Lever action .357 opinions.....

I have a 20" Marlin 1894 in .41 Magnum, I bought my brother a 16" Winchester Trapper in .45 Colt some years ago. While the longer barrel... with the right powder... gives me a velocity advantage, I have considered whacking the Marlin barrel to 16". The Trapper, which I 'borrowed' from my brother, after giving it to him... made the ultimate handy rifle for camp or the tractor, or just banging around... it's great. In a pistol cartridge, I wouldn't want a barrel longer than 20".

Charlie98

The Trapper, which I 'borrowed' from my brother, after giving it to him... made the ultimate handy rifle for camp or the tractor, or just banging around... it's great. In a pistol cartridge, I wouldn't want a barrel longer than 20".

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Same way I feel about my Rossi 92 in .45 Colt with its 16" barrel. Very quick and easy to bring it on target and makes for an extremely handy and compact little carbine. Would love to add another Rossi 92 in .357 Magnum.

Charlie98 said:

I'd take a Miroku every day and twice on Sunday. That being said, if I was looking for a shooter, and I didn't have a gazillion dollars for a new Winchester/Miroku, I'd find a JM Marlin, or I'd even take a chance on a very well inspected before purchase Remington Marlin.

I don't really have an opinion on the Italians... I have a Pedersoli 1885, it's a fine rifle, but I don't know about the repeaters.

I would snarf up an older Browning 92 if one ever surfaced, and I think the Rossi 92's are decent as well, if not quite the level of the Browning.

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The Italians make fine repeaters. Uberti guns are excellent, a big step above Rossi, IMHO.
Miroku does make better gun, but they're not a world apart. I have both Miroku made and Uberti made leveractions. For a .357 magnum I think a Rossi 92 would be fine, if the actual rifle could be inspected before purchase. A Miroku 1892 would be a lot more expensive but a much nicer gun than Rossi. I happen to own a Browning 1892 in .44 magnum made @1983 and yes, it is a very nice carbine. If one could find a good B-92 in .357 it would be a great choice.

Rossi carbines used to be pretty bad. In the early 1990s I checked out one in .218 Bee, and the inside looked like it was carved out by a drunk gorilla with a broken chisel. You couldn't have paid me to take home that ... thing.

But recent ones are far better. I have a Rossi 92 in .45 Colt and while it's not as good as either Miroku or Uberti it remains a reliable, accurate gun that cycles smoothly .

Tinman357 said:

Ok guys... real suprising end to this saga. Ran myself ragged trying to find a Winchester 1892. Have a few lined up to look at next week. But.... and here is where it got weird, I just stopped in unannounced at one of my local shops.

On the used rack, is a Marlin 1894C. 18.5" .357 straight stock. JM marked, of all things. Looks new. Barely even a handling mark. Almost pristine. Ugly wood with no real grain. Don't care. Screws look untouched.

I can't tell that this rifle has even been fired. I'll assume it has, but not many at all.

I've already lined up skinner sights and bookmarked some tune up websites. I'll run a thousand rounds through it and decide if I need to do anything else.

Happiness to me is a new gun to tinker with.

$495.00 I'm a happy guy.

1 piece firing pin is probable as well as a good spring kit.

Oh... I'm still going to get the 1892. I couldn't pass this one up.

Life is good.

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The JM Marlin sounds like a good choice, depending on if it is an older one with microgroove or conventional Ballard rifling, and what your needs are for ammo. If you will be using jacketed soft points it doesn't matter. If you will be reloading with lead bullets, then Ballard would be best. ( I've read all the arguments about getting microgroove to shoot cast well and conventional rifling is still best as far as I am concerned.)

The .357 magnum 1894 Marlin is a faster and easier carbine to aim and shoot offhand compared to the .44 magnum version. It's really fun in this regard in fact.

For those who might be interested, I just bought a new 1894C that I have not shot yet. First impressions are that it's a pretty fair little rifle.
The quality of manufacture is very good and the screw heads and sight alignment are great. The breech bolt machining and internal finishing is smooth and the wood fit is very good. The checkering isn't sharp, but it's okay. Wood grain is fairly plain but nice. New Marlin trigger pulls vary. Some are too heavy, but this particular one is reasonable and crisp. The action is smooth and easy to operate. Not as smooth as a Henry or a Marlin 336 which have round bolts, but good.

