Which .357 lever action should I buy this weekend?

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wacki

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Going to the Indy 1500 and strongly thinking about picking up a lever action .357. What are the current forum favorites and why? Also, what are good prices?
 
Marlin without reservation, although my last purchase was a Rossi with 16" barrel. It was rough at first, but is slicking up nicely.
 
Marlin if you want to scope it but it's far from the only game in town. The various 1892 replicas are excellent and usually cheaper than Marlins. I prefer the `92 action as it is stronger, a little more svelte and ends up being smoother. You also have quite a few years of Winchester chambering the 94 in it. Not to mention the various 1873 replicas. Then there's the late model Winchester 1892's and the earlier Browning B-92 as well.
 
I have two Rossi .357 carbines, a 16" Trapper and a standard 20". I've been very satisfied with them over the past 12 - 15 years. IIRC, I paid about 1/2 the price of a Marlin 1894sc for them. The Marlin LAs are fine weapons and I own several. The major reason that I passed-on the 94sc I had was that its Microgroove rifling didn't like my standard all-purpose LSWC handloads while my Rossis shot splendidly with them. This probably isn't the case with newer Marlin 94s which have Ballard-type rifling.

The only LA I have a scope on is my old Savage 99F in .308. The rest all wear a Williams or Lyman receiver sight. Others' tastes and preferrences may vary, but IMO conventionally mounted optics on an LA carbine aren't my cup o' tea. Mostly because they render my preferred hand-carry-at-the-natural-balance-point method awkward and less secure.

My Rossis have also slicked-up quite nicely with use. They both have proven to be capable of delivering all the accuracy that I'm personally able to hold for out to 100 yds or so, and have been nearly as reliable as gravity. The little Trapper especially makes for a superb woods bumming companion and small game getter. I'm not "up" on current retail prices, but IIRC I paid about $250 for mine about 10 years back.
 
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I paid something around $500 for my Rossi about six months ago. Maybe it was $400. I really don't remember, nor did I care because I got so excited about just being able to get one.
 
I have a marlin that i've been happy with, it's very smooth and slick and is more accurate then me. At one time I was going to buy a puma but left it there because of failed negotions :) Thats the day I went and bought my 1911 elsewhere.
 
I was wanting a Marlin, but checking around, I could not find one. Checked Buds, and Davidsons as well. I was told that due to Remington taking over Marlin, they are moving the manufacturing to Ilion NY and they will not be producing any of the .357 Marlins till probably next fall.

So, I came across a Rossi at my local gun store, and while it was one of the newer ones with the safety, it had a real gold bead front sight and a true buckhorn rear, plus the price was good at $379, so I grabbed it. It was fine out of the box and cycled .357's and .38's just fine. Its a hoot to shoot the .38's, they are like shooting .22's.

I picked up Steve Youngs DVD and have slicked the action a tad, and changed the mag follower to the steel one. I also ordered his bolt mounted peep sight, but after trying it, I have found that I like the Buckhorn better, and will probably just sell the peep.

Overall, it is very light, and balances very well. I can see walking around the countryside all day long carrying it with no problems. It is a joy to own.
 
marlin 1894C / had one, loves 38spl as well as .357 / sorry to say the new ones have been on backorder for quite some time now.. good luck
 
I'll join the consensus and say Marlin. I sold my 1895 Cowboy years back and have regretted it ever since. Great rifle.
 
Just curious, what's wrong with winchester. I just checked their site and it looks like they still sell lever actions yet there doesn't seem to be much of a fan base in this thread.
 
Just curious, what's wrong with winchester. I just checked their site and it looks like they still sell lever actions yet there doesn't seem to be much of a fan base in this thread.
Click to expand...

I love the Winchester 94 in 30-30. One of my favorite guns. The action was designed for the round. Rifle rounds are much longer than revolver rounds, and when it was adapted to revolver rounds, it just lost a lot. Revolver chamberings in the Win 94 just aren't as reliable as I'd like. I just sold my .45LC Win 94, and I intend to replace it with something else in .357mag (probably in about a year, but maybe less).

The Winchester 92 is a great design with revolver rounds. Very reliable, very elegant, just perfect. However, it doesn't come cheap.

Personally, I'll probably go with one of the Rossi/Pumas or with the Henry when I get my .357mag lever rifle.
 
My preference goes to the Marlin 1894 rifles. The Marlins are a side eject rifle, vs a top eject for the Rossi/Puma (scope/peep sight/optics are very easy to mount, not so with a top eject rifle). Also, for ease of cleaning and maintenance, the Marlin is very easy to take down and clean from the breech, vs the '92, which is complicated to take down/reassemble, and is cleaned from the barrel crown.
 
Thanks for the responses.

Looks like the Rossi's come in 16", 20" and 24"

The marlin is only available in 18.5". Does anyone have any favorite bbl lengths? I probably wont be shooting anything over 100 yards.
 
Velocity tends to max out in ~18". 16" is fine if you have a special need for the shortest possible length. 18-20" is good for general purpose use. Although as time passes, I become more and more fond of the 24" or longer barrels.

Sight radius as a practical concern should never be left out of the equation.
 
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