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Old April 8, 2012, 07:43 AM   #17
valleyforge.1777
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Join Date: June 2, 2011
Posts: 177
There are plenty of genuine Winchester Model 94 lever guns out there that are chambered for 357 Mag/38 or 44 Mag/44 Special. I have a few of them in 16 inch barrel Trapper configuration and in 20 inch carbine configuration. If you are not going to hunt, and you are going to reload, I guess it doesn't much matter which caliber you choose. My 357/38, in both the 16 inch and 20 inch barrels, strongly prefer the 125 grain bullets to make tighter groups even at 25 yards and definitely out to 100 yards. I think my 44 Trapper prefers 240 grain for tighter groups, but I am not sure and need to test it with different loads in the 200 and 240 grain varieties. I definitely prefer shooting the 357/38 rifles, and I am set up to reload those calibers. I can eventually get dies and related equipment to make 44's, and I've got tons of saved brass, but I am not going to do that right now. For factory ammo, I find the 44 Specials are too soft, sort of like shooting a pop gun or a .22 (I think it is a waste to shoot very expensive ammo that makes a very large hole and have it feel like I shot a cork-gun at a county fair), and the 44 Magnums are too hard on my shoulder to really enjoy target shooting. So, that rifle will sit in the corner until the day comes that I get set up to reload 44's and then i will work up loads that are fun to shoot.

One more thing... Opinions vary about the Henry lever rifles. I know a lot of people really like them. I owned a Henry Big Boy in 44 Magnum/44 Special. That's primarily how I got a big pile of once-fired 44 brass. I hated that rifle and sold it below market price just to get rid of it. Having now owned that Henry and several genuine Winchester's, i can't really see what anyone likes about the Henry's, but to each his own, I suppose.

Things I did not like: 1. It is really heavy and so unless you shoot exclusively off of sandbags and rests, the rifle is hard to hold and carefully aim shot after shot without getting muscle fatigue that screws up your ability to hold it stable. 2. The rifle is loaded by removing the magazine tube follower and then manually dropping the rounds into the magazine tube one at a time. That is how many .22 lever rifles are loaded, but for a large caliber rifle, that is retarded and gets old fast. 3. The fore stock is as wide as my Aunt Matilda's back side. Now, for those that do not know her, just image a picture of the titanic or the QE2, or Mount Rushmore, or whatever. You get the idea. It is wide enough that it is hard to hold it well when trying to aim the rifle. 4. Mine jammed more times than I'd care to remember, often with the lever half/open, half/closed and nothing was moving anywhere until I really cranked on it. As many people have commented, "Henry has the best customer service in the firearms business, and you will find that out because you will need them." Never have had any jams with my model 94's in pistol calibers.

Seems to be some bias against the model 94 in pistol caliber since it was originally issued in a rifle caliber and the model 92 was originally issued in a pistol caliber, but as I like to point out, the model 92 was not originally issued by Winchester in 357/38 or 44Mag/44Special. It was originally issued in 44-40, and unless you are getting an original and shooting that caliber, you are already compromising, so why not get the model 94's that are plentiful and relatively less expensive than buying a model 92?
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