357 lever action

I have a Marlin 1894C that would probably be the last gun that I would sell.

If I was going to spend that much I would get a Winchester or maybe a uberti.

I have been satisfied with my 1894c.
We have a few Henry's floating around too. I really like them, but not everyone likes the extreme drop in the stock. If you've never shouldered one, you should try it before you buy it.

Rossi and Puma also put some out over the years. Henry also is making a single shot in .357 now.

I'm very happy with my Marlin. Differences are in quality, safety style, loading method (Henry mostly), weight, and barrel length. I don't like the Marlin safety as I don't think a lever gun should have one but it is pretty well done. Henry did it as it should be (none).

I bought a new Marlin 1894CB for Cowboy Action Shooting earlier this year. I have more than 600 rounds through it and it has functioned flawlessly. It feeds RNFP .38 Special and .357 Magnum without issue. I have done nothing to the action to slick it up. I like this rifle very much.

My Marlin 357 is my favorite gun of all I own. I had a Rossi but sold it years ago. Never had the Henry or even handled one. No matter which one you get you're gonna like it. They are a lot of fun to shoot and play with and make a serious HD weapon.

I only have experience with the Rossi92. It's not going anywhere.
If you like to tinker, there are a few things I did to slick it up, but I liked it out of the box.
It's a wonderful rabbit trail if you primarily shoot at the range.
For your sanity, pick 38s or 357s. Set your sights and leave it.

Pat Riot
Mistakenly, bought a Rossi .357/38 very nice outside but the action need more attention, in other words another 100 bucks between springs, follower, Steve's gun CD and time I should got the Marlin for same money.
Again live and learn.

@Armored farmer, that's a nice Henry but I like the look of the Jeep it's sitting on even better.

I bought a Rossi. Fit and finish were good. It ran fine right out of the box. A kitchen table smooth up job made it slick with a great trigger .

If you are going to shoot .38 Special as well as .357 Magnum, don't get a Henry. Unless something has changed recently, they shorter .38 will not feed and it was printed in the instruction manual not to use .38 Special in the .357 Henry Rifle. I had heard that Henry was going to rework the guns to be .38 friendly but could have been a rumor.
I have owned a Marlin in the past and now have a Rossi. Both are great guns. I would probably give the edge to the Marlin

Shooting 38 Special in a 357 Henry is no problem. Couple thousand 38 thru mine. I reload using several different 158 grain projectiles. Did have a problem feeding 125 grain from ACME. No sweat there.

When Henry makes the 357 with a loading gate I’ll buy another one. Great guns. A real blast to shoot. Made in America. Highly recommend them.

I gave my first year of production Marlin 94C to a son a few years back . I liked .357 quite well but was finiky with blunt .38 specials and a real pain to use wadcutters with that closed breech. My Rossi feeds both well and with the open breech loads wadcutters and seems to single load anything, I'll take a stainless Rossi as they are easy to smooth up without loss of finish and with a few tweaks about as close to a perfect B92 , er, 1892 as you can get.. Yes if you can find a Browning B92 in .357 BUY IT !

Remember the 3 M’s:

Make Mine a Marlin!

Another marlin owner here and I really enjoy it.....If you have issues with 38's just down load 357....still no worry about putting too hot a 38 in an old revolver.

Had a buddy that would upload 38's for his lever gun....and did not own a 357, so he had to keep the rifle and revolver ammo apart. You can guess what happened.

I too have a Marlin 1894. Can't say it's better or worse than any of the others because I haven't tried them but I've never had any problems with my 1894 & recommend it.

A few years ago I spent way more than I should have for an early 80's Marlin 1894c. And I have no regrets, it's a fine rifle.

I have no experience with the Marlin, so just have to trust the opinions of those who own them.

I have owned ‘73s and ‘92s. Both can be sensitive to overall cartridge length. Some light .38 Specials may be a bit short and not feed reliably in a .357 Mag rifle. Most of the time the rifle can be tuned pretty easily to accept the short cases, so it’s not a terrible problem, just something you may want to test at the time of purchase. Neither model likes wadcutters or sharp shouldered bullets. They tend to hang up on the mouth of the chamber. Truncated cone and RNFP bullets feed easily.

If you are planning to shoot mostly full power .357 Magnums I would lean towards the ‘92 — stronger action than the toggle links in the ‘73. If you plan to shoot mostly .38 Specials, make sure the rifle feeds your preferred load smoothly.

