Does anyone have any experience with the various .357 lever guns that are out there? I have been thinking of getting one to back up the various .357 wheel guns I have laying around. I have considered a marlin, but they're kinda pricey guns, even used. Does anyone else have any trigger time with any of the various other guns out there and what do you think of them? Would use this thing as my woods gun/plinker more than anything. Thanks ya'll

For some reason, Marlin .357's are expensive. I can't put my finger on it really. They are 1894's and you can find the .44 version for under $400.

Marlin's are easier to remove the bolt than Winchester and Winchester ejects through the top of the receiver, so you have to mount a sight or scope on the side, but you'd be well served in either case.

Rossi has a nice rifle, but I'm not sure if it's available in that caliber, but I have a strong suspicion it is.

If you want one, try to overcome the initial price issue. I haven't heard of many people saying they were sorry they got one.

I have Rossi's copy of the Win. Mod.92, w/ the 16" barrel, and big loop lever. It's a great little rifle, I'd never part with it.

When I first bought it, I tested it for accuracy and reliability. 1.5" groups at 50 yards, with Mag Tech 158 gr. ammo, and never a hitch in functioning. I then installed a Williams peep, and a big white bead front from Lyman. Also, I contacted Steve, from Steve's Gunz, out of Port Arthur TX, and he sent me a plug for the safety on top of the bolt. I found it to be unsightly, and unneeded, so I removed it, and put the plug in.

This rifle, along with my 2.5" Mod. 19, are the two firearms I would part with last.

Aloha,

If your Wife is a shooter, Do NOT let her shoot it.

I got a new Winchester 94 Trapper in 357. First time out, I let the wife shoot it. She said one word, "MINE" not that I really mind, But I only got to shoot it once. It now resides in Her gun safe. It' s recoil with mild mag loads were like a 22.

Yep, we have His and Hers gun safes. Hers has all her woman stuff in it besides "her" guns.....

I had a Marlin .357 and I really regret getting rid of it. It is a quality gun and the .357 out of a rifle length barrel is an awesome round. I wouldn't feel undergunned for deer or medium size game out to 100 yards. Buy one and keep it.

My favorite and I have several hours spent on a friend's until I save up to get my own:

Uberti 1873 Rifle and 1873 Carbine

I have a Rossi. Sent it to Steve Young for him to work his magic. He also drilled and tapped it for a Williams receiver sight and put a front sight blade you can see on it. I love it. It's my goblin gun. Unfortunately, as per Yogi up there, I let my daughter shoot it. It's still here at MY house, but she claims it's HER gun, so I don't know how long that will last.

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I always take precautions

I'm with you Barb..........my quandry is lever or pump .357.

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One day at a time

I have an A.Rossi Brazil made '92 in .357. It is well made looks good and is a great shooter. It had a side gate tubular/feed option(XP). This and my M-66 were my SHTF guns. Key word were, my how things change.

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My Mother likes me.

Davis Sport Shop in Sloatsburg, NY had a bunch of them as of this past week. My friend was looking at the 1894C in blue, when the shop owner told him he had a few in stainless. John wound up walking out with a stainless 1894C. They had 3 in blue and 2 in stainless after we left. The blue was $529 and the stainless $629.

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Sure you did

I had a Winchester 94 in 357 mag. I bought it for $250 and sold it for $500. It shot great! If I thought I could have gotten used to the safety on it I never would have sold it.

That thing looks SWEET. The case colors are amazing. A might pricey though. I guess I need to save a little more.

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Miss My Buddy crsides!!

I have the Marlin in Blued finish. I wanted the stainless but could not find one for the longest time. Two days after I bought the Blued version the Stainless showed up at my dealer. It is a bit more expensive.

It's a great rifle and is very accurate and reliable. The blued version is not that expensive. Not to long ago there was a real long thread on the lever guns.

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Still Running Against the Wind

I used a Rossi/Puma 16" lever gun, the owner CAS shooter let me use it, fun rifle, easy to sight and blast.

Oh GOOD.. I thought I was the only one..

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SWCA #2306
DAV in honor of POP

Talk about a great home self defense gun.

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Steve

As bad as my vision is uncorrected, my house gun will continue to be an 870 with an 18" barrel loaded half buck, half slugs. I can't try to be aiming without my contacts and just my old pair of glasses in the dark in that kind of scenario.

The Marlin 1894 rifles in 357 and 44 magnum as well as 45 Colt are excellent. If you can find one, the discontinued Browning B-92 in 357 or 44 magnum are really well made.

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195th Session FBINA

I have a couple of .357 lever guns. Top is a EMF Model 1892 saddle ring carbine with 20 inch barrel and color case hardened finish. Bottom is a last year production Winchester Model 94 carbine with 16 inch barrel.

Both will handle 38 Specials as well as .357 magnums without any feed issues, but there just isn't hardly action smoother than a '92. I've taken a couple of whitetails with the '92, and my son has taken a couple with the 16 inch '94.

