.357 in a lever gun?
 

Hey folks, anyone have a lever action in 357? Keep thinking I should pick one of these up because my pistol is this caliber. Is the rifle version a hunting gun or more of a plinker? What range and what size game is this gun accurate and lethal at? would it be a good scabbard gun to haul around in the woods? Would it deter or take down a bear? Mountain lion? If yes to a self defense gun, would the .38 loads be effective too? What manufacturer do you like for this?

RE: .357 in a lever gun?
 

The 357 in rifle will have a bit more punch than in a revolver simply because of less gas escaping as it would from the cylinder gap. But it would still be on the light side for bear. It would be fine for mtn lion though. Many guys just use the 357 revolver for lions.

RE: .357 in a lever gun?
 

How about deer out to say 100 yards???

RE: .357 in a lever gun?
 

killed my first deer with one... open sights .... never shot it much but i think it could be effective at 100 yards... its a good gun for kids.. its small, light, little recoil.

RE: .357 in a lever gun?
 

A good friend of mine bought one recently in a Puma. Sweet little gun. Functioned fine, but was a little erratic with the handloads he was shooting at the time. Need to see what it likes to eat............

RE: .357 in a lever gun?
 

I wouldn't use it for bear, (I don't know anything about lions) but a lot of people use a .357 in a rifle for deer. Should be good out to about 100 yards. I'd use a good quality bullet, 158 grains minimum, 180 grain would be better. Also, it should be good for small game when loaded with lighter bullets or .38 special ammo.

RE: .357 in a lever gun?
 

Go to marlinowners.com and you will find lots of info regarding Marlinlever action 357's.

I wouldn't use one for bear hunting, but lots of people use it for close-range deer hunting. It all gets back to the same basic thing - shot placement.

RE: .357 in a lever gun?
 

The very first gun I ever went deer hunting with was a lever action .357. I didnt get a deer with it but I still have it. Its still a fun gun to shoot.

RE: .357 in a lever gun?
 

I have the Marlin 1894C 357mag. I installed the ghost ring sights and scout scope base with qwick detach rings from Warne. Have a 2xier scope from Leupold. I shoot Federal American Eagle 158gr. soft point at a chronographed 1835fps. Very acurrate and a pleasure to shoot. Only thing so far shooting at animals is ground squirrel and it does a number on them. Would not be hesitate to shoot a deer within 100yds.

RE: .357 in a lever gun?
 

when fired from a rifle, a 357 has more energy/velocity at 100 yards than it does at the muzzle when fired from a pistol

i would stay away from lead HPs, due to the increase in velocity b/c they may blow up on heavy bone, and use soft points or hard casts instead

double tap ammo's 180gr and 200gr cast bullets will shoot through a deer's shoulders, or lengthwise at 100 yards and leave a big hole. i would not hesitate to use these loads on elk or moose out to 100 yards. they would kill those critters as quickly as an arrow does at 40 yards if you hit the heart/lungs

inside of 150 yards, a 357 kills deer as well as a 30-30. it doesn't have quite the energy/velocity, but punches a bigger hole

A solid copper 125gr JHP at 30 yards, traveling at about 2100 fps on impact, will kill a deer as fast as a 7mag on a broadside shot behind the shoulder and will put down a home intruder as quickly as buckshot

38 specials can be loaded for plinking and small game

357 carbines are excellent home defense & truck games

RE: .357 in a lever gun?
 

How much different would the .44 magnum be in a lever action? Would it significantly increase the killing power or range from the .357? Looking for a cartridge that would be for both the side arm and the scabbard. I knew of a guy back east that bought the .44 magnum in a ruger 10/44 for hunting deer, but don't know how he liked it?

RE: .357 in a lever gun?
 

44Mag and 45LC have much more killing power than a 357Mag. They don't really increase your range all that much, b/c they drop so quickly after about 150-175 yards, but inside of 150 yards, when loaded with heavy cast bullets, they will both kill any game in North America.

Compare the Taylor Knockout Value of a 44 or 45 Cal Slug that weighs 320gr+ and has a velocity of 1650fps to any 30-06 or 7Mag load

formula: bullet diameter * wt in grains * velocity / 7000
ex: 44Mag - (.429 * 320 * 1650) / 7000 = 32.35
45LC - (.452 * 335 * 1600) / 7000 = 34.61
30-06 - (.308 * 150 * 3000) / 7000 = 19.8

Hit something in the chest with a 44 or 45 & you've got a dead critter.

Also, for home protection, load the 44 with 44spcl and the 45 with standard 45LC

RE: .357 in a lever gun?
 

I couldn't afford the .357 leaver gun so I sent in my padna shotgun and had H&R put a .357 barrel on it for $115. Good 50-75 yard deer gun for small & med white tail. Rifle rounds also available for .357 for 18 - 22 inch barrells. H&H will fit .357 and .44 to shotgun receivers but no other calibers. see H&H 1871 sight. All other handgun and riflebarrel exchanges to rifles only. I never shot a deer with a .357 but the math shows it would be good at close range. Heck, cops used it on people for years with great results!

RE: .357 in a lever gun?
 

The Marlin in 357 Magis a good gun. Use the right loads/bullets, and it can do a number on mountain lions and deer (check your local rules and regulations). It works verywell on coyotes. As stated earlier, a 44 Mag will have a lot more energy that the 357 Mag.

RE: .357 in a lever gun?
 

I had one in 44 magnum and it was pretty accurate to about 75 yards, but the groups really opened up at 100. These where with both lead cast bullets and jacketed flat nosed bullets. I did shoot a deer with it at about 50 yards and it was a bang flop. I figured that it would pretty much tear up the exit side of the deer but it was a very clean, no meat wasted kill. I have also had experience with the 357 levergun too, and it was about the same as the 44 for accuracy, but I dont think that I would use it past about 75-100 yards either. You start getting a pretty good arc to your shot past that distance. Either way, use the heaviest bullet that you can shoot accurately with the gun and it should have no problems on deer or cats, but with bear I would use the 44 and not the 357 unless you are pretty close and confident with the gun. I kind of figured that if I am going to use a lever gun, it may as well be the 30-30 since it does everything that the pistol rounds do but better and at a greater distance.

RE: .357 in a lever gun?
 

tuk101...I'm with you on the 30-30 concept ( I'm a .35 remington guy already). But with see through sights and a scope on this lever gun, I can't bang it around as much as with a lever gunand open sights. Just was looking for "another" gun to keep in the gun boot as I atv around the back woods in case of predator problems. Figured with my .357 wheel gun it would beeasier keeping cartidges the same.