Best 38 spl/357 magnum rifle?

[IronsightJM]

Hey all, was thinking about getting one of these lever action rifles. I heard they are a lot of fun to shoot plus they can be used for a lot of hunting anything from small game to a little bigger. I know a little about each of the more popular ones such as the Rossi m92, Henry big boy, and marlin 1894c. I’ve shot the big boy and man it was smooth. But I also hear Rossi can offer exactly what Henry did just at a lower price? What do y’all think is the best 38/357?

 

[Whiterook808]

The only one I have is the Marlin 1894 Cowboy Limited and it is awesome! I put a Skinner Express Black Gold peep on the receiver and one of their brass blades on the front. Love it!

 

[chicharrones]

Best 38 slp/357 magnum rifle?

Currently manufactured? A Miroku made Winchester 1873 or 1892 would be my guess.

 

[IronsightJM]

Currently manufactured? A Miroku made Winchester 1873 or 1892 would be my guess.

Yeah something that is semi easy to come by today. Not have to go digging to see a listing of one up.

 

[ThomasT]

I have a JM Marlin 357 made in 2002 IIRC with 18.5" barrel and Ballard rifling. Its my favorite of all the guns I own. I would rather shoot it with 38 Specials than any 22 rifle. And since I reload and cast my own bullets its super cheap to shoot. I would really like to get a Henry single shot 357. If I weren't on such a tight budget right now I would have one.

In one of the Rifle/Handloader articles Ross Seyfried wrote about mid bore BP rifles. He took one of the three he wrote about on an Elk hunt. The gun he used was a 36 caliber firing a 160gr lead bullet at 1600fps. Just about exactly what you will get from a 357 lever gun. He shot a cow elk at around 70 yards and the elk dropped in just a few feet and the bullet did a complete pass through.

Am I recommending a 357 for elk? Nope. But its good to see what the potential is for the gun and round. Plus they are just fun as hell to shoot.

 

[IronsightJM]

I have a JM Marlin 357 made in 2002 IIRC with 18.5" barrel and Ballard rifling. Its my favorite of all the guns I own. I would rather shoot it with 38 Specials than any 22 rifle. And since I reload and cast my own bullets its super cheap to shoot. I would really like to get a Henry single shot 357. If I weren't on such a tight budget right now I would have one.

In one of the Rifle/Handloader articles Ross Seyfried wrote about mid bore BP rifles. He took one of the three he wrote about on an Elk hunt. The gun he used was a 36 caliber firing a 160gr lead bullet at 1600fps. Just about exactly what you will get from a 357 lever gun. He shot a cow elk at around 70 yards and the elk dropped in just a few feet and the bullet did a complete pass through.

Am I recommending a 357 for elk? Nope. But its good to see what the potential is for the gun and round. Plus they are just fun as hell to shoot.

Wow that’s incredible. Must be a nice rifle. They really are great and to have fun while you’re doing it is honestly a great bonus. Im debating on what I want to get. Basically stuck in the middle of all of them lol.

 

[TonyAngel]

I have a Rossi and love shooting it, but have had some problems. Haven’t gotten around to getting it fixed.

sometimes it double feeds. You crank the lever and as you’re closing it another round will spit out of the mag. Major PITA to unjam.

Still, I know a few guys that own them and I’m the only one having problems. It’s a slick little rifle. The only thing I don’t like about it is the safety. To my surprise, it fed SWCs nicely.

 

[Tommygunn]

Currently manufactured? A Miroku made Winchester 1873 or 1892 would be my guess.

I just bought a Miroku 1866 Winchester in .38 sp. last week. It is a heckuva nice rifle!

 

[chicharrones]

I just bought a Miroku 1866 Winchester in .38 sp. last week. It is a heckuva nice rifle!

I sure would like seeing a pic of that!

 

[greyling22]

Of the 92 actions the miroku made Browning's are the best. I've never been a big fan of the tube fed Henry's, but they are very slick. The Marlin 1894 is my personal favorite. It is very easy to perform an action job on and turn from a fairly stiff new rifle into a very nice rifle. There are also the Italian made Winchester 73 clones that the cowboy guys like a lot. I do not personally have any experience with them. I have an old Rossi 92, and it is far more difficult to perform an action job on than a Marlin, but when slicked up seems to be a little nicer. I also struggled getting my Rossi to feed 357 in 38. I could show him the guide rails and make it feed either one or the other, but never both. My 1894 has always performed better with a 357 than a 38, but both function.

 

[Tommygunn]

I sure would like seeing a pic of that!

Dave Markowitz just posted "New Uberti Yellowboy1866 Sporting Rifle" in this section with photos. His looks a LOT like mine, except forend cap being different.

 

[ThomasT]

Wow that’s incredible. Must be a nice rifle. They really are great and to have fun while you’re doing it is honestly a great bonus. Im debating on what I want to get. Basically stuck in the middle of all of them lol.

I would look for a Marlin. Supposedly the newly made Marlins are good rifles. You might want to do some more research at marlinowners.com The reports on the new 357s are positive. If you reload this can be one of the most versatile guns you can own. I can load rounds with a .36 caliber round ball up to loads shooting a 160gr soft point at just under 1800fps. Some will say you can match original 30-30 loads but I still think the 30-30 is a more powerful round. But the 357 is a good all around gun to own.