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- Change it back -

I have a Marlin 94 and a Rossi 92. I use both in SASS matches. The Marlin shoots better with a .38 special than it does with a .357mag. The Rossi is the opposite, it will only feed .357's reliably. Overall length varies gun by gun, but when you fine their sweet spot they are really fun to shoot.
Cherokee Slim

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NRA,SASS,BOLD#808,Semper Fi

I was never aware Browning ever offered the B-92 in .357....

Wow! Did this ever bring back wonderful memories. I grew up & lived the first 40 years of my life not 15 min. down the road from Davis'.
I lived just over the border of Harriman in Monroe. I used to hang out at Davis' all the time swapping hunting & fishing stories. They were the best times of my life.

Hey...it sounds like you might live nearby...where you at?

Putnam County...........Carmel/Mahopac area to be specific.
Davis is a great little shop, a little bit of everything. They opened a 100 yard indoor range a couple years back in Middletown. I actuall don't get over there that much, as we have a half-dozen gunshops right nearby.

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Sure you did

I had a new Winchester 94AE in .357. was great. Traded it for a Smith I wanted, wish I could get it back.

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with wings as eagles

Browning B92 in .357, my favorite centerfire rifle, by far.

Carmel/Mahopac...I knew it well.

BTW...I forgot to mention, I've been living in Florida (the state...not the town) for the past 12 years. I sure do miss the old days in Monroe, N.Y.

I've handled and fired the Browning 92 before, it is a sweet rifle.

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- Change it back -

Beauty of a Browning , Bob, I have one in 44 mag. The action on those Browning 92's is incredibly slick.

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Sure you did

You must remember Bob's Gun Exchange too. Bob and his wife moved to Maryland. He was one of the nicest people walking the face of the Earth. He ran a great shop, loaded with goodies and was ALWAYS prepared to make you a decent deal. I was a customer of his for about 25 years.

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Sure you did

Bob and I were good friends. He loved to sit & talk with me about our favorite of all the American Classic Doubleguns...the Ithaca's. I bought my first Ithaca from him (and many more, too) and when ever he got one in that he knew I'd be interested in, he would keep it in back 'til I could see it. I'll never forget the first time he showed me his Grade 4 NID that he got from a guy that was sitting in a bar that he was in and asked Bob to come outside to "look at this shotgun he had in the truck that he wanted to sell." The guy uncases a beautiful, brand-new cond. grade 4 and Bob asks how much. After all these years I can't remember what the amount was, but I do remember it was like a fraction of what it was worth and Bob brought it home that day. He knew how much I coveted that gun so every time I came into the shop, he would let me go into the back room to drool over it.
I did alot of gun trading with Bob over the years and he was always good to me. Just days before I moved down here, I took a big box of mixed types of ammo (boxes of shotshells; boxes of rifle ammo,) that I didn't want to lug with me and I gave it to him. Well, he kept insisting on giving me money for it but I refused and told him I couldn't because of all the great deals he gave me and how well I was treated by him.

You couldn't have been more right when you said he is one of the nicest people to walk the earth. I have yet to find a gunshop owner down here that is even worthy of cleaning Bob's boots. Just about every one of them tries to rip you off.

Boy, do I miss Bob.

I bought what was described as an "unfired, new but shop-worn" Winchester '94AE Trapper .357 in August, 1997. No box or instructions. Looks really nice except for a section on the buttstock where it looks like some other rifle with checkering was shoved into the '94, leaving a bit of checkering pattern impressed.

I had always wanted the Browning B-92 but had never seen one for sale locally, so I bought this.

I guess my interests changed, as I've never shot it.

I'd still like a B-92, to go with my Browning 1886 Carbine. Yeah, I know, not much difference, but I haven't been really rational lately when dealing with these things.

If anyone is interested in it, p.m. me and I'll dig it out of the back of the safe and get a better description.

A buddy of mine has the Marlin 1894 (not sure which letter is attached to it) in .357 and I loved shooting that gun. I found that with any load it was very accurate. I have tried to get him to sell it to me, but no dice.

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Vaya con Dios

I spent a long time looking for a Marlin in 357. Finally found one in great shape and reasonable price. That gun is a very handy size in a versatile configuration and I also like that it uses the same ammo as my 38 and 357 wheelguns. I'd say its one of my favorite rifles.

Those .357 Marlin 94 Carbines are hard to find. Mine is the old model, sans crossbolt safety. Although I purchased it 'pre-owned' it was in fine shape and already had a Williams receiver sight and detachable sling swivels. Short - handy - accurate - good trigger pull, works for me. WG

I had a Rossi .357 mag back in the 1980's It was a very accurate weapon and fun to shoot, as long as the wife wasnt around, cause she was a way better shot then me and really let me know it too. What are they selling for now I wonder.

