test this platform utilizing this same Trijicon Huron 1-4x for practical evaluation of this rifle. Leaving this optic in place, instead of mounting a higher-magnification riflescope, allowed us to accurately represent what this platform is capable of as equipped the way we anticipate most of you will configure yours. The results were impressive, to say the least. Our best three-shot group at 100 yards was attained using Federal 180-grain Power Shok JHP’s, which clustered nicely into a .45-inch clover leaf three-shot group. This is a field gun, not a bench rider, which is why we opted for three-shot groups instead of five.

I can’t say for sure what is going on in Springfield, Massachusetts, but the feature sets and performance found within the 1854 rifle give me hope for Big Blue’s bright future in the lever-gun world. At an MSRP of $1,279 for the synthetic stock model or $1,399 for the traditional walnut model — in either 45 Colt or our preferred 44 Rem Mag — it is an incredible bargain, considering the level of craftsmanship you get for your money. If you’re in the market for a hard-use and very capable big-bore field gun that will readily accept a suppressor and your choice of functional accessories, look no further. See it at your nearest dealer, or for more information, contact Smith & Wesson; Tel: (800) 331-0852; Web: www.smith-wesson.com.