Patent Protected! FightLite Herring Lever-Action Coming Soon?
Are you still waiting for your FightLite Herring tactical lever-action? That wait may be coming to an end soon, with news that FightLite has just nailed down a second patent on this rifle design.
FightLite @ TFB:
Protected from copycats
In late November, FightLite posted that they had acquired a second patent for their Herring rifle. Specifically, it seems to relate to the design of the lever action itself ... or at least that’s what it sounds like to us. We aren’t patent lawyers.
FightLite® Industries, a division of ARES Defense Systems® Inc. is pleased to announce that the second US Patent for their HERRING® Model 2024™ – Modern Lever Action Rifle has been granted by the US Patent and Trademark Office. “LEVER ACTION FIREARM AND KIT FOR CONSTRUCTING THE SAME” has been granted US Patent Number US 12,152,844 B2 today and joins a previous, related patent “BOLT CARRIER MOVEMENT MECHANISM PROVIDING PRIMARY EXTRACTION FORCE MULTIPLICATION, FIREARMS COMPRISING SAME, KITS FOR CONSTRUCTING FIREARMS COMPRISING SAME, AND BOLT CARRIER GROUPS FOR ENABLING SAME” granted in May , 2024 under US Patent Number US 11,988,479 B1.
Although we have more lever-action rifles on the market than ever, it is still a tricky action to get just right, and that’s probably why FightLite is taking its time to get this design right—and protecting their IP while they do so.
Waiting on a rifle
We first saw the FightLite Herring Model 2024 back in 2022, when we shared their description of the action:
Mechanically, the HERRING® Model 2024 family uses a rotating bolt like an AR-pattern semiautomatic, but the bolt carrier is cycled by a manually actuated articulating lever. FightLite’s HERRING® Model 2024’s lower receiver has lineage to the highly successful ARES/FightLite SCR® Sport-Configurable Rifle. A great deal of commonality has been retained between the SCR’s lower components, and those used by the HERRING® Model 2024; and it also accepts all AR-15 (STANAG) pattern magazines, including 5, 10, 20, 30, 40, 60 and 100 round AR magazines.
Sounds like fun, and if you look at the YouTube video below, it looks fun, too.
They’ve even teased a belt-fed version of this rifle—see here.
FightLite has the Herring listed on its website as “Coming Soon,” although it’s almost 2025 now and we’re still waiting for the rifle to hit the public market. With an MSRP of $1,699.99, it will be a pricey piece of firepower when it arrives, but the ability to swap out calibers and also attach many tactical rifle parts will no doubt make it desirable to many shooters, particularly in states where semi-auto rifles are restricted. See more details on the rifle at FightLite’s website here.
Professional hoser with fudd-ish leanings.
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I grew up with a Winchester 94 always close to hand and the .30-30 never failed to do the job with the first shot unless I had to fire quick just to get one on target, then deliver the coup de-grace! Also, lever guns are compact, don't need to chase brass, and they can be fired quite rapidly when needed. A major detraction with classic lever actions is the tubular mag that limits it to blunt-nose bullets unless you single load a spitzer in the spout with a second in the tube which is plenty good for hunting, but these days, fewer people hunt than go bust off hundreds and thousands of rounds at a range, just a'rippin' that paper to shreds! I added a Winchester 307 lever gun to get the added power of the 308 cartridge, but always wished it had a box mag, and Browning made one, but of course it was priced out of reach of most people - certainly myself! Henry has a really nice line of Browning inspired lever guns that use box mags and spitzer pointed ammo, but what sets the Fightlite apart is it's AR foundation that takes garden variety box mags that come in all sorts of capacities, and in that regard, this rifle has a few advantages over the basic AR semiauto rifle, starting with being able to save brass without chasing it all over the landscape, and being able to mount a suppressor for a FULLY suppressed rifle since the breech doesn't fly open automatically. The handloader gains much because they can experiment with a wide range of bullets and powder charges with no worries about feed and function. The shooting ergonomics of this rifle are BETTER than an AR pattern semiauto - believe it, or not.
I just happen to own a Fightlite semiauto lower that clips onto a standard AR upper. FAR more compact and easy to pack around than the clunky AR, and it can take "little" mags for hunting, or slap in a Magpul D60 for holding off a carload of home invaders! Fightlite's quality and finish is top notch! I've been waiting for the lever version, and like the semi, one can buy just the lower if they already have a multiplicity of AR uppers laying around!
Going to have to rename it the model 2026 at the rate.