357 Mag/38 Special lever action rifles/carbines

[HOUSTON RICK]

As the quest for the perfect all purpose over/under shotgun continues, I have decided that I "need" a lever action 357 rifle to round out the rifle collection. I am currently partial to the Marlin 1894C (probably because it is the only one that I have shot). What are your favorite 357 magnum lever action rifles and why? Thank you, Rick

 

[Alpo]

Pre-safety, pre-Taurus Rossi 92. Why? John Moses Browning. What else needs said?

 

[colt_saa]

I also prefer the 1892s over the 1894s.

I have them in both 357 Magnum and 45 Long Colt

I also like the pump rifles in the same caliber. The Colt Lightning or it's copies.

 

[jag312]

A few weeks ago I got to try both a Marlin 1894 and a Winchester 1892 clone from Navy Arms (Rossi?). Both were .357 Magnum. These are my impressions:

1. The action of the 1892 felt tighter and more solid than the Marlin.
2. The 1892 seemed to be easier to load.
3. The 1892 seemed to have less felt recoil than the Marlin.
4. The Marlin is side eject and much easier to mount a telescopic sight.
5. Both seemed equally accurate.

 

[10mmauto]

I have the Marlin 1894css. It is a ton of fun to shoot and very accurate. It is also the reason I now have a progressive press!

 

[petepeterson]

I can't speak to the Marlin, which I imagine is a quality rifle.

The Rossi 92 16" carbine that I have, even though a newer model, has been a joy to own. It's run well with the 5 or 6 different ammo types I've put in there, including the 158 +P lswchp I always have laying around for my snubs. I think it's a great value. I did, admittedly, only buy it because it was the first .357 levergun I could find. I was prepared to pay more for a different brand. I am not disappointed, however.

 

[Pointblank2U]

I have the Marlin with the "JM" marking. I added XS sights. It's a keeper and would never sell it.

 

[scooter123]

I have a Winchester 1892 that dates to 1904 that was restored and rebarreled by a previous owner and a new Rossi M92. Both rifles are quite accurate and after deburring the internal cuts in the receiver, replacing the ejector spring with one for a Winchester, and trimming the lever detent spring 1/2 coil the Rossi actually runs slightly smoother than that old Winchester.

Another positive for the Rossi is that you can purchase a mounting rail and equip it with a Scout Scope if you need the help of optics. BTW, it's a very short rail so positioning is critical and 2 scopes that I've had on the Rossi that work well are a 2 power Nikon Handgun scope (2x28 EER) and a 4 power Weaver Scout Scope. Due to the limited range of available positioning nothing else I've tried has worked.

As for sights on the Winchester, I went in classic direction with this rifle. It has a Marbles Rear Tang Sight mounted in a Co-Witness setup with the normal buckhorn sights these rifles came with. Using a Co-Witness setup allows me to keep the standard buckhorn sight in place and also provides the benefit a more discriminating sight picture because the circle produced by the rear peep sight is rather large with the aperture I prefer.

 

[Donn]

I've had a Henry Big Boy 357/38 for about a year. I know they're a little pricey, and the rifle's on the heavy side, but it shoots and operates like a dream.

 

[BAM-BAM]

Went from a 20" Rossi to a 16" Winchester Trapper...... about 15 years ago.

Light & handy...... added a Skinner rear barrel peep sight and fiber optic front awhile back.......backup to either a 3" 66-4 or a 3" 60-10

 

[alwslate]

I only have experience with one, my pre crossbolt safety Marlin. It has
the smooth stock which I much prefer to the later checkered stocks on
the Marlins. The overall quality and fit of my older Marlin just seems
better than the later ones but it does have micro groove rifling which
is not so great with cast bullets. I have confidence in the quality of
older Marlins and the smooth wood and lack of safety gives it the
classic lever action look and so it is my pick of what's available.

 

[phonejack]

I have a 24" octagon SS rossi. After a detail strip cleaning and deburring of internals it runs great. Long sight radius helps old eyes. Being barrel heavy makes off hand shooting easier. I've never seen much less shot the other brands. I'm happy with what I have.

 

[firebreather]

I own the following .38/.357 rifles/carbines:

A Browning B92 with 20" barrel
A Rossi '92 with 16" barrel
A Rossi '92 with 20" barrel
A Beretta Gold Rush (pump action) with 20" barrel
A Miroku/Winchester 1873 with 20" barrel

As you can see I own a few and not a Marlin in the bunch. I've owned Marlins in the past and just never cared for them....but I have no intention of mounting a scope or other optical sight on any pistol cartridge carbine or rifle. If I did I'd own a Marlin.

Of the bunch, the Browning B92 is the slickest and IMHO the best '92 ever made, including the old original Winchesters. It's closely followed by the Miroku/Winchester '73. The Browning's have been discontinued for years and finding a slick one will set you back $800-1,000. The '73's are available at $1,100 plus. Miroku/Winchester also makes a '92 in .38/.357.

The Beretta is discontinued but you can still find them for under $1,000, but be warned...getting one to run right can be difficult and expensive. But once you get it running right there's not a lever gun that can compete with one for fast shooting.

IMHO the Rossi guns are the best bang for the buck, unless you want to mount optics. People cuss the bolt mounted safeties on the Rossi's and the tang mounted ones on the Miroku/Winchesters, and I admit I don't like 'em period. But they're head and shoulders better than those abomination receiver buttons the late Winchesters and Marlins have. They're also easy to remove.