My Rossi M92 has been very reliable and feeds both 357's & 38's just fine. I haven't done anything to slick it up. Fit and finish aren't fabulous, but it's been a solid firearm. It's my favorite long gun.

J-Bar said:

I have no experience with the Marlin, so just have to trust the opinions of those who own them.

I have owned ‘73s and ‘92s. Both can be sensitive to overall cartridge length. Some light .38 Specials may be a bit short and not feed reliably in a .357 Mag rifle. Most of the time the rifle can be tuned pretty easily to accept the short cases, so it’s not a terrible problem, just something you may want to test at the time of purchase. Neither model likes wadcutters or sharp shouldered bullets. They tend to hang up on the mouth of the chamber. Truncated cone and RNFP bullets feed easily.

If you are planning to shoot mostly full power .357 Magnums I would lean towards the ‘92 — stronger action than the toggle links in the ‘73. If you plan to shoot mostly .38 Specials, make sure the rifle feeds your preferred load smoothly.

Click to expand...

You do have to be deliberate and smooth when cycling .38's in the Marlin. It'll reliably cycle them just so long as you aren't trying to break any speed records. I've never tried wadcutters or semiwadcutters in mine but I doubt it'd care for those either.

Mycin said:

My Rossi M92 has been very reliable and feeds both 357's & 38's just fine. I haven't done anything to slick it up. Fit and finish aren't fabulous, but it's been a solid firearm. It's my favorite long gun.

Click to expand...

I feel the same way about my 44mag 16" SS R92. It's kind of a mutt, it ain't pretty, but it's a reliable, dependable companion that's done everything I've asked of it.

My first .38-.357 Rossi wouldn’t feed much st all, so I sent it packing years ago. My second one feeds well, especially the rounded profile bullets. My only gripe is the extractor chewed up the rims.

I went to Stevesgunz.com and got the metal magazine follower, safety lever delete and the spring kit. Now it doesn’t hack up my brass anymore.

Stay safe.

Most people will steer you towards the Marlin, and justifiably so, and I'm one of them. Marlin makes a fine rifle. That said, there is a rather large group of shooters who feel that the older "JM" marked levers are by far the best. I can't say that with the same effervescent enthusiasm. I recently bought an 1894C ("JM" marked) and a new production 1894CB made by Remington. Both are .357mag. The fit and finish, smoothness, reliability. and overall quality of the newer one far exceeds the older one. The older ones do command a premium, and many hold out for those.

Keep in mind, my assessment is based on a sample of one each. I owned several Marlins back many years ago and never had any complaints. They have always been a meat and potatoes, working mans rifle. It is quite possible that my older Marlin was built on a Friday, the day after a big party at the plant. Conversely, my 1894CB may have built on a day when they announced an inspection by the big dogs of the Remington company and everybody at the line was on their toes that day. A set of Skinner sights, a decent sling, a few thousand rounds of good ammo, and I'm a happy guy.

There's nothing wrong with the older 1894C at all. Fit, finish, and all the parts and pieces are just fine and the rifle is smooth and accurate. It was very lightly used and not a mark on any screws. Very little wear on the bluing inside and out. It's a great rifle, I've got no complaints. Very happy with it. It's just that there's a noticeable attention to detail of the newer one. It's tight, smooth, nicer wood, and very accurate. Surprisingly so.

I've heard so many times that the "JM" marked were so much better that maybe my assessment is a little skewed. I did have very high expectations. But I'd trade my "Much Better" "Real Marlin" "Built with old world pride" straight across for a junk "Remlin" 1894CB in a hot N.Y. minute. And that includes the upgraded springs, metal follower, Skinner sights, and my own fluff N buff. I'd do it and never look back.

Many here have given you some great advice. Almost any of the rifles recommended can be slicked up and be a great shooter. But, I very strongly recommend the Marlin. Don't let the initial start up issues with Remington scare you off. They are very well made and quite accurate to boot. I fully expect for mine to last the rest of my life and maybe even my great grand children will have as much fun with it as I have.

bassjam said:

You do have to be deliberate and smooth when cycling .38's in the Marlin. It'll reliably cycle them just so long as you aren't trying to break any speed records. I've never tried wadcutters or semiwadcutters in mine but I doubt it'd care for those either.

Click to expand...

My 1894C that I bought in the Spring is amazingly reliable with 38s. I can empty the gun as fast as I can throw the lever. I previously had an 1894CS that was very finicky with 38s and would never have been able to run do smooth.

My new Marlin is just about my favorite gun. I really enjoy every time I shoot it