Finally! Ruger has a 357 mag bolt rifle!

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If I'm gonna tote around a fullsize centerfire
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At least per the specs I've seen, this is not a full size rifle but a compact version with a rotary mag, short bolt throw and light weight.

The questions in my mind are how easily the irons can be upgraded and how well it totes. I'm not seeing much purpose in a scope on it, but nice quality peep would work
 
Well, the Rossi 92 is a touch lighter at 5.0 lbs with a 20 inch barrel or 4.8 lbs with a 16 inch for a .38/.357 Mag option. At 5.5 this Ruger rifle is a half to .7 lbs more.

I'm a big lever gun fan myself but I can see why if I like levers more that some folks would like bolt actions more. So for a light close in tight woods hunting gun for smaller deer or bigger varmints I can see this being a decent enough seller.

I suspect that if it doesn't do well it'll be because of the price point. At $840 MSRP it's a healthy $300 over the MSRP of a Rossi lever rifle that takes the same round. Never mind the bolt vs lever argument. The money argument is going to win out.

Serious varmint and small game hunters are going to opt for other calibers that reach out faster and longer with flatter trajectories. That leaves this rifle and it's brother chambered in .44Mag to those with primarily handgun intrests that want to plink or dabble in hunting using the same rounds. As one of that group I'd be looking at the obvious choice for me of a lever rifle or for others perhaps the idea of the stupidly inexpensive NEF single shot would attract them. Either way they'd have to really like bolt rifles to splurge on one of these.
 
Just looking over the handgun caliber 77's a bit more I had to shake my head at the cost of the 77 in .22LR. First of all they are obviously using the same barrel blanks so the weight is getting up there. Comparing them to the CZ bolt .22's they are roughly a half pound heavier.

But the kicker is the price. They are a good $370 to $460 more than the bolt action CZ's. And from all I've read the CZ's have a stirling reputation for being solid and very tightly accurate. So again it seems as though Ruger has priced their 77's out of the market at these handgun caliber models.
 
i like any pistol cal carbine but in this case i'll wait for the used price. and in response to an earlier post i like it when people think something i fancy is worthless,demand goes down supply goes up prices go down. we should have a poll; am i cheap or frugal? i vote cheap
 
Just be sure you look at actual selling prices. Ruger tends to provide optimistic MSRP numbers but the guns typically sell for a lot less - maybe 70-75% of MSRP on average - as long as you do at least minimal shopping around.
 
A Redhawk in .357 magnum would be a nice addition by Ruger. I would
like to have this rifle, but the price is just more than I would want to
spend for this particular rifle.
 
Ok...For you guys that corrected me that the gun isn't "fullsize"...I guess I should have said "long gun".....I had a Ruger .44 carbine years ago. I didn't find the pistol in a rifle concept all that wonderful. Sure, I could shoot it more accurate than a handgun, but it still lacked the power/distance/accuracy I could have had with a rifle round. I guess that is why I say I had one. The only thing I regret about letting it go is not holding on to it for a few more years to sell it for more $$. With all that said, if I didn't like a .44, I doubt if I would care for a long gun in .357.........Of course this is one fool's opinion. By the looks of the posts, lots of you guys like the idea.
 
Because I'm in Canada the final shelf price on Rugers tends to work out to very close to the MSRP. And the Rossi I got for shooting Cowboy Action was about the same.

I'm assuming that down south of the 49th similar pricing on the Rossis being discounted slightly would result in the cost difference remaining the same or close to it such that for the "privilage" of shooting a bolt gun over a lever the cost would still be somewhere around $200.
 
I posted on the other thread, but I'll weigh in here, too. I like the idea, but like others, would prefer a blue and walnut version. I think this would be a great plinker loaded light. No doubt this is really a toy for reloaders, as that would be the way to maximize the versatility of the gun. Wouldn't be my first choice for a hunting rifle, but it would do the job in the eastern hardwoods.

