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Is anyone using a big loop lever on their Marlin rifles? I know there are mixed feelings on them for competition work and a variety of techniques can be used for cycling however for me the bottom line is the lever loop could do with being a bit bigger, or even a slightly different shape.

Does anyone have a view on this?

My standard loop Marlin works fine - if it ain't broke etc.

dodgyrog wrote:My standard loop Marlin works fine - if it ain't broke etc.

Roger, the ain't broke is my problem, it is! I smashed my right hand quite badly many years ago and these days do not have good movement or feeling in the little and ring fingers of my right hand hence my problem with the lever loop.

Since the other thread about this, I get what others were saying about fingers/hands moving around inside the lever - I've been experimenting, and it does seem better with all four fingers comfortably squeezed in with padding...

...if this is no good, due to you're hand; then you have the tools and know-how to go bespoke...you'd have to work out what would be the most comfortable position for you, and then design outwards from you're hand...seeing how much padding you need, and how big you'd need to make the handle to accommodate it.

I'm not sure it'd work for yourself, but I'd like to try a lever with one single hole that the middle finger goes in...but the base of the lever would still have to extend back far enough to close the safety.

Would like a larger loop for my Winchester, but as it's a pistol grip stock as opposed to a straight stock I don't really think it's that feasible.

Grizzly Custom make a nice, not too large lever for Marlins. No shipping outside the US though.

http://www.grizzlycustom.com/index.html

We spent Saturday working on the Marlin and I spent some time and care on the lever removing the sharper edges and it seems to have worked very nicely and will do for an interim solution.

its steel so work out the shape and design that you want then cut it up, shape some steel, weld back together, grind file polish etc, then either leave polished or black it

a while ago I helped a guy with his, I cut the loop up and he supplied some octagonal shaped steel bar, think he had to have it milled as he couldnt find the size he wanted, we heated and bent it to shape, welded it in place, polished up, cherry red into old engine oil, worked really well, he had cowboy model and purely wanted the hex theme on the loop, and it was slightly larger as he had arthritis.

other peoples views are great, but at the end of the day, if modifying it means that you can shoot it better, faster, easier or just makes it more enjoyable then go do it

wrapping the lever with leather thonging works well to minimise slap and means that movement of hand is translated into lever movement far faster