Most shooters tend to be more accurate when shooting the rifle, therefore rifles can be the great time maker. You’ll see some shooters fire them so fast that it looks like they threw all nine or ten empty shells in the air at once.
Price Range – Low
Marlin Cowboy CompetitionMarlin - Let’s talk about the Marlin. most shooters start out with this rifle. there are a lot of positives to using a Marlin for competition shooting. It’s tougher than a Winchester 66 or 73. The Marlin ejects the round out the side and you can do a reload in the ejection port just like a 97 shotgun. With some minor modification you can easily smooth this rifle up. Rumor has it that it’s also possible to install a short stroke on the lever, though don’t quote me on that! On the negative side these guns tend to have what is commonly known as “the Marlin jam” (when ammo jams in the carrier). it does make a great choice for shooting the B Western category (B Western category requires that you shoot a 92 or newer rifle) since the Winchester 92 and 94, in my opinion, are best left in the back of the safe where I leave mine.
Winchester 92 & 94 - While I leave my Winchester 92 & 94s in the back of my safe they do make a good rifle for shooting Wild Bunch or the B-Western category. Let’s face it, you didn’t see Ben Johnson shooting a 73 in the movie “The Wild Bunch”! The 92 can be reworked and slicked up, however the 92 and 94 like to spit out live rounds form the carrier (so if you use these rifles make sure you carry reloads!). Truthfully, unless you really like the way they look it’s best to steer clear of these rifles for competition shooting.
Price Range – Medium
Taylor & Co. 1883 Burgess – Taylor & Co. now offers the 1883 Burgess rifle. it is long and heavy and has a long lever throw which costs you time on the clock, but it really scores authenticity and style points.
1860 Henry Repeating Rifle – The 1860 Henry Repeating Rifle is another rifle with major style. It’s great for black powder shooters who really want to look authentic. You can mod this rifle with an action job. As an inconvenience, the 1860 loads from the front of the barrel by twisting it to the side. With rifle reloads on the clock being more common than a pistol reload, this makes for a more time consuming reload, which is something to consider before buying this rifle.
Price Range – High
Winchester 1866 & 1873 – Finally, the 1866 Winchester (Yellowboy) vs the 1873 Winchester: both of these rifles are great! they are the rifles that shooters refer to (after all of the internal mods) as the “race guns”. Some Cowboy Action Shooting champions can unload ten rounds from either rifle in about two seconds. From the box these are better rifles than the low and medium price range rifles. in addition, these two rifles have the most modifications available than any other Cowboy Action Shooting rifle. both rifles can receive the ultimate short stroke kit, reducing lever throw which results in increased speed. After market carriers in aluminum or skeletonized brass are available to reduce levering weight. Also, lever slik springs can be installed to reduce lever slop. 
The Winchester 73 has a few more options available for modification than the 66 at this time, which will increase durability and function.
For more information about available mods for the 66 and 73 check out Pioneer Gun Works (Joe Alves SR AKA Will Shootem and Joe Alves JR AKA Portugy Joe). These guys have great options with rifles as well as with pistols and most double barrelled shotguns.
Next up: Main Match Guns: Shotguns
Pioneer Gun Works