.357 Magnum Lever Gun (Henry vs Marlin)

Winchester.

Rossi.

Does the Henry have the ability to load from the side? Is that important to you?

https://www.gunbroker.com/All/search?Keywords=Winchester 1892 .357 Mag.
there are plenty. 1873 and 1892 plus there are very good Italian copies.

I've got nothing but good things to say about henry, i can't say the same of some other makers.

Winchester absolutely makes a 357 model 92. The Rossi’s are also very good for the money.

Between the Henry and marlin, I’ll take the marlin. But overall I like the 1892

The new Marlin. Hands down. I have the old JM Marlin 1894C and the new 1894CB. So a good side by side comparison. Very familiar with the Rossi and the Henry.

New Marlin, without blinking. Everybody raves about the older JM Marlins, I'd swap mine in a New York minute for another Marlin 1894CB. I even have a true Winchester 1894 in 357 I'd trade for that 1894CB.

The Winchester and the JM Marlin are both darn fine carbines, nothing wrong with either. I just dearly love my laser beam like 1894CB.

I prefer a 92 action, be it of American, Japanese or Brazilian manufacture.

My personal carbine is a 16" SS 44mag Rossi, but a nicely blued longer barreled 357mag with a tang sight would be a welcome addition for plinking fun.

Edited to add: for the 357 with regards to hunting distances, with a 180gr hardcast pushed pretty hard I'd say you're good to go for probably a little over 100yards for deer, a little less for hogs and black bear.

Anything smaller than whitetail, as long as you can hit it you should be fine.

Since you asked about ONLY TWO RIFLES; I'll address only two rifles and not waste your time on flights of fancy.
That color case hardened Henry is a treat for the eyes and Henry rifles are a damn fine deal for the price. My problem would be that were *all things being equal* (which they're not) I'd still lean to the Marlin for the side loading and its lack of potential issue with the sliding mag-tube and the mag-tube pin and notch.

I have several tube-load firearms and like them enough but if I could wave a magic wand to make them sid-load, I certainly would.

Too, does the .357 have a Micro-Groove barrel? I LOVE those and again, in the few cases of *all things being equal*, my Micro-Grooves have out shot the competition.

I also believe - though could be wrong, that the Marlin bolt is easier to remove for full through&through cleaning.

Cross-bolt safety. On mine, I feel it is easier and more likely to move from safe to fire silently and safely than to draw the hammer - even with trigger tension applied - in the case of short range prey.


Todd.

Put a small o-ring on the marlin safety to prevent it from being pushed.

troy fairweather said:

Put a small o-ring on the marlin safety to prevent it from being pushed.

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What Troy said ^^^
Actually, I install 2 small ones from my Harbor Freight o-ring Kit.

Now, as for Marlin 1894 vs Henry. I cannot comment on the Henry lever guns, but I have a Marlin 1894 CB that I bought last winter and I have a few hundred rounds through it and it is reliable and it feeds RNFP .357 as well as .38 Special with no issues at all. I have even alternated loads between.357 & .38 loading one and then the other to fill the mag then fire.

I also own a Winchester 94 Trails End and I owned a Rossi 92 in .45 Colt. I sold the Rossi. It would not stand up to CAS competitions without me having to play with it to keep it working. I will never give up my Winchester 94 but it is purely for sentimental reasons (and it’s the most accurate lever gun I have ever owned). The Marlin 1894CB is superior in regards to feeding snd operation out of these three.
Sorry I can’t help regarding the Henry.

Whichever fits you and your use is the way to go. I have the Henry and it’s a hit with the kids. For my use side load isn’t an issue as hunting generally entails 2 rounds; one chambered and a second because you always reload, even when you know it’s dead. Having a tube full is absolutely fine but it’s not like a shotgun in quail season and I’m not doing any cowboy shooting.

I am of the opinion that neither Henry nor Marlin makes an heirloom quality rifle but either one is robust enough to be passed down in the family. No real facts here, only my thoughts on the matter.

