Had this rifle for multipul years now and I have to say it's a pretty nice gun. I mounted a leupold mx2 with a custom German number 1 reticle on top because the iron never would sight in for me unless I used hornady leverevolution. I've taken multipul deer now with it using 325 gr Sierra bullets. I did have to oil the furniture though as it was starting to really dry out.

Very accurate as good as any of the higher priced lever actions

What a little beast! I bought this rifle to use as bear defense while camping/deep woods hiking. With the addition of a sling, it's a very easy rifle to carry, light and compact. The lever action cycles like butter, even the FFL commented on how he couldn't believe how silky the action felt. I'm impressed with the quality of this rifle, especially with what I paid for it. Once again, the action is SOOO smooth! Here it is though, this rifle is an absolute beast! .45-70 hunting loads out of a small guide sized lever action can be painful. If you don't get this rifle seated against your shoulder how you should, you WILL end up with a bruised shoulder. My buddy, whom was in the Army Infantry, found that out the hard way with holding it a little looser than he should've. I would like to say though, this isn't a complaint, just a heads up. This is exactly why I bought this rifle, a powerful round in a compact, lightweight carry rifle for backwoods protection. Another nice feature about this rifle is that the Rio Grande has an overbuilt receiver, and is one of the few rifles that can handle the Buffalo Bore/Double Tap hunting rounds with no problem. No fear with this rifle on those hot loads, it will handle them. You might not... but it will, heh.

Very nice rifle. Great bluing and stock material. Fit and finish are fine. It is surprisingly light and well balanced. Cycles smoothly and shoots great. The only things that I got bad to say is that the load gate is real stiff and sharp. I left a piece of skin in this thing. Could use less spring tension. Will have to be careful. The other thing is that maybe the picantilly rail should be sent uninstalled to be installed by user if desired. When using the iron sights with this installed can't get them low enough and still see rear sight over rail.

Great rifle. Very good fit and finish, and smooth action. The perfect camp gun in big critter country. And the big loop lever makes it ideal in cold weather when gloves are a must. At only 5.8 lbs. it is an extremely light rifle, especially in this caliber; a similar Marlin in this configuration weighs 7 lbs..

Recieved this rifle today. Awesome feel to it. Wood grain is nice, weight is a little on the heavy side, but for this rifle, that's to be expected.

Kicks like a mule in the 45-70, however it is very accurate at 50 yards open sights. Fit and finish are great for the price of this gun.