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Old November 7, 2012, 03:42 PM   #1
Husqvarna
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Lever action in 357 magnum?

Lever action in 357 magnum?

what brands should I be looking at? models?

this will be a hunting/plinking rifle but CAS is in the back of my mind

is the 357 the biggest calibre you could share a revolver with?

357 would not allow me to hunt hogs here (or other big game) so a bigger calibre (that would still be CAS legal is of interest)

so this would be for small deer and badger otherwise
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Old November 7, 2012, 03:50 PM   #2
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Pick one they are all good ones so far that I know. I am looking into getting a .357 Mag lever action for a range toy, plinker. I am liking the Rossi so far for price, and have heard a lot of good things about them.

You can get one chambered in .44 Mag if that is your wish. Several makers offer them. Henry, Marlin, and Rossi are the more affordable ones. Winchester makes some fine ones if you can afford them, and are willing to spend that much.
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Old November 7, 2012, 03:54 PM   #3
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44 mag and 45 colt are fairly common
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all 26 of my guns are 45/70 govt, 357 mag, 22 or 12 ga... I believe in keeping it simple. Wish my wife did as well...
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Old November 7, 2012, 03:57 PM   #4
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I have a Marlin 1894 in .45 LC and wouldn't trade it for any other gun. I also have a Henry .22, and you can't beat it for the money. It's all in if you want price or quality IMO.
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Old November 7, 2012, 04:05 PM   #5
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Marlin, Henry, Winchester i prefer marlin but all make great rifles.
my brother has a marlin1894 in .357mag for plinking and varmint hunting, its a great rifle!

take a look at the .44 magnum lever action rifles, more bang for your buck...357mag is also a bit weak for deerhunting, a 30-30 could be a good choice too, there are lots of reduced loads for plinking out there + the round is sufficient to take most deer.

I would buy a Marlin model 336C in 30-30
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Old November 7, 2012, 04:17 PM   #6
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I would advise a .44 Mag over the .45 Colt for a few reasons If you are using it with a companion combo, also for hunting.. (Note I love the .45 Colt round.)

1 No need to worry that a round too hot for most hand guns would wind up in the pistol by mistake.
2 Brass extracts easier for .44 Mag. The round was designed with a larger rim so that an extractor could grab it. (.45 Colt has a thinner rim part of the reason that Winchester did not make rifles in .45 Colt for so long. Also why so few double action revolvers are chambered in .45 Colt as well.)
3 .44 Mag is easier to find a double action if you wish to have one.
4. .44 Mag is easier to find at just about any store than .45 Colt, and is cheaper per box for the most part.
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Old November 7, 2012, 04:35 PM   #7
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is marlin still making the 336 in .35rem? Its not on their website anymore...
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Old November 7, 2012, 04:54 PM   #8
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I have a Marlin 1894 in both .38 Special/.357 Mag and .44 Special/.44 Mag. I have been more than happy with both. I added Skinner Sights to both, and a DRC Large Loop Lever to the .44 Mag.

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Old November 7, 2012, 05:12 PM   #9
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357mag is also a bit weak for deerhunting
Hmmm. That is arguable. Lots of hunters will take a .44 magnum pistol out for deer. Yes, it does make a bigger hole than the .357 but that is the one point in favor of a .44 pistol.
Once you put the .357 into a rifle, the game has changed. A 158 grain SP can be driven at 1800 fps out of a 16.5" barrel and expand to better than .50 caliber upon impact. Energy wise, the "bit weak" rifle-fired .357 yields over 1100 ft.lbs ME. (over 900 at 50 yards, just under 800 at 100 yds.) That .44 mag pistol using 240 grain bullets out of a 7.5" barrel will give you something similar at just over 1000 ME.
If one keeps the range within sensible limits, the .357 will be effective on deer sized animals.
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Old November 7, 2012, 06:19 PM   #10
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My CAS lever rifle is a .357. Larger chamberings that you could share with a revolver include .41 Magnum (lever rifles in that caliber are very rare), .44 Special (the Uberti 1866 was offered in that caliber but not sure they are still in production), .44 Magnum and .45 Colt.