I have a Henry .357with an octagonal barrel, and I love it. Beautiful, smooth action, and extremely accurate, but it is a bit on the heavy side. Weighing in at 8 1/2 lbs (unloaded) it would be a beast to carry long distances through the brush. The advertised Marlin weight is just over 6 lbs which would make a big difference in carry ease. When you add the convenience of the side gate, in my opinion at least, the Marlin wins. Now, that being said, you’re not likely to burn through more than the 10 round capacity of the Henry on a hunting trip.

In my opinion (and with that plus a buck-fifty you can buy a Coke) the Henry is an excellent rifle, but for hunting, I would have to vote Marlin.

Here is an article for the Marlin safety replacement from the link to leverguns I sent you.

https://www.leverguns.com/articles/taylor/crossbolt_safety.htm

And here is a page full of videos and places to buy the safety replacement plug or convert to a saddle ring.

https://www.google.com/search?sourc...hUKEwjgvtfFkpDmAhVBnKwKHa5vCGMQ4dUDCAg&uact=5

Since someone mentioned the Rossi I will tell my experience with the one I owned. I had one of the early ones pre safety imported by Interarms. Mine shot jacketed bullets very well and would shoot 2-3" groups at 100 yards with open sights. But no matter what I tried it would not shoot lead bullets without them tumbling. By 30 yards they were starting to tip. Another person an another forum said the same thing about their Rossi and the the rifling looked really shallow in the bore. Maybe mine was too. Plus at the time according to the Interarms guy I talked to all Rossi used a 1/30 twist. The Marlin uses a 1/16 twist.

As soon as I got my Marlin 357 with Ballard rifling the Rossi was sold and I have never wanted another. YMMV

Ratshooter said:

Since someone mentioned the Rossi I will tell my experience with the one I owned. I had one of the early ones pre safety imported by Interarms. Mine shot jacketed bullets very well and would shoot 2-3" groups at 100 yards with open sights. But no matter what I tried it would not shoot lead bullets without them tumbling. By 30 yards they were starting to tip. Another person an another forum said the same thing about their Rossi and the the rifling looked really shallow in the bore. Maybe mine was too. Plus at the time according to the Interarms guy I talked to all Rossi used a 1/30 twist. The Marlin uses a 1/18 twist.

As soon as I got my Marlin 357 with Ballard rifling the Rossi was sold and I have never wanted another. YMMV

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The new ones are still 1/30 twist. But mine shoots cat very well.
If I didn't get a Rossi, it would be the Marlin.

Henry catalogs at 6.6 lbs (carbine) with 16 1/2” barrel. 7 lbs for the 20”, nowhere near 8 1/2.

I just got a chance to shoot a marlin and henry. Both nice, both well made. The Henry was far smoother, and my Marlin is not clunky, but the henry was effortless. My marlin really likes 357 round nose at max or close to max oal, but will feed shorter, and stranger bullets with the standard Marlin double clutch. I think my marlin is prettier, much glossyer bluing, more character to the wood, nicer lines, nicer pointing, and more natural feeling. But its also a JM, and I cant speak for the newer models. But shooting .38 wadcutters without a hiccup in the Henry was nice too. Did not shoot the henry for accuracy, just gongs, but the JM Marlin will do 1/4 at 25 yards (the only time I ever really checked what it could do), and does beer cans at 75 just fine too. I absolutely hate the tube loader on the Henry, but if it had a side gate I would probably have ordered one that day. FWIW, I was offered 4X what I paid for my 1894c a few times, and have never considered it. I do thing the henry quality reflects its price, and if Remlin has it figured out, A new 1894c would also be worth what they're asking, assuming it near as close to the quality of the JM, which many say they once again are.

Skylerbone said:

Henry catalogs at 6.6 lbs (carbine) with 16 1/2” barrel. 7 lbs for the 20”, nowhere near 8 1/2.

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Well, all I can say is that my rifle has a 20” barrel, and weighs 8 lb 7 ounces.

If interested I just weighted the 94c, its a 16" round barrel, comes in at 6lb, 7oz, but being compact, and thin, it feels less.