Thoughts on lever actions

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chris in va

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I’m trying to sell my AR and pick up a lever in 357 or 45c. The Henry side gate looks nice but can’t find one locally to try out. A gun store here does however have Rossi’s in both calibers, so just wanted to get your thoughts.
 
I’m trying to sell my AR and pick up a lever in 357 or 45c. The Henry side gate looks nice but can’t find one locally to try out. A gun store here does however have Rossi’s in both calibers, so just wanted to get your thoughts.
My thoughts:

don't sell the AR

I recommend 357 unless you reload. 45 is the cooler cartridge, IMO but not if you are buying it at a store.

I've only ever handled the Rossi. I didn't expect much, but I was pretty well impressed with the one I handled.
 
They are $599 and $749, and I can/do reload and cast for both calibers. I don’t have a use for the AR, just not my thing. I’ve been wanting a centerfire lever for years as I really enjoy my Henry 22.

The Henry side gate steel would have to be shipped here so it would be a leap of faith on that one. I just have to figure out if I want a 16” or 20” version of one.
 
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I paid $750 for mine during non-panic times, though the .454 versions are a bit harder to come by. Those prices sound good for where I live, Id jump on one. The 92 is a very strong action, and mine was pretty smooth straight out of the box. Not sure what the henrys have for aftermarket customization, but there is a good selection of stuff for the rossis. Check out “steve’s gunz” online, hes got all kinds of cool parts.
 
Keep the AR. I just got a Henry Big Box X "Tactical" .357 Mag/.38 Spec side-gate. I like it. I would have preferred the Big Boy "Steel" rifle-length side-gate with wood stock, but they've been going for well over $1K on Gun Broker. And not available locally. Three things to know about the Big Boy X Tactical: 1) it only loads seven rounds while the wood-stock rifle versions load 10, 2) it really prefers the .357 Mag cartridge, and that caliber is expensive and tough to find, and 3) Henrys are notoriously difficult to completely take down and fully clean. (Fortunately, as an offset, they don't seem to get dirty as fast). I have no experience with Marlins, so can't compare brands, but I can recommend a Henry based on my own experience.
 
$300 used 30-30’s are about as hard to find as pterodactyl eggs. Prices are through the roof. I have a Stainless Rossi in 45 Colt. 20 inch barrel. Lighter than my other lever guns. I am happy with it. Got rid of the stupid safety and added ghost ring sights. I was impressed by the model.
 
. . . so just wanted to get your thoughts.

I love 'em whether traditional or less traditional.

I only have a pair of Marlins. One in .357/.38 to match revolvers I have and one in .22 because its a .22.

Both of my Marlins are right at 7 lbs. (empty) as equipped in the photo below. Okay, the 40" long .22 is 2 ounces lighter than the 33" long .357, but the .357 feels lighter and more nimble in the hands.

The long barrel makes a lot of sense for iron sight shootin', but my eyes really need at least red dots these days. So, a long barrel to me now only means more magazine capacity. My .357 only holds 8 in the tube (or 9 .38s), yet I don't miss having more capacity at all in that gun compared to having a longer barreled .357.

I had my eye on a Henry Big Boy Steel Carbine in the past, but never came across one in person before I spent my money elsewhere.

I guess what I'm trying to say is, if I were in the hunt for another .357 lever gun that I'd pick a 16.5" barreled version again. Except the gundemic is going on, which means I wouldn't turn down a 20" barreled version as a back-up choice.

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Since you do load, I would go with the 45 Colt.
That is great cartridge and a lot of fun to play with.
There are a many options when it comes to how to load it.

I have the 45 Colt in a Marlin.

I bought my first Henry a few months ago.
I picked up the 45-70 (H010X)
It runs as slick as butter in a hot iron skillet.

I have no exposure to the Rossi.
 
Those Rossis are a hot item right now and it is the one I would get between the two. Id personally choose 45 Colt but I dont think you can go wrong with either cartridge.
 
Henry's are very nice. And if you have a problem, their customer service is very good...if you complain a little.
 
I just traded a 20” 357 for a 24” 45 Colt. The 16” and 20” have round barrels and modern butt plates. The 24” has a vintage look with an octagon barrel and crescent butt plate. My 357 worked great and was very accurate and my 45 is the same. I had a 44 Marlin in the past I like the these Rossi’s better. I traded the 357 because I thought a 45 was a better cartridge for me. 8411A35A-15F5-45C7-9C80-1643EF49F35F.jpeg
 
I love my two Rossi guns, one in 357 and other in 45LC. Both run great and are a hoot to shoot. Henries use the Marlin style internals and have a better wood to metal fit. However I don't have any experience with them.
 
I wish I could have found a $300 lever action when I was looking for one six months ago!

I wouldn't sell the AR. If you are not going to hunt I would go with the 357. It is more versatile.

Just at the moment though finding either may be a challenge.
 
I have a Henry 357 Carbine, a Henry 45colt carbine and just picked up a Marlin 1894 CST in 357. The Henry 45 colt is my favorite to shoot. The Henry 357 is the most accurate and the Marlin is my home defense rifle. All 3 are great fun to shoot. I have revolvers in both calibers. The Marlin isn't as smooth running as the Henry's but it isn't really an issue. I reload for both calibers. The Henry 357 also runs just fine with my 38sp reloads. The Marlin is a bitch to load but it holds 10.
If I could have 1 it would be the 45 colt. The reloading options are huge.

