Need recommendations for a modern 357 Mag Levergun

[KirkD]

Modern leverguns are a little outside my area of knowledge, but my brother-in-law wants to get a reliable, fast-handling levergun in 357 Mag for home defense in a rural area. Don't want any Marlin jams either. What is your recommendation for a currently available levergun in that caliber?

[Little Doc]

kirk d.
marlin jam is a mistuned rifle. it can be fixed if there. i think the marlin would be the best. fewer moving parts, may be easily cleaned from the breach. and made as slick as one could want. my vote goes for the marlin 94. i might add i am a 92 fan but for the question you ask i think the marlin would be best.
ld

[Tycer]

16" Rossi, Nate's DVD, the springs and follower and safety plug from him also.

[zack coyote]

I have had three Rossi carbines, one in .357, and two in .45 Colt for about ten years, and never had a failure of any kind in any of them. One of the .45 Colts is a trapper and it's almost as handy around the house as a handgun would be.

[AJMD429]

A Marlin with Williams FP (aperture removed for 'ghost ring') is hard to beat. As reliable as any gun I've ever had. Mounts even exist to put laser/light stuff on the forend or barrel, depending on the application. For yard-varmints and coyotes, it IS nice to have a laser and light and a red-dot, but for home-defense maybe none of the above. Pumas nice too, but do have more little parts. Need some gunsmithing to get decent aftermarket sights on one, too.

[SmokeEater2]

If the Marlin .357's are as reliable and accurate as my .41 (And I don't see why they wouldn't be) they would have my vote.

[Old Savage]

[txpete]

excuse me but look here.
http://www.marlinowners.com/forums/inde ... 199.0.html

mine wouldn't feed 357 or 38 spl.it took some work all is well now but there is a bunch that are sending their 1894C's back to marlin for repairs and warranty work.for home defence work it has to be right and marlin is dropping the ball hard.after reading pages of problems I couldn't recommend one to anyone for home defence.
pete

[TedH]

I think a slicked up 16" Rossi would be hard to beat.

[txpete]

+1.

[Griff]

16" Rossi, Nate's DVD, the springs and follower and safety plug from him also.

+1

[rjohns94]

have NKJ slick up a rossi 16 inch in .357 for your friend. Mine is a 20" and functions with all loads (180 grain .357 - .38 special wadcutters, NO PROBLEM EVER. I have an a rear peep on mine. I got rid of a Marlin when the NKJ 92 came into my life. Excellent choice.

[Jaguarundi]

I own two Rossi 92 Pumas in 45 colt that I have slicked up.Would highly recommend a NKJ slicked up model.If your friend is well heeled a Browning 92 would be a excellent alternative.The new 1894C's are suffering from QC issues.

[AndyM]

My vote is a 1892 Winchester clone

[KirkD]

Thanks Gents. I looked on the Rossi website but could not find any leverguns. Where can a fellow find a Rossi?

[Nate Kiowa Jones]

I think both the 92 or the 1894 marlin would be a good choice if a 20" blue gun is all that is needed. Both will get the job done. But, if you want it right now that narrows it to the Rossi 92. Finding Marlin 1894 carbines is really hard right now. I haven't seen any new ones available from the distributors for at least the last 18 months or so. I gues it's the rem/marlin buy-out or maybe the marlin XLR's taking up the production line that has plugged the pipeline.

Even with Rossi selling to Taurus, there is a good number of Rossi 92 options available.
Here is a neat combo. A 16" EMF/Rossi and a Ruger Vaq both with my Tu-Tone bead blast finish.

[SmokeEater2]

Mr. Jones You certainly do some masterful work. Those are beautiful guns!

[20cows]

To find Rossi 92's (and now '86's!) look here:

http://www.legacysports.com/products/pu ... 92m86.html

Puma markets the leverguns through Legacy Sports.

