amazingflapjack
US Veteran
I suggest that you check out any lever gun in 44 mag with the crescent butt plate-they can be quite painful-better the "shot gun" plate-jm2cw.
Lever action .357
- Thread starter otis24
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I like my Marlin, but I've thought about adding a Henry. Pretty sure you can't go wrong with either . . .
HOUSTON RICK
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BLACKHAWKNJ
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I have a pre-safety bolt Marlin 1894C , excellent. Marlin changed from Microgroove to Ballard rifling at the request of the CAS/SASS shooters who found that Ballard gave better accuracy with lead bullets.
Had a 20" /357 Rossi in the 80s...... came across a 16" Winchester Trapper in .357 in the early/mid-90s..... with the "Cross-receiver" (?) safety.... found a LG Smith that removed it and replaced it with a "plug" ..... now its a Great little gun!!!!!
I also have a stainless Ruger 77/357 with a little 1-3X20 Weaver shotgun scope mounted (fiber optic front sight and Skinner barrel mounted peep sight as back-up)......... this is now my primary utility rifle at the Cabin in the Laurel Highlands of Penn's Woods"
I also have a stainless Ruger 77/357 with a little 1-3X20 Weaver shotgun scope mounted (fiber optic front sight and Skinner barrel mounted peep sight as back-up)......... this is now my primary utility rifle at the Cabin in the Laurel Highlands of Penn's Woods"
Old Corp
Member
Another fan of the Rossi. Got a Rossi 92 .357 16", a joy to shoot and took a deer with it on a hunt a few years ago. Feeds .38 and .357 with all bullet types, no problem. Accuracy has been fine.
Also have a Winchester 94 Trapper in .45 Colt, 16" of course. Good shooting rifle, but the 94 receiver is just too much for handgun calibers. A 92 receiver is near-perfect in that role.
Not a Henry fan, just can't do the tube-mag thing on a centerfire rifle, and every one I've picked up seemed heavy as a green fence post.
Also have a Winchester 94 Trapper in .45 Colt, 16" of course. Good shooting rifle, but the 94 receiver is just too much for handgun calibers. A 92 receiver is near-perfect in that role.
Not a Henry fan, just can't do the tube-mag thing on a centerfire rifle, and every one I've picked up seemed heavy as a green fence post.
p8riot
US Veteran
I echo bigwheelzip's recommendation. Mine is practically a clone of the original Browning design, and is a reliable and accurate gun that will feed both 38 spl and 357 cartridges equally well.
I have a Miroku Winchester in 45 Colt, and it is a very well made gun. I'm not fond of the lawyer mandated rebound safety or the sliding tang safety, but other than that, an nice gun:
Best Regards, Les
Like your 92s
I have a pre-safety 45 Colt 94 Trapper, but I really like the Miroku Winchesters. Don't have one yet, but they seem to rival the pre-64s in quality. Don't care for the tang safety either, but it is easier to deal with than the cross-bolt divots that preceded them.
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p8riot
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ProCarryNAustin
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About that side loading vs tube loading, my Henry holds 10 rounds. If I need to be "topping off", I've made some bad life choices. LOL! For me it is a brush hunt rifle. Mine is 44 mag and tube loading just makes unloading easier.
Daniel
Daniel
Faulkner
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The only problem with a Henry is that they're ugly.
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I've got a fair amount of experience with Marlin Lever guns, as I've owned a bunch for 40 years and competed in SASS Cowboy Action Competition for 20 years with them.
The JM's that were built in the late 1990's up until about 2006 seem to be the most reliable at feeding BOTH the .38 Special & .357 Magnums. The older ones sometimes had issues with feeding .38 Specials. Many of the guys who had older Marlins either replaced the Carrier to the new improved version (which vastly helped reliability and smoothness - still available) and some just loaded to .38 Special velocities using .357 cases for reliability during the matches.
I am not a Henry fan but not because of issues or reliability. The Henry's are actually smooth and function fairly well for the most part. What I do not like about them is what they are made out of and the fact that they load from the Tube instead of a Receiver Loading Gate. For what you pay Henry is a fair value but construction materials are not what I personally desire.
Rossi's are kind of hit and miss from what I've seen over the years. I've seen some really good ones and some stinkers too. I have a Rossi that had to be replaced 2 times just to get one that actually functioned at least 75% of the time. My Dad and I spent many years getting it to work the rest of the time and today it's about 98% reliable. What we had to go through to get it to function properly, no one should have to endure and so it left a bad taste in my mouth about Rossi's.
