Leather Butt Covers with Ammo Loops for Lever-Action Rifles

A leather butt cover slips over the buttstock of a lever-action rifle and does two jobs at once: it carries a row of spare cartridges in sewn ammo loops, and it shields the wood (or synthetic) stock from the dings, scratches, and weather that come with carrying a working gun. On a Henry Big Boy, a Marlin 1895, or a Winchester 94 that rides in a truck or a saddle scabbard, that's the difference between a stock that looks new in ten years and one that's beat to the grain.

Done right, the cover is snug enough to stay put through recoil and a day in the brush, and the loops hold the correct caliber without rattling. Done wrong — too loose, wrong loop size, thin leather — it slides, flops, and drops rounds. Fit is everything, which is exactly why we build each one to a specific rifle.

The buttstock profile of a Henry Side Gate is not the shape of a Marlin 1895, and neither matches a Winchester Model 94. A "universal" cover splits the difference and fits none of them well. We build our leather butt covers around the model you actually own, so the leather wraps the comb and toe of the stock cleanly and the loops sit where your hand falls.

You tell us the make and model — Henry Big Boy / Big Boy X / Golden Boy / Side Gate, Marlin 1895 or 1894, Winchester 94 — and the caliber you want the loops sized for (.45-70 Govt, .44 Mag, .357 Mag, .30-30, and so on). We size the cartridge loops to grip that round so it rides tight but pulls free clean.

We cut butt covers from full-grain Hermann Oak vegetable-tanned leather — an American tannery operating in St. Louis since 1881. Full-grain is the top, densest layer of the hide; it's what holds a wet-molded shape, breaks in instead of breaking down, and develops a patina rather than cracking. The cheap imports you'll find online are usually split or "genuine"-grade leather (a lower grade — more on that below) that goes stiff, then brittle.

Every cover is machine-stitched with heavy bonded thread and the edges are hand-burnished, so the seams don't walk and the leather doesn't fray at the loops where the wear is. It's the same construction we'd put on a holster that has to work the first time, every time.

The .45-70 Government is a stout cartridge, and a guide-gun-length Marlin 1895 throws real recoil. A butt cover doesn't change felt recoil, but it does protect the part of the stock that takes the most abuse during carry and loading, and it keeps five or six spare rounds where you can reach them without digging in a pack. Pair it with a leather rifle sling with ammo loops and the rifle carries everything it needs on the gun itself.

We're a small shop in Lone Oak, in Hunt County, about an hour east of Dallas. Lever guns and leather are a Texas tradition that goes back generations, and we take some pride in still building this gear by hand here instead of importing it. Order a butt cover for your rifle, or email us your model and we'll confirm fit before you buy.