I just bought a Rossi stainless .357/.38 with 20" barrel. It is very accurate and shoots everything, i.e., full-house magnums, and cheap 38 Specials, very well. Wanted a Marlin a while back, but with their QC issues, and no used ones to be had, because as one poster said, those who have them keep them, I went with the Rossi. Have one in 45 Colt and 44 Mag as well. All great shooters. Not as well finished as the Marlins, but good none-the-less.
Thinking of a .38/.357 rifle
- Thread starter 2damnold4this
- Start date
Danny Creasy
New member
shrewd asked:
did you need to drill or have a gunsmith work on your rifle to add that Lyman, Sheffield?
No, the Marlin and Winchester lever guns came drilled and tapped for receiver sights with filler screws in the holes. Not sure if they still do.
I have a Williams 5D on my Winchester 1894 .30-30 and a Williams Fool Proof on my Marlin 39A.
did you need to drill or have a gunsmith work on your rifle to add that Lyman, Sheffield?
No, the Marlin and Winchester lever guns came drilled and tapped for receiver sights with filler screws in the holes. Not sure if they still do.
I have a Williams 5D on my Winchester 1894 .30-30 and a Williams Fool Proof on my Marlin 39A.
Shotgun693
New member
Based on 14 years of CAS I can tell you that the Puma/Rossi is ok but just doesn't stand up to extended use like a Marlin or Uberti. A Cowboy Shooter might well shoot 1000 rounds through a rifle in a year. We are not easy on our guns. We buy what shoots best and lasts.
The fastest sight on a lever action, based on my experience, is the Full Buck Horn, it's like a big peep sight and very easy to pickup. You can use the 'V' at the bottom of the Buck Horn for holding tighter on a shot.
The .45 Colt case used in the old West just had a small rim on it. It would not extract from a rifle chamber after being fired. New .45 Colt cases have a nice rim that works fine.
If you go to a Cowboy Action Shoot someone(s) will let you try their rifle(s).
The fastest sight on a lever action, based on my experience, is the Full Buck Horn, it's like a big peep sight and very easy to pickup. You can use the 'V' at the bottom of the Buck Horn for holding tighter on a shot.
The .45 Colt case used in the old West just had a small rim on it. It would not extract from a rifle chamber after being fired. New .45 Colt cases have a nice rim that works fine.
If you go to a Cowboy Action Shoot someone(s) will let you try their rifle(s).
Danny Creasy
New member
Neat - more information:
http://www.gunblast.com/Ruger-M77-357.htm
I have a bolt action chambered for a pistol cartridge but mine is a .45 ACP:
Fun and I have shot 7/8ths inch five shot groups at 50 yards with handloads using Sierra Matchking bullets.
http://www.gunblast.com/Ruger-M77-357.htm
I have a bolt action chambered for a pistol cartridge but mine is a .45 ACP:
Fun and I have shot 7/8ths inch five shot groups at 50 yards with handloads using Sierra Matchking bullets.
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Shotgun693, what would you estimate the max rounds for the Rossi to be? I don't shoot CAS, just out and about, target and maybe hunting, so I would imagine I would not put more than a couple hundred rounds a year through these guns, if that.
The thing is, they are not THAT much cheaper than a Marlin, maybe a couple hundred bucks, or so. As I stated in an earlier post, I wanted the Marlins, and I'm wondering when it will be safe to buy a new one. My LGS has had several 1894s in in the past year or so, and every one of them had to go back to Marlin before even being sold, for one reason or another.
Thanks
The thing is, they are not THAT much cheaper than a Marlin, maybe a couple hundred bucks, or so. As I stated in an earlier post, I wanted the Marlins, and I'm wondering when it will be safe to buy a new one. My LGS has had several 1894s in in the past year or so, and every one of them had to go back to Marlin before even being sold, for one reason or another.
Thanks
sigshepardo
New member
I've never fired one in .357, but I love the Marlin 1894SS in .44 Mag
RE capacity of the rossi, it's probably 10 .357 or more. I'd go check but my coffee would get cold.
Regarding the ruger bolts, I never could understand the purpose of a .357/.44 bolt. Accuracy isn't an issue at that distance limitation and intended game. The bolt (IMO) is a difficult repeat shot for close in semi dangerous game like hogs. The .357 rifle is a marginal deer/hog gun, and I'd sure want a better follow up. and with the standard 5 round magazine, why did they not go with a tube, just like the .22 lr platforms?
If I could have bought a .357 bolt with a ten round tube for a reasonable price, i'd have snapped it up in a heartbeat, cut the barrel to 18 inches, and had a new favorite casual shooting and hiking rifle. instead, now I have a rossi.
Regarding the ruger bolts, I never could understand the purpose of a .357/.44 bolt. Accuracy isn't an issue at that distance limitation and intended game. The bolt (IMO) is a difficult repeat shot for close in semi dangerous game like hogs. The .357 rifle is a marginal deer/hog gun, and I'd sure want a better follow up. and with the standard 5 round magazine, why did they not go with a tube, just like the .22 lr platforms?
If I could have bought a .357 bolt with a ten round tube for a reasonable price, i'd have snapped it up in a heartbeat, cut the barrel to 18 inches, and had a new favorite casual shooting and hiking rifle. instead, now I have a rossi.
2damnold4this, you are definitely thinking in the right direction... the 357 Lever Action Carbine is a tremendous all around firearm.
I have a Marlin 1894CSS pre-Remington (the Remington made guns have had some quality issues) and recommend it very highly and it's one of the most fun and versatile guns I own. The 1894CSS is the Stainless version of the 1894C. This is a very high quality well made rifle...
You can load it mild to wild, it carries very well in the field, is reliable and can handle light plinking to deer sized game.