The JM's that were built in the late 1990's up until about 2006 seem to be the most reliable at feeding BOTH the .38 Special & .357 Magnums. The older ones sometimes had issues with feeding .38 Specials. Many of the guys who had older Marlins either replaced the Carrier to the new improved version (which vastly helped reliability and smoothness - still available) and some just loaded to .38 Special velocities using .357 cases for reliability during the matches.
I am not a Henry fan but not because of issues or reliability. The Henry's are actually smooth and function fairly well for the most part. What I do not like about them is what they are made out of and the fact that they load from the Tube instead of a Receiver Loading Gate. For what you pay Henry is a fair value but construction materials are not what I personally desire.
Rossi's are kind of hit and miss from what I've seen over the years. I've seen some really good ones and some stinkers too. I have a Rossi that had to be replaced 2 times just to get one that actually functioned at least 75% of the time. My Dad and I spent many years getting it to work the rest of the time and today it's about 98% reliable. What we had to go through to get it to function properly, no one should have to endure and so it left a bad taste in my mouth about Rossi's.
Got a marlin 1884 in 44 mag and a win 94 in 44 mag. Love both but a few years ago my brother ran across an old beat up win 92 that been rebarreled to 44 mag. Rougher than an old corn cobb. I talked my brother out of it and it's the best lever action I ever had. Love the way a 92 handles. Perfect for pistol calibers. Now on a hunt for one in 357.
Today's challenge is NOT to buy a new Winchester Miroku 92 in 357 Mag.
Today's challenge is NOT to buy......
Today's challenge is NOT to buy......
Not to mention the older JM stamped rifles are pre safety and much more desirable
squidsix
Member
I have done a little work to my Rossi, all of it easy to do and fun, making it the most cost effective little .357 lever in the running.
Refinished the factory wood with BC Tru Oil, made a plug for the factory safety, cut the factory stock down and placed a rubber Winchester butt pad on there, replaced the plastic mag follower with steel, and changed out the sights: Brass bead front and shotgun ghost ring rear mounted on the barrel. 32.5" overall length, just under 5 pounds empty, and sooooo handy!
Refinished the factory wood with BC Tru Oil, made a plug for the factory safety, cut the factory stock down and placed a rubber Winchester butt pad on there, replaced the plastic mag follower with steel, and changed out the sights: Brass bead front and shotgun ghost ring rear mounted on the barrel. 32.5" overall length, just under 5 pounds empty, and sooooo handy!
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FYI; Have you ever checked out Skinner Sights? He offers a nice barrel mounted peep sight ....... got them on my Winchester Trapper , Ruger 77/357 and my 10/22 Take down.
squidsix
Member
I have and do have a Skinner sight on a Marlin 336 in 32 Special, but the Williams barrel mounted sight is about 1/3rd of the price and for this pistol caliber ever gun works perfectly.
My goal was to keep the overall cost of this Rossi under $475 to prove a point to a friend. I am still under that price with all the custom touches, and only out a bit of sweat equity.
The cool factor for me is that it fits in a fleece-lined USGI M1 Carbine bag, which is the perfect carry case for this Rossi.
I don't, in all honesty, like the large loop, but I have not found anyone wanting to trade standard loop for my large loop.
I have a photo album of some other changes on my profile.
My goal was to keep the overall cost of this Rossi under $475 to prove a point to a friend. I am still under that price with all the custom touches, and only out a bit of sweat equity.
The cool factor for me is that it fits in a fleece-lined USGI M1 Carbine bag, which is the perfect carry case for this Rossi.
I don't, in all honesty, like the large loop, but I have not found anyone wanting to trade standard loop for my large loop.
I have a photo album of some other changes on my profile.
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The Skinner barrel mounted sight which replaces the factory rear is $48 (blue). William has one for $16?
Where did you find the M-1 Bag???
Where did you find the M-1 Bag???
The pre safety 1894 Marlin is best 357mg rifle. The safety is not the real issue. Just about the time Marlin was going to safety is a period when they started having financial troubles. Look past the safety at the fit and finish of guns of this period. Accuracy and function did not necessarily suffer but blue and polish of interior
surfaces did. Still they are JMs and I would buy one before anything else on 357 lever market.
surfaces did. Still they are JMs and I would buy one before anything else on 357 lever market.
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