Like the idea of a suppressed version, but if that were really the objective, think I'd opt for the 77/44; think subsonic 300 grain solid! Wow!
 
think it will make a decent rifle. love my ruger m77/44 . killer lil gun. I would think the same about it in a 357 mag.killed a few deer with my colt python 357 mag. Rifle should do much better as long as you pick your shots and stay within range.
 
I was hoping Ruger would do this. It makes sense. The mini-length 77 action, as used for .22 Hornet and .44 Magnum, is a natural for .357 Magnum.

If I ran the circus the rifle would have ended up half a pound lighter, and would have had a peep sight on the back and an ear protected blade sight on the front. Larger magazines would have been offered as an option.

Of what use is a .357 carbine? It gets full value from the ammunition, shots tend to be better placed than with a revolver, and straight walled, rimmed cases are how handloaders define 'easy.'

Any word on accuracy?
 
J Mcleod,

I disagree.

The 77/357 would be more durable, more reliable, and more accurate. If you care to argue that, don't bother. A good bolt action rifle will always exceed any lever action gun in these areas.

The only thing that a lever action would have over a bolt action rifle would be that the lever action would be much faster with follow up shots. That is the only area the Marlin would beat the 77/357.
 
A few uses for it that come to mind:
-States that don't allow for rifle caliber hunting
-Recoil sensitive hunters
-Inexpensive bolt rifle practice
-Truck gun
-homeland security in the commie states.

MSRP on my Scout rifle was $999. Retail here is closer to $700. My guess is that it will actually retail for under $600.
 
There are several valid reasons to select one of these over a levergun not least of which is to unload the 77 EVERY round doesn't have to be ran through the action and you have an excellent three position safety vs the afterthought safety mechanism found on leverguns.


As to comparisons to the ROSSI forget it. I owned a Rossi in 357 and it was very much a "u finish it" kit gun that's crudeness was only surpassed by it's unreliability.

Tapatalk post via IPhone.
 
I'm curious about something (and this isn't directed at anyone in particular). Often, when a new gun hits the market a sizeable chunk of the gun crowd objects and essentially calls it useless or impractical.

If it was all about practicality, no one would ever own anything besides one .22 LR, one repeating 12 ga shotgun, and one .30-06 rifle.

Sometimes it's about style and doing things a little differently than usual.
 
I can see the utility in a lever-action .357 carbine. I can see more in a .41 or .44 magnum. I can see almost as much in a .45 Colt cowboy carbine.
Trapper length, please.

But a turnbolt .357 magnum? Really? I mean...Really?

What's it for? What can it do that a lever-action can't do better?

If it's any consolation, I said the same thing about the 77/44.
 
Jason_W said:
I'm curious about something (and this isn't directed at anyone in particular). Often, when a new gun hits the market a sizeable chunk of the gun crowd objects and essentially calls it useless or impractical.

If it was all about practicality, no one would ever own anything besides one .22 LR, one repeating 12 ga shotgun, and one .30-06 rifle.

Sometimes it's about style and doing things a little differently than usual.
Click to expand...

EXACTLY because by the same reasoning ANY and ALL rifle cartridges that aren't 223, 30/06 and .375h&h are completely useless


Tapatalk post via IPhone.
 
Oh, I prefer bolt-actions myself...in bolt-action calibers. I don't even own a semi-auto rifle any more.

I dunno...

The same rifle can be had in .44 Magnum. A much more suitable round for medium game.
The same caliber can be had in a levergun. Which is faster, and it has the advantage of topping off without taking it out of battery.

I keep coming back to that nagging question:

What's it for?
 
Oh, I prefer bolt-actions myself...in bolt-action calibers.
Click to expand...

The way I look at it is like a more versatile .22 mag bolt action. With 125 grain loads, the .357 will break 2k out of a carbine making it more than adequate for vaporizing varmints out to 100 yards. With the right 158 grain or heavier load, it's a capable deer round if ranges are kept reasonable.

Why not another round? If someone is an avid revolver shooter and already has a nice big stockpile of .357 mag, it seems like a decent choice.

Not that I'm knocking lever actions (I'm a fan) but I also think there is no such thing as too many options.
 
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