I also owned a Rossi 357 and as long as you shot jacketed bullets it shot great. It would shoot 3" or just under groups at 100 yards but load it with lead and you could forget groups. That gun would have bullets starting to tip at the 30 yard range. I called Interarms, the importer at the time and they said all their lever guns came with a 1/30 twist. I don't know if the twist was the problem or the lead bullets were stripping in the bore. Anyway I sold the gun and bought a Marlin and never looked back.

My bud bought a Rossi and it does seem to shoot good. But shooting it beside my Marlin I found the Rossi has a longer lever throw. I short stroked his gun a couple of times. But he never did. A 357 lever action is one of the best you can own. I bet you like whatever you get.

 

[IronsightJM]

I would look for a Marlin. Supposedly the newly made Marlins are good rifles. You might want to do some more research at marlinowners.com The reports on the new 357s are positive. If you reload this can be one of the most versatile guns you can own. I can load rounds with a .36 caliber round ball up to loads shooting a 160gr soft point at just under 1800fps. Some will say you can match original 30-30 loads but I still think the 30-30 is a more powerful round. But the 357 is a good all around gun to own.

I also owned a Rossi 357 and as long as you shot jacketed bullets it shot great. It would shoot 3" or just under groups at 100 yards but load it with lead and you could forget groups. That gun would have bullets starting to tip at the 30 yard range. I called Interarms, the importer at the time and they said all their lever guns came with a 1/30 twist. I don't know if the twist was the problem or the lead bullets were stripping in the bore. Anyway I sold the gun and bought a Marlin and never looked back.

My bud bought a Rossi and it does seem to shoot good. But shooting it beside my Marlin I found the Rossi has a longer lever throw. I short stroked his gun a couple of times. But he never did. A 357 lever action is one of the best you can own. I bet you like whatever you get.

Thank you for the reply! I held one at an auction the other day and it was very nice. I wish I could get the chance to shoot one. That’ll probably sell me on the marlin. I shot the Henry big boy and the action was like butter but I hated the way it sat with my shoulder it just felt off.

 

[chicharrones]

The only one I have is the Marlin 1894 Cowboy Limited and it is awesome!

I have a JM Marlin 357 made in 2002 IIRC with 18.5" barrel and Ballard rifling.

The Marlin 1894 is my personal favorite.

I'm a huge fan of the Marlin 1894 as well. Since I've overloaded The High Road with my commentary about mine recently, I'll stop here.

 

[ThomasT]

One more story about my Marlin. I went to the local range one day and the prison guards from the federal prison were qualifying three women guards. So they had their man looking targets set up at 50 yards. They were through shooting so I asked if I could shoot at their left over targets. Sure they said. And they all stopped to watch as I drug my little lever action from the rifle case and loaded 9 rounds of 357 handloads.

Those girls had used every square inch of those targets except the 9 and 10 rings. So I fired my 9 rounds as fast as I could cycle the action and get a flash sight picture. All 9 of my rounds were in the 10 ring but I did have one round that cut the line. I asked one of the male guards if I qualified? He said "yes you certainly did". I bet they still tell stories about the "guy with his little lever gun" at the federal prison.

I'm really not bragging just trying to tell what a guy can do with one of these super useful little rifles. If you can shoot they will deliver.

 

[ThomasT]

I'm a huge fan of the Marlin 1894 as well. Since I've overloaded The High Road with my commentary about mine recently, I'll stop here.

Heck keep talking. You can't say too much about a man who loves his lever action and knows how to use it. Whats funny is before I found this thread I just had my Marlin out of the safe. Small world.

 

[greyling22]

I threaded mine and put a can on it. Kinda goofy looking, but it's a great host and loads of fun with subsonics.

 

[Kayaker 1960]

Henry's are nice but damn heavy. That's fine if it's only going to be a range gun. I have a newer Marlin 1894c, Fit and finish are good, so far just a couple hundred rounds but no problems. I did cut about 6 inches off of the magazine spring to make loading easier. It's a handy little rifle and just fun to shoot.

 

[If1HitU]

I have the Rossi 92 .38/.357 20" barrel stainless I really like it.

 

[cfullgraf]

I have Marlin 1894C from the early 1980's. It has the micro groove rifling and shoots jacketed bullet ammunition very well. Cast bullets not so well but OK for plinking. I have no opinion on the current manufacture Marlin guns.

I also have a Henry Big Boy (327 Fed Magnum) and a modern Winchester 1873 (357 Magnum). Both are well made and a joy to shoot but I have not shot either enough to form a solid opinion on their capability.

The tubular magazine of the Henry is a put off for many so I'd decide on which features you deem desirable between the various manufacturers and chose that.

 

[BlueHeelerFl]

One more story about my Marlin. I went to the local range one day and the prison guards from the federal prison were qualifying three women guards. So they had their man looking targets set up at 50 yards. They were through shooting so I asked if I could shoot at their left over targets. Sure they said. And they all stopped to watch as I drug my little lever action from the rifle case and loaded 9 rounds of 357 handloads.

Those girls had used every square inch of those targets except the 9 and 10 rings. So I fired my 9 rounds as fast as I could cycle the action and get a flash sight picture. All 9 of my rounds were in the 10 ring but I did have one round that cut the line. I asked one of the male guards if I qualified? He said "yes you certainly did". I bet they still tell stories about the "guy with his little lever gun" at the federal prison.

I'm really not bragging just trying to tell what a guy can do with one of these super useful little rifles. If you can shoot they will deliver.

I'm amazed how accurate mine is when shooting rapid fire! It makes me look like I know what I'm doing!