S&W's New Model 1854 Lever Action Rifle .45-70 Govt

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When Smith & Wesson announced their new Model 1854 lever-action rifle last year, the public immediately began offering their opinions about which cartridges should be available in the future. There was plenty of debate and myriad different calibers mentioned, but one rang out loud and clear: .45-70 Government.

Originally introduced in 1873, the .45-70 Government is one of just a few of the heavy-hitting cartridges from the black powder era that managed to successfully make the transition to smokeless powder and maintain its popularity to the point that both ammunition and rifle options are plentiful today. As a result, it was a no-brainer that Smith & Wesson would make their Model 1854 lever-action rifle in the legendary .45-70 Government cartridge. Since the Model 1854 was originally designed for and launched in pistol calibers, it took a little extra work to get the lever gun ready for the added size and energy of such a large cartridge.

Since this is a lever-action rifle, no matter how tactical we adapt and modify them to be, they will forever be linked to society’s love of the wild west. Whether we want to admit it or not, everyone has some level of inner desire to live as one with their lever-gun constantly by their side as an extension of themselves or be a trick shot performer in a traveling show. Fresh off the production line, I had the opportunity to shoot one of these newly released rifles, using them in some of these simulated scenarios and - spoiler alert - it did not disappoint.

Constructed with a stainless-steel frame and barrel with a matte finish, the rifle is mounted in a black polymer stock set with M-LOK slots at the front of the forend. Both the pistol grip and the forend have a bit of texture to them to aid in an improved grip. It’s not so aggressive that it digs into your hand and hurts, but it’s enough to let you know that it’s there and to help keep a solid grip on the gun. This texture is on all the Model 1854 rifles regardless of caliber, and it was nice to have on the hard-hitting .45-70 Government rifle that I was shooting. If you’re in the market for a .45-70 with the traditional look of blued steel and walnut furniture, this isn’t the gun you’re looking for. At least not yet anyway. It’s possible that Smith & Wesson may make this caliber available in that configuration in the future, but for now, that’s not the case.

The receiver comes with a section of picatinny rail mounted on it for easy mounting of a scope or optic of your choice. It is, however, ready to shoot out of the box with an adjustable rear peep sight made by XS Sights and a gold bead front sight. I shot the rifle in a variety of different sight configurations. Whether I was running a red dot, a variable power scope, or the iron sight that came on the gun, it felt natural shooting the Model 1854; it was as if the gun was made specifically for each of the individual configurations. I had no problem hitting plate racks and spinners at 100 yards with an unmagnified red dot and successfully split a rope with the peep and bead sight combination.

The receiver has a cross-bolt safety, a flat face trigger, and a large loop lever for easy manipulation by those with large hands or people wearing gloves. Personally, I don’t see the point in a cross-bolt safety on a lever action rifle, but I’m sure it makes Smith & Wesson’s lawyers sleep better at night. Since I’m not used to this feature, there were moments where I went to shoot and got tripped up by the safety. By the end of the event, though, remembering to take it off safe became second nature.

It’s no secret that .45-70 rounds are long, so it comes as no surprise that magazine capacity is reduced compared to other calibers for the Model 1854. The side-gate loading port lets you insert six .45-70 Government rounds into the magazine tube for a total capacity of 6+1. The barrel is 20” long with a 1:20 right-hand twist and the muzzle is threaded 11/16x24 for use with a suppressor, brake, flash hider, etc. The rifle’s overall length is 37.8” and it weighs 7.1 pounds empty.

The flat face trigger broke crisp and clean, but an easy way to upgrade the overall performance of pretty much any gun is to outfit it with an aftermarket trigger. I shot these rifles with both the factory trigger and replacements from Timney Triggers. The factory trigger is no slouch, but that trigger from Timney was a very nice upgrade.

The rifle weighs 7.1 pounds empty and approximately 7.6 pounds when fully loaded. When chambered in .45-70, the rifle weighs about half a pound more than the same model in the other caliber offerings. Add an optic, and you can push eight pounds or more. That extra weight isn’t all bad though as it helps to offset some of the .45-70 Government’s impressive recoil. Still, it’s not a gun that you’d want to shoot all day long or practice your quick lever manipulation skills with on the range. (Unless, of course, you’re a glutton for punishment or you’re a shoulder surgeon making rifle recommendations to potential patients.)

Since the barrel is threaded, I also shot the rifle with a suppressor. Given that many suppressors are made of such lightweight materials, the added weight and length on the end of the barrel went unnoticed. I didn’t find the extra weight to throw off the rifle’s balance at all. What it did do was make it so that the rifle was much more pleasant to shoot - especially when paired with subsonic ammunition. That combination had me and the other shooters all commenting that the rifle was now downright fun to shoot. Truth be told, I shot multiple mag tubes in a row and had a blast doing it. Without the suppressor and the subsonic ammo, one mag tube is enough.

Overall, the fit and finish of the rifle was very nice. With wood furniture, you’ve got a bit of room to finesse the final fit between metal and wood that you don’t have with polymer. That said, all the joints and meeting points between polymer and metal were nice and tight with no visually upsetting gaps. All the parts fit together snugly, and nothing wiggled loose under the heavy recoil even after two whole days of an intense shooting regimen.

The matte finish on all the stainless-steel parts was also well done. If you took the rifle hunting, I don’t think you’d need to worry about sunlight glinting off any part of the gun any more than you would be concerned about it with a blued rifle. Plus, since the gun is stainless steel and polymer, you can hunt in the rain with this Model 1854 and keep your mind on the hunt instead of worrying about what the water is doing to the metal and wood.

From a practical standpoint, there really isn’t anything that you can’t do with a rifle in .45-70 Government. You can hunt all big game animals in North America with ease, and a wide variety of game all over the world, too. You could also argue that it could double as a home defense gun. How you choose to protect your domain is your business, and it’s easy to make the argument for more gun than less.

Plus, with the picatinny slots on the forend of the Model 1854, you can mount lights, lasers, bipods, etc. to set the gun up exactly how you want it. If anyone doubts the capabilities of a lever gun in that kind of situation, send them my way. Another scenario that I tackled at the event was clearing a dark room with moving targets using a Model 1854 that had a light and a laser on it. You can absolutely get the job done with a lever gun; I did.

Whether you’re looking for a new hunting rifle, a gun for some range fun, serious home defense, or you just want something to fill an empty spot in your safe, I’d recommend giving the Smith & Wesson Model 1854 lever action rifle chambered in .45-70 Government some serious consideration.

SMITH & WESSON MODEL 1854 SPECS

• MANUFACTURER: Smith & Wesson: smith-wesson.com
• TYPE: Lever-action
• CALIBER: .45-70 Government
• MAGAZINE CAPACITY: 6 rounds
• BARREL: 20 in.
• OVERALL LENGTH: 37.8 in.
• LENGTH OF PULL: 13.5 in.
• WEIGHT, EMPTY: 7 lbs.
• STOCK: Synthetic stock and forend, black in color
• FINISH: Stainless-steel receiver
• SIGHTS: Optic rail on receiver with XS Sights Ghost ring rear and gold bead front
• TRIGGER: Flat faced trigger
• SAFETY: Crossbolt
• MSRP: $1299

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