Editing Lever action (section)

== Use in warfare ==

The Henry Lever-Action<!--assuming this is a proper noun – if not, replace the hyphen with a space and use sentence case--> was used in the [[US Civil War]] and was used in the US until the Winchester Model 1866 rifle replaced it. The Spencer repeating rifle was also used in the US Civil War. Additionally, rifles using the lever-action design were used extensively during the 1930s by irregular forces in the Spanish Civil War. Typically, these were Winchesters or Winchester copies of Spanish manufacture. At least 9,000 Model 1895 rifles are known to have been provided by the [[Soviet Union]] in 1936 to the [[Republican faction (Spanish Civil War)|Spanish Republicans]] for use in the [[Spanish Civil War]].<ref name="arc5">{{cite book |last1=Mercaldo |first1=Luke |last2=Firestone |first2=Adam |last3=Vanderlinden |first3=Anthony |title=Allied Rifle Contracts in America |year=2011 |publisher=Wet Dog |isbn=978-0-9707997-7-7 |page=83}}</ref> Both the Russian Empire and the United States adopted the [[Winchester Model 1895]] as a military weapon.<ref name="arc1">{{cite book |last1=Mercaldo |first1=Luke |last2=Firestone |first2=Adam |last3=Vanderlinden |first3=Anthony |title=Allied Rifle Contracts in America |year=2011 |publisher=Wet Dog |isbn=978-0-9707997-7-7 |pages=77–78}}</ref>

=== Shotguns ===
[[file:M1887 LH.JPG|thumb|A modern reproduction of the [[Winchester Model 1887]] lever-action shotgun]]

Early attempts at repeating shotguns invariably centered around either bolt-action or lever-action designs, drawing obvious inspiration from the repeating rifles of the time. The earliest successful repeating shotgun was the lever-action [[Winchester Model 1887]], designed by [[John Browning]] in 1885 at the behest of the Winchester Repeating Arms Company. The lever-action design was chosen for reasons of [[brand recognition]] despite the protestations of Browning, who pointed out that a [[slide-action]] design would be much better for a shotgun. Initially chambered for [[black powder]] shotgun shells (as was standard at the time), the Model 1887 gave rise to the Winchester Model 1901, a strengthened version chambered for 10ga [[smokeless powder]] shells. Their popularity waned after the introduction of slide-action shotguns such as the [[Winchester Model 1897]], and production was discontinued in 1920. Modern reproductions are manufactured by Armi Chiappa in Italy, [[Norinco]] in [[China]], and [[ADI Ltd.]] in [[Australia]]. Winchester continued to manufacture the [[.410 bore]] [[Winchester Model 1894]] (Model 9410) from 2003 until 2006.

Australian firearm laws strictly control [[pump-action]] shotguns and [[Semi-automatic firearm|semi-automatic]] actions (Category C, D & R). [[Lever-action]] operation falls into a more lenient category (Category A & B), which has led to an increase in popularity of lever action shotguns.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Salna |first1=Karlis |title=Imports of Adler shotgun pouring into Australia |url=https://thenewdaily.com.au/news/national/2016/03/04/imports-adler-shotgun-pouring-aust/ |access-date=8 March 2020 |work=The New Daily |date=4 March 2016}}</ref>

=== Other applications ===
[[Image:M1895 diagram.jpg|thumb|M1895 operating mechanism showing the lever in the forward (top) and rear (bottom) positions]]

A one-off example of lever-action reloading on automatic firearms is the [[M1895 Colt–Browning machine gun]]. This weapon had a swinging lever beneath its barrel that was actuated by a gas bleed in the barrel, unlocking the breech to reload. This unique operation gave the nickname "potato digger", as the lever swung each time the weapon fired and would dig into the ground if the weapon was not situated high enough on its mount.