I did notice that American Eagle JSP bullet noses get deformed pretty easily by loading into the rifle. The magazine spring seems pretty heavy and those flat nosed bullet tips have a lot of very soft lead exposed. Best to only cycle them through once. I would go with Hornaday XTP type bullets instead, which have a higher jacket and a rounder nose. Hard cast LEE Precison SWC reloads cycled easily though.

$495 ??

Were you wearing a mask?

Sounds like a very good deal.

That’s a great buy, congrats! I, too woulda jumped on that right away .

As the owner of 12 lever guns in various calibers, IMHO pistol caliber lever guns lose their biggest asset, handiness, with barrels over 20”. Those with 16” barrels are fantastic to shoot, tote and handload ammo for. 18”-20” and you are reaching the outer edge of lightweight portability pistol caliber lever carbines are loved for, and they are pretty much the max for velocity gain in the limited space these cartridges have for powder.

24”-26”? Save those for rifle calibers that can burn powder in the longer tubes and reach out a bit further with the added sight radius. They do look good, but the added weight and loss of handiness far outweigh a couple of extra rounds and a little bit of a velocity gain over a 20” or shorter barrel in pistol calibers.

Again, these are just my opinions, YMMV.

Stay safe.

Tinman357 said:

Ok guys... real suprising end to this saga. Ran myself ragged trying to find a Winchester 1892. Have a few lined up to look at next week. But.... and here is where it got weird, I just stopped in unannounced at one of my local shops.

On the used rack, is a Marlin 1894C. 18.5" .357 straight stock. JM marked, of all things. Looks new. Barely even a handling mark. Almost pristine. Ugly wood with no real grain. Don't care. Screws look untouched.


$495.00 I'm a happy guy.

1 piece firing pin is probable as well as a good spring kit.

Oh... I'm still going to get the 1892. I couldn't pass this one up.

Life is good.

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You made out very well. When you find that you can't sleep at night for stealing the gun, send it to me and I'll keep it for you until the guilt goes away. I'll make sure that it does not get stiff while we wait. I'll have the action nice and slick when you get it back!!!!

I have a Marlin 1894C in 357 Magnum that I bought new in 1981. It has been an excellent rifle. It has the micro groove rifling and prefers jacketed bullets but will shoot cast bullets for plinking adequately.

Recently in 2018, I bought a new Winchester 1873 in 357 Magnum based on the experience I have with a 1890 vintage Winchester 1873 in 32-20. I have not shot the new Winchester yet but it looks well made. I expect it should shoot well.

Howdy

I bought the Marlin .357Mag/38Sp Model 1894CS at the bottom of this photo used close to 20 years ago. I bought it for Mrs Johnson to use in CAS when she found my 24" barreled Winchesters too heavy.

A friend slicked it up and it is a real smooth shooter. The barrel is 18 1/2" long.

We have a thing in CAS where we need to be able to fit ten rounds in the magazine, because that is how many rounds we usually shoot out of the rifle during a stage. It's better if we don't have to reload. As I recall, when I bought it ten 38 Specials fit into the magazine, but only nine 357s. It did not really matter because Mrs Johnson was only shooting 38 Specials out of it anyway. I think the friend who slicked it up shortened the follower so it will fit ten 357 Mags, but I don't really remember.

By the way, the 44-40 Model 1894 at the top of the photo was made in 1895. I don't really know how old the little Marlin is, I just have a pretty good idea of when I bought it.






Here is another shot of the little 1894CS with a Model 39A.






As I recall, the front sight came with a hood over it. Those are illegal in CAS so I slid it off.






The rear sight is a nice semi-buckhorn that folds down in case one wants to mount a scope on it. The receiver is drilled and tapped to mount a scope.






Here is the marking on the barrel.






Anyway, the Mrs does not shoot Cowboy anymore, but I held onto the rifle. It's a real sweet shooter with 38s, and a little powerhouse with 357s.

Regarding the length of 38s to feed through one of these, I will have to look that up. There is well established over all length for 38s to feed in these babies, I just don't remember what it is.

gotboostvr said:

My Rossi 92 is fantastic. I could do without the safety on the bolt, but if it really bothered me there's plenty of solutions.

