First Look: Big Horn Armory Tactical Model 89 Takedown Lever Gun

Wyoming-based Big Horn Armory has now expanded its Model 89 Series to include a new variant: the Big Horn Armory Model 89 Take Down Tactical Lever-Action carbine. It has a 16-inch barrel and is chambered the powerful .500 S&W Magnum cartridge.

This variant of the Big Horn Armory Model 89 combines the proven merits of the original Model 89 Take Down lever action carbine with modern tactical features including full length scope bases, specific M-Lok slots, modern iron sights and a muzzle brake. 

”The Model 89 Take Down Tactical offers the best of both worlds: a rifle that’s easy to break down for travel and storage while remaining fully capable of mounting the accessories and optics demanded by today’s shooters,” commented Greg Buchel, founder of Big Horn Armory. “It’s a travel-ready, accessory-ready, and recoil-tamed powerhouse that brings modern capability to the classic lever-action platform.”

Big Horn Armory’s claim to fame with the Model 89 is the fact that this family of Browning-inspired lever-action firearms can chamber and fire the big bore .500 S&W Magnum cartridge.

Big Horn Armory’s Model 89 Take Down Tactical lever action carbines and their parent models are based on John Moses Browning’s 1905 patent of a takedown lever-action rifle. At the time, this specific pattern was the strongest takedown lever gun available. Furthermore. Big Horn Armory’s engineering team blends elements present in both the Winchester 1886 and the Winchester 1892, two of Browning’s most significant lever gun designs, into its Model 89 series. 

This .50-caliber, semi-rimmed cartridge was originally developed by CorBon and Smith & Wesson for Smith & Wesson’s largest revolvers, its X-frame series. Harnessing the .500 S&W Magnum in a lever action firearm allows a companion rifle to Smith & Wesson’s large revolver. Its semi-rimmed design helps to provide smoother feeding within tubular magazines, like those found in lever-action firearms.

Visit bighornarmory.com for more information.