Good 357 Lever Action?

[k1dude]

After Gavin bans all semi-autos, there will be a run on lever actions that will last a decade. Get them while you can.

[farmerjoe]

After Gavin bans all semi-autos, there will be a run on lever actions that will last a decade. Get them while you can.

Sort of where I'm going. I have a CX4 I keep in the box, but was looking for an alternative with all the craziness going on.

[b1gdave32]

My Henry 16.5" carbine is sweet, deffinitley a lil heavy but fun to shoot and it sure is pretty to look at

[Barbarosa]

There are many goods ones to choose from. I really like my Winchester '73 Trapper. Surprisingly accurate out to around 100 yards with iron sights. Lots of fun to plink with .38's; good light hunting gun with .357.

[steel30]

I own a Marlin an it's a decent rifle. Henry makes good rifles too, but only own the .22 lever of the Henry.

[5.56]

I am also in the market for a .357 LAR. I've decided that I prefer the reciever loading port like on the Winchester, Rossi's and Marlin's rather than the tubular magazine of the Henry.

The Rossi I handled was rough around the edges. I'm sure it would go bang every time, but the action was rough. It was obvious that you were going to get what you were going to pay for. The smoothest action I've felt on a level gun was actually by browning for one of their BLR rifles in a rifle caliber, not revolver.

I've settled that if I'm going to buy a new LAR, I'm going to get a Marlin Model 1894CSS. They're in between the price of a Winchester and a Rossi, but hard to come by.

[Tere_Hanges]

My Henry 16.5" carbine is sweet, deffinitley a lil heavy but fun to shoot and it sure is pretty to look at

I just cant get into the new Henry designs.

I want something closer to an original 1800s design. For me that means something based on the '66, '73, or '92 albeit with the modern chambering in .357 and other contemporary differences.

[bruss01]

I have a Puma 92 .357 Octagon that is very nice, decent shooter.

https://www.gunsamerica.com/976906233/Puma-92-Stainless-Octagon-357-Mag-38-Spl-NE.htm

The Henry steel leverguns look very nice too.

My favorite .357 rifle though is my Timberwolf though they haven't been made in decades and prices are astronomical now. It works just like a pump shotgun.

[TMB 1]

I have a Puma 92 .357 Octagon that is very nice, decent shooter.

https://www.gunsamerica.com/976906233/Puma-92-Stainless-Octagon-357-Mag-38-Spl-NE.htm

The Henry steel leverguns look very nice too.

My favorite .357 rifle though is my Timberwolf though they haven't been made in decades and prices are astronomical now. It works just like a pump shotgun.

That's pretty cool! Someone should start making them again.

[desertjosh]

After all this craziness over black rifles, I've got what I need for the most part. Now I need a .357 lever. I'm already set up to reload for .357 and don't even own one anymore. It'll be a good way to break in the hornady lnl ap
Tagged

[golfish]

That's pretty cool! Someone should start making them again.

I wouldn't be surprised to see Henry make one of these. Okay, I would be surprised

Nice pump action bruss001, got to love that one

[tmh1]

Pump action big-bore rifles are still being made, but not to my knowledge in 357M/38SP. Some examples include the replica of the Colt Lightning made by Uberti, and the Taurus Thunderbolt. But these are only currently available chambered in 45 Colt:





These are not known now for their reliability, nor were the Taurus ones made in the past in 357M. Mostly a lot of trouble for the shooter. Maybe the Puma's poster got a good one, or had a lot of work done on it? IIRC the Puma branded rifles were made by Taurus/Braztech.

[Bobby Ricigliano]

A lever gun in .357 / .38 will be my first long gun purchase of 2017. This thread came at the perfect time.

**Edit** My first lever gun ever!

[Bobby Ricigliano]

Lots of nice lever guns chambered in 357M/38SP out there, but what will please you will depend on your needs and budget.