Whoops, forgot a couple of classic lever rifle chamberings (also available in revolvers): .38-40 (despite the name it's a .40 caliber and fits your criteria of a "larger" caliber) and .44-40.

A lever rifle is SASS-legal if it is chambered in a PISTOL caliber of .32 or greater. No .30-30 for example.

With cowboy shooters the .38-.357 is probably number one (lower ammo/component cost, low recoil); .45 Colt is probably the second most popular chambering.

I would take a close look at the .44 Magnum. You can load them down for cowboy matches. Some .45 Colt rifles have an issue with "blowby" that does not seem to affect the .44 Magnum as much. Better ballistics for hunting too.
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Old November 7, 2012, 07:07 PM   #11
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I have lever actions from Marlin in 22lr, 32, 357 and 44 mag. The 357 is hands down my favorite gun of all the guns I own. I reload for it (and just about everything else) so I can make it do the work of a 22 rifle up to bottom end 30-30 loads. Plus it is pretty darn accurate for what it is. I could finish my hunting career with it if I stuck to the smaller Tx whitetails I normally hunt.

Brian Pearce did an article on the 357 lever gun in the April 2006 (IIRC) Rifle Magazine. It had lots of good info on the 357 round in a rifle. It is worth ordering from Wolfe publishing.

I have owned a Rossi 357 and the Marlin is a better made gun. The Rossi may be a stronger action and you can push the loads a little more but since you are using handgun bullets that are designed for about 1500fps tops you can get bullet blow up if the wrong bullet is used on bigger game like deer. Soft points work better than hollow points. I nearly cut a coyote in half with a winchester 158gr HP at about 30 yards.
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Old November 8, 2012, 02:37 AM   #12
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The deer i would be hunting is the roedeer, very small and pratically you can scare it to death

Last edited by Husqvarna; November 8, 2012 at 01:16 PM.
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Old November 8, 2012, 01:16 PM   #13
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so the .44 mag, any chance it could qualify as a big game cartridge for me?

the legal demands are

atleast a 9 gram bullet and force at 100 meters atleast 2700 j (joule?)



or 10 gram bullet and 2000j at 100m

and in over the counter ammunition, not hot handloads

too bad the 30-30 isn't legal in CAS it was almost avaible in the old west
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Old November 9, 2012, 02:08 AM   #14
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Look at Henry rifles. I plan on getting the 357 then the 44 mag. They are really popular at the gun shop I work at.
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Old November 9, 2012, 08:59 AM   #15
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Husqvarna
so the .44 mag, any chance it could qualify as a big game cartridge for me?

the legal demands are

atleast a 9 gram bullet and force at 100 meters atleast 2700 j (joule?)



or 10 gram bullet and 2000j at 100m

and in over the counter ammunition, not hot handloads

too bad the 30-30 isn't legal in CAS it was almost avaible in the old west
No, not even close, not even out of a rifle, in fact, a .30-30 probably won't meet the 2000 joule at 100 meter standard.

Energy = 1/2 mass x velocity squared.
Use kilograms as your mass unit and meters per second as your velocity unit and the answer will be in joules.
Use slugs as your mass unit and ft per second as your velocity unit and your answer will be in ft-lb.

