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Centerfire Rifles - Manually Operated Lever action, bolt action or other non gas operated centerfire rifles. |
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#1
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Which .38/.357 lever to get?
So in response to a recent thread I posted (http://www.calguns.net/calgunforum/s....php?t=1499551) I thought I would pose the question here.
Which .38/.357 lever rifle is best when it comes to feeding both calibers, reliability, affordibility and availability etc...? I understand Winchester 94's do not do so well with .38's (at least I think I have heard that). The cat's meow seems to be a JM stamped Marlin, and I have had my eye out for them. I have a local Henry dealer near me and the plunger tube feed function does not bother me. I have a total of eleven .38/.357 revolvers, so it just really makes sense to get a rifle to match. I lean towards the Henry's, but I am open to the real world experiences of others. Thanks in advance! |
#2
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I'm no expert, but it seems of current production rifles, Henry or Winchester (Miroku) might be your best bets.
You occasionally run into problems with Rossi and Marlin which require some fixing. Both have recently revamped their production lines, but I've heard no reviews yet of the product coming off those production lines. Some of the Italian levers might be an option, but I have no experience with them.
__________________
"Show me a young conservative and I'll show you a man without a heart. Show me an old liberal and I'll show you a man without a brain." - Sir Winston Churchill "I would remind you that extremism in the defense of liberty is no vice! And let me remind you also that moderation in the pursuit of justice is no virtue!" - Senator Barry Goldwater Last edited by k1dude; 12-29-2018 at 10:10 AM.. |
#5
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If you want reliable out of the box don't get the Rossi.
If doing the slick up work is part of the appeal to you as it was for me you won't be sorry.
__________________
What do you call the people that abandoned the agenda of John Kennedy and adopted the agenda of Lee Oswald? Pronouns: "Dude" and "Playa". https://billstclair.com/Unintended-Consequences.pdf I was born under a wandrin star. |
#8
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#9
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Gah. That '73 trapper is bee-eee-aye-yew-tee-full! What does it weigh with a 16" barrel?
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Not true at all. One has to size their lead bo0lits to bore +001", and of appropriate BHN for the speed they're launched. I say go used, but, in the end, they almost all need some little bit of fettling to get right. Exceptions to this might be the Miroku Winchesters, of which Barbarosa's '73 might be (I'm thinkin'). I own Rossis (2), Marlins (3), a Henry and a 30-year-old Miroku Winchester/Browning B92, and they're all wonderful guns. Some needed a little fiddling with as I said but it's worth it.
__________________
. "Get a proper holster, and go hot. The End." - SplitHoof NRA Lifetime | Avatar courtesy Elon Musk's Twitter User SomthingWicked |
#10
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OK Don't get all caught up in the JM Marlin BS. I Have 4 Marlin Leverguns. 2 JM's and two relatively new ones made after 2005.
The old ones had a better finish on the outside but the machining on the inside sucks outright! Takes alot of internal work to make them smooth. I have only done about 25 of them. The newer guns have much better machining on the inside but the outside is not quite as nice. Splitting hairs here, but they take a lot less work to make nice than the earlier guns. All the cheap guns require TLC to be decent shooters. That is why they don't cost more. Much less hand work put into them. The newest Marlins 2010+ are better in every way than anything JM Marlin ever produced with the exception of Custom Shop guns from the early 1900's. The new guns are all made on CNC machinery and are the best they have ever been. It took Remington a while to blow thru all the old parts and then figure out how to make the new parts on new machines. They have this figured out now. Please note: There are now 3 basic classes of Marlin Leverguns. There's the cheap ones with cheesy wood in the $350-600 range. There are the nice ones with nice wood and better finishes which are in the $1200-$1300 range. These are really nice guns and are far above anything ever produced by JM. And then there are the "Custom Shop Guns" that are made in the Dakota Arms Shop which is owned by Remington. Those guns start at $3500 and go right up from there. I have seen some real beauties from them. So my recommendation would be for a $1200 1894 in .38/.357 for you. For me it would be a .44 ! Randy
__________________
Rule #1 Liberals screw up everything they touch. Rule #2 Whatever they accuse you of, they are already doing. Rule #3 Liberals lie about anything no matter how insignificant. Rule #4 If all else fails, they call you a Racist! It's not how well you do what you know how to do,,, It is how well you do what you don't know how to do. www.buchananprecisionmachine.com |
#11
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uberti all the cowboy action people use them lots of aftermarket support
I use a 1873 that's 357 but I only shoot 38s my wife has a 1866 in 38 putting about 1200 rounds a month threw them only had 2 jambs in mine none in my wifes
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The people who know you, don't even like you anyway |
#13
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I have a Henry in .357/.38. BB brass with 20" octagon barrel. Very accurate and feeds .38's as easily as .357. $678 at 2nd Amendment Zone in Rancho Cucamonga for the 20" blued, round barreled model. Smooth action I might add. $1200 for a Marlin 1894 in .357/.38? Dang, that's kinda pricey. Henry!
