I always thought it would be interesting to see what a Garand style rifle would end up like if it was built for a smaller, shorter caliber. I always pictured a small rifle in .223 that used an enbloc clip. I figure you could make it almost smaller/lighter than a mini-14. Something like 6.8SPC might be a better choice. I figure I'll never see it unless the gun banners have their way and ban high cap mags.
A lever gun in an African caliber sounds sweet.