Of my Rossi's I have an earlier model with no safety and an newer BrazTech/Taurus model that came with one (it's gone now). I guess the first ones that came out after Taurus bought Rossi out were left overs and were kinda rough. I have two of the Taurus guns, another '92 .44 mag with a 24" barrel, and they were slicker out of the box than any of the older Rossi guns I ever owned or handled. A visit to Rossi 92 Specialist, Nate Kiowa Jones a.k.a. Steve Young - Professional Gunsmith for his DVD and enhancement kit will slick up any of the Rossi guns to run like a Singer sewing machine or you can send them to him, let him do the work and really be impressed at smooth.

All of these guns can be finicky on cartridge OAL, so you may have to play a little with that if you reload. Also some of them don't feed .38's real well. Cowboy action shooter's usually have their guns set up to feed .38's reliably because that's all they usually shoot.

Another gun that hasn't been mentioned is the Henry Big Boy. I don't have one, but have shot several and found them to be very slick actioned and accurate. My wife's wanting one to go with her Golden Boy .22 for CAS so I figure there will be one in the safe before too long, I just don't care for not having a receiver mounted loading gate.

Hope this helps.

Rob

 

[Ivan the Butcher]

I have/do own both Marlin 1894's and Rossi 92's (See above for lots of opinions) I have owned other brands and models but not in 38/357.

The 1873 Winchester copy is a very good action, but is very particular about overall length. Mine is in 44 Special,and is one of my favorites.

The Colt Lightning copies (mine was in 45 Colt and by Taurus), in straight wall cartridges, they tend to blow powder in your face! (a common complaint about all originals too). A friend has 2 Berettas in 44-40 and has no problems.

1894 Winchester, best friend had one, I thought the quality was lacking. Feeding issues were common.

Of the Marlin 94 and the 92, the Marlin is much (by 2 or 3 times) easier to take apart for a detail cleaning.
On safeties: I have owned both brands with and without the external safeties. They only effect the appearance, not the performance! (Marlins have a set screw to disable the push button).
There are more accessories for Marlins than 92's, If you like extra sights and stuff.

If you own any other Marlin lever action, most springs and screws are interchangeable, which keeps spares to a minimum. 92's very from brand to brand.
This applies to Marlin 1894 in 357 ONLY. They will develop a problem with the elevator at 1000 rounds plus. The paw on the lever rides/pushes the elevator from the bottom and wears a "trench" in it, causing the gun to feed 357's but not 38 specials. Welding or epoxying a hardened shim is the fix or replacement. (Factory only parts are always harder to get from Remington!)

Currently the 357 Marlin is the most sought after lever gun on the market. That drove prices up and availability down.

I hope my experience will help you get the most enjoyment out of your purchase. Ivan

 

[BearBio]

My wife shoots 38 spl for CAS. We checked all of them out that we could find and she settled on the Marlin Cowboy. She loves it.

 

[one eye joe]

I AM A LONG TIME MARLIN SHOOTER AND COLLECTOR. FOR ME, ITS A NO BRAINER. GO WITH THE MARLIN. SIDE EJECTION LEAVES THE DOOR OPEN FOR EASY OPTICS MOUNTING, IF NEED BE. I WOULD SEARCH FOR A CLEAN OLDER ONE ON THE AUCTION SITES. I HAVE NO IDEA AS TO THE QUALITY OF THE NEWER ONES. THE LAST NEW ONE WAS A GUIDE GUN IN 45-70, THAT I PURCHASED WHEN THEY FIRST BECAME AVAILABLE. THAT WAS LONG BEFORE THE SALE OF THE COMPANY….

 

[federali]

I had the pre-safety Marlin in .357. A real fun gun. My only complaint was that the spring on the magazine cover was so strong you almost needed a crow bar to load the gun.

 

[45Wheelgun]

Winchester (Miroku) 1873 has a very sweet action. Fit and finish on mine is impeccable although that may be due to the grade of the rifle. I am a huge fan of Miroku guns, they do a fine job.

 

[holo]

i have a Rossi 92 in .38/.357 and the marlin in .44. I think they shoot the same. The big factor for me is/was Rossi I paid $175.00 3 years ago Marlin $700.00 1 year ago, it is a J.M. gun. Last week tried to buy a JM marlin in .38/.357 but the guy would not move off $900.00 I don't think you can wrong with either.

 

[ameridaddy]

I have an Uberti 1873 w/18" bbl, .38/.357 that I love. I load .38 spl with Accurate No. 5 and a 158 gr truncated cone lead bullet from Penn Bullets. I'm at about 11-12 cents per round with my own used brass, and never had a feed problem.

I've never shot .357 in it. From what I've read, the bullet shape and overall length need to be right to make the gun run.

It's a smoooooooth tack driver at ~1,000 fps, very pleasant and fun to shoot. When 22's got scarce about 2-3 years ago, it became my plinking gun. A friend shot it, and with a big smile declared it a .22 on steroids.

I have my first gun I bought in 1960, a Marlin 39 .22, and this Uberti is so slick it makes the 39 feel like a gravel crusher. I have no experience with the other lever guns, but I love my Uberti '73.