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#14
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I have a nice Browning 92 in .357. It runs well with .38 or .357. The cowboy shooters I know ALL run a 1873. Smoother action and shorter throw (with a kit) is the common reason.
Most like the Uberti better because of parts availability and gunsmiths to work on them. Single Action Shooting Sociey (SASS) is a wealth of knowledge. https://www.sassnet.com/forums/index.php?act=idx |
#15
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I have 2 Rossi R92 .357s and a new production Marlin 1894c .357. Both Rossi's are much smoother than the Marlin and load both .38 and .357 just like the Marlin. The first Rossi had problems loading the longer .357 round. The Rossi's can be rough and I've had my problems with both, 3 if you count the Rossi R92 44 mag that I had. The Marlin is the best of the bunch.
The Henry's are really nice, I'd have no problem buying a Henry, or a new production Marlin. I've seen the Winchester 92s going for $864.00 when in production, if that's what you like. I'm not a fan of the 73, I wouldn't feel safe letting my kids and grandkids shoot magnum loads through the 73 action, that's just me.
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It takes a lot of balls to play golf the way I do. Happiness is a warm gun. MLC, First 3 |
#16
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I have a Rossi R92 as well with the 16" barrel and it loads and shoots any type of round I've fed it so far.
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"If you're afraid to fail , then you're probably going to fail." - Kobe Bryant |
#17
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Wow that is one sweet sweet lever super jealous.
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"If you're afraid to fail , then you're probably going to fail." - Kobe Bryant |
#19
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#21
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I have a Rossi 1894, which is probably the worst choice in terms of quality. But it appears to be all slicked up by the previous owner, it eats everything, it has literally never choked on .38s or .357s and shooting it at reactive steel targets is as much fun as you could ask for. It is a bear to load though.
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#23
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__________________
What do you call the people that abandoned the agenda of John Kennedy and adopted the agenda of Lee Oswald? Pronouns: "Dude" and "Playa". https://billstclair.com/Unintended-Consequences.pdf I was born under a wandrin star. |
#24
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Great! I've had 3 range trips and at least 600 rounds through it now, with about 85% being 38 specials of various loadings and factory stuff. I'm about 95% sure I've settled on 158swc's over 4.0 grains of old Herc Red dot that chronos at 950fps, for the plinking inside 100 yards steel target load. Hella fun.
No malfunctions or issues at all with regular operation. The only time there's been an issue is if the receiver is tilted 90 degrees to the left with the ejection port facing up, trying to make it jam. But once I rotate it partially back up and close the lever, it works fine again. I can't think of many situations where the thing will be flat on its side while I cycle the lever, so it's a non-issue. I love it. Everyone should have an 1894CSBL! |
#25
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...I do still need to put the lighter loading gate spring in, as it beats you up by the end of the day when you're shooting hundreds through it, a 336, and an 1894 Cowboy in 45 Colt.
But at least the edges around the loading gate are smoothed and don't cut you up like some of my other levers! |
#26
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Thanks for all the great responses guys. Some good looking rifles have been posted here. It sounds like I can’t go too wrong no matter what direction I go and it sounds like a Marlin does not need to be a JM!
