Kirsten Joy Weiss (courtesy Howard Studios)

When Kirsten Weiss began her trick shot career a few commentators harrumphed. They reckoned shooting targets in the Kingdom of Far Far Away with a $3k Anschutz competition rifle was, well, cheating. So we arranged for Kirsten to shoulder a Volquartsen. Think golf clap. So then we contacted Anthony Imperato of Henry Repeating Rifles for a lever gun to help Ms. Weiss get in touch with her inner Annie Oakley and shoot something more relatable. Impresario Imperato is kindly providing not one but two samples: a $340 H001 and the $430 H001T octagon barrel. How accurate are they? How accurate will Kirsten be with them? Watch this space, and make the jump for Kirsten’s pre-take take on her new long guns. Oh, and Grizzly Custom Guns is modifying a Marlin for extreme accuracy, but Lew takes his sweet time with these things. Don’t ask me how I know . . .

The last time I had my hands on a lever action rifle, I was just a little Weiss, but you can’t study American rifle history (let alone watch practically any good western flick) without seeing lever actions pop up like spring wildflowers. They’re an important thread in our national, gun-loving fabric and, like all of you who enjoy shooting, I’m so happy to be a part of what makes this country great.

48 COMMENTS

  1. “Oh, and Grizzly Custom Guns is modifying a Marlin for –basic functionality–”

    Post edited for accuracy.The last lever gun I fondled was a Remington built Marlin which had crayola wood stocks, a lever sharp enough to shave with, and an action so slow and rough Congress would be embarrassed.

    May as well call them kit guns, fit only for transport to the nearest gunsmith for final assembly.

    • Which is even more sad considering how great their rifles were pre-Freedon Group. I have a 795 and a 60 that i love to death. The 60 is so old that it has Glenfield roll marks on it!

  2. Any mention of Kirsten without pictures is unforgivable but this is going to be great.Lever actions are so cool and yet still affordable and a nice break from the ‘tactical’ overkill of recent years.A mare’s leg .22 is next on my must have list.

  3. I had a winchester 94/22 and a mossberg palamino .22 in my younger days. Back when .22 was a penny a round for lr. Fun times.

      • I have four boxes of Remington .22 purchased by my father in 1953 marked 49 cents. So less than a penny a round. I have shot up several other boxes and they worked just fine, certainly better than modern Remington .22 bulk ammo.

        • I have an OCD-like fascination with inflation-adjusted prices. That would be $4.30 in 2013 dollars. If those are 50rd boxes, the prices in our current situation are not quite as bad as I thought. Of course, you’re right. The quality isn’t what it used to be. I’ve had feed trouble like crazy this year with guns I’ve never had trouble with before, and it’s definitely not the guns (Ruger Mk I, Savage Model 29 pump .22). Remington in particular has also provided with me by far the most failures, and many times the bullets appear not to even be properly seated.

      • Well. I am a grandpa and I’m a veteran of the revolution….the sexual revolution. Ask me what it was like before sex could cause you a permanent disease or a fatal disease. No AIDS, no Herpes.

        Personally. I think being young now would have to suck, big time.

        • I remember a bed frame breaking and the headboard cracking me in the head. With one hand I shoved it up and held while I braced myself with the other hand and soldiered on. That was a revolution. Everything else was just war.

        • What happened to padded headboards anyway??? I ain’t seen one in years… then again the one I got certainly is useful and has almost perfect mounting spots on it.

        • Disregard my last a helmet will solve the issue now if I could just find one that fits my girlfriend…

  4. I have a Marlin 22 mag lever action. Easy to shoot and accurate. It’s also my wife’s favorite rifle.

    What’s not to like?

  5. Personally, I don’t care what she shoots as long as I get to watch.

    Might even distract Dirk from his fixation, if ya know what I mean. . .

  6. I have a Henry 001 that I won in an NRA Raffle. Some folks chuckle when I bring it to my club’s rimfire matches but so far I’ve put in a pretty good showing with it and I think any space for improvement in my scores belongs to ME not the rifle.

