Help Me Decide. Henry Lever Action 357 Barrel Length

[Yendor357]

If you’re rocking a scope, or a receiver mounted apature, 16.

If you’re going trad, you may want a little more sight radius.

I shot a friend’s Henry 357. That particular rifle was very accurate. Sub 2 inch, 3 shot groups were common.

You’re really going to enjoy that rifle. Please report back.

 

[TheTinMan]

Ballistically I don’t think going from 16” to 20” will yield a significant benefit. Octagon barrels tend to be heavier and I prefer either 16” or 18” there. 20” and longer seem barrel heavy and awkward.

That said, magazine capacity might argue for a longer barrel.

Not just barrel length! Magazine capacity is also a factor. My 357 Lever gun is an early SS Rossi 92, Mag Cap for 38 Special of the 16+/-" version was 9. In Cowboy Action Shooting, the normal loadout is 10. I removed the magazine spring, it was over 5' long uncompressed. I removed about 1/3 and shortened the follower by /4". I assembled my gun and it then held TEN (10) 38's. but still only EIGHT (8) 357's. So if 357 round count matters, go with the 20" barrel.

BTW: Don't try 38 S&W or 38 Short Colt! The elevator will jam up on the short shell and require a major disassembly.

Ivan.

Thanks Ivan! I recently got a Winchester/Miroku 1873 with an 18” barrel in 357 Magnum/38 Special. I was surprised that the “9+1” magazine capacity only applied to .38 Special. It’s 8 +1 for .357 Magnum. If it can be tweaked to hold 1 more cartridge, that would be nice.

 

[Faulkner]

Even though I've tried I'm not a Henry fan, but I love short barreled lever guns and lever guns in .357. I've taken quite a few whitetails with my 16 inch Winchester 94 in .357.

Just for size comparison, here's a picture of a 20 inch R92 in .357; a 16 inch Marlin 336Y in .30-30; and a 16 inch Winchester 94 in .357.

 

[BAM-BAM]

I view them as "handy" rifles. Had a 20" Rossi which I swapped for a 16" Winchester Trapper both in .357

 

[Yendor357]

I picked this one up the other day. I bought it just because I liked the configuration. I have an early 80s model of the same thing. And I wanted to experience the new Ruger/Marlin.

I’m running a 158 XTP just under 2000 fps. Yep, that’s warm. But Buffalo Bore’s 158 is even faster.

You just gotta love a 357 Lever, no matter who makes it.

 

[BrBa]

I’m running a 158 XTP just under 2000 fps. Yep, that’s warm.

You using Lil'Gun?

 

[Exaviator]

A bullet fired from a 20 inch barrel will be more stable in flight due to the additional twist obtained from the increased rifling, therefore more accurate, particularly over a longer distance. A 16 inch barrel may provide more aesthetics, and ease of handling. What is more important to you? Take your pick.

 

[BrBa]

The only way a 20" barrel would be more stable than a 16" barrel is if the 20" barrel produced higher velocity, which generally isn't the case with .357 Mag. If a 16" barrel has the same rate of twist as a 20" barrel they will produce identical spin rates if velocity is the same.

If you plug in the numbers for a 158 gr XTP (0.206 G1; 0.664" length; 1650 fps muzzle velocity) into a twist rate calculator, you'll see a VERY stable bullet using the 1:16 twist rate which both Henry and Marlin use for .357 Mag.

 

[jsfricks]

I went with a Winchester 1873 in 357 recently. This is made by Miruko and is very well built with an 18.5 inch barrel. I’ve since added a Tang peep sight.

 

[Yendor357]

I’m burning H110. I don’t run those warm loads the my handguns. The warm loads get a blue magic marker across the primer. That load was developed and verified with the aid of a Garmin Xero. No guess work.

I ran the few remaining Federal 158 JHP (red and white box marked High Power, from K-Mart, late 80s) that I had across my Garmin, thru my mid 80s circa 1894 357. Those were zipping along at 2000 fps. I wish I’d have bought a bunch more of that stuff back in the day. No wonder that combo was so devastating on deer (from a tree stand in the woods).

*I was going to run the new Ruger/Marlin bone stock until I ran out of elevation on the buckhorn rear sight.
Then the floodgates opened. Off came the rear sight. On went (temporarily) the Williams apature sight. A 5-5X, 30 mm Leupold will go on as soon as Warne 2 piece bases, and rings show up. The cross bolt safety will be replaced with the faux screw. The trigger NICE! 3 pounds, 12 ounces with an almost imperceptible bit of smooth roll before it breaks.

 

[JohnRippert]

I prefer a 20 inch barrel, especially with a octagon barrel. I have a 5.5inch barrel on my Colt SAA if I need a shorter one.