9 grams= 138.85 grains
10 grams= 154.28 grains
2000 joules = 1476 ft lb
2700 joules = 1992 ft lb

Last edited by B.L.E.; November 9, 2012 at 12:38 PM.
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Old November 9, 2012, 01:38 PM   #16
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Joules

2700j or 2000j... You need substantial cartridge in order to get that energy at 100 yards. None of the pistol cartridges mentioned for lever gun use will do.
The .444 will as will the .45-70. Not the .357, not the .44 magnum, not even the .30-30.
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Old November 9, 2012, 03:36 PM   #17
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pretty sure the 30-30 does it nowadays with the new hornady stuff
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Old November 9, 2012, 05:53 PM   #18
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I looked up the Hornady Leverevolution ballistics and indeed, their 160 grain .30-30 ammo has over 2000 joules at 100 meters. (109.333 yards). Thanks to a spitzer bullet with a .330 BC.
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Old November 9, 2012, 07:51 PM   #19
Husqvarna
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so how do they rank in cost?

is the marlin the most expensive?

as lever actions are somewhat rare here what should I look for in a used one?
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Old February 28, 2013, 02:53 PM   #20
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The pumps a la colt lightning looks awesome aswell. how do they rank up to the levers? pricerange on those?

Accuracy? possible to put a scope on it?

I am not excpecting bolt action accuracy but touch something out to 150meters possible?

as previously stated the roedeer is a small kind of deer.

been hunting alotta badger to and a small compact rifle is good
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Old February 28, 2013, 06:01 PM   #21
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I have a Marlun M1894C,pre crossbolt safety, that is my recommendation.
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Old February 28, 2013, 06:04 PM   #22
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44Mag 44Special

Used to have a Rossi 1894 in 44 mag. Since I load my own stuff and 44 special is legal for deer where I live (pistol ammo in a long gun) I put together some 44special with the 265 grain FTX flex tip hornady bullets. The 265's are too long to get through the action in a 44mag case. If you want to use 44 mag you have to load up with the 225FTX for clearance.

NEVER LOAD POINTED BULLETS IN TUBULAR MAGAZINES, except the FTX - it is designed soft and won't chain react with the ones in front in your tube.

I loaded them hot for 44 special since this is a 44mag chamber. They have mild recoil and hit very hard being 265 grain. Pretty accurate with iron peep rear site. I can get about 3 inch groups at 100yds. Good enough for close in deer. Boom-SPAT! is the usual sound at the 100 yard range, you can hear them whacking the backstop!!

My old-old hornady handloading manual mentions that you can shoot any 44 mag pistol round in a rifle and gain about 200-300 fps. But never take rifle specific rounds and shoot in the pistols. My old manual has some rifle specific loads that were pretty hot.

So if you go with 44mag you also have the option of 44mag pistol AND 44 special, which is a delight to shoot target and practice. Or just load up a heavy flex tip in 44 special and boom away. If you only buy handgun ammo and don't reload then you can expect that 200-300 fps bonus in your lever gun.
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Old February 28, 2013, 06:15 PM   #23
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Buffalo Bore Ammo

I purchased some .357 Mag by Buffalo Bore. It is 180 Gr. at 1400 FPS. Im my humble opinion that is "Smoking"!
I haven't chrono'd any yet, but other internet postings show a velocity of 1851 FPS.
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Old February 28, 2013, 08:07 PM   #24
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I havea rossi 92 in .357 and it is a good gun for the price. Needed a taller front sight post and that is it.
As fat S .357 not being sufficient for deer sized game that is highly debatable. Buffalo bore ammo or stout hand loads should do well under 100 yds.
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Old March 1, 2013, 12:33 AM   #25
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I also have a Rossi in 357 magnum. great plinking gun.
Couple issues you need to factor in with the 357 mag version.
The Rossi has a 1 in 30 twist rate, While a Marlin for example has a 1 in 16 twist rate.
1 in 16 would be the preferred twist for a gun you intend to hunt with.
My Rossi has real issues with bullets over 158 gr. I intended to take mine deer hunting but can not hit a 12 inch target at 50 yards. Just wont stabilize the heavies.
125 gr loads are a perfect match for this gun. I can shoot the bull out at 100 yards no problem all day long.

Some have said they can get the heavies to fly with their Rossi's. Not me.

If I were to do it again with the intent to shoot 180 gr loads. I would choose a marlin with the 1 in 16 twist.
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