.357 levergun

[Chas.]

I continue to hear talk of leverguns in .357, and I don't understand why so many are enamored by them.

I've decided that to understand, I must have one so I'm going to buy one today, at Bud's.

The only decision I'm having trouble with is, should I buy stainless or blued. I've never owned a stainless steel rifle so I wonder, is there any down-side to one, other than cost? What I'm looking at is a Rossi, octagonal and the stainless is $28 more than the blued. Worth it?

[awp101]

Personal preference just like Ford vs Chevy or AK vs AR.

I can tell you that the amount of cash required to separate me from my Marlin would buy you a new one and a fair amount of ammo...

[crs]

Charles -- Why .357 leverguns? They are FUN to shoot.
They are also great for smaller folks, like youngsters and women. I have had one since 1970 and every one in the family enjoys blasting things with it.

Enjoy!

[Booger Bill]

The 92 was blue. I would get blue, case harden octagon barrel short rifle. Thats just my taste. Unless you really need stainless in the field in your climate as a real needed feature, I wouldnt go stainless. It is so wrong as a replica! Howsomever its your money!

[jdad]

Inexpensive to reload, plentiful components, low recoil, and a very effective caliber.

[Old Savage]

Buy the stainless and see what it is all about. Go boldly where you have never gone before.

[Old Ironsights]

I cnsider a .357 Lever to be a WORKING gun, therefore the nostalgia of Blue is immaterial. Stainless is more forgiving of a WORK enviornment.

If it's too bright, get it bead blasted. It then looks like a much older gun that has been worn to "white".

Above is an "in the white" 12ga Howda next to a Matte Stainless Flintlock...

The rest about the overall utility of a .357 Levergun has been done to death... out to 110yds even...

[adirondakjack]

If ya like .357 in a revolver, yer gonna love it out of a lever. The added velocity is an eye-opener, increasing effective range for any use the .357 revolver was appropriate for, and making em positively devastating up close.

[FWiedner]

A .357 levergun is just plain fun, and if you decide to use it for hunting within it's very reasonable limitations, it won't let you down.

One personal observation at this point... Guys with long arms don't seem to prefer pistol caliber leverguns. Something about long arms and it being tiny and feeling like a toy.

So, if'n you're built like an oragutan, I'd advise against your purchase.

[Arminius]

I would recommend you to SS.

It´s a FUN gun, and it´s a working gun!

Get the SS.

Hard and long used it´ll look like bare metal, just as a real oldtimer.

Get the ROSSI 92!

It´s the best there is, get it, while they make them and you are allowed to buy one!

AND -----------------> get it in ROUND barrel configurtaion!

It´s MUCH lighter weight!!

I have exactly such a piece in 20""rd bbl SS .357 without safety.

and I WANT, I want so much it HURTS, an ADDITIONAL:

rd bbl, most probably SS, .357 without safety SIXTEEN " bbl one, TOO!

Eventually with large loop lever ...

Get the .357 92!!

Hermann

P.S.: don´t customize it ( first )!

JUST ( lube and ) SHOOT IT!!

[TedH]

You won't find many guns more versatile than a 357 levergun. Load it with light bullets at low speeds for small game, or crank it up with a nice hardcast 180 gr. bullet and you're nipping on the heels of the 30-30. Mine's just a standard blued 20" round barrel Rossi, but it would be one of the last to go.

[Nate Kiowa Jones]

The beauty of the stainless is two fold. They tend to retain resale value and that's because of the second reason. Unlike blue that wears thin, a stainless gun needs only to be polished back to it original state.

Make no mistake, though, gun stainless will rust. Just not a readily as a blue gun. Gun stainless (usually 416 alloy) rusts because it's not marine grade (usually 316 alloy). Gun stainless has more ferrous metal in it so it can be hardened easier and it doesn't gald the threads under load.

Some folks don't much care for the bright finish in the woods. As OI said, bead blast it.

[Griff]

Blue is good, blue is traditional. Stainless can be VERY bright in direct sunlight.

[Old Savage]

Bright blue can be quite bright in the sun too. No problem seeing the glint at quite a distance here in So Cal. Flat blue is best here for that. Is humidity or water a problem?

[Pete44ru]

[I've decided that to understand, I must have one so I'm going to buy one today, at Bud's.]

I luv a man with a plan !

.

[olyinaz]

I've decided that to understand, I must have one so I'm going to buy one today, at Bud's.

