need info on .357 Rifles

joebarbier

I'm looking for the best suggestion for a .357 cal Rifle. I prefer a short barrel. And price is an issue, but manufacturer is not. Any help is appreciated.

Thank you,

JOE

gskyhawk

Marlin makes several different variations of their 1894 in 357mag , the shortest one has a 16 1/2" barrel up to their cowboy version which has a 24" barrel , decent used one start at about $275 and go up to over $500 for new cowboy , Puma also makes a good little rifle in 357, the only rifle I would stay away from is the Winchester and thats because I had 2 of them and both had feeding problems

juju

ROSSI makes one as well as MARLIN, PUMA and I think WINCHESTER used to make one. The Rossi is probably the least expensive and most of the PUMA's have longer barrels. The winchester is probably the most expensive. I had a Marlin and a Rossi and was pleased with both, great shooters and a lot of fun. Only problem I ever had was shooting relaods in the Rossi and MArlin, the OAL had to be EXACT or the rounds wouldnt load into the tube easily or feed properly. The new Possi's can be loaded conventional style (thru the side plate) or the tube can be removed (like a marlin mdl 60 22)and loaded from the end, which is a feature I like. COunt your pennies and see what you want to spend and go get one. Cant go wrong with any of em in my humble opinion. Should be able to find one of these in the 250 to 400 dollar range (new or used). Oh now that I think about it I think NEF makes a single shot .357 rifle for about $170 and there was an older gun, the TIMBERWOLF" I think that was imported a few uears back made by IMI. It was pump action and a excellant gun. They are hard to come by and fairly expensive(usually) about 400 to 600. Only drawback is parts or service, basically non-existant for the Timberwolf. Hope this helps.

JuJu (who no longer shoots .357)

gunnut505

I have a Win. model 94 carbine in 357 that has given me no problems whatsoever, other than not fitting into the ramline stock I got for it. The front sight was off to the right about 17 feet at 50 yds., so I put a pdp2 red dot on it. No problem. Shoots wadcutters well, and I've won several cowboy silhouette shoots with it.
Whatever model you choose; reload only blunt ammo, because there is the possibility of having the primer of the round in front of the next one in the tubular magazine cause a KB with any other shapes.

If you know it all; you must have been listening.WEAR EAR PROTECTION!

longhunter

So um, Just what is the point to having a 357 rifle anyhow.Must say the idea is an interesting one to me...Have heard of em but never actually seen one.

gunnut505

Well, ammo compatibility with your sidearm is one cool thing, increased muzzle velocity is another. You can shoot accurately further with the rifle than most people can with handguns, and you get 3 more rounds (in the carbine). So theoretically, you could shoot a deer at 200 yds. and still coup de gras with your wheelgun when you get there. They're also awesome house guns- 44mag power with almost no flash.

If you know it all; you must have been listening.WEAR EAR PROTECTION!

longhunter

OK so now you really got me thinkin.....Accurate at 200 yds? WOW, I like it,I think.I am stuck on pump guns,would it be like real cost prohibitive to have one changed over?And what would I be looking for cal.wise etc? I do like the idea of same ammo....And for arguments sake(Not that I'd try to start one) my Smith has 7" barrell what is the best I could hope for range wise out of it>With open sites,and assumming lots of practice and some decent expertise with a handgun on my part?

gunnut505

Well I'm no White Feather, but I bought a stainless Security Six back in the seventies with a 6" barrel that I have used with great success shooting centerfire big bore silhouette, the rams at 225 yds. are about the size of a toilet tank(the part you DON'T sit on), and are easy to miss completely if you don't do your part.
I also use a T/C Contender with barrels in .22lr, .22mag, .30M1 Carbine, .32 H&R Mag., .357 Mag., and 30-30 Win., and all of them are 10-inchers.
The Mod94 Carbine I got has an 18" barrel in .357 Mag., and I have no problems at all shooting a 40(perfect score in silo-speak; you hit chickens@50 yds., pigs @ 100, turkeys @ 140-175, and the rams are waaay out there @ 225 yds. If you knock all 5 targets in each first string down and then clean all 5 in the second string, and continue thru all the animals, you will score 40 points @ 1 point/animal), and I do even better in the smallbore or rimfire class with my 9422 in 22mag.
I wouldn't spend the money to change out a pump gun, too many parts have to be tweaked or replaced, and I think the aforementioned Timberwolf is the only recently manufactured slickstick available.
On the other hand, if you're fueling the new economy, maybe a 38-55 or 32-20 could be "modified", but I'm not sure those old guns would take the pressure.
Why not go to the Wanted forum and ask how many folks want to part with their Centennial Mod94 Carbines? (not meeee!)
Depending on the snob appeal your Smith has(on this forum),it could range from a few feet to hundreds of yards![;)]

On second thought, you could get a Contender Carbine, have an accurate, break-down, single shot rifle with whatever sights you want!

If you know it all; you must have been listening.WEAR EAR PROTECTION!

gskyhawk

and the other thing is they are just plain FUNNNNNNNNNNNNNN[:D][:D][:D]