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There is a company that sells a rear peep that uses the threads of the safety. They also sell blanks if you just want to remove the safety


As to the OP, I do have a cimarron 1873 and I like it for its history and quality, but it is not as strong or reliable. The main issue with reliability which is inherent to the design is if the extractor gets carbon or dirt in it, it may have problems snapping over the rim. Could be because mine is threaded for a suppressor, so I may get more soot staying near the chamber.

I like the Marlin 1894c; it’s a nice handling little rifle. The Internet “conventional wisdom” is that the JM rifles are superb (some are) and the post Remington rifles are junk (some may be). The recent Marlins have been getting good reviews.

Back to your original query there are actually two manufacturers since Uberti makes the Cimarron 1873.

There are tons of Uberti 1873s in the hands of cowboy action shooters. They are good but a little rough out of the box given the price. A couple hundred dollars of work by a cowboy gunsmith makes it really slick.

The Miroku 1873 is better out of the box. It’s usually a little more expensive than a stock Uberti. If you want something that is good to go in an 1873 I’d recommend the Miroku. Do replace the lever safety spring, though.

The 1892 is a stronger and more compact action. That’s why Winchester paid John M. Browning to design it. Cowboy Action Shooters don’t need the extra strength and the ‘92 won’t run as fast as a ‘73. If you are not trying to break into the top ranks in SASS matches, though, the ‘92 is a good all around rifle.

Other than the rifle sold as the (discontinued) B92 I don’t care much for the Miroku 1892s. They added a tang safety and a rebounding hammer. Can’t fault the quality, though.

Since you already have the Marlin which has a strong compact action I’d go with the 1873 for your next rifle.

Have fun shopping and enjoy your rifles.

Crunchy Frog said:

I like the Marlin 1894c; it’s a nice handling little rifle. The Internet “conventional wisdom” is that the JM rifles are superb (some are) and the post Remington rifles are junk (some may be). The recent Marlins have been getting good reviews.

Back to your original query there are actually two manufacturers since Uberti makes the Cimarron 1873.

There are tons of Uberti 1873s in the hands of cowboy action shooters. They are good but a little rough out of the box given the price. A couple hundred dollars of work by a cowboy gunsmith makes it really slick.

The Miroku 1873 is better out of the box. It’s usually a little more expensive than a stock Uberti. If you want something that is good to go in an 1873 I’d recommend the Miroku. Do replace the lever safety spring, though.

The 1892 is a stronger and more compact action. That’s why Winchester paid John M. Browning to design it. Cowboy Action Shooters don’t need the extra strength and the ‘92 won’t run as fast as a ‘73. If you are not trying to break into the top ranks in SASS matches, though, the ‘92 is a good all around rifle.

Other than the rifle sold as the (discontinued) B92 I don’t care much for the Miroku 1892s. They added a tang safety and a rebounding hammer. Can’t fault the quality, though.

Since you already have the Marlin which has a strong compact action I’d go with the 1873 for your next rifle.

Have fun shopping and enjoy your rifles.

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Having both Uberti and Miroku Winchesters let me say this; There is little doubt Miroku makes superb Winchesters. I have a Browning 92 carbine by Miroku , a 1983 production version, and a takedown 1892 Winchester in .32-20. I have two 1873 versions by Uberti. Also, an 1883Colt Burgess carbine.
No one should think Uberti is "second rate." Lots of firearms can be "slicked up" effectively and safely by competent smiths, even though they work great out of the box. Many people involved in competitive shooting events may polish 1873 parts -- there's even an alteration to shorten the lever stroke to accentuate speed.

I'm not against any of that. The people who used real Winchesters in 1876 did not have these options. Metallurgy was not as advanced as it is, they did not have cnc or cad or any computer controlled manufacturing.
Their rifles worked very well for them, and some of those still work for us. Their Uberti or Miroku recreations both, will do exactly the same.

My Miroku M1873 357 Mag is my favorite firearm. The only improvement (just for my old eyes) I made to this rifle was adding a Marble's tang sight.

That there's one peerrrtty carbeeen, JohnB-40!

Good catch on that Marlin, Tinman357. It sounds like you made a very good find.

Isnt it illegal to own a .357 carbine without a .357 single action revolver to go with? It should be!
Congrats on a fine choice @Tinman357