The only decision I'm having trouble with is, should I buy stainless or blued. I've never owned a stainless steel rifle so I wonder, is there any down-side to one, other than cost? What I'm looking at is a Rossi, octagonal and the stainless is $28 more than the blued. Worth it?

An octagonal .357 is much heavier than a round barrel - there's a LOT of metal hanging out there. Just food for thought but I personally did not like the Rossi in octagonal for that reason and am much happier with a round barrel carbine.

Blue is pretty, stainless is practical - take your pick.

Cheers,
Oly

[firefuzz]

If they'd a made a stainless '92 back then the Duke woulda had one. My next '92 will be a stainless 20", in .357 of course.

Rob

[rjohns94]

I chose two tone SS, 20 inch, receiver sight, no safety, large loop, slicked by NKJ. It would be the last rifle to go in my book. If for no other reason than the cans of ammo I have loaded for it. It is fun to shoot, accurate, feeds slicker than oil on glass, does not care what type of ammo I put in it, and is a very capable hunter. good luck with your choice. enjoy.

[GonnePhishin]

Stainless is SEXY

[getitdone1]

I continue to hear talk of leverguns in .357, and I don't understand why so many are enamored by them.

I've decided that to understand, I must have one so I'm going to buy one today, at Bud's.

The only decision I'm having trouble with is, should I buy stainless or blued. I've never owned a stainless steel rifle so I wonder, is there any down-side to one, other than cost? What I'm looking at is a Rossi, octagonal and the stainless is $28 more than the blued. Worth it?

Chas,

Octagon too heavy for my taste.

Why 357 mag in a lever action rifle?

1. Lots of performance with a little cartridge.
2. Light recoil.
3. Lotsa shots!
4. Inexpensive to shoot for a center-fire.

Too late, I guess, but if you want the best in a new gun go for a Browning B92. 8-1200 bucks and hard to find.

Don McCullough

[AJMD429]

Stainless, Blue, Round, or Octagonal - they'll all shoot, and any of them will be plenty of fun.

I took my stainless Marlin and just went over it with some 600-grit or thereabouts sandpaper. It looks fine now.

These pics are from my 'Night Scout' project, but here's the 'before'



...and here's the after sandpapering (the receiver caught the flash angle just right, and still glared, but you can see the difference on the barrel pretty well). While I had the stock off to sand the gun, I sanded it as well, and oil-finished it. The gun took 30 minutes, and the stock maybe 45, plus drying time...



I have one of the Rossi Stainless octagonals, and do like it - it already came with a dull 'matte' kind of finish, at least on the barrel.

This sort of shows the 'matte' nature of the barrel:

[Chas.]

Update:
I now understand. Just took delivery of a 24", octagonal, blue Rossi in .357 today. I took it to the range and put a box of 50 downrange. What a blast. I'm a believer. Because of bad hips, I didn't feel like walking the 100 yds to post/pull targets today, but I could put most of them in a circle the size of a grapefruit at 50 yds without any tinkering and with factory sights. Yehaw!!

[TedH]

See there? We were right.

[Jacko]

Update:
I now understand. Just took delivery of a 24", octagonal, blue Rossi in .357 today. I took it to the range and put a box of 50 downrange. What a blast. I'm a believer. Because of bad hips, I didn't feel like walking the 100 yds to post/pull targets today, but I could put most of them in a circle the size of a grapefruit at 50 yds without any tinkering and with factory sights. Yehaw!!

My .357 Rossi has the 24" barrel also, sure it weighs more - who cares - it just hangs there when shooting offhand and I love the long sight radius. I've found it swings and points beautifully when hunting. It's still light enough to carry through the scrub all day in my view. I have been nothing but impressed with my .357 and the way it performs on game or on target

Lastly fit a Tang sight- best money I ever spent upgrading a rifle. Hope you enjoy your .357 for years to come

regards Jacko

[Panzercat]

Uhg, this thread is killiing me... bastard!
Rossi has .45lc... They have .357... But not my beloved .454!

You tempt me. You sorely tempt me.

[claybob86]

Update:
I now understand. Just took delivery of a 24", octagonal, blue Rossi in .357 today. I took it to the range and put a box of 50 downrange. What a blast. I'm a believer. Because of bad hips, I didn't feel like walking the 100 yds to post/pull targets today, but I could put most of them in a circle the size of a grapefruit at 50 yds without any tinkering and with factory sights. Yehaw!!

Glad ya like it! We knew you would. Looks like something went wrong when you posted the pictures, though. They didn't show up. You DID post pictures, right?

[COSteve]

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