The Rossi R92s are probably some of the best money spent if you are looking for a tool. But as Nate Kiowa Jones (aka "Steve's Gunz") says, out of the box they should be considered to be "unfinished". The nice thing is that you can do the "finishing" work on your own. They are generally oversprung (for reliable ignition of primers) and the metal finishing on the internal parts is "incomplete". The former can be dealt with by installing aftermarket parts, and the latter by shooting, just working the action repeatedly, or by getting into the rifle and stoning the appropriate parts/surfaces. Lots of internet info out there on this. The Rossi's will generally have the lowest grade of wood and the wood-to-metal fit is variable. But as a tool they are great, and they can be made to run quite quickly if you want to get into any speed shooting with it (like Cowboy Action Shooting). The side loading gate is really stiff out of the box, but will soften up over the first ~500 rounds loaded.

The Henry Big Boys are also really oversprung for reliability and they can really never be made to run fast. But if you don't need that they are reliable and accurate. And for the price they have great wood and are assembled/fitted very nicely. Generally good triggers too. I was too used to other rifles which were smoother/faster to operate, so I sold mine. Also, the gunsmiths who work on these seem to be more rare than any of the others, and aftermarket parts are almost non-existent. Finally, I could not get used to using the loading rod in a big bore lever gun. It is fine with me with a rimfire gun, but my personal preference is a side loading gate.

Taking a step up in price are the Italian made Winchester replicas - the '66s, '73s, '92's and even '94s. The fit and finish of these is very good and the wood and metal parts are excellent. These are also the most historically accurate lever action rifles made by anyone today. And there are lots of 'smiths who work on them, and lots of aftermarket upgrade parts available. My peeve with them is minor - the screws. They seem to go through final assembly by a gorilla who torques the heck out of them, and they are generally of a rather soft metal - and therefore can be buggered up pretty fast even when using good Brownell's driver bits. But that's O.K. in the end, as replacement hardened screw sets are available and reasonably priced.

Another step up in price gets you to the Marlin '94s. These are no longer available new in your specified caliber (maybe this will change?) and therefore command a higher price on the used market. Lots of talk about only getting the older guns with JM stamped barrels, but I shoot 2 of the post-JM guns in competition and they work just fine. These also benefit from lightened springs and action work (which you can do at home) if you want to run them fast.

Another step up in price are the modern Winchesters (built by Miroku). '73's, '92's, '94's, etc. These probably have the nicest wood (and wood finish), the best metal and machining, and the top fit-and-finish of any lever action rifles. Some of these work right out of the box for competition shooting without any action work, they are that smooth. But they are generally the hardest to find as Miroku seems to only make them in batches once per year and when those are gone you have to wait (or find them marked up on Gunbroker, etc.). Unfortunately for today's buyers of new rifles, the Miroku Winchesters have been "lawyered up" as compared to how the rifles were originally made. Safeties have been added, along with things like multi-piece firing pins and rebounding hammers. These make the new production rifle actions less smooth then the traditional ones, and more prone to issues (breakages) under heavy use.

Some other things to think about:

* The model '66s and '73s will always be the smoothest and fastest actions due to their design;
* The '66s and '73s are the fastest and easiest to clean due to the detachable side plates.
* '92's will be faster and smoother than '94s, once again due to differences in the design of the actions.

Some of my favorites are shown in the pics below (from top):
* Taylor's & Co. (Chiappa/ArmiSport) 1892
* Uberti 1866 (chambered in 38SP only)
* Winchester (Miroku) 1873
* Winchester (Miroku) M73
* Rossi R92 (my wife's competition rifle)
* Marlin '94 Cowboy

Wow! This post needed a BTT for those who might not read page 1. Awesome collection.

[BRANCHER]

BRANCHER, is this the one you have? If so, that's a sweet rifle, I want one, or two

OP, if money is no worries, I'd be all over one of these Taylor rifles. There are lots to choose from and the quality is second to none.

here's another one to look at

https://www.budsgunshop.com/catalog/product_info.php/cPath/2084_36_1042/products_id/719006834/Uberti+1873+357+Mag+Carbine+Blue+frame+CH+Lever+19%5c%22

That looks just like it. I also picked up a 32" 45-70 hi-wall from Taylor as well. Added their peep sight. I shot a 3/4 group 5 shots at 200 yards with it. Was black and blue from the steel butt plate for a week though. Shot 40 rounds that day. Both are beautiful.