Lever gun barrel length 357 Mag

[TCLouis]

A friend is going to buy one of the Rossi lever guns.
He can find 45 LONG Colt version, but really wants the gun in 357. Barrel is available in 16", 20, 24 inch length. He asked me what I thought would be best length. I guessed 20" for overall performance though sight radius and velocity is likely to benefit from the extra length of the 24" barrel.

Knowing him and his son, it will see most service as plink and play gun with some deer hunting (TN deer just ain't that big) and some possibility as home defense gun (yes he has others also).


What say ye, since I know a lot of you probably shoot 357 lever guns.

[357shooter]

I like the 20inch round. Partly because the round barrels come predrilled for the Rossi weaver mount, which doesn't fit the octagon barrels. Shoots great, love the gun.

Bought it off of GunsAmerica as several were available for a decent price, and they were in stock. Buying something that isn't in stock is pretty iffy, and guns in particular can be a bad experience.

[Bass Ackward]

It's not just the barrel length. Its also the configuration.

The carbines are lighter and handier.

The rifles are less fussy because the barrels are heavier so they take heat better. They are less position sensitive in bags. You don't have to worry about bands affecting accuracy. So generally, the rifles are more accurate.

And the longer barrel means lower pressure at the muzzle. This is important because of the slow twist rate. So if you want to shoot heavier bullets you can launch them with less tipping that requires twist rate to correct.

So it really amounts to what you want it to do and or what you want out of it.

[crabo]

If he is going to shoot lever action silhouette with it, he should go for the 24"

[fecmech]

For an all around gun the 20" carbine round barrel is it. That would be for plinking, hunting, general recreational shooting. For silhouette, serious offhand and longer range work the 24" octagon would be more appropriate. I have both and if I had to only have 1 it would be the 20" carbine. The 24" octagon is about 1.5 lbs. heavier than the carbine, 7.5lbs. vs 6 lbs.

[garym1a2]

The 20 inch is a good all around rifle. I get really good power with .357, 158 bullets and a good charge of 2400. Plinking is fun also with 38 cases and a small charge of Unique.

A 16 inch stainless is on my list also for its portability.

[Blammer]

I have 24" winchester in 357mag. I like it a lot!

[blackpowder man]

I like my 24" too and it is much more quiet, especially with lighter loads.

[rintinglen]

16" is light and easy to carry--last fall my brother used his to take a nice four point buck. I use mine for silhouette competition and got the 20 inch,though these days I use a 24 inch 44 mag Marlin. I think I would still go with the 20 inch, though, in the.357. It is enough lighter to make a difference when teaching new shooters, especially tounger ones, and is only a little heavier than the 16 incher. What I am surprised at is how much heavier my Browning 53 seems than my Rossi.

[dverna]

Another vote for the 20" barrel.

Don

[excess650]

I don't have a Rossi, but several Marlins. I THOUGHT that I wanted a 24" 1894CB in 357 when they were available, and then I handled one. The 20" octagon ispreferable to the 24" and I'm quite happy with my 18-1/2" round barreled 1894C and 16" 1894CP.

Of the choices listed, I would opt for the 20" as best all around.

[KCSO]

For just bumming around in the woods i like a 16" carbine and for lever gun target shooting i use a 24" barrel but for many years I carried a 20" Rossi carbine with the 20" tubes in the back of the car and it served me well. My wife used it for hunting and cowboy shoots till she got her 32 H and R. I currently carry a 16" John Wayne in 45 Colt and it really doesn't give up much out to 100 yards and is a joy to carry and handy to use in the car. He really just needs to try a few and see what he likes.

[Blackwater]

Any of the barrel lengths would be fine for most shooting, IMHO, but the biggest and maybe (?) most significant difference would be in the muzzle blast. I once had one of those mini Rolling Blocks from Navy Arms and had it rebarreled to .357. It had a 26 5/8" medium wt. tapered barrel, but was still light, but had a nice "hang" out front with that long barrel. Helped my offhand shooting significantly. The muzzle blast from that 26+" bbl. wasn't bad at all, even with 15.5 gr. 2400 and a 158 gr. bullet. That (the muzzle blast) is the main difference I see in the choice of barrel length. FWIW?

[kelbro]

I have a Marlin with the 20" octagon and would not consider selling or trading it. Handy enough and plenty accurate for the range that 357 is capable of.

[nanuk]

I have one of those IMI Timberwolfs in .357.

should have bought one of each.

but now I'm thinking I should sell this and get a NEF in 357Mag reamed to Max!

[lonnydk]

I have a Rossi stainless 16 inch carbine 357. I can't say enough good things about it.

Not for sale!

[lonnydk]

Note.... It is the one in my avaitar.

[GabbyM]

Place a low profile aperture sight on the 16" then you’ve plenty of sight radius.
With a pistol caliber you won’t get much velocity gain with a longer tube.

[Larry Gibson]

The older you get it isn't more velocity or longer sight radius that you want. It's all about moving that front sight farther from your eye. I've still got the M94 20" barreled Carbine I got for my 14th BD and M1 Carbines I dearly loved to shoot with iron and issue sights when I was younger and still had good eyesight. Now a days when I get enogh lens or a small enough apeture in front of my eye to see the front sight clearly the target is gone or I can't see much of nothing through the sights in dim light hunting condidtions. All the "handyness" in he world doesn't mean a thing if you can't focus on the front sight. Both my M94 carbine and M1 Carbine wear optics now (scouts) so I can still use them as do my ARs with optics also.

To the contrary my M94AE with 24" barrel still wears a Lyman 66 and I enjoy shooting it very much. My Rossi .45 Colt M92 also is a 24" version for the same reason, I can see the front sight clearly and the target at the same time. Since I don't hunt or shoot inside a vehicle having a "handy" carbine for that isn't very important. I also learned a lot time ago in the thickest of jungles and during CQB inside buildings that a 24" barrel is just as handy as a 20" barrel if you are using good weaponcraft and tactics.

Many like shorter barrels and that is the rage these days. If you like them that's fine, go ahead and use them. Some of us already went through the short barreled fad and have found that the ability to focus on the front sight is more important than a few inches of barrel length. With other cartridges than the .357 the gain in velocity can also be useful. If you can still focus on a short barrels front sight then go for it. They say youth is wasted on the young but I would have to comment that good eyesight is also wasted on the young:bigsmyl2:

Larry Gibson

[bslim]

I've used a Marlin 1894 Competition with a 20" octagon barrel in 45LC for the past 8 years. My previous 1894 had a 24" barrel, but I didn't find any disadvantage using the 20".

[runfiverun]

the 20" carbine is much easier to carry around for any amount of time.
it also has a flatter butplate.
using a powder like herco cut's the noise down drastically in a levergun.
yet affords good velocities.

the gun they choose should be based on it's intended purpose.
for just shooting at the range and an occasional walk then a 24 octagon will serve nicely.
if it's gonna be carried in one hand all day then the 20 is how i'd go.