[JerryB]

Kirk, you know how I feel about 92's. Jerry has an early Marlin 1894 .357 that is as smooth as silk, if you could find one it would do for your friend.BUT I think a 92 Rossi .357 like I have is the best you can do,mine is an early Interarms import. If you decide on a Rossi I have Nate's DVD that I'll send you, it sure does make for a slick carbine when you get done.Who knows even the likes of you might be tempted, those two girls might think one would make a good canoe rifle for them.

[salvo]

Kurt, I doubt you have Big 5 in Canada, got this one on sale, it was a 20" but I like 16"

[Lefty Dude]

Marlin 94's will not feed SWC's reliably. A 92 Rossi, will feed SWC.
My vote goes to the 92.

[Nate Kiowa Jones]

Marlin 94's will not feed SWC's reliably. A 92 Rossi, will feed SWC.
My vote goes to the 92.

Welllll lefty,
The 92 will more likely feed them better than a marlin but some of the 92's will stutter on them too. A little ramping will usually fix a 92 to feed them but it will also help a marlin too.

[txpete]

last time out with the marlin shooting 173 gr keith swc's in 38 spl +p brass.this is the only swc I have tried that doesn't hang up .

[Leverdude]

JMHO but you cant really go wrong with either, either may or may not be perfect out of the box & if your inclined I believe NKJ will smooth up a Marlin just like he will a Rossi. I like the Marlins better but have a Rossi thats not going anyplace. I just prefer to buy American if I can, since I can, to me its a no brainer if action type doesn't matter, also, of the two, the Marlin, again IMO, is much more user friendly regarding maintenance & trouble shooting. If Winchester or anybody, made a 92 action in the US I wouldn't have the Rossi. But either way you should end up with a good reliable gun.

[DBW]

Thanks Gents. I looked on the Rossi website but could not find any leverguns. Where can a fellow find a Rossi?

I spotted a Rossi up at the Canadian Tire near the mall in Sudbury, Ontario a couple of months ago. Asking price was $600+ CDN.

[txpete]

thats only 50.00 american .
pete

[O.S.O.K.]

Based on my personal experience, I would go with the Marlin CS. Mine is a pip. It was used for many years in CAS by my two boys and it was ultra reliable with 38 specials. It's just as reliable with .357's. In fact, its haging in my closet right now for a go-to if a carbine is deemed necessary.

The Rossi .357 that I had was a good shooter but it wasn't as reliable - it would sometimes flip the cartridge out the top.

Based on the testimony here, if I was to get another Rossi it would got to Nate for a little tuning - then I know it would be reliable.

There were guys in CAS that loved their slicked up Rossi's.

But don't sell the Marlin short - I think its a rare one that has feeding problems and Marlin will fix it if you find one.

[Ysabel Kid]

Properly tuned, either should work really fine. The edge would probably go to the Rossi, but it may all end up depending on what is available up north! Good luck to your friend Kirk!

[nemhed]

Well, as the owner of two 1894 Marlins, one in 357 and one in 44mag I'm going to throw my opinion out here. First, I really like Winchester 94's and 92's. The older ones just reek of nostalgia and romance. I love the feel of these rifles (carbines) and watching rounds cycle through the action. You can't see all that going on in a Marlin action. All that being said, I just can't get excited about Brazilian or European clones of a Winchester 92. My Marlins will both digest SWC's and are getting slicker with use. The Marlin design is extremely simple and easy to work on with fewer parts than the Winchesters. Also Marlins are made right here in the USA and factory support seems to be great, but I haven't needed it and I own four Marlin leverguns. Both my 1894's shoot great and look good. Marlins are also easier to mount a scope on if that is a concern. All things being equal, you just can't beat American made blue steel and walnut. There, I'm done.

[gamekeeper]

I had a Rossi S/S .357 and never had a feed problem with either .357 mag. or 38 spl.
The action could have used a little slicking up but it was reliable.

