357 avalibility like 22 ammo

[Jr.]

So I've been looking for the past few days for a 357 lever rifle to use as my plinking/small hunting rifle and no one has anything available except the Rossi 92 I am not a big fan of the Rossi and do not wish to purchase one but my question is why is it that lever rifles would be out of stock and not the AR rifles it seems to me that no one is interested in cowboy actions anymore. Everyone wants more rounds down range faster.

Its just a little frustrating was hoping an explanation would calm me down.[smilie=b:

[starmac]

If a guy doesn't want a rossi, you may have to wait. There are not a lot of makers making 357 levers right now.

[Jr.]

That's what I was affraid of.....

Has the quality of Rossi improved end in recent years? The ones I've shot in the past had sloppy actions and were fairly inaccurate.

[enoch59]

If you can live with feeding ammo through a tube and a couple of extra pounds more than a Marlin/Rossi then give a Henry a chance. Really, a nice rifle with a design very much like that of a Marlin.

[dragon813gt]

They were scare before the ammo shortage so it's nothing new. Remington hasn't produced any 1894Cs for at least a year now. And there where a lot of bad ones made after the New Haven plant closed. If you're willing to pay you can pