If you ever wanted to feel like you were living in the old West, shooting the classic style of guns, imagining what it might have been like living a harder life, Heritage guns can help you out with that – especially with the Settler, chambered in 22 LR.
The Settler. The name alone reminds you of the old West. Maybe you envision a small white, clapboard house sitting in the middle of a flat prairie, with nothing to see for miles and miles. Or, maybe you see yourself riding a horse around a property, armed and ready, whether you see food or foe first.
Featuring that gorgeous warm wood and while the receiver is aluminum, the Settler looks the old West part. With its warm wood stock, bronze-looking receiver and lever action, it’s exactly what you think of when you picture a rimfire rifle from the old days.
Let’s consider a couple of those features. I never really thought much about the levers. First off, I was expecting a traditional lever action. This one is a ring lever, which is a bit larger than the standard one and could come in handy if you are shooting when it is cold; it would easily allow space for wearing gloves. It’s not a large ring lever, but certainly larger than a traditional one.
This was my first time ever seeing a buckhorn rear sight. Buckhorn sights are where the sides of the rear sight come up and curve slightly inward toward each other. Then you place the front sight in between those curved sides and hold it lower in the “window” for closer targets and move it higher in the window for further targets. I really liked it. In fact, I think I liked it better than traditional iron sights.
As for the other features, here goes:
The Settler by Heritage holds 15 Rounds, has a 20-inch barrel and a drift-adjustable front sight. It also has swivel studs to attach a sling.
Here are its measurements:
I headed to my local indoor range to try it out. Realizing the gun was a bit heavy for me to shoot freehand for very long, I first tried shooting off a bench rest. I didn’t like that method, since I had to run the lever between each shot. Then I switched to some foam rests, which still felt a bit awkward. I finally figured out to stack two on top of each other and was able to just rest my left elbow on them and that made it much easier for me to hold the gun up and shoot it. Now I could get to work.
I tested the rifle out at 10 yards with three different ammos: Blazer, CCI and Federal. I initially kept hitting to the right and then determined that the front sight was not seated correctly. It was a simple fix, no tools needed. The front side can just be moved manually right or left to adjust it. But even with the sight off, I was consistently hitting the same area and my groups were fantastic.
Blazer, 40 gr, 1235 fps – longest distance – 2, shortest distance – .5, average .95
Federal Premium, 40 gr, 1200 fps – longest distance – 1.25, shortest – .25, average – .6
CCI, 40 gr, 1235 fps – longest distance – 1.75, shortest distance – .13, average – .5
I also tried some Remington Thunderbolt, 40 gr, 1255 fps that I had some trouble with in another gun, but it seemed to like the Settler. Other than the front sight being out of alignment, the rifle had zero problems and happily ate all the ammo I gave it.
The lever action was as fun as you would think. For some reason I expected the lever to be “scratchy” and maybe take a bit more strength to operate, but it ran smooth as butter. Working that lever gives the same thrill as racking a shotgun.
While the 20-inch Settler by Heritage was a bit heavy for me to shoot for very long, it was still a ton of fun. My husband and son were itching to try it out as well and both enjoyed it and agreed it is a great gun. So, if you’re looking for fun lever action rifle for the whole family to share, the Settler would be just the one.
MSRP $499.99
Nancy Keaton is a retired college administrator, president of her local gun club, competitive shooter and freelance writer whose work has appeared in A Girl and A Gun Women’s Shooting League, "American Shooting Journal," "American Concealed," "Northwest Meetings + Events," and other publications. She enjoys writing about a wide variety of topics and interviewing ordinary people doing amazing things. To see a compilation of her writing, check out her website at www.nancykeaton.com. View all posts by Nancy Keaton
