Recommend a lever gun in .357/.38 Special

[35 Whelen]

I own a Rossi and I'll say straight up: if you buy one, do NOT expect to shoot .38's in it unless you handload. My wife uses it for CAS and I have to load her .38's to almost .357 o.a.l. With these longer cartridges it's fine. And FWIW I've done TONS of work to the internals of the Rossi. It's very slick.
I own two Marlin's but neither is a .357 soi my only experience is watching others shoot them. They seem OK, but some complain about they're picky about ammo.
If you can afford it, get a Ubert 1873. I bought one in .44 Special and love it. This design is in my opinion the simplest, most rugged and most fool-proof design I've ever seen. Far fewer small moving parts than the Rossi and Marlin. Several of the folks with whom I shoot CAS have them in .357 and they all run .38's slicker than you-know-what through a goose...and I mean as fast as you can lever the rifle.
No, you can't mount a scope on them, and that used to bother me, but anything in .357 is a 100 yds. rifle...maybe 150, and that can be done easily with sights.

35W

 

[9 fingers]

If you really want 357/38 sp then the Marlin 1894 is light and compact. I have an Uberti 1873 and love it but it is about a pound heavier and it is longer than the Marlin, also much more expensive and it can't be scoped in the traditional way. Not sure why you have not looked into 30-30 as a Winchester 94 is very light, handle really well and the 30-30 round is cheap and as common as dirt. A Marlin 336 would work also (I have both the Marlin and Win) but it is about a pound heavier. A bit more recoil from the 30-30 than from a 38, especially from the Win.
9 fingers
Uberti 1873 in 357/38

 

[jlucke69]

1894C or Winchester 94

I own Winchesters and Marlins in the 357. I like the clackity clack of the Winchesters, but the marlin is nice and tight. Both cycle fine for me. My Winchesters are trappers and I like the shorter barrel length and do not shoot over 100yds, so have no concerns with it. I have a Henry in 44, but prefer the others as they side load instead of front tube load. After coming from Winchesters and Marlins, Rossis are just not up to snuff.

 

[76shuvlinoff]

At the current pricing of .223 I am pretty sure my Marlin 1894c is going to see some .38 time.

 

[thralldad]

I really like my Rossi although I haven't shot .38s in it yet.

 

[Saiga39]

I wish Marlin would make a 336 in .357. I prefer the 336 style stock. I'd buy one right now if they offered it.

 

[Surculus]

CTGunner sed:
Local shop has a 30 30 but I don't know much about the round and how it compares to .38.

Well, one is a rifle round used by generations of hunters to take down medium-sized game and is legal to hunt with pretty much everywhere, unlike the .223Remington used in the AR15 you regret selling. And the other is a pistol round that was a moderate increase in power over the 38 Colt that was deemed completely inadequate against man-sized opponents in the Philippines over 100 years ago and has largely been abandoned by law enforcement over the last 20 years.

If you're going to get a lever gun chambered in a pistol round, at least get one rated to fire .357 Maximum, if not .44 Mag or .45LC. Better yet, get a Puma that's chambered in .454 Casull: that's pretty capable as pistol rounds go, and much better fired from the shoulder than out of a handgun.

 

[masterofchaos]

+1 to the Marlin 1894C 357 Mag. Older style without safety. Add a peep sight and you'll have a blast. It's short barrel makes it easy to control (coming from a petite 5'4" woman). Here's a 1980. I shoot mostly 38s due to price. BTW, the electric tape padding was added from previous owner, but I kept it because it does help.

 

[stiab]

Here's mine, 1894C, I'll be keeping it...

 

[rhinoh]

I really like my Rossi although I haven't shot .38s in it yet.

Another vote for the Rossi's. I have both the .38/357 and the .45 Colt. No issues with either one once you get the sights set up. Both shot way high out of the box. Rear sight on both had to go lower than the ramp allowed. Remove the ramp, problem solved.