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De Oppresso Liber Μολὼν λαβέ

I have a pre cross bolt safety Marlin. Not up on current prices, but I have always found Marlin quality superb, IMHO a bit better than Winchester. No experience with the Rossis, alas. I think Marlin has switched from their Microgroove rifling to Ballard rifling at the request of the CAS shooters who found the Ballard better for their needs.My understanding is that Ballard is better for shooting lead bullets, more forgving of variances in bullet diameter, easier to clean, etc.

I have this rossi 92 in .357 and a browning 92 in .44 mag. The .357 is more usefull and sweeter to shoot than the .44 mag. I bought the .357 new about 6 months ago for around $350s.
About 40 years ago I had a shotout winchester 92 in 25-20 converted to .357. Another time I had a shotout winchester 73 in 32-20 converted to .38 special. All the old calibers in versions of the 92 are wonderfull to shoot. They were .218 bee, 25-20, 32-20, 38-40, 44-40. Replicas in .357, 44 mag, 45 colt and 454. Someday I would like to have one built in .256 win mag. I had pads put on for extra LOP. I am not done yet as I will be puting on sights etc. One day I will get another with a short octogon barrel, case hardining and make it up in .256 with better sights.

I just got a Marlin 357 Cowboy Thursday. I put about 200 rnds thru it yesterday & today. I think it's my new favorite shooter.

Would any of ya'll be afraid to use them as hog guns in the piney woods where it's all up close and personal?

No...not at all. But my first choice would be my '92 in .45 Colt loaded with Buffalo Bore 300-gr. JFN.

I bought an early Marlin new in about 1980. It shot great as long as you used the "right" ammo. It seemed picky about overall cartridge length. The micro-grove rifling would not work at all with lead bullets - not even hard cast reloads.

A few years ago I gave it to my nephew when he did some work for me. He wouldn't take any pay, but he sure didn't turn down the Marlin. It was still as tight as when it was brand new.

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6/23/2022

I have several 357 and 44 Mag leverguns, from Marlin Rossi and Browning. The 357 makes a very nice carbine, it picks up 400-500 fps over a revolver and comes close to the 30-30 in power. The 44 is a step up in power, but you pay a price in recoil. If you buy a .44 levergun you need to slug the barrel as many have been made with oversize barrels, up to .431. The 44s almost all have a 1 in 44 twist barrel, where a 1:20 to 1:26 would be ideal.

The Marlin is the way to go if there is any possibility that you might want to add optics. These guns are accurate enough to benefit from a low power scope. If you want authenticity, then a Winchester clone is the way to go. The '73s are all (as far as I know) Italian made. The 92 clones have a stronger action and are currently made by Rossi in Brazil and in Italy (much more expensive). Browning made a 92 clone in Japan that is the best of the 92 clones, the B92 in 357 and 44 Mag. Winchester has made some 92's in Japan more recently, but these have safeties and rebounding hammers.

I picked another one last week. It's a pre-safety Marlin 1894c (357) that has been Armaloy plated, the buttplate has been replaced with a a metal buttplate, similar to a saddle ring carbine buttplate. The action is super smooth. The optic is a Swift Firefly red dot sight.

In the .357 lever actions, I have a Winchester M-94 16" carbine and a Browning B-92 (I have the Browning 92 in .44 magnum also). Both are very good but I really like the Brownings....

Here is a new one about to come out by Rossi/Taurus and reviewed in American Rifleman.


http://www.americanrifleman.org/Arti...?id=2447&cid=1


Caliber: .38 Spl./.357 Mag., .44 Mag., .45 Colt
Action: lever-action repeating pistol
Receiver: investment cast steel
Finish: matte blue
Magazine Capacity: six rounds
Overall Length: 24”
Barrel Length: 12”
Rifling: six groove, 1:30” RH twist
Weight: 4 lbs.
Sights: adjustable buckhorn rear, milled front post with brass insert
Trigger: non-adjustable single stage; 5 lbs. 7 ozs.
Stock: Brazilian hardwood
Accessories: manual, safety lock
Suggested Retail Price: $536

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That information is a quarter-century out of date. Winchesters made since the early 1980s mount a scope on the top of the receiver with 4 screws. They come already drilled and tapped that way.

I held a Winchester in my hands last week. Rebounding hammer model with top eject.

At that time I didn't notice mounting points on the top of the receiver and I was looking for them.

Perhaps I was mistaken, I will look again today.

Cowart is correct. In the early 80's the "Angle Eject" was first introduced. The brass was now ejecting at a 45-degree angle to allow for the use of a scope.

That's only for the 94 Winchester models. The 92 model Winchester's made by Miroku (same as the Browning models) do not have scope mounting capability.

I had a marlin 1894 but regretfully sold it before I even fired it. I also acquired a Rossi 92 which I did shoot and it shot very well. I could fire standing and hit an 8" paper plate all day long at 50yrds with iron sights. I'm sure it would be more accurate with better sights. It started having feeding problems so I've decided to send it over to Steve Young to do his magic.