What can .357 carbine be used for?

[ThomasT]

Brian Pearce of Rifle mag wrote an article on the 357 lever action that is worth finding and reading. His wife used hers to kill her first mule deer. he wrote about a friend who used his to kill black bear with. Ross Seyfreid wrote an article about mid sized BP cartridge rifles. He took one on a elk hunt. A .36 caliber gun that shot a 160gr lead bullet 1600fps and used it to kill a cow elk with one shot. Those are the exact ballistics as a 357 lever action.

So I would say that as long as the range is kept to a reasonable amount, less than 100 yards for me a 357 makes a versatile hunting gun. Reload and you can turn up the power a little but best of all you can load with soft point bullets instead of hollow points for deer and hogs.

My marlin 357 is my most favored of all the guns I own. With reloading it can replace a 22 up to just below 30-30 power. It cannot match the 30-30 though in my opinion. And like another poster stated its one of the best, most useful rifles you can own.

 

[Sistema1927]

And when you have a good one they can be used to make your friends envious. There isn't any amount of money that would tempt me into selling my 1894C (within reason, I am guessing that I might let it go for $1 million. ).

 

[Mr_Flintstone]

For plinking, I use 38 special, or load my 357 brass to 38 special level. I can shoot it all day without getting sore, and reloading my old brass is really inexpensive. I’ve reloaded several hundred 38/357 with the same pint of Titegroup, and still have half of it left.

 

[Water-Man]

How well does the 357 Leverevolution bullets do? Close up and out to 100yds or so?

They do very well. Out of a 20" barrel, I get 1900 velocity & 1123 energy with very good accuracy. I've taken three deer with that combo.

 

[SSN Vet]

A Big Boy in .357 is on my short list.

As is a Golden Boy

 

[CraigC]

Quite a bit of capability in a light & handy package with very little recoil.

 

[Vern Humphrey]

A 38/357 carbine is very versatile. You can hunt anything up to about deer with it, HD, cowboy action, targets and plinking, it's all about choosing the right load. While 44 mag is better on deer, 357 is more versatile and economic then 44 IMO.

Let me point out that in many states (Arkansas is one) small game hunting is limited to "nothing larger than .22 rimfire."

 

[CraigC]

Or "rimfire only". Which is a real shame because .32 centerfires make great small game getters.

 

[Bushpilot]

"rimfire only". Which is a real shame because .32 centerfires make great small game getters.

Yep... 32-20 comes to mind... a great little small game round... Although back in the day people used to use it to hunt game all the way up to deer.... It was advertised as a small to medium game round when chambered in a rifle... Kindda like the role the 357 has today, only it is much more powerful then the 32-20...

 

[bassjam]

How well does the 357 Leverevolution bullets do? Close up and out to 100yds or so?

My experience is limited to last years season, but it's good so far. I took a 1.5 year old doe at 25 yards last fall with the Leverevelution stuff out of my Marlin .357. She jumped up in the air when hit, and was dead by the time she landed and crumpled to the ground. I found the bullet about 1/2in deep in a rotten log behind her, expansion was good.

Prior to this I've always used a 12 ga 1oz rifled slug, and out of 12 or so dear I've taken at distances ranging from 20-35 yards I've never had a deer take a single step when hit. So for me the leverevolution didn't incapacitate quite as quickly, but was still more than adequate!

 

[WVRJ]

Nosler used to make 180 grain Partitions for the 357.I still have a hundred left.In my 1894CP Marlin,I get 1600 fps,and accuracy is great out to 100 yards.I have several 5 shot groups that were shot at 50 yards and can be covered with a 50 cent piece.That was using a Lyman 57 peep sight.I have killed 5 deer with it,and one of them traveled about 20 yards before piling up,and the other 4 dropped dead at the shot.

 

[ApacheCoTodd]

Absolutely for whitetail!

Todd.

 

[Ironhand54]

They are great trainers. Especially when 38 spl loads.

IronHand

 

[Speedo66]

Ross Seyfried wrote an article about mid sized BP cartridge rifles. He took one on a elk hunt. A .36 caliber gun that shot a 160gr lead bullet 1600fps and used it to kill a cow elk with one shot. Those are the exact ballistics as a 357 lever action.
[/QUOTE
Actually, with Buffalo Bore, you can do quite a bit better.
From their site, remarks are their's too:
➤ 18.5-inch Marlin 1894

a. Item 19A/20-180gr. Hard Cast = 1851 fps
b. Item 19B/20-170gr. JHC = 1860 fps
c. Item 19C/20-158gr. Jacketed Hollow Point = 2153 fps---- Can you believe this?!!!
d. Item 19D/20-125gr. Jacketed Hollow Point = 2298 fps---- Or this?!

 

[Deltaboy1984]

I want one!

 

[Mr_Flintstone]

Here are some comparisons of a Henry .357 rifle to that of a .223 16-inch carbine, M1 Carbine, and 30-30 lever action. The data comes from Hodgdon powder for hand loads. It includes energy, momentum, Hornady HITS, Thorneilly Stopping Power, and Taylor Knockout Formula at the muzzle, 100 yards, and 200 yards.