.357 or .44 Mag Lever

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Leavenworth

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I thought I started a thread on this but can’t see to find it .We have a .357 Mag and a .44 Mag in out handgun inventory .

Would it be a good idea to have a lever action in one of those cartridges ?

#1. If I can only choose one of the above which one ?

#2 . What make of lever action ?

#3. What length of barrel ?

Thank You !
Leavenworth
 
I shoot .44 mag but .357 is cheaper. 16” barrel. I think both chamberings have been kind of scarce as far as lever guns go. Is this purely a plinker or putting in work on some property? Both are great cartridges but I’d rather have .44 in a hunting scenario.
 
For plinking a 38/357 is a good choice. For hunting/predator control, probably a 44sp/44mag would be better. I have both, but the 38/357 gets more use, mostly because the 44 is a Chiappa with absolutely terrible finishing in the rifling. I have to use copper jacket or else it will lead up something awful.

In the 38, I use both 38sp and 357 brass, usually with 158 gr RN LEE cast. Once it warms up a bit, I'm going to powder coat a few and try them out.
 
I have both in levers and revolver ( and a semi .357 Coonan)
For plinking and paper punching the .357 is my choice.
I don’t hunt with the .44 mag, but between the two, it will be my choice for hunting.

I did not get good luck in cycling 38 special and .44 spl over a full magazine in my guns. I use reduced load in the full length case, they work perfectly then.
 
I just got a Henry 44 mag. Beautiful rifle but I can't find ammo locally. Had I got the same rifle in 357mag/38spl, not only could I have been shooting it already but I could have had my choice of a few different types of ammo. Might not be a concern to you but it's definitely something to think about if you live even somewhat remotely. I've checked every gun store/Canadian tire/home hardware etc in a 100 mile radius and no luck for me. Gonna have to wait until I go down south or someone local takes pity on me and let's me have a bit of their stash.
 
Thanks for the replies so far fellas ,it’s always appreciated with all the questions I ask on GunNutz !
From the replies Om now thinking I need both , YIKES ! Wonder if the 44 Magnum would be good for bear defence you know for that certain situation . Having said that I would think the 47.70 is best in that case but I don’t want to buy every cartridge available and as mentioned I have the .357 mag and the .44 mag in revolvers .
I also have a 12 gauge shorty so that really has the bear defence covered .
Leavenworth
 
Dorian Gray said:
I just got a Henry 44 mag. Beautiful rifle but I can't find ammo locally. Had I got the same rifle in 357mag/38spl, not only could I have been shooting it already but I could have had my choice of a few different types of ammo. Might not be a concern to you but it's definitely something to think about if you live even somewhat remotely. I've checked every gun store/Canadian tire/home hardware etc in a 100 mile radius and no luck for me. Gonna have to wait until I go down south or someone local takes pity on me and let's me have a bit of their stash.
Click to expand...

A site sponsor was just blowing out a bunch of 44mag ammo, can’t recall who but it was on the dealers page today under ammo clearance or something similar. Been a few years since I’ve bought any but the prices seemed pretty good
 
Leavenworth said:
Thanks for the replies so far fellas ,it’s always appreciated with all the questions I ask on GunNutz !
From the replies Om now thinking I need both , YIKES ! Wonder if the 44 Magnum would be good for bear defence you know for that certain situation . Having said that I would think the 47.70 is best in that case but I don’t want to buy every cartridge available and as mentioned I have the .357 mag and the .44 mag in revolvers .
I also have a 12 gauge shorty so that really has the bear defence covered .
Leavenworth
Click to expand...

There is a bear defence report circulating the internet that looked at dozens of actual bear defence shootings. The majority of cases used a 9mm pistol. Not one of the people who used a 9mm handgun in an actual bear encounter was injured. Not one.

Will a 9mm kill a bear quickly? Nope. But the measure of a successful defence is not the death of the bear but to dissuade the bear from attacking in the first place and a 9mm handgun seems to be able to do that pretty reliably.

Would I intentionally choose a 9mm over something more powerful if I had both available? No, probably not. However if all I had was a 9mm, that would be the thing to take. Thus a 357 Mag should be just fine for bear defence.

Before you jump into a lightweight, 45-70, maybe try one first. It is a big cartridge in a pretty lightweight rifle, which means it kicks like a b@stard.
 
Can’t seem to find the sale . Anyone able to help ?
Thank You !
Leavenworth
RRH.01 said:
A site sponsor was just blowing out a bunch of 44mag ammo, can’t recall who but it was on the dealers page today under ammo clearance or something similar. Been a few years since I’ve bought any but the prices seemed pretty good
Click to expand...
 
some of the cowboy crowd like 45 colt, but if you don't have the hg , there is no point and they are hard to find .
Sales? good luck with that .
 
I’m a big fan of caliber crossover between guns, having pistols and long guns that share ammo is a great idea as far as I’m concerned. Personally I’d go 44mag, but there’s nothing wrong with .357.

There’s a reason why cowboy’s had pistols and rifles in the same caliber, just makes it easy to only have one cartridge to carry on their belt.
 
Is it a lever you need, or just want? Ruger has both in the M77 configuration, stainless, and there are a few out there. Both have 4 round mags.

As for hunting, yea the 44 mag will be the better. Plinking the 357 cheaper. I ended up getting the new ruger, and selling a lever. Now I kinda miss the lever action, but getting into the single shots. Might have to add back a lever in the future to fill that "need".

If you reload, the 45LC can be loaded up heavier and better than the 44 mag. Plus they are more readily available in the levers. Henry or winchester would be the ones I would be after. There are a few different models of the henry's, x model, brass, case hardened to choose from for the look.
 
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I prefer 357 mag. Easy to find ammo and has got enough power to use for protection imo. Shooting 38 special is amazing to plink around with. My chiappa mares leg is one of my favourites!
 
I like both, I have shot both. The only reason I would likely own a 357 over a 44mag is the ability to shoot 38special. but thats just me, both cailbers are good and both will kill a deer at the right distance with proper shot placement.
 
I have guns for both calibers. (Actually, I shoot 4 calibers if you include .38spl and .44spl.) For plinking, the .357mag/.38spl is more enjoyable. The .44mag brass certainly doesn’t have the lifespan of the others.

And if you hand load, there’s really nothing easier to load then straight walled cases. (And fun.) The components are pretty available to load for each caliber. In fact I pick up once fired cases for .38spl, .357mag, and .44mag almost every range trip. I can’t remember the last time I had to buy brass for those calibers.

If you really get into the levers, there’s also Cowboy Action shooting to consider for some extra fun.

My barrel length of choice is 20”. (Although, I have a 24” Rossi in .44mag.) The 20” just feels better to me then anything shorter. And as far as which brand…? You’ll get as many answers as there are brands. There’s lots of choice these days. Do your research. If you can, actually pick one up and see how it feels for you. I currently have five levers and shoot five different calibers with them.
 
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