Just my opinion but a Smith lever action gun just “feels” wrong. Kind of like Remington or Mossberg when they entered the handgun industry. It would be like Winchester announcing they are going to produce single action revolvers.
This may end up being a great rifle but when someone mentions anything related to lever action S&W definitely doesn’t enter the conversation.
Hope it turns out to be a winner. Unlike some of the aforementioned attempts at handguns.