.357 Leverguns

[sprice]

I want a .357 lever action rifle that can fire .38 rounds too. What are my options? What is the rifle with the smoothest action, best price, strongest, action, or all of the above? I think I might want something color case hardened with a 18-20" octogon barrel.

So far it's between the 1892, 1873, and the marlin 1894. Price is no object because it is a gift being given to me and apparently skie's the limit.

 

[WNC Seabee]

I have been incredibly happy with my Rossi 92. I bought thinking it would be a good "project" gun...I would work to smooth out the action, work on the trigger, etc, etc,....turned out disappointing because it came super smooth, very reliable with all ammo and very very accurate.

 

[ralph2]

I have a Marlin 1894C in 357mag and the first time I loaded the magazine with 38spl the first round jammed and I had to take the lever out to clear it so I haven't loaded the
magazine with 38spl since but have loaded them directly in the chamber and the accuracy didn't seem so good. I was shooting offhand and might have been having a bad day.
Even if 38spl feeds and shoots good you will be building up crud in the chamber that
can cause issues with 357 mag brass. I have a Winchester 94 in 44MAG that feeds and shoots 44SPL great. Before buying a gun with plans to shoot 38spl I would at very least make sure it feeds good.

 

[DirtyHarry31]

Another vote for '92 EMF Hartford (made by Rossi) 357 mag in stainless with a 20" barrel. Beautiful dark walnut stock & has a saddle ring. Excellent gun for the price. Mine came to me new in box all slicked up. Some have said these can be a little stiff, but working the action smooths it out. There's a guy who specializes in these rifles. Here's his site:
http://www.stevesgunz.com
I'mm looking to improve upon my rifle with a few part changes but I could not be happier with it.

 

[jtscuba02]

I have been happy with my Henry Big Boy in .357. Action is good and trigger pull isn't bad either.

 

[Joe in fla]

My brother in law is an avid hunter and has a Marlin lever rifle with a Micro-grooved barrel and chambered for .38/.357. He says that it shots jacketed bullets fine but leads badly with lead bullets and that lead bullets aren't accurate in the MicroGroove barrels.

FWIW.

 

[ralph2]

Joe in fla: I don't know how to tell if my Marlin 1894C has a micro groove barrel but their web site says it is a Ballard rifled barrel.

 

[Joe in fla]

If it is Ballard rifling you should be ok with either type bullet. See <http://thefiringline.com/forums/showthread.php?t=241740>

 

[blindhari]

I think this is one you would have to look around for. My 357 lever is a Winchester Trapper in 357 mag with a 16'barrel. It has handeled every factory load I have put in it, 38/357. Only load I had problem with was a 38 load in wadcutter. Fault was my reloading, not the gun.

blindhari

 

[CraigC]

The various 1892 replicas will be the strongest and probably the least expensive (depending on importer). They are also available with a case colored finish. The 1873 will be the smoothest out of the box but also the most expensive at $1000-$1200. They are also potentially the nicest. The Uberti replicas are beautifully made rifles. Many of us levergun nuts don't like the idea of feeding them a steady diet of full-steam .357 loads due to the toggle action. Believing that pressure should be kept to 20-21,000psi regardless of chambering. The Marlin is also an excellent choice, though slightly more than a comparable 1892 replica. Yes on the octagon barrel but the only case colored receiver you'll find is a .38Spl version that's probably a favorite of collectors by now.

 

[Pete D.]

.357

I've had the Rossi for many years now and remain quite satisfied with it. Handy, accurate, powerful.
Pete

 

[76shuvlinoff]

My Marlin 1894c is from 1977. I got it a couple years ago and it's so pristine I was almost afraid to shoot it for a while. The first time I ran 38 spcls I had a couple failures to feed but nothing catastrophic. I quit babying the thing, ran the lever like I meant it and that problem disappeared.
I love this little carbine, it pairs up sweet with my 4 5/8 .357 Blackhawk and makes me feel like a 10 year old cowboy every time I pick it up. My wife is much more comfortable using it over any of my sidearms. I keep it stoked next to the 870 for HD.

 

[Jason_W]

The only failure to feed I've had with my marlin 1894 was when trying to chamber anything with a swc bullet. It does not like those.

Since I handload, I don't bother running .38s through it. I just load .357 mag cases down to .38 spl level. I've read this keeps the throat/chamber cleaner for longer.

 

[BCCL]

One I just picked up today, a Euroarms 1873 .357 magnum.

Did not appear to have been fired, but it had now! Ran 2 boxes though it and it's a real shooter.

Crappy cell phone pic' after I got done shooting it shows all the finger prints on the blue.

 

[Red Cent]

Call Linda Jones at Taylor's in Winchester, VA. Tell her to take a .357 20" 1873 Border Deluxe home and have her husband, Cody Conagher, do an action job and a 2002 era short stroke. Tell Linda to bill you for the total. Sky's the limit.
When you receive the rifle you will think that the internals are missing. No one knows what slick is until they have a Cody Conagher action job.

 

[greyling22]

Sprice, marlin and rossi are your best bets.

Marlin's a little heavier, has better sights, easier to take apart for cleaning, chokes on semi wadcutters, and slicks up very easily with an action job a monkey could do. Generally has better wood and costs more.

Rossi's, especially in the 16" configuration, are lighter and easier to pack around, slick up better than a marlin, but it takes more complicated work, worse sights and wood, cheaper. Mine, (old model) has never liked 38's much. I hear the new ones are better.

Hard to really go wrong with either.

 

[Water-Man]

You described my Rossi PUMA M92 that I purchased from LSI two years ago. It has been great. Reliable and accurate but not the way to go if you want a scope on it.

 

[PapaG]

Shine a light in the breech of the marlin and look down the barrel. Ballard rifling (cut rifling) has about six grooves, microgroove has a dozen or more. Microgroove barrels, and the barrel on my sixties 94 44 mag tend to strip/lead when velocities exceed factory lead bullet ratings.

I've had to unjam several Marlins in the shop when their owners tried 38 specials with short bullets in them....wadcutters, 110 grainers, and short swcs.

Reports from the field say that the Rossi 92s seem to be the best for 38.,357s.