Most reliable .357 lever

chemcal · December 26, 2020, 01:44 PM

by reliability, the question is which lever will reliably feed .38 spl?

**44 AMP** · December 26, 2020, 02:44 PM

I only have personal experience with the Marlin 1894, mine runs .38 Specials like oil on glass, PROVIDED you aren't using SWC or WC bullets.

Sarge · December 26, 2020, 04:07 PM

I have heard good reports from people using the Henry steel 357. My first hand experience with a single example of Rossi's 357 carbine, insures I will not buy another one.

rc · December 26, 2020, 11:38 PM

I have a timberwolf pump that will feed 38s fine and so does my marlin.

roscoe · December 26, 2020, 11:52 PM

My brother's Rossi eats whatever you feed it.

bamaranger · December 27, 2020, 05:39 AM

Pre-safety Marlin runs .38's, (except WC) just fine. Single loaded WC is about like shooting a .22............very mild. Shot quite a bit of .38/110gr JHP from mine w/ no issues.

Tony Z · December 27, 2020, 08:08 AM

My Henry will run whatever is put in it.

ballisticxlr · December 27, 2020, 10:45 AM

Certainly not Rossi.

jetinteriorguy · December 27, 2020, 11:45 AM

I haven’t shot a lot of .38sp in my Henry BBS, but I’ve shot enough in RN,RNFP, TCBB, and SWC to know it feeds all these just fine. Both 158gr and 125gr. But since I have a ton of .357 brass I pretty much shoot them with all types of bullets with equal reliability.

armednfree · December 27, 2020, 06:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sarge

I have heard good reports from people using the Henry steel 357. My first hand experience with a single example of Rossi's 357 carbine, insures I will not buy another one.

And yet my Rossi 92 cycles 38 special and 357 just fine. The trigger is good and it is accurate. The issue with many of these guns is not that they are all crap, it's inconsistency gun to gun.

Sarge · December 27, 2020, 11:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by armednfree

And yet my Rossi 92 cycles 38 special and 357 just fine. The trigger is good and it is accurate. The issue with many of these guns is not that they are all crap, it's inconsistency gun to gun.

I never said they were 'all crap'. Your words, not mine.

I've had three Rossi 92s, two 45 Colts and a 357. The 45s were good to great and the 357 was a PITA. QC with them seems to be Luck of the Draw. I was shopping for a 44 Mag recently and asked the guys at Rossi Rifleman for their experience on recent production Rossi 44s. The results are not encouraging.

chemcal · December 28, 2020, 10:48 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 44 AMP

I only have personal experience with the Marlin 1894, mine runs .38 Specials like oil on glass, PROVIDED you aren't using SWC or WC bullets.

Are presently produced Marlins as good as the "older" ones?

Jim Watson · December 28, 2020, 11:10 AM

One guy here had a serviceable Rossi. It would feed Specials but it was ugly with a tropical mung wood stock and indifferent blue.

Another Rossi owner had his fixed up. The "action job" included polishing the cartridge guides nice and shiny... and rounded off to where they would not handle Specials, he had to use light load Magnums for CAS.

Scribe · December 28, 2020, 07:18 PM

I’ve got a Rossi .44, 16 inch barrel. It feeds magnum is specials, factory or hand loads. No problem. Perhaps I just got a good one.

Obambulate · December 28, 2020, 10:13 PM

I run mostly Specials in my .357 Rossi 92 carbine. Not a problem.

**44 AMP** · December 30, 2020, 01:31 PM

Quote:

Are presently produced Marlins as good as the "older" ones?

As far as I know, there are no presently produced Marlins. After Remington took them over (and moved the factory) the rifles they made (called by some "Remlins) were of substandard quality for several years, according to the Internet, I can't say from personal experience, I never had one... Again, according to what people were saying, the Remington Marlins had begun improving and were decent guns the last few years they were made.

Remington is no more, they were destroyed by corporate greed and have been sold off in bits.

I understand that Ruger bought the Marlin part, and will be making them "the way they should be" but hasn't started, yet.

I (foolishly) traded off my 1895 some years back, and am now down to just 2, a 336 .30-30 and an 1894 .357 Mag, both pre-safety guns, and good ones.

