“Refuse to own another lever gun. Had 4, none would cycle.
... winchester 30/30. Dropping the lever would release a bullet into the receiver...Second lever garbage: a Henry 357...would never eject a round...no. 3: .444 Marlin, which would release all bullets at once into the receiver once you cycled the lever, causing epic jams...another Henry in .44 magnum...loaded with more than 2 rounds, they would stay in the msg tube no matter how you try to pump the lever...I always wanted a John Wayne rifle...”
An infamously epic run of bad luck.
But after 15 years in the trade, selling every make & model you mentioned, and repairing guns old and new, I can say with confidence that no make nor model is immune to problems. New guns can misbehave right out of the box. No quality gunmaker should allow it to happen, but it does. Quality control and pre-shipping inspections ought to have been tight enough, and sufficiently thorough, to catch such errors before rifles leave the factory, but the unhappy truth is they don’t always.
I’ve repaired every model you tangled with, encountered every malfunction you did - and a great many more, in guns new and old. The fixes for the problems you endured are straightforward, for moderately experienced repair techs. Unfortunately, gunsmithing is a profession in decline. Actually finding a reliable repair technician who is competent, trustworthy, and experienced in fixing your model of choice grows more difficult every day.
If by “John Wayne rifle” you mean the Winchester 92, I’d say don’t hesitate. Their reliability and toughness are legendary - and the legends are true. They cycle more smoothly than any other repeating rifle.
Avoid the Rossi copies. Browning used to make a copy, but I’ve no direct experience with it. Winchester recently introduced modern replicas, but I cannot speak to their quality as I have no direct experience with them either.
From 1892 into the 1930s, Winchester made over a million original Model 92s; they are plentiful on the used market. But demand has run high for years, so a specimen in any decent sort of condition can be pricey. There is good news though: even heavily used 92s continue to function well, and they usually shoot tight groups, even when the bore is severely worn or corroded.
The Browning and Winchester replicas are made by Miroku in Japan and are fine guns. Miroku has also made reproductions of the 1873, the 1876, and 1895 Winchesters.