The Best Lever Gun Movie Moments

Lever-Action Rifles, Carbines & Shotguns Have Played Some Cool Roles in Cinema

Practically every Western ever made has at least one lever gun in it. Most have scores of generic Winchesters, just like every holster is holding a Colt SAA. But in reality, firearms were a bit more diverse, and it wasn’t uncommon for someone to regularly use a gun that was a few decades old.

Some of the best depictions of lever guns in movies involve unconventional firearms. Here, we’re talking about movies with either distinctive firearms or distinctive moments where lever guns shine particularly bright. 

Wind River (2017)

Gun: Marlin Model 1895SBL 

Director: Taylor Sheridan
Starring: Jeremy Renner, Elizabeth Olsen, Graham Greene

This moody crime-mystery from the guy behind Yellowstone and its many spinoffs is extremely underrated. It’s not flashy and it’s not as formulaic as a typical procedural, and it has a lot to say about the plight of Native American women on and near reservations in Wyoming. 

One of the protagonists is Cory Lambert (Jeremy Renner), a local wildlife officer whose daughter disappeared and was found dead several years earlier. He plays against the fish-out-of-water FBI agent Jane Banner (Elizabeth Olsen).

As a wildlife officer in a remote location, Lambert relies on several firearms, including a scoped Remington 700 bolt-action rifle and a single-action Ruger Super Redhawk on his hip in either .44 Magnum or .45 Colt. But the main firearm that he carries most is a scoped Marlin Model 1895SBL lever action rifle in .45-70 with a sling and a cartridge sleeve on the stock.

We even get a rare reloading scene in which Lambert is rolling his own .45-70 rounds. He uses the rifle to devastating effect in the wild shootout at the end of this must-see flick.    

Jurassic World (2015)

Gun: Marlin Model 1895SBL

Director: Colin Trevorrow
Starring: Chris Pratt, Bryce Dallas Howard, Ty Simpkins

In this reboot of the Jurassic Park franchise, the Raptor wrangler Owen Grady made the Marlin Model 1895SBL famous — it could even be the same rifle Renner used in Wind River. 

The stainless steel lever gun with gray laminated wood stock and a matching Leopold FX-II Scout IER 2.5x28mm scope looked great on camera. And the Butler Creek sling with the shell holders gave it a certain quality, and it showed off the big ol’ .45-70 Govt. shells.

John Wick: Chapter 4 (2023)

Gun: Mad Pig Customs Takedown Marlin Model 1894

Director: Chad Stahelski
Starring: Keanu Reeves, Laurence Fishburne, George Georgiou

There are a LOT of guns in John Wick: Chapter 4. Like, a lot. But one stands out in a series full of slick semi-auto pistols, shotguns, and select-fire ARs — a highly customized Marlin Model 1894. 

The take-down .44 Magnum gun was built by Mad Pig Customs using a Midwest Industries M-LOK handguard, a SilencerCo ASR muzzle brake, Slate Black Industries rail panels, and an XS Sights top rail. They call it “The Tracker.”

A new character to the franchise, Mr. Nobody (Shamier Anderson), uses this as his main weapon in conjunction with a DEVCORE Plate Carrier Backpack.   

Mad Pig built the takedown mechanism custom for the film and made a total of 13 rifles for the production to use. 

Dr. Sleep (2019)

Gun: Scoped Marlin Model 336 Deer Rifles

Director: Mike Flanagan 
Starring: Ewan McGregor, Rebecca Ferguson, Kyliegh Curran

In this sequel to The Shining (1980), based on the sequel novel by Stephen King, there is a pretty effective ambush set up on the evil members of The Knot by Danny (Ewan McGregor) and his friend Billy (Cliff Curtis). 

Early in the movie, Billy talks about how he used to hunt deer. When it comes time to take care of The Knot, Danny asks him if he still has his hunting rifles. 

The guns turn out to be two Marlin Model 336 rifles with scopes, classic deer guns to be sure. Billy uses a stainless steel rifle while Danny has a blued gun. 

Here’s betting that both are chambered in .30-30 Win. It’s pretty rare to see lever action rifles in this context in a movie — Hollywood hunting rifles always seem to be bolt guns or some kind of tricked-out AR. You rarely see a fairly modern lever gun, especially a scoped one, portrayed as a deer rifle.

The Ballad of Buster Scruggs (2018)

Gun: Henry 1860 Rifle

Director: Ethan Coen and Joel Coen
Starring: Tim Blake Nelson, Willie Watson, Clancy Brown

This off-kilter episodic Western features one of the very few scenes depicting the correct way of reloading an original Henry rifle. This is mostly because, for many years, Henrys were played in movies by some kind of modified Winchester with its forend removed. 

The Coen brothers actually got a reproduction of a Henry for the final scene in the fifth segment, “The Gal Who Got Rattled.” 

Mr. Arthur (Grainger Hines) fends off waves of enemies attacking a wagon train with his Henry rifle. There are so many that he has to reload his gun, which was the first commercially successful lever action rifle.

This legendary firearm held 16 rounds of .44-caliber rimfire ammo. The follower had a large external tab and as rounds were expended and the follower moved toward the receiver, the user would have to make sure their support hand didn’t get in its way. It was called the “Henry Hop,” and we see this depicted correctly in The Ballad of Buster Scruggs. 

Today, you can still get a rifle that is essentially like the old 1860 if you want one. Henry Repeating Arms, which actually has nothing to do with the old Henry rifle, makes a reproduction they call the New Original Henry. You can get one with a brass frame, or an iron frame, in .44-40 WCF or .45 Colt. There’s also a carbine version.

Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991)

Gun: Winchester 1887 Shotgun

Director: James Cameron 
Starring: Arnold Schwarzenegger, Robert Patrick, Edward Furlong

While he uses a lot of firearms in this super popular sequel to the original The Terminator, Arnold’s main firearm that he uses through most of the movie is a sawed-off Winchester Model 1887 lever action shotgun. He takes the gun from the bar owner when he first shows up in the past. 

The gun we see through most of the movie is known as the “Rosebox Shotgun.” It has a cut-down barrel and stock and the trigger guard has also been removed. Another version with a larger lever loop was used when Arnold had to flip-cock the gun, usually while driving a Harley, the way John Wayne did in True Grit. 

Shockingly, the guns cut down and used in the movie were genuine 10-gauge Model 1887 shotguns, not reproductions. 

The gun also got some good screentime in the accompanying music video from Guns N’ Roses for “You Could Be Mine,” which was featured in the movie.

Unforgiven (1992)

Gun: Spencer 1860 Saddle Ring Carbine

Director: Clint Eastwood
Starring: Clint Eastwood, Gene Hackman, Morgan Freeman

In a pivotal scene in this classic Western from director and star Clint Eastwood, Ned (Morgan Freeman) finally gets behind the rifle that seems to be part of his old outlaw identity — his prowess with it is a point of pride. The rifle is a Spencer 1860 Saddle Ring carbine. 

While the Henry that came out the same year was known for its high ammo capacity (“The gun you can load on Sunday and shoot all week.”), the Spencer was known for its ruggedness. 

While it was technical a lever action, working the lever on a Spencer ejected a spent casing and chambered a new round. It did not cock the hammer at the same time, which then had to be done manually. 

The Spencer also didn’t have a magazine tube running beneath its barrel. Instead, its ammo was stored in a cylindrical ammo tube within the buttstock, giving the gun its distinctive silhouette.  

The pivotal scene shows how much Ned has changed since their years as bad men, and how much Will (Eastwood) perhaps has not. Will takes back Ned’s rifle at the saloon in Big Whisky and we see him reload it at the bar after the first wave of shooting.