bigrich wrote:hey fellas, thinking about a new plinker/hunting lever gun . i've got a few ideas already, but i'd like some opinions and views. i'm thinking about a 44 mag 20" barrel. thinking 44 as it's got a bit more punch . 357/38 is cheap to shoot i know. i will be reloading. while i really like the idea of a '92 miroku or a winchester, after talking to my local gun shop i'm interested in the rossi lever guns. i looked at a stainless hex barreled 357, and i really liked it. the standard iron sights looked a better thing than the ones i had on a '94 30-30 i used to own. can anyone give me feedback on rossi's ( or opinions on other brands ) and whether or not 357 or 44 mag was a usefull round for pigs . thanks in advance
bladeracer wrote:bigrich wrote:hey fellas, thinking about a new plinker/hunting lever gun . i've got a few ideas already, but i'd like some opinions and views. i'm thinking about a 44 mag 20" barrel. thinking 44 as it's got a bit more punch . 357/38 is cheap to shoot i know. i will be reloading. while i really like the idea of a '92 miroku or a winchester, after talking to my local gun shop i'm interested in the rossi lever guns. i looked at a stainless hex barreled 357, and i really liked it. the standard iron sights looked a better thing than the ones i had on a '94 30-30 i used to own. can anyone give me feedback on rossi's ( or opinions on other brands ) and whether or not 357 or 44 mag was a usefull round for pigs . thanks in advance
I have .44Mag Marlin and .38 Special Uberti, for pig hunting I'd take the .44Mag. I shoot a subsonic 200gn JSP in the .38 Special with good accuracy, but the .44 Magnum hits damned hard, even with relaxed loads.
I also like the Rossi levers but haven't bought them yet.
bigrich wrote:thanks for the reply blade. primarily i'll probably channel my inner john wayne, and blast away at paper at 50 yards. but 44 mag will give me more of a grin than 357 i reckon. is there much difference in reloading cost between 357 and 44 in your opinion ?
bladeracer wrote:bigrich wrote:thanks for the reply blade. primarily i'll probably channel my inner john wayne, and blast away at paper at 50 yards. but 44 mag will give me more of a grin than 357 i reckon. is there much difference in reloading cost between 357 and 44 in your opinion ?
Steel silhouettes really show how hard the .44 hits
Bit more powder, and heavier bullets generally cost more. I can't really say if the difference is significant enough to matter.
Berry's copper-plated bullets shoot very well for me in both rifles, but cast lead shoots pretty nicely in the .38. Getting cast to work in the Marlin is a nightmare due to the rifling.
The Berry's I'm using were about $38/250 for the .38 and $58/200 for the .44 - about 15c and 24c apiece.
bigpete wrote:Rossi 92 44 mag for the win. Absolutely love mine
bigrich wrote:yeh i wasn't keen on a marlin because the rifling isn't real good for lead apparently. what's case life like on 357 and 44 ?
Wm.Traynor wrote:My Rossi was a piece of junk. So is my Mossberg. May doG have mercy on your eternal soul for thinking about lever guns
Good Luck mate
bigrich wrote:you fellas are a terrible influence . i'm starting to get all hot and bothered for a rossi 44. i have heard of feed issues with pistol cartridges in some lever guns . mainly due to the wrong shape of projectile. anyone got any experience in this
bigrich wrote:bigpete wrote:Rossi 92 44 mag for the win. Absolutely love mine
was yours blued or stainless BP ?
in2anity wrote:There are 1894cs floating around that remlin did a short run of recently - they have Ballard (I think). There’s one at Magnum for around $1300 new. Marlins and Winnie’s are really worth the extra dollars if you can scrape it together - id strongly recommend that over the replicas.
bladeracer wrote:I don't think it's cut rifling then, mine is a C model I think.
bladeracer wrote:bigrich wrote:you fellas are a terrible influence . i'm starting to get all hot and bothered for a rossi 44. i have heard of feed issues with pistol cartridges in some lever guns . mainly due to the wrong shape of projectile. anyone got any experience in this
I have tried a lot of different bullet weights and shapes in the .38 and the .44 with zero feed issues, not full wadcutters though as yet.
The Marlin will occasionally drop a round off the lifter into the action but it clears easily.
The Uberti old-school design requires disassembling the action if it fails to extract a case or round from the chamber, and you don't notice before cycling it. The action requires the bolt to go through the lifter into battery before the lifter can drop. If you cycle a round while there is a case in the chamber you end up with a live round in the lifter so you can't close the bolt. You need to remove the toggles and lifter arm to be able to pull the bolt rearward allowing the lifter to drop out.
in2anity wrote:There are 357 1894cs floating around that remlin did a short run of recently - they have ballard (I think). There’s one at Magnum for around $1300 new. Marlins and Winnie’s are really worth the extra dollars if you can scrape it together - id strongly recommend them over the replicas. For plinking the 357 is better (and cheaper obviously).
bigrich wrote:i've heard the rifling isn't any deeper in the ballard than the micro groove but. any truth in this, or is the ballard cut deeper how are these marlins for accuracy ?
Blr243 wrote:I used a 357 Rossi on pigs for a while. No scope. It was so thin and light it was like carrying nothing Never found it lacking close range
in2anity wrote:bladeracer wrote:I don't think it's cut rifling then, mine is a C model I think.
Yes I could be wrong I’m not 100%, but I could also be right. this is the model I’m talking about https://shootersdelight.com.au/product/ ... ion-rifle/ read about the barrel
bigrich wrote:doesn't sound like a uberti is for me blade, they sound like a PITA to work on. that's one advantage the marlins have. very easy to work on
in2anity wrote:Ballard:
Microgroove:
See how the print is different - and the second one is 30/30 so by definition it should be more accurate