The short version
The 1854 is a lever gun that starts from the assumption that you'll put an optic and a suppressor on it. Forged stainless receiver, threaded barrel, rail, XS ghost ring, flat trigger, large loop, side gate — on every model, in six calibers. In 2026 it went from a curiosity to the most complete modern lever-gun line on the market.
What S&W built
Smith & Wesson announced the Model 1854 in January 2024 in .44 Magnum, and the gun-press reaction was mostly "why?" Two years later the answer is obvious. Every other lever gun on the market is a 19th-century design with modern features bolted on. The 1854 is a lever gun designed from scratch in the 2020s, and every decision in it reflects that.
- Receiver: forged 416 stainless, side loading gate, solid top, side eject. Drilled for a Picatinny base that ships installed.
- Sights: an XS Sights adjustable ghost-ring rear on the rail and a gold-bead front. Iron sights a modern shooter can actually use, and they stay on when you add a red dot in front of them.
- Trigger: flat-faced. Consistent finger placement shot to shot — a detail borrowed from the pistol side of the company.
- Lever: large loop as standard, not an option.
- Barrel: threaded on every model. The pistol calibers get 5/8×24; the .45-70 gets 11/16×24. Removable magazine tube on the pistol-caliber guns.
- Furniture: black synthetic with M-Lok slots on the standard rifle; walnut on the Traditional; a full-rail, M-Lok, all-Armornite package on the Stealth Hunter.
The calibers, and what each is for
| Caliber | Action | Capacity | Arrived | Best use |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| .44 Magnum | Short | 9+1 (19.25") | 2024 | Brush hunting, hog, bear country, the subsonic suppressor host |
| .45 Colt | Short | 9+1 | 2024 | Ranch rifle, cowboy action, low-recoil big bullet |
| .357 Magnum | Short | 8+1 (Stealth Hunter, 16.3") | 2025 | The pistol-caliber carbine; pairs with a .357 revolver |
| .45-70 Government | Long | 6+1 (20") | 2025 | Big game, dangerous game, the big-bore lever gun |
| .30-30 Winchester | Long | 6+1 | 2025 | Whitetail; the classic deer round in the most modern rifle |
| .360 Buckhammer | Long | 6+1 (20") | 2026 | Straight-wall-only states; flatter than .45-70, harder than .350 Legend |
Capacities are S&W's published figures for the standard barrel lengths; short-barreled Stealth Hunter models hold fewer.
The expansion into rifle cartridges is the story. A .44 Magnum lever gun competes with the Marlin 1894 and Henry Big Boy. A .30-30 competes with the 336 and the Henry .30-30 and the Rossi R95 — the heart of the lever-gun market. And the .360 Buckhammer, which arrived at SHOT 2026, puts S&W into the straight-wall hunting states where a lever gun is the natural rifle and nobody else is offering a modern one. Our .360 Buckhammer explainer covers why that matters.
What it's like to shoot
Heavier than a Henry, lighter than it looks, and the action is the smoothest factory lever on a new rifle. The flat trigger is the feature you notice first and the ghost ring is the one you appreciate after — a lever gun you can shoot fast at 100 yards with irons. The synthetic stock is stiff and unlovely; the Traditional's walnut fixes that at the cost of the M-Lok slots. Recoil in .45-70 is what .45-70 always is; the threaded muzzle means a brake or a can tames it, which is the argument for this rifle over an unthreaded one.
Where it fits in the market
Above Henry and Rossi in price, alongside the Marlin Dark Series and Magpul Trapper, below a custom. It's the rifle for the buyer who wants the tactical lever gun without buying an aftermarket stock, a rail, sights and a threading job separately. In our three-way tactical comparison it's the most complete package of the three. And the America 250 editions are the version to buy if you want one that will still be worth talking about in twenty years.
Questions we get about this
Why is it called the 1854?
Smith & Wesson's first product, in 1854, was the Volcanic lever-action pistol and rifle — the design that became the Henry rifle and then Winchester. The Model 1854 is S&W's first lever gun in 170 years, and the name is the company pointing at where it started.
Which calibers does the 1854 come in?
Six as of 2026: .357 Magnum, .44 Magnum and .45 Colt on the shorter action (8+1 or 9+1 depending on barrel), and .30-30 Winchester, .360 Buckhammer and .45-70 Government on the long action (6+1). The rifle-cartridge chamberings arrived in 2025 and 2026.
Is the 1854 threaded?
Yes, every one of them. Pistol-caliber models are 5/8×24; the .45-70 is 11/16×24. That's the standard pitch for each bore, so common suppressor mounts fit without adapters.
Traditional or Stealth Hunter?
Same action. The standard rifle is stainless with a synthetic stock, or walnut with Armornite in the Traditional trim, 19.25- or 20-inch barrel. The Stealth Hunter is the short-barreled, all-black version with a full rail and M-Lok. Pick by whether you want to see the wood or mount the gear.