[Bogie35]

Well, as the owner of two 1894 Marlins, one in 357 and one in 44mag I'm going to throw my opinion out here. First, I really like Winchester 94's and 92's. The older ones just reek of nostalgia and romance. I love the feel of these rifles (carbines) and watching rounds cycle through the action. You can't see all that going on in a Marlin action. All that being said, I just can't get excited about Brazilian or European clones of a Winchester 92. My Marlins will both digest SWC's and are getting slicker with use. The Marlin design is extremely simple and easy to work on with fewer parts than the Winchesters. Also Marlins are made right here in the USA and factory support seems to be great, but I haven't needed it and I own four Marlin leverguns. Both my 1894's shoot great and look good. Marlins are also easier to mount a scope on if that is a concern. All things being equal, you just can't beat American made blue steel and walnut. There, I'm done.

+1

bogie

[KirkD]

Thanks, fellows, for all that input. I'll pass it on to my brother-in-law and let him make the big decision.

[J Miller]

Kirk,

I once had a Marlin 1894CS and it was a great little carbine. With the proper .357 ammo it fed and functioned just fine. Occasionally it would hiccup with SWCs. But those were almost always in .38 cases. With jacketed ammo it fed them like water pours through a funnel.
Had I kept it longer, finances forced me to sell some guns, I would have figured out why it was picky and fixed it.

OK, now I'm gonna pick some nits. The loading gate on the Rossi is so small I almost always tore some skin. Yes guys I know how to load lever guns, but it happened any way. The Marlin has a bigger loading port. I don't have near the trouble with my Marlins as I did with that Rossi.

JMHO

Joe

[KirkD]

I did have a Marlin 1894 in 44 Mag for a few years. I really liked it, but I did have the occasional jam. It wasn't enough to swear me off Marlin's however. If it were now, I'd probably see if there was a fix. However, I have plenty of reliable old Winchesters 50 to 100+ years old, so I don't see myself getting a Marlin or a Rossi/Puma any time in the foreseeable future. My brother-in-law, however, wants a modern reliable levergun that either he or my sister-in-law can use for home defense.

[madman4570]

Check out Gunsamerica they have a rare Browning B92 (357mag)
that is in as new condition/box/booklet etc. for $695

They are usally at least $800-$975 from what I see and are really pretty levers! Everything I have read say they are VERY RUGGED!!

Should be one to gain in value!!!!! I believe they were only made from 1982-1987 in that caliber!!!!!!!!!!

[KirkD]

That Browning 92 is the cream of the crop. I'll let him know about that one. I do know enough about modern leverguns to know that the Browning/Miroku leverguns had an excellent fit and finish. I owned one in an '86 and have also owned a couple Winchester/Miroku leverguns (another '86 and a 92).

[madman4570]

KirkD,

Ya, those brownings are pretty darn nice,it seems like they
just spend more time/or have a better process or somthing. Most all the Brownings that I have seen are really nice.
It least the ones I have seen.I ordered a fairly inexpensive new 12ga Browning BPS upland special a few years ago for turkey
from a buddy of mine that has a FFL (he shoots on our DCM team)
I think I paid $359 it has the 22" barrel with the 3 chokes plus the XFull tube.When that thing came, I could not believe how unbelievable that thing looked,(man it looked to good to take out in the woods)

So I got brave/stupid or whatever and camo taped the thing,I mean
everything. This year I deceided I was going to remove the tape.
Doing this holding my breath and squinting my eyes! Honest to god
that thing looked absolutelly like new, metal and all.I dont think
I will do it again though.I am going to use a Ithaca Mag10 this year.
So anyway one of my buddies liked the finish on that gun so
much he had me(actually my friend) order him a (and let me tell you this gun when it came in blew me away).I think I shot 15 minutes of video on that darn thing.it was a new Browning BLR straight stock in 7MM REM MAG.
I though oh my god that is about the nicest looking thing I ever saw.
The wood/metal was amazing and I thought how would you like that
baby in your saddle bag.Man that thing with heavy loads looking
like a tricked out little saddle gun,in 7MM Rem Mag are you kidding
me?Put it this way I liked THAT GUN so much I asked him to trade
me for my mint Ruger#1 7MM he said later for you pal,no thanks.
Anyway after getting on a tanget about this I will let you go.
Have a good one---take care