Not Just for Cowboys Anymore
The frontier concept of rifle and revolver using the same common ammunition still makes sense and “won’t scare the natives.”
A .357 lever action is manageable by females and youngsters. It has low recoil and is fairly quiet when used with standard velocity lead .38 Special ammo. It is a fun camp gun which works great for small game, feral dogs and groundhogs. When firing .38 Special standard velocity (non +P) lead bullet ammo from a rifle, velocity remains subsonic, producing a mild report little louder than a .22, which has advantages for discreet garden varminting.
Its potential for home defense with .357 ammunition, is nothing to sneeze at.
A .357 levergun with proper ammunition is fully adequate for deer within 100 yards and with peep sights is more accurate on silhouette targets out to 200 yards than your average AK. But leverguns are familiar and nonthreatening in appearance, so they "don't scare the natives" as a "black rifle" often does.
The Marlin lever-gun requires better sights, but you can install these yourself. The most rugged, durable iron sights are the XS ghost ring peep. If cost-conscious you can stop right there and will have a good outfit. But if you have trouble seeing iron sights well, or want to improve your longer range and low light performance, add the XS Lever-Scout rail. This accepts a variety of quick detachable optics, such as a hunting scope or military reflex sight, leaving the peep sights available for backup.
New leverguns also cost less than so-called "black rifles." So use the money you save to buy a Dillon RL500B to load your own ammo! Used .357 lever-guns sell for about 60% in stores of what a similar rifle costs new. Around here Marlin .357 Micrgroove rifles sell for about $100 less than a similar model with Ballard rifling, because people think that "Microgrooves won't shoot lead." In my experience of some 25 years, the 1894C with Microgroove rifling shoots lead bullets just fine, as long as you stick to standard pressure or +P .38 Specials at subsonic velocities.
Microgroove barrels handle jacketed bullet .357 Magnum loads best. The 158-gr. soft-point is what you want to use for deer from the rifle. The 125-grain JHPs are best for personal defense from the revolver, or for varmint use in the rifle. Jacketed bullet .357magnum rounds are expensive. You will actually need and use very few of them, so just buy a several boxes of factory loads for TEOTWAWKI.
Standard velocity .38 Special, 158-grain lead semi-wadcutters are the basic utility load for both rifle and revolver. This is what you want to set up your RL500B to assemble in quantity. Bulk Remington .358 diameter 158-grain semi-wadcutters assembled in .38 Special brass with 3.5 grains of Bullseye approximate the velocity, accuracy and energy of factory standard velocity loads. Velocity is about 750 f.p.s. from a 3 inch revolver, and 950 f.p.s. from an 18 inch carbine. Ordinary lead plinking loads shoot into 4 inches at 100 yards from the Marlin. Jacketed soft-point .357 magnums shave an inch off of that. If you buy powder and primers in bulk, component cost to reload brass that you have saved with the plinking load is about 8 cents per pop. If you cast your own bullets you will save a nickel. Jacketed bullets cost more than a dime each. Buy a few boxes of factory loads and conserve.
“Cowboy assault rifle.” My 1894 Marlin has a Trijicon Reflex II sight Model RX09 with A.R.M.S. #15 Throw Lever Mount fitted into an XS Systems Lever Scout rail. XS mounts are dimensioned to accept Weaver bases. Fitting the military M1915 rail base requires you to determine which cross-slot you will locate your optic onto. You want the optical sight at the balance point of the rifle. After you have located the proper cross slot to position your sight, adjust the slot width and depth with a square Swiss needle file to enable the mounting clamp crossbar to press-fit snugly into it. Retract the thumb clamps and slide the A.R.M.S. mount over the front of the rail. The rear mount clamp tightens against the angled sides of the rail only. You want no “slop” after you have fitted the crossbar slot depth and corners. After fitting, the A.R.M.S. #15 thumb-lever mount offers quick-disconnect with perfect return to zero. I can use the tritium illuminated, no batteries required ever, combat optic or backup ghost ring peeps at will.
I zero 158-grain .357 magnum loads to coincide with the pointed top of the tritium- illuminated chevron at 100 yards. Standard velocity .38s hit "on" at 50 yards. Holding the legs of the chevron tangent to the top of a 12-inch gong at 200 yards I can hit with magnums every time. Placing the chevron across the shoulders of an Army E silhouette I make repeat hits out to at 300 if I do my part.
If I had to “bug out,” carrying only what I could on my back, a lever-gun and .357revolver combo isn’t the world’s worst choice. I don’t plan to fight off the whole world. I just want to protect myself, my supplies and gear, put time, distance and shielding between me and any threat, put meat in the pot and get the job done.
