puma 92 lever action 45lc,44mag,357mag

What cal makes most sense? C.A.S. plus some hunting

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twistedbrilliance

twistedbrilliance

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So I am in the market for a lever action now. I really like the Puma 92 but am unsure of what caliber to go for. I was originally thinking 45 long colt but as I am looking for ammo it seems few and far between, So then I figured I'd go for the 44 magnum, but I cannot find one near me and my CP is very unreliable here so I don't really want to do mail order (plus I'm impatient) I can find 357 magnum plus its cheap and I believe I can also use 38. special but I hear since they are shorter than the 357mag they hang up in the cylinder magazine (next round catches on follower??). But my predicament then is I would like to be able to do some minor hunting with it & don't think a 357 mag will suit that need. Am I wrong? (I also like the 20" barrel the 45 has over the 24" in 357. Not that, that is a deciding factor).
Please any tips and info from people who have experience will be greatly appreciated

PS I don't currently reload but would like to start soon. I also like that if I get a 45 long colt then I will certainly have to get a colt peacemaker replica.
 
I shot 45 rounds of full house out of a 16" 44mag today. Not recommended in a t-shirt lol, I was yelping a bit on the last few. First time I've shot it, so no hunting/downloading for CAS experience to relay. However, it's a very fun rifle and I'm sure if I'd been wearing a coat or sweater I wouldn't be complaining now.
 
if your looking at the 45 colt , get the 454 casull .

use the colt rounds for cheap fun , and the casull rounds for hunting .

they also built the rifles " heavier " when chambered for the casull , to resist the heavier recoil .

the casull round is a very high pressure one , so if a person is inclined to load hot 45 colt rounds it should be more than safe in a rifle chambered for 454 .......

the same can't be said for many firearms chambered in just 45 colt.
 
Have a 45 Colt like the idea of the Puma in 454.

Not to high jack this thread but has anyone had dealings with Chaparral Lever actions ?

Have a 44 mag and it also handles 44 special. best of both worlds.
 
I see alot of people have suggested the 357 magnum. Would it actually be useful for some hunting too though. I was having my doubts. I will have to do some looking into the 454 casull. not sure I have seen it yet. Also where's a good spot for 45 ammo?
 
I noticed you can get 357 levolution (or something like that) which has plastic tips so they have better aerodynamics and offer better flight without the worries of primer detonation while in the cylinder mag. hmmm. Still not sure how well it would hunt though has anyone ever used it for coyotes or anything ?? Maybe a dear?
Still leaning to the 45 or 44 magnum I think but it would be nice if the 357 worked well as its quite a bit cheaper and easier to find ammo.
I cant find 454 CASULL ammo online so I'm not sure any local spots might have it??
 
I have the Puma '92 in .454 casull, 16in.bbl in stainless.
One of my favorite guns. .454 packs a wollup and the .45 colt is relatively cheap and easy to load for with the option of black powder for the BOOM!! flame and smoke factor!
 
I had a Rossi big loop 38/357 on order, but it never came in. Hope to get one on the next order. Mine is just for fun shooting from the hip, that's why I chose this cal/combo.
 
I went with the 38 Spl./357 Magnum

.... Guess it really depends on one's intend use. .... I've the 357 Magnum with the longer Octagonal barrel. It was bought with the intention of being able to use both the 38 Special and 357 Magnum, solely for "plinking at the Range". Both Cartridges are possibly the easiest of all rounds to reload, and both work well with Cast Bullets, thus being affordable to "feed"...... I dare say, the rifle and caliber COULD be used for Hunting, but there are better performing ( More suitable Calibers ) in lever actioned rifles available, with the 30-30 for one, springing first to mind. ...... For me, the next step, is going to be better sights on the Puma, a decent Peep ( Aperture sight ) sight being high on the priorities list ! ...... David K :)
 
I've been looking around for a Puma 16" in 44mag for a while now, but it seems that no one sells them anymore. That sucks.
 
92

Depends on where/what you hunt?

The 357 with the right loads performs very well on deer especially with 158 or 180gr sp or hp bullets. You can use factory full house mag loads or handload some very efficient loads.
I have shot several deer with a 357 lever and they all fell 1 shot cleanly. I actually believe the 357 properly loaded is superior to the 3030 as it tends to not overpenetrate as the 3030 usually does on average size deer.

Obviously 44mag and 45 colt are more than effective for anything short of moose and even plenty effective there if they are hot loaded hard cast and delivered on target within range.

Prety much comes down to how flexible you want/need the rifle to be and if you handload.
If you don't handload then 357 or 44mag factory loads are available and effective as well as so are 38 spec or light 357 lead loads. More so for 357.
357 also being the cheapest to shoot by far.

45 colt is hard to find commercially and not offered in as wide a variety but it sure has a wide array of possibilities for fun and hunting if you're a creative handloader and like mentioned already can be played with blackpowder for ####s and giggles too. That big ass bore is just plain cool too! lol

Of course you can also ease your decision by having a 45,44m,357m,3030 and 4570 in 94/92/336 configurations and not stress over it!! lol....works for me.
 
92

Forgot to also mention how much fun sizzlin' 110gr hp's are for Ghog blasting with a 357 lever rifle. The lil 110gr hp's ahead of a silly stiff charge in the 16in lever makes for very kewl close range hog shooting!

Coyotes don't like 'em much either.
 
terez said:
I have shot several deer with a 357 lever and they all fell 1 shot cleanly. I actually believe the 357 properly loaded is superior to the 3030 as it tends to not overpenetrate as the 3030 usually does on average size deer.
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Click to expand...

Can you explain "overpenetration" with regards to hunting?

To the OP, one thing to keep in mind if you go with the 45colt, most factory ammo leaves much to be desired as a hunting round. If you go this route, it may be time to get the reloading going also.
 
A puma 92 isn't a gun i'd ever consider putting a scope on, so your looking at hunting within 100 yards or so. At that range the .357 is perfect for any medium sized game. From gophers and chucks to coyotes and medium sized deer it has the velocity and energy to kill efficiently. Though if you find a good sized buck in your sights you'd want a very precise shot.
 
I lived in very rural (edge of the forest) Idaho for a while. I carried a Puma '92 in .357 as a woods gun on a regular basis. I never had feed or extraction problems. I did take the extra step of getting some 200 gr. bullets and handloading them (don't remember the powder charge) for protection against bigger and stronger animals. Shot it a fair amount to make sure I could hit what I aimed at (about 75 yds. max), but never used it for hunting. Very light and handy. I think mine had a very short barrel. I liked that gun quite a bit.
 
I'm planning a trip into Ellwood Epps this weekend as I will be up at the cottage which is only about half hour away. There site shows 2 357mags and a 45 long colt. So I'm thinking maybe the 357 mag as I am not able to afford buying reloading equipment quite yet. I really wish they had the 44 mag as its kinda the middle option. But looking at the varying bullet styles for the 357mag/ 38special, it seems a smart choice untill I can reload for a 45 colt. The 357 are a 24" octagon bbl. I like the octagon bbl but 24" seems kinda long to me. But I guess till I hold it, its hard to tell how well it balances out. I guess the longer bbl might give a better shot, hmmm decisions decisions. No matter what I choose I'm sure I will be happy. When I can afford reloading too, it will be awesome to get into a little blackpowder fun.
 
I voted .357 Mag....

I've had a Browning B92 before & currently have a Win '94 AE trapper in it.

Very nice little carbines, although the B92 didn't like .38 Specials if you short stroked the lever but otherwise was okay. The Win 94 AE feeds both equally well.

2007-10-27_091302_1aCoffee.gif

NAA.
 
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