 

[WVRJ]

I have an 1894CP in 357 and can only say good things about it.But it was bought when a Marlin was a Marlin.I'm not too fond of the muzzle brake,but the lil booger shoots 180 grain Partitions great and that load will do a number on deer out to 100 yards.Plinker loads with cast 158's are cheap and accurate.They say the CP is rare,so I haven't shot it much in the last couple of years,but other variations of the 1894 would be hard to beat.

 

[joeg26er]

deer rub?

Is that a giant deer rub on that tree?

 

[bannockburn]

I love my Rossi Model 92, though it is chambered in .45LC and not .357/.38 Special. The action was very slick right out of the box and the overall fit and finish of the gun is great.

 

[natman]

Browning B92 if you want the best made, strongest action and most traditional but prefer iron sights. Used only expect to pay $700-$800.

Late model Winchester 1892 if you want the best made, strongest action and a rebounding hammer with tang safety. New production, expect to pay $800 and up.

Uberti 1873 if you want the best made replica of the 1873, one of the highest quality levers available and totally traditional. Again, iron sights. Expect to pay $900-$1400.

Marlin 1894 if you want to scope it. New and used, expect to pay $400-$700.

Rossi/Puma/Legacy 92 if you want the strongest action, iron sights and probably the most affordable available. These are still $400-$500. Less for used guns.

Henry Big Boy if you want a mediocre build quality and 2lbs heavier than necessary. Last I looked, these were $700-$800.

I'd agree with most of this list, except that I'm not so enthusiastic about the 1873 design. The 92 is far stronger and much lighter.

I 've owned a lot of Rossis, including two 92s in 357. I spent hours smoothing and polishing them to get them to operate with acceptable smoothness. I refinished the wood to get rid of the shoe polish they were finished with from the factory. Then after all that feeding was so-so and accuracy was poor on both.

To be fair, this was 10 years ago, so things might have improved since then, but I don't plan to spend any of my money on another Rossi to find out.

I'd recommend a Browning / Miroku or an older Marlin.

 

[CraigC]

The 1892 is far stronger and significantly lighter. You have to want an 1873 because you want an 1873. They are very well made, beautiful rifles, perhaps near equal to the Miroku guns and very slick to operate. Mine is very accurate, piling every load I've tried in it into 1"@50yds.

 

[SFsc616171]

I own a Rossi, Model 92, 16-incher in .357Magnum. I have .38 Special revolvers. I have tried various types of .38 and .357 ammmo in it. If the nose of the bullet is too flat, without some ogive to it, it just might not be what the rifle 'likes'! It may sound funny, but it _will_ cycle .38 Special Nyclad loads, but the WWB 130 grain FMJ's are just that too flat for it. Now, Remington, 130 grain MC's have just a little curve on the edge of the flat meplat, and do cycle! Semiwadcutters, with a good shoulder, do not, and will not. The squareness of the shoulder meets the bottom of the ramp, too many times.
The Georgia Arms 125 grain Conical Nose Lead Bullet loads do fine, when you can get them. But, this rifle is my "home, hearth, and (ahem) worse" rifle, so, to end the 'argument' between bullet and rifle, the choice is the Remington 125 grain manstopper. "One rifle, one load, the rest is noodle windage."

 

[Ro1911]

Get the Henry, feed ports suck big time, or at least they do for me

 

[Furncliff]

I've had an older Marlin 1894 .357/.38 for some time. It's a bunch of fun and my daughters favorite long gun. I've been tempted several times to buy something in .44 magnum, but with my hand loads the .357 magnum is a thumper. Shooting .38's can be a bit tricky on the loading, but generally most rifles can be tuned for them. But there is some debate about the .38's with lead bullets leaving some lead behind in the chamber.

New Marlin rifles have been getting an awful lot of bad press since they moved to a new factory.

 

[bubba in ca]

If you are looking at stopping power or longer range accuracy, go with the 3030. Older winchesters and Marlins sell fairly cheap used as there are a ton of them out there because they were such good hunting guns.

Used older :357 marlins are hard to find-- the survivalist/pistol carbine folks have sucked them all up. I sold off all my pistol caliber carbines when I discovered 20 ga. shotguns.

 

[Grimshaw]

I just got a Rossi Ranch Hand In 38/357 for Christmas