.38 Special / .357 Rifles

I don’t think Ive ever seen a .38/.357 rifle that wasn’t a lever gun or some flavor of crack barrel. A bolt gun? I can’t say that it doesn’t exist, but why not a lever gun. They’re slick.

I have had an itch for a 38/357 rifle also. The only bolt action I'm aware of is the Ruger 357/77. I handled one once. The action was over sized for the cartridge and I wasn't fond of the rotary magazine.

There are also the H&R/Handi-rifles, that are single shot break actions, but are hard to find.

I think CVA makes a current break action 357.

film495 said:

I reload for .38 Special. It is pretty easy and I'm sure .357 would be similar, uses the same dies etc. I'm thinking of a basic utility rifle, something to maybe shoot off hand or from a bench. What interests me is - being able to load the rounds easily and pretty cheap. So, my inquiry is - how do these compare to rifle cartridges, not in terms of power, but in terms of accuracy and functioning.

I know these are popular in Lever guns, but I already own a 30-30 Lever gun, and was thinking about a bolt action, one of which I currently don't own. Any recommendations?

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Try this Ruger 77/357 https://www.ruger.com/products/77Series77357/models.html which is the only one that I know is currently made or possibly a Thompson Contender pistol single shot types. H&R made a single shot Handi Rifle in .357 rifle https://www.budsgunshop.com/product_info.php/products_id/52891 but I had heard that production on these single shots has been discontinued.

TonyAngel said:

I don’t think Ive ever seen a .38/.357 rifle that wasn’t a lever gun or some flavor of crack barrel. A bolt gun? I can’t say that it doesn’t exist, but why not a lever gun. They’re slick.

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Ruger has been making the 77/357 for a long time.

No kidding. Completely forgot about the Rugers. Well, there you go.

I have a Rossi lever gun and live that thing. It’s super handy.

How set are you on the rimmed case? While it would require new brass, 350 legend is using the same bullets and can be loaded with similar loads. Bolt rifles for it are much more available.

I made a contender barrel using a green mountain blank it’s most accurate with Maximum brass but I imagine if I used a 38 or 357 mag reamer they would have been just as accurate.

I wonder if Howa could make one of their mini actions in 357.

I have one in 223 and it's a lot of fun.

TonyAngel said:

I don’t think Ive ever seen a .38/.357 rifle that wasn’t a lever gun or some flavor of crack barrel. A bolt gun? I can’t say that it doesn’t exist, but why not a lever gun. They’re slick.

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Ruger 77

I would consider a .35 Remington if you handload. A very light bolt action is a good idea in a survival rifle. Normally I don't see a point in pistol caliber rifles but I can see the advantage of a survival rifle that can shoot subsonic with much more power than a .22 LR. I do think they Revolver rifles as well. Interesting. I think you have hit on a good idea. And you can easily cast bullets for it. I used to cast Elmer Keith type hollow points. I used a Lyman sizer/luber with .35 cal gas checks.

Garandimal ought to be along at some point. I believe he has a 77/357.

I thought about getting one myself at one time. Lightweight, "all weather", and a Ruger. But I have this thing against buying magazines, which I can't avoid apparently.

An older review below that I think is still worth a look.
http://www.majorpandemic.com/2011/08/ruger-77357-bolt-action-rifle-review.html

Henry makes a nice lever action and a single shot in 38/357. Both are very accurate.

I have a .38/.357 Henry single shot. As far as accuracy goes, it will topple 3-4" firewood pins consistently at 100 yards with subsonic 158 gr cast loads. I did push it farther and was able to consistently hit a 10" gong at 200...with a LOT of kentucky. Bang...thwack. Loads of fun. I did put it on paper with a heavy hunting load. .357 to full Lyman book max with Speer 158 SP. Groups were in the 2" range at 100 yards. Cheap to shoot. Quiet with .38 loads, still not bad with .357s. Nowhere near the blast and crack of a high powered rifle even in the .30-30 class. Recoil is very mild. Not a bolt action, but I think this fits the bill nicely for a range toy, backpack/survival gun.

If you are thinking survival gun and don't mind used you could look for one of these.



I put a Aimpoint on mine.





It shoots well with the Critical Defense loads. They were also made in 357 Maximum but those are rare.

IronHand

Going to mention henry singleshots also. Had a brass 44 mag and still have the brass 4570 (couldn't decide what caliber I wanted so I bought both.) The 4570 is a shooter. 5 shots @ 100 yards all touching with factory hornady ammo.

film495 said:

not sure I'm into the 77 black polymer stock and stainless, usually like regular blue and wood, but it could work. the rotary magazine seems kind of weird, but again, have no experience with them, they just seem odd.

not set on the rimmed case. it just seemed easy, since I already reload for .38 - the transition and fewer calibers to have and think about was the idea, but anything is an option.

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That is the only thing that has kept me away from the rifle, Not a big fan of plastic and stainless....the magazine, hey ruger stole the rotary magazine decades ago and it works, don't worry about that part of the deal....even had it in their 44 1022's.

I would like to try one/buy one....they are just not that common and I usually don't special order anything.....had lunch with a friend who is an FFL, might hit him up on my price on one....only money.

Trashyshoots said:

Going to mention henry singleshots also. Had a brass 44 mag and still have the brass 4570 (couldn't decide what caliber I wanted so I bought both.) The 4570 is a shooter. 5 shots @ 100 yards all touching with factory hornady ammo.

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Scoped or irons? Nice shooting either way!

benzy2 said:

How set are you on the rimmed case? While it would require new brass, 350 legend is using the same bullets and can be loaded with similar loads. Bolt rifles for it are much more available.

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While the 350 Legend is a nice deer getter , per my nephew in southern Michigan, sadly it does not take .358 bullets. Why they did that is mind boggling.

peterk1234 said:

Scoped or irons? Nice shooting either way!

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A vortex red dot! Couldn't believe my eyes when I saw it through my spotting scope.

nhcruffler said:

While the 350 Legend is a nice deer getter , per my nephew in southern Michigan, sadly it does not take .358 bullets. Why they did that is mind boggling.

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I’m not sure why it wouldn’t take .358 bullets. It has the same land and groove spec as .357 Magnum. It seems like a gunsmith could lightly ream the throat and have a fully .357 spec muzzle end of the chamber. I wouldn’t doubt that 0.001” of slop was already in most mass produced factory chambers negating the need to ream, though you’d have to check individually.

Everytime I get tempted to buy a 350 legend, I think I should just have a barrel made for my ar10 in 358 Winchester. And I dont live in a straight wall state.