357 lever action vs 44 mag lever action
- Thread starter City Boy
- Start date
I went a different route. I love levers and have used a .22 since I was 6 years old. I also love Sharps rifles and when I finally found a 45-70 I thought I had hit the jackpot. I had been using a 300 Mag bolt action for big game hunting and wanted a short range quick action lever for brush hunting and thought 45-70 and since I exclusively reload all my ammo I was cognitive of one fact. What if I grabbed the wrong ammo for a Marlin strength 45-70 reload and put it in my sharps 45-70 rifle at the range? I really didn't want to proof test a 150 year old gun (i.e.50% more power than designed for). So I decided to go the 444 Marlin route for that basic fact and love it, I can use the same bullets that a 44 mag uses and it does what I want for hunting plus I cant mix up the ammo. Can't see it happening but I eliminated the chance of it occurring.
I bought a .357/.38 spl lever for a few reasons.
1. I would never use a 44 Mag for hunting unless it is all I had at the time.
2. The cost of reloading a .38 for the grandkids is extremely cheap since I make my own bullets.
3. A short barrel 16" .357 doesn't attract any evil connotations from non gun people. It looks like a cowboy gun, and doesn't set off red flags. (hope I explained that right)
4. They are really fun to plink with.
My 2 cents
I bought a .357/.38 spl lever for a few reasons.
1. I would never use a 44 Mag for hunting unless it is all I had at the time.
2. The cost of reloading a .38 for the grandkids is extremely cheap since I make my own bullets.
3. A short barrel 16" .357 doesn't attract any evil connotations from non gun people. It looks like a cowboy gun, and doesn't set off red flags. (hope I explained that right)
4. They are really fun to plink with.
My 2 cents
I have a sbl in .44 and love it,now that being said I bought it because I already have revolvers in that chambering and thousands of casings. If you just want to plink .357/38 will be a little easier on the wallet but depending where you live you may not be able to hunt with it. Here in Saskatchewan someone decided recently that .357 wasn't acceptable to hunt with.
Diehard .357 man here. 15 years, 60,000 rounds, 5 deer, one bear, hundreds of rabbits, squirrel, coyote. My Rossi has been my gun of choice for most of everything for a long time. I just bought a new Marlin Dark series in .357 to take some of the load off the Rossi. I no longer hunt moose or elk, and .357 will make deer every bit as dead as anything bigger will. I am also a .44mag owner, and a .45 Colt owner, also a 30-30. I enjoy all, but the .357 does everything they would be normally tasked with, and it’s cheaper to load and shoot. I am a lever gun fan, and also had a .45/70 which I sold. It’s expensive to shoot, expensive to load, the recoil isn’t enjoyable to an old guy like me. I don’t hunt elk or moose anymore, Grizzly are off the table, and there just isn’t anything else big enough in North America other than buffalo, and they really aren’t on the table to any extent either. Out of a carbine, a .357 round is a whole different critter than from a pistol; it’s serious medicine. I’ll keep shooting it
I have 2 Marlin 357 JM Cowboys, 1 Marlin 44 Mag JM Cowboy, and 2 Miroku/Winchester 1892's in 44 mag.
IMO 357 is really nice if one wanted one for plinking, hunting lighter animals up to deer with the right load or 2-legged threats.
Anything bigger that could pose a threat on 4 legs with fur and teeth I'd much rather one of my .44 mags.
When I shoot a steel target with my 357 it puts a beating on it (158 gr) but when I shoot the same target with my 44 mag (240 gr) it shakes the hell out of it and usually knocks it straight down and needs to be reset (crown land setup).
IMO 357 is really nice if one wanted one for plinking, hunting lighter animals up to deer with the right load or 2-legged threats.
Anything bigger that could pose a threat on 4 legs with fur and teeth I'd much rather one of my .44 mags.
When I shoot a steel target with my 357 it puts a beating on it (158 gr) but when I shoot the same target with my 44 mag (240 gr) it shakes the hell out of it and usually knocks it straight down and needs to be reset (crown land setup).
I don't have either .357 mag or .44 mag lever but I do have 2 .45 colts and a
.454 casull and the 454 is mainly a woods gun and a very capable one. The 45 Colts are my cowboy action guns, a 1873 and a 1892, and they are a capable of handling a variety of loads.
Here is the .454
And the 73 spitting fire
.454 casull and the 454 is mainly a woods gun and a very capable one. The 45 Colts are my cowboy action guns, a 1873 and a 1892, and they are a capable of handling a variety of loads.
Here is the .454
And the 73 spitting fire
Falconflyer
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
44 mag, 240 grain cast bullets at 1100 fps for easy on the shoulder plinking and 300 grain XTP's at 1450 fps for when you want something more powerful.
