[Hardcase]

I've got a .357 Rossi. I shoot maybe twice or three times a year in local SASS matches.

Out of the box, the action was fine. Not great, not terrible, just fine. I could definitely feel some roughness - compared to a Henry's action, it was gritty. However, after a whole lot of cycling, the action smoothed out quite nicely. I probably could have taken it apart and achieved the same results with a stone, but I didn't mind sitting in front of the TV watching reruns of Gunsmoke and cycling the lever.

I have no problem feeding cast round nose .38s in the rifle. None at all. The only problems that I've heard of, feeding-wise, are with wadcutters, for obvious reasons.

I did replace the bright yellow plastic follower in the magazine tube with a darker metal one that I bought from stevesguns.com. I imagine that sooner or later, the plastic would break and it just looked funny in there.

As far as the Henry goes, I can't criticize it other than the weight. I have a Golden Boy and it's the heaviest .22 that I've ever held. One of my buddies has a Big Boy in .44 and it's definitely a tank. I know that you say that the weight doesn't bother you, but I think that you'd be surprised. I don't think that the smoothness of the action is worth the increase in weight, especially since the Rossi's action will smooth out (although nothing like the Henry's). Also, the .22-style loading port on the Henry just kind of weirds me out, but that's a matter of opinion.

For what it's worth, I also own a Taurus M66 and it's been a true-blue (in stainless steel) performer for me.

I've never shot or handled a Marlin centerfire levergun, so I can't opine on them.