There is some talk of “slicking up” and “working the internals”. Is that work one can typically do on his own? What does it consist of? Is it required on Henry’s? Thanks again. |
#27
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This all depends on how much talent you have. The 92s are a PITA to assemble, but working the action makes them very smooth. The Marlins are easy to work on and I think the Henry action is similar to the Marlin. If you have the tools, talent and YouTube, you can do just about anything.
__________________
It takes a lot of balls to play golf the way I do. Happiness is a warm gun. MLC, First 3 |
#29
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The newer Marlin's I've in person seemed pretty darn good in all aspects. And they do not cost $1200. You can find them for a lot less, a little looking is required. The Henry's, mine at least, needed nothing but ammo. Slick as a whistle right out of the box. Under $700 as I mentioned earlier. My next one is a Henry in blued .45 Colt, 20" barrel.
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#30
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Miroku Winchester 1873. Not inexpensive, but a really nice gun. I love mine.
http://www.winchesterguns.com/produc...odel-1873.html
__________________
...while the buffoon in the White House prances around celebrating butt sex. |
#31
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Rossi's usually benefit from a little work. You can either send it to Steve's Guns for the work or you can buy his DVD/parts DIY kit and do the work yourself. It isn't rocket science. Marlin's sometimes benefit from some work also. I don't recall hearing much about Winchesters (Miroku) needing work. I know SASS shooters often do work to their Italian guns for competition.
__________________
"Show me a young conservative and I'll show you a man without a heart. Show me an old liberal and I'll show you a man without a brain." - Sir Winston Churchill "I would remind you that extremism in the defense of liberty is no vice! And let me remind you also that moderation in the pursuit of justice is no virtue!" - Senator Barry Goldwater |
#32
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Hey, at my age, what’s a couple years, LOL?
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#33
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I have both a Rossi R92 20" and also a Henry 20". I have slicked up the Rossi per Steve's gunz video. The Henry is bone stock. Both are great to shoot and load and eject reliably. One thing to be said for a Henry is that they really do give you a lifetime warranty. Their customer service exceeds anyone else's. If I could only keep one, it would be the Henry.
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#34
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I just dros'd a .357 rossi92 ...I never seen one before but lgs had a stainless. I know the Rossi is a bottom feeder but I was impressed with it. The fit of the wood around the receiver is better than the new Marlins I've looked at and it definitely cycles smoother out of the box. The trigger felt good and I just liked the look and feel of the gun plus a few other small things about it.
I like tinkering and taking guns apart so the fact that there is Stevz guns and so much YouTube info on the Rossi makes it even better. I'm not recommending a Rossi because I haven't even shot one yet. I've heard the Rossi production line was shut down for awhile and the 20" stainless .357 seems to be the first guns off the new run... I'll be waiting for the 16" .44's to show up. I have a Winchester Miroku 1892 it's just a great gun... The lever action that I have the most fun shooting is my 22lr Henry small game carbine. There are all kinds of fun inexpensive ways to challenge yourself with a 22lr lever action. It's funny at the range... Nobody pays a second thought to a AR.... But my lever actions always draw attention. Sent from my moto e5 supra using Tapatalk |
#35
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Randy
__________________
Rule #1 Liberals screw up everything they touch. Rule #2 Whatever they accuse you of, they are already doing. Rule #3 Liberals lie about anything no matter how insignificant. Rule #4 If all else fails, they call you a Racist! It's not how well you do what you know how to do,,, It is how well you do what you don't know how to do. www.buchananprecisionmachine.com |
#37
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The Henry's are great but no good if you want to use it one day in Cowboy action shooting. Personally, I do not like the tube magazine. I like the idea of being able to top the gun off easily without it having to be empty to load it safely.
According to a top SASS shooter I spoke to the other day, the new entry level Marlin's are great and mod OK. They're good the amateur or target shooter. If you want one of the fastest lever guns you'll have to get a Winchester. |
#39
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I have a Winchester 94AE and a Marlin 1894 chambered in .357 magnum - both are at least 16 years old, and they load and fire .38 special ammo (FMJ, SP, HP, LRN, semi-wad cutter, etc...) with no problems.
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Member of the N.R.A., Marine Corps League, and American Legion. |
#40
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I have actually considered a Model 77 for this purpose, but I think I am more inclined to go with a lever. Your 77 looks great! How does it perform?
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