Coming Up Short
The Underappreciated Marlin Levermatic
Terry Wieland
T
he name Kessler Arms doesn’t
come up in too many conver-
sations these days. The New
York company was in business
for only a couple of years in the early
1950s and produced only two low-
priced, short-lived shotguns. One was
a bolt action, the other a lever.Historically, lever-action shotguns never achieved
much popularity because the actions were too mas-
sive, and the resulting long lever throw was awkward.
Kessler had some designers who tackled this problem
and came up with a mechanical system that used a
“cam-and-roller accelerator” to reduce the bolt throw.
They called it the “Lever-Matic.”
Mechanics aside, the Kessler shotgun was anything
but an aesthetic triumph, even for a remarkably taste-
less era. However, it attracted the attention of engi-
neers at Marlin, who saw some distinct possibilities.
After Kessler’s demise, the company made a deal to
acquire the patent and reworked it into an action for52 http://www.riflemagazine.com Rifle 305