  7. Glad she chose an American brand that’s affordable, doesn’t need put together correctly after it’s bought, and that mere mortals can afford. That said I still think it’d be fun to watch her do a trick shot with a Barrett 50 or an M2 ooooh maybe a MK 19 too.

      • Just thinkin of tryin to do yoga with an M2 .50 on my chest makes my back start cracklin… maybe she should try somethin different like shooting a rope to drop a weight or something.

  8. I have a Henry H001T, and it’s freaking awesome. I’m curious to see if Miss Weiss will use the stock sights or swaps them out.

    • Jeff up above had asked the same thing but my phone won’t let me open a reply there, so here it is…I’d say yes. Good aperture sights make a BIG difference at almost all differences. I’m kinda interested in getting some myself in fact.

      Tom

      • I hope she uses the stock sights, though. I know how much of a difference good quality sights make on a .22 rifle (having swapped them several times on my Henry). If she could pull off those same shots with the stock sights, it would show how much of a boss she truly is, IMO.

  9. My Henry leverguns — an H001 and a Golden Boy — are more accurate than I am. I’m no trick shooter, but I’ve had my moments, and those little guns have been more than able to do everything I’ve asked them to.

    Are they accurate enough to do what Kirsten Joy Weiss wants them to do? I’m guessing yes…but even if they’re not, watching Kirsten push their limits ought to be pretty darn fun.

  10. I’m excited to see Kirsten shoot the new guns. It will be amazing to see what a true marksmen such as her can do with any rifle handed to her. I have no doubts it’s the indian and not the arrow, you don’t get to her level of competency by just using a fancy gun. If you did, anyone could shoot for the Olympic team.

    I’m always fascinated but naysayers like those mentioned in the original post who claim, “Gee, of course she can do it, she’s using that fancy $3K Anschutz. Humph, anybody can shoot great with a gun like that.” No they can’t. The lady was shooting skittles at distance offhand with open sights. I don’t care how expensive the rifle is, that my friends is pure talent. I suspect the jacklegs making those kinds of comments are arrogant, overweight guys who sit behind a computer pontificating how they know this or think that and haven’t fired a shot in competition in their lives. They are jealous of someone who has a gift and developed their skill set while they sat on their butts and did nothing but become bitter and disrespectful in their inadequacy.

    Sorry, rant off.

    Wheelgun

    • I don’t think anyone honestly thinks she’s a bad shot.

      Some people are just grumpy and hyper critical online.

    • Really they are just taking it apart and putting it back together the correct way rather than throwing poo at it like the monkeys over at freedom group do with em now.

      • Two mistakes in one article…take RF’s gold star for today and don’t let him have pudding and cookies at snack time tomorrow.

      • Have the people responsible for sacking the person who wasn’t sacked been sacked yet?

        P.S. Henry the wonder Llama rocks….. Please tell me somebody here gets that refrence???

  11. I want to see her Drive a16p nail into [oh you pick the wood, just NOT pine, I used 1865 barn wood, “hard stuff”] at say 25 yards. [I used the corner of a building for support]
    I’ve done this with a Marlin 25sp LR, American Heritage limited edition I think I got it around 1995-96.
    The only mod I did was to free float the barrel and put a cheap tasco wide angle scope on it, it’s still on today and just bagged my 25th chicken steal’in Raccoon in 2 years.

  12. Speaking of rifles, what IS that thing supposed to be in that photo? It looks like a k98 f*cked a sextant.

  13. Robert,

    This site is getting too tame. Can you bring back the links to the South African and Israeli models?

  14. I have the H001T Octagon Frontier and it’s extremely accurate. I replaced the buckhorn rear sight with a Skinner peep. Perfect.

  15. I had an autocrosser show me that the true demonstration of skill is when someone grabs your gun/car/bike/board and then beats your score with it. I’m looking forward to Ms. Weiss showing us all just how good she is.

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