Check out 357 ballistics out of an 18" carbine barrel and you will be impressed.
Not sure how it would do on pigs, but with the right bullet and good shot placement it ought to do the job.
Buy one, you won't be sorry...
I have a Marlin 1894CSS pre-Remington (the Remington made guns have had some quality issues) and recommend it very highly and it's one of the most fun and versatile guns I own. The 1894CSS is the Stainless version of the 1894C. This is a very high quality well made rifle...
You can load it mild to wild, it carries very well in the field, is reliable and can handle light plinking to deer sized game.
Check out 357 ballistics out of an 18" carbine barrel and you will be impressed.
Not sure how it would do on pigs, but with the right bullet and good shot placement it ought to do the job.
Buy one, you won't be sorry...
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How exactly are Rossi 92s not holding up? I've owned a couple in .357 magnum and shot some pretty heavy loads through them both without issue, and Rossi chambers their 92s in calibers up to and including .454. I'm not seeing how a thousand rounds a year of mouse fart cowboy loads are breaking guns... are these rifles that people have been tinkering with?
PunchinPaper
New member
The Rossi 92s are great rifles IMO.
They are accurate.
They are available at decent prices & will handle some pretty hot loads.
There made to be used ,not sit an a safe.
That's what I like most about them.
They are accurate.
They are available at decent prices & will handle some pretty hot loads.
There made to be used ,not sit an a safe.
That's what I like most about them.
PunchinPaper
New member
Sheffield, what kind of rifle is your 45acp?
Not trying to hijack the thread here sorry...
I'm just wondering.
Not trying to hijack the thread here sorry...
I'm just wondering.
Danny Creasy
New member
Punchin Paper-Sheffield, what kind of rifle is your 45acp?
I had this put together about 20 years ago. I was inspired by the experimental .45 ACP O3 Springfield that appears in Hatcher's Notebook. The .45 ACP cartridge case is identical to a .30-06, 8 mm, etc. at the base. So, I acquired a BRNO vz24 action, a 25 inch Douglas .45 ACP barrel blank (intended for a smith to make several pistol barrels from), a Choate stock, Burris 2.75X Scout Scope, a Burris scout mount, and sent it all to Broad Creek Rifle Works. He threw in a sweet Timney trigger and turned the bolt handle down.
I had several ideas of how to make it a repeater but ended up enjoying the heck out of it as a single shot. Just slap one of the Sugar Babies down at the rear of the magazine follower, closing the bolt snaps up the round with the controlled feed, then shoulder, aim, and shoot. Bringing the bolt back leaves the fired case sitting loose on the follower to be plucked up for reloading.
I always enjoyed pulling this out at the end of a IDPA or IPSC match and wowing the stragglers while feeding the big ole Mauser from my Dillon pistol ammo bag and making cans dance at 50 to 100 yards.
You have seen Funny Cars. This is a Funny Gun. No real reason to do it. Just cause. Although, I would not hesitate to hunt dear with my 200 grain Speer Hollow Point handloads. Really though, it is at its best as a plinker going to town with bulk cast 230 grain loads.
I had this put together about 20 years ago. I was inspired by the experimental .45 ACP O3 Springfield that appears in Hatcher's Notebook. The .45 ACP cartridge case is identical to a .30-06, 8 mm, etc. at the base. So, I acquired a BRNO vz24 action, a 25 inch Douglas .45 ACP barrel blank (intended for a smith to make several pistol barrels from), a Choate stock, Burris 2.75X Scout Scope, a Burris scout mount, and sent it all to Broad Creek Rifle Works. He threw in a sweet Timney trigger and turned the bolt handle down.
I had several ideas of how to make it a repeater but ended up enjoying the heck out of it as a single shot. Just slap one of the Sugar Babies down at the rear of the magazine follower, closing the bolt snaps up the round with the controlled feed, then shoulder, aim, and shoot. Bringing the bolt back leaves the fired case sitting loose on the follower to be plucked up for reloading.
I always enjoyed pulling this out at the end of a IDPA or IPSC match and wowing the stragglers while feeding the big ole Mauser from my Dillon pistol ammo bag and making cans dance at 50 to 100 yards.
You have seen Funny Cars. This is a Funny Gun. No real reason to do it. Just cause. Although, I would not hesitate to hunt dear with my 200 grain Speer Hollow Point handloads. Really though, it is at its best as a plinker going to town with bulk cast 230 grain loads.
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I have a Marlin 1894c in .357 that works well. With Buffalo Bore cartridges, I get nearly 30-30 level power out of this .357 with 180 gr bullets at about 1900 fps. That is some serious power from a pistol round. That makes it a great woods rifle in almost all of the lower 48, with the exception of the grizzly areas in the western states.
Not all hogs are the same. A .357 carbine with full battle rounds of 296 behind 180 grain solid lead would drop any of the mid sized hogs I have seen. I'm not talking about the big boars that could kill and eat a black bear, but the average crop raiding pig. Unless you are out stalking, using weapons on the light side instead of a cannon doesn't really have any risks. Anything that can put down a 300 pound crackhead can certainly drop a hog. Remember, you're not blasting through heavy hard bones, and tons of hard muscle, you're punching through bacon and lard.
I have a friend that has dropped them with 12 gauge goose loads with a single round. Another uses a .300 whisper. Could a .357 seriously be considered inadequate when a subsonic .30 caliber round with only 40 more grains of bullet weight puts them down like a truckload of bricks was dropped on their skulls?
I have a friend that has dropped them with 12 gauge goose loads with a single round. Another uses a .300 whisper. Could a .357 seriously be considered inadequate when a subsonic .30 caliber round with only 40 more grains of bullet weight puts them down like a truckload of bricks was dropped on their skulls?