IMG_4858.jpg
 
I'm a Marlin guy: 1894's in .357, .41 & .44 Magnum, 336's in .30-30, .35 Remington & .44 Magnum. All are good shooters with the right loads for the first three shots. Scoped, all of the center fire rifle cartridge guns will hold 2" or less at 100 yds for the first three shots. The 1894's will do the same out to 75 yds or so, scoped or with peep sights.

Personally, I'm partial to the 1894's for their shorter action, and their versatility in firing handgun ammunition that pairs nicely with my Rugers, and S&W's. All three are very accurate both with jacketed bullets, and home cast types. Marlins do tend to have large throats & bores that make cast bullet shooting sometimes a challenge. When shooting lead alloys, Micro-groove rifling needs bore filling bullets...at least 0.432" in .44 Magnum and 0.359" in .357 Magnum. Gas checks help & allow higher velocities. Shooting lead, I've had good luck in both .357 & .44 up to 1500-1600 fps muzzle velocity. In the .41 Magnum, I don't have a gas checked bullet mold so my best accuracy has been with loads producing <1200 fps, or most any jacketed bullet.

In the 1894's, Hornady's excellent XTP line of bullets do well in all of my guns, with 50 yd groups down around an inch with peep or scope. These are good deer killers here in KY and I've taken good bucks out to 110 yds with them.

All of mine are true Marlins, produced before the company was acquired by Remington. I've found the actions fairly smooth and they all had decent hunting triggers right out of the box; but have noted, as is true with all lever action carbines with barrel bands, that some tweaking is necessary to prevent the barrel walking as it heats up. Generally this means loosening up the band screws to allow the barrel to 'float' and limiting groups to the first three shots for a good repeatable zero.

I have no shooting experience with Henry's or Rossi's, but have found the Henry's to be heavier by quite a bit when compared to my Marlins. I do have three Winchester's in the '92 sized action that do well: .25-20 & 32-20 and a cpl of Model 94's in .30-30 & .38-55. Generalizing, they're as light as the Marlins, but not quite as accurate with a peep mounted. Too, they've sky-rocketed in price, and this was well before the Covid/rioting/election panics.

Lastly, if were to pick one for a do-it-all lever gun, I'd choose one of the Marlin 1894 .44 Magnums. They're good for deer, easy to shoot well, and there's a broader choice for loads for them. Too, you can easily mount a scope or peep if that's what interests you, or your aging eyes demand.

HTH's Rod

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. . . and just picked up a Marlin 1894 CST in 357.

The Marlin is a bitch to load . . .

Yeah, the Marlin 1894 in .357 needs some work to load easier. One thing to do is to cut the full length magazine spring down to a length appropriately sized to the 16.5" barrel. I cut my 1894 CSBL mag spring by 5". The original mag spring size in my gun was 27.5", working size now is 22.5". I learned this from others on the net.

The other thing that needs to be done can be seen in this Aussie speed loader video.

Don't fall for the loading gate being the issue, because it's not. That just sells lightly sprung loading gates, but doesn't fix the key issues mentioned above.

Magazine loading in my 1894 CSBL is easy breezy after doing that work. Out of the box, it was a nightmare.

Hopefully Ruger will take care of this issue where Marlin wouldn't.

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Edit to add pics explaining the Aussie video a bit more. What's happening is the cartridge rims are getting caught going through the mag tube opening under the barrel. Cartridge #1 always loads well, but cartridges #2, #3, and so on are hard to load because the rim of the preceeding cartridge is catching on the part indicated by the red arrows.

Before
View attachment 972092

After
View attachment 972093
 
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All marlins and rossi's need an action job. Henry's are heavy. You can usually find a 30/30 in a pawn shop for a lot cheaper than the pistol caliber guns.

I did the red-neck action job on my Rossi. It an arduous method but results in a sweet action when its done.

Step 1 acquire a heap of various ammo compatible with your selected lever action.
Step 2 acquire a heap of entertaining targets.
Step 3 head to your favorite range, private or public
Step 4 setup your targets
Step 5 try to re-enact your favorite scene from Starship Trooper but with a lever action, try not to enjoy this step too much it ruins the action job. ;)
Step 6 Profit and enjoy your new super smooth action and don't forget to police your brass to reload it. :D
 
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Yeah, the Marlin 1894 in .357 needs some work to load easier. One thing to do is to cut the full length magazine spring down to a length appropriately sized to the 16.5" barrel. I cut my 1894 CSBL mag spring by 5". The original mag spring size in my gun was 27.5", working size now is 22.5". I learned this from others on the net.

The other thing that needs to be done can be seen in this Aussie speed loader video.

Don't fall for the loading gate being the issue, because it's not. That just sells lightly sprung loading gates, but doesn't fix the key issues mentioned above.

Magazine loading in my 1894 CSBL is easy breezy after doing that work. Out of the box, it was a nightmare.

Hopefully Ruger will take care of this issue where Marlin wouldn't.
Thanks for the info. Looks like 2 things I can easily do.
 
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