In my eyes the Smith & Wesson Mannequin 1854 is probably the most outstanding new rifle of the yr. Maybe you have been blessed with a crystal ball, however I actually didn’t have a Smith & Wesson lever motion on my bingo card for 2024. What makes this accomplishment so spectacular is that they received it splendidly proper when there are such a lot of methods it might have gone terribly flawed.
First off, let’s acknowledge that the Mannequin 1854 is extremely effectively executed. I’ll dig into the main points in a bit, however the Smith & Wesson 1854 checks each field I prefer to see in a brand new rifle. It serves a transparent objective — an all-weather close-range searching rifle — and incorporates almost all of the options any individual wielding it might need. It reveals wonderful craftsmanship and will get excessive marks for its match and end, ergonomics, and easy operation. And — the cherry on prime — it represents an excellent worth.
It would appear to be a given to anticipate all this from any new gun, and that’s a good level. However that Smith & Wesson was in a position to do that whereas venturing into terra incognita — that is their first lever motion — will increase the prospect that one thing would possibly go awry. We’ve seen this loads of instances over time, together with from Smith & Wesson itself with the ill-fated i-Bolt that it trotted out a dozen years in the past. That sequence was a colossal flop.
Lastly, they pulled this off whereas manufacturing a lever motion, a platform that’s notoriously tough to excellent. The complicated interaction of elements in a lever gun can go sideways on you earlier than it. This was a key purpose that Marlin fell on its face when it was bought by the Remington Out of doors Firm in 2007.
The dimwitted executives that made the acquisition thought they might relocate Marlin’s equipment from North Haven, Conn., to Ilion, N.Y. and hold churning out 336s and 1895s. Loads of folks cautioned them towards that transfer, however they ignored that counsel with sadly predictable outcomes.
In a nutshell, for this reason I’m so impressed with the S&W 1854. It’s a testomony to the ability and imaginative and prescient of the engineers, designers, and everybody else who had a hand in bringing it to fruition.
It additionally dramatically modifications the lever-action panorama. For the previous few years Marlin and Henry Repeating Arms have been the dominant supply for available high-quality lever weapons. With the Mannequin 1854, Smith & Wesson has proven there’s a brand new participant on the town — and the primary beneficiary shall be hunters and shooters who now have extra decisions to select from.
Smith & Wesson Mannequin 1854 Specs
- Motion: Lever
- Cartridge: .44 Rem. Magazine./.44 Spl. (examined)
- Capability: 10
- Barrel: 19.25 inches, threaded 11/16-24, 1:20 twist
- Size: 36 inches
- Weight: 6 kilos, 12 ounces (measured)
- Set off: 4 kilos, 7 ounces (measured)
- Inventory: Artificial
- Sights: Ghost ring with Picatinny rail
- Worth: $1,279
Key Options
- All-weather development
- Forend comes with M-Lok attachments
- Has Picatinnay rail for mounting optics
- Comes with outsized lever loop
- Rifle unloads by way of journal tube
Assessment Highlights
- Masses, cycles, and shoots simply
- Balances and carries effectively
- Wonderful set off for a lever motion
- Accuracy: 1.800-inch common 5-shot group at 50 yards, with a complete of 30 teams and 6 various kinds of ammo
Smith & Wesson 1854 Configuration
The Mannequin 1854 is a great mixture of conventional and trendy options that harmonize in a helpful and enjoyable rifle. Chambered in .44 Magnum it may well additionally run .44 Specials, and between these two cartridges there are many varieties of ammo to select from — the whole lot from gentle cowboy-action plinking rounds to smashers designed to cease a charging bear.
Simple Loader
The rifle holds 10 rounds and hundreds by way of a facet gate and is engineered so you may unload it by way of the journal tube by eradicating the spring and plunger meeting, which could be very helpful. You simply tip the rifle ahead and the rounds spill out of the tube. Notice, which you can’t load the rifle this fashion. However that’s not a downside as a result of like
different elements on the rifle, the loading gate operates easily making it straightforward to prime off the rifle with out worrying concerning the gate catching your fingers.
One other indication of the rifle’s high quality workmanship is how the rounds all the time stayed put within the journal whereas loading and squirted again onto the provider, which is a comparatively frequent incidence with lever weapons.
The muzzle can be threaded so that you could simply connect a suppressor, which is how we did most of our taking pictures with the 1854. One minor consideration right here is that when you’ve got a suppressor on board, you may’t unload the journal as a result of the tube turns into blocked by the can.
Helpful Inventory
The silhouette of the rifle captures the standard traces of a lever motion. However Smith geared up this model with an artificial inventory that can stand as much as a number of abuse, and might settle for equipment due to M-Lok slots molded into the forend. This enables the rifle to accommodate rails for equipment, like lights, lasers, and different gadgets generally used on tactical lever actions.
The Mannequin 1854 has a Picatinny rail on prime of the receiver and makes mounting a scope like an LPVO an interesting possibility. We did that ourselves and it was with a scope on board that we gathered our accuracy knowledge. (The rifle comes with good ghost-ring sights which might be serviceable out to 75 yards, so a scope isn’t an absolute necessity.)
The accuracy of our pattern was fairly good, and we have been actually glad with the outcomes. We received our knowledge taking pictures it off a help bag on a tripod at 50 yards. One other factor that stood out throughout the analysis was how the rifle digested all method of ammunition with none hiccups.
As a result of the butt inventory has a good quantity of drop, the shooter’s head traces up behind the open sights. With the irons or a red-dot/reflex sight mounted low on the receiver this isn’t a problem. Nonetheless, for those who run a scope you would possibly contemplate an aftermarket cheek pad that will get your head increased on the inventory to align the attention higher with the optic.
Wonderful Set off
The set off on the 1854 is the perfect we’ve seen on a daily manufacturing lever motion. It has a flat face like a contest set off, which is a little bit of a curious selection, however the set off break is extraordinarily clear, has little or no take-up, and no perceptible creep.
Operating the Smith & Wesson Mannequin 1854
Mix the great set off, easy motion, and good sights in a lever gun and you’ve got the makings of a shooter. The Smith is ready to get a number of lead downrange rapidly and precisely.
The recoil pad has beneficiant cushioning so all the hundreds we ran have been manageable and the rifle was straightforward to regulate.
The lever loop was machined with out tough edges so when operating the rifle exhausting it was by no means uncomfortable.
The Smith & Wesson Mannequin 1854 has a cross-bolt security much like what you see on Marlins. I want my lever actions with out this characteristic, which is what Henry does, having the hammer point out the standing of the rifle — cocked again for “fireplace” and down for “secure.”
Execs and Cons
It is a succesful, inexpensive, dependable, and comfy rifle that balances how a lever-action ought to and is fast to the shoulder and fast on track. It actually has no shortcomings.
The one quibbles — and these are minor — are the form of the set off that may really feel higher with a curved face, and the necessity for the next comb when the rifle has a scope on board. Maybe a modular butt inventory in some future iteration can deal with this.
Last Ideas on the Smith & Wesson Mannequin 1854
This lever motion is a hell of a rifle. Smith and Wesson has created a lever gun that can work effectively on deer, hogs, bear, and every other close-quarters sport. It’s rugged sufficient to function a truck gun, will experience effectively in a scabbard, and is a potent possibility for private safety, particularly in jurisdictions that prohibit ARs and different semi autos.
The M1854 heralds a brand new, and thrilling, period for one among our most beloved gun makers, and demonstrates why lever actions maintain persevering with attraction for American shooters and hunters.
