.357mag lever gun question

D

dbala

Regular
Rating - 100%
15   0   0
Location
Montreal
Thinking about getting a lever gun for backcountry plinking & small game - saw Marlin & Puma both have various calibers - a few questions for you gunnutz...

1) a rifle chambered for .357M (or .44 etc) uses the same bullets as a handgun chambered for the same caliber correct?
2) would this be a good caliber? (.357M ammo seems reasonably cheap for plinking - and if I decide to get a .357 revolver I could use the same ammo for both - I think...)

Lastly - I saw Marlin lever guns for sale on Wholesale sports, and I think Norinco makes some (though I am not sure what calibers are available) - who sells Puma in Canada?

Or should I just stick with the Marlin? Budgeting around $500 so that I could get a revolver as well.

Cheers,
D
 
I think it would do a fine job on small game at a close distance and would be a real fun plinker. Yes, it would use the same ammunition as a pistol. Hopefully the gun can accept 38spl as well. You could reload 38 sp for very cheap and have fun shooting cans, squirrels, rabbits, etc. With a lead round nose or wadcutter you could shoot small game and not do too much damage. Always wanted one myself. A 44 magnum would be more versatile though, and do double duty on deer at close range. Handloads would be cheap,and cover a large range of loads and purposes.
 
I have to say that I am a big supporter of the .357 cartridge have taken many bambi, yogi and pesky critters. I have a few rifles in this calibre (Marlin,Puma and a SA Timber wolf) I pack the Marlin once a week at least and it has performed flawlessly for me. It would make a great companion gun for whatever model handgun you buy.Wolverine has a good deal on ammo I bought a couple cases golden sabre HP cheap!!! good stuff.

Pete......:ar15:
 
I have Marlin levers in .357 and .44Mag...
Love 'em both...neither will feed their lower power counterparts...38Special/44special very well...
I either 'download' .357Mag/.44Mag or use the 'real deal'...the downloaded stuff is great for plinking...full power loads when you need to 'git 'er done!'!
 
Sounds good - I think that .357 will work well for me (both for the rifle & the pistol - reasonable recoil & cost - especially for plinking & all day shooting)

What model Marlin do you recommend?

I saw the 1894C (18.5" barrel) on Wholesale's site for $539.00
Are there any other Marlin models that are chambered for .357?
And who distributes Puma in Canada?

Or are there other brands I should look at?

D
 
OK - found Puma at Elwood epps - heres what I have so far - all chambered for .357M:

ROT - 1:30
Puma M92 - 20" oct bbl, blued, walnut : $706.80
Puma M92carbine - 20" or 16" blued : $574.80
Puma M92carbine - 20" or 16" SS : $622.80

ROT 1:16
Marlin 1894C - 18.5"bbl, Blued, walnut : $518.99
This seems to be the only Marlin chambered for .357M

Is there a particular bbl length I should get?
SS vs blued?
what about the different twist rates (16 vs 30)?
and what is a tang sight vs a peep or aperture sight (I would want to put some type of peep/ring sight on it)

and finally - Marlin vs Puma? A bit of research on Puma has shown some feeding issues re: the extractor, but nothing terrible so far. The Marlin is a bit cheaper, but I have no idea about the brand's quality (All I have is a Rem 700 in .223 and it's pretty good - can I expect the same from Puma/Marlin?) - probably can't really go wrong with either....

Thanks for your help guys!
D
 
Last edited:
If you are shootin stainless in the bright sun you may have reflections from the barrel that make the front sight hard to see. The 357 levergun is a great choice stainless or blued. I believe that Frontier taxidermy, a sponser of this site has the Puma's available. I like the 20inch barrel but others like the 16inch go with whatever fits you best.
 
Marlins are generally very good quality, at least the 5 I have are all great guns and quite accurate. My Puma '92 is also a good looking gun, it's accurate and functions well. I don't, however, fire tons and tons of rounds out of it like a cowboy action shooter would. I think that is were most of the reliability issues come from. Most are fairly simple fixes though.
 
There is another model of Marlin that is Chamberd in .357. I believe they call it their 'cowboy' model. It comes with a slightly nicer finish and wood, as well as an octogonal barrel. The price, however, would put a squeeze on you getting a revolver afterwards
 
Yup - I saw that one after - its nice, but the price is getting a bit up there - I really want to be able to get a decent revolver as well.

I just ordered the Marlin 1894C - I'll let you guys know how it is when it gets here!

Thanks!
D
 
the .357mag is sweet in a rifle, I got a 16" win trapper in .357mag,use .38 spl alot for cheep plinking,er I mean target shooting,yeah,thats it target shooting.Noticeable differance in recoil between .357mag and .38spls,not that its bad with the .357mag,but with .38s it like shooting .22s

The shorter barrels are more handy to carry or pack,the longer barreled ones will hold more ready ammo and give you a longer sight raduis.
 
That's what I figure - 38spl for "target" practice (lets be honest - it's for shootin' stuff - I use my Rem 700VLSS in .223 for target practice) :)

I noticed that the 38spl rounds are a good $.20 cheaper than .357M - I'll play around with both at the range though

One question - is there a peep or aperture sight I can get for this model rifle? Something I can install myself (the receiver is drilled & tapped)

Cheers guys!
 
A bit of looking around has turned up williams peeps, but for this model it states that it requires "hammer extension"

XS also makes ghost ring sights that look like a direct bolt on for thismodel- this seems like a pretty good option -

any recommendations?
 
You should be very happy with your Marlin. I have the same model but it is an older one without the crossbolt safety. You may find that it doesn't like to feed .38 Spl semi-wadcutters though. In my rifle a couple per mag load will hang up on the chamber edge requiring the lever to "rattled" a bit to sort things out. I have since switched to cast round nose flat point (cowboy bullets) and they feed great. I have been putting a couple thousand rounds a year through this gun for the past 6 years without a breakdown.

Just a word of caution about .38 spl lead bullets. Make sure you clean your chamber well before shooting .357 out of it.

I have 2 tang sites, not on the Marlin however. I have a Pedersoli sight on a Win 94, it is decent and is both windage and elevation adjustable. And I have a Lyman on my Puma which is not windage adjustable, you adjust the windage with your front sight. The Lyman in my opinion is higher quality and finish but lacks the convenience of being windage adjustable. Both of these sights can be used like a ghost ring if you unscrew the aperture disc and sight through the hole. I do the majority of my shooting in this manner, the only time I use the disc's is if I shooting from a rest during load developement.
 
Last edited:
Great info- thanks!

I'll be careful with the 38spl & clean out the gun properly before switching to .357....

This is my plinking rifle - so I think the ghost ring sight will probably work quite well -

D
 
38sp not feeding in a marlin???

38sp not feeding in a marlin???
Why?

Mine works fine with RN bullets.
Set up a 10" gong at 100 metes.
Shoot offhand. Ping, Ping, Ping...

The 300 short mag, 100 meter paper puncher, gotta site in the deer rifle,
guys will come around for a look. Cause it's more fun than a 300 short mag.

:cool:
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom