Smith & Wesson Model 1854 Stealth Hunter

The Model 1854 Stealth Hunter is Smith & Wesson's tactical reinterpretation of the lever-action carbine, built around the same 1854 action S&W launched in 2024 but configured for hosts who want a suppressor, a red dot, and a weapon-mounted light. The 16.3-inch 410 stainless barrel is finished in black Armornite, threaded 5/8x24, and capped with a factory thread protector. The receiver is 416 stainless with an integrated 10.5-inch Picatinny rail that runs from the rear of the action forward over the chamber, so any RDS, LPVO, or scout-style optic mounts without an add-on base.

Chambered for .357 Magnum and .38 Special, the rifle holds 8+1 of .357 in the tubular magazine. That capacity, combined with the handgun-cartridge pressure curve, makes the Stealth Hunter genuinely viable for home defense out of a 16-inch barrel where .357 picks up 300 to 500 fps over a 4-inch revolver. Drop to subsonic .38 Special with a can on the muzzle and it becomes one of the quieter centerfire rifles you can buy. The aluminum M-LOK handguard, large-loop lever for gloved use, manual cross-bolt safety, flat-face trigger, and XS ghost ring / HiViz front sight package round out a build sheet that reads more like a modern carbine than a traditional cowboy gun.

For Virginia buyers working through SB-749, lever actions are explicitly exempt from the state's assault firearms definition, which puts the Stealth Hunter in a narrow set of tactical-configured rifles that remain unrestricted post-July 2026.