The old pistol caliber carbines bring a premium price these days, but I would pay that before getting one of the Remington made ones. Hopefully Ruger will do justice to their version when it gets here. No way to know till then.

Crunchy Frog · January 1, 2021, 11:49 PM

.38 Special is the most popular cartridge in cowboy action shooting. The top rifle in the sport is the Uberti 1873 which comes in .357. Feed it .38 Special ammo with a COAL of at least 1.45” topped with a TCFP or RNFP bullet and you are “off to the races”.

December 26, 2020, 01:44 PM	#1
chemcal Senior Member Join Date: May 16, 2014 Posts: 281	Most reliable .357 lever by reliability, the question is which lever will reliably feed .38 spl?

December 26, 2020, 02:44 PM	#2
44 AMP Staff Join Date: March 11, 2006 Location: Upper US Posts: 28,804	I only have personal experience with the Marlin 1894, mine runs .38 Specials like oil on glass, PROVIDED you aren't using SWC or WC bullets. __________________ All else being equal (and it almost never is) bigger bullets tend to work better.

December 26, 2020, 04:07 PM	#3
Sarge Senior Member Join Date: May 12, 2002 Location: MO Posts: 5,457	I have heard good reports from people using the Henry steel 357. My first hand experience with a single example of Rossi's 357 carbine, insures I will not buy another one. __________________ People were smarter before the Internet, or imbeciles were harder to notice.

December 27, 2020, 05:39 AM	#6
bamaranger Senior Member Join Date: October 9, 2009 Location: North Alabama Posts: 8,300	Marlin Pre-safety Marlin runs .38's, (except WC) just fine. Single loaded WC is about like shooting a .22............very mild. Shot quite a bit of .38/110gr JHP from mine w/ no issues.

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December 26, 2020, 11:38 PM	#4
rc Senior Member Join Date: April 28, 2001 Location: CA Posts: 1,763	I have a timberwolf pump that will feed 38s fine and so does my marlin.

December 26, 2020, 11:52 PM	#5
roscoe Senior Member Join Date: July 16, 2002 Location: AZ Posts: 575	My brother's Rossi eats whatever you feed it.

December 27, 2020, 08:08 AM	#7
Tony Z Senior Member Join Date: September 29, 2013 Location: North Central Pennsyltucky Posts: 749	My Henry will run whatever is put in it.

December 27, 2020, 10:45 AM	#8
ballisticxlr Member Join Date: April 25, 2020 Posts: 83	Certainly not Rossi.

December 27, 2020, 11:45 AM	#9
jetinteriorguy Senior Member Join Date: April 28, 2013 Posts: 3,170	I haven’t shot a lot of .38sp in my Henry BBS, but I’ve shot enough in RN,RNFP, TCBB, and SWC to know it feeds all these just fine. Both 158gr and 125gr. But since I have a ton of .357 brass I pretty much shoot them with all types of bullets with equal reliability.

December 28, 2020, 11:10 AM	#13
Jim Watson Senior Member Join Date: October 25, 2001 Location: Alabama Posts: 18,535	One guy here had a serviceable Rossi. It would feed Specials but it was ugly with a tropical mung wood stock and indifferent blue. Another Rossi owner had his fixed up. The "action job" included polishing the cartridge guides nice and shiny... and rounded off to where they would not handle Specials, he had to use light load Magnums for CAS.

December 28, 2020, 07:18 PM	#14
Scribe Senior Member Join Date: July 29, 2005 Location: England Posts: 249	I’ve got a Rossi .44, 16 inch barrel. It feeds magnum is specials, factory or hand loads. No problem. Perhaps I just got a good one.

December 28, 2020, 10:13 PM	#15
Obambulate Senior Member Join Date: February 22, 2011 Posts: 582	I run mostly Specials in my .357 Rossi 92 carbine. Not a problem.

January 1, 2021, 11:49 PM	#17
Crunchy Frog Senior Member Join Date: December 26, 2008 Location: Greenville, SC Posts: 591	.38 Special is the most popular cartridge in cowboy action shooting. The top rifle in the sport is the Uberti 1873 which comes in .357. Feed it .38 Special ammo with a COAL of at least 1.45” topped with a TCFP or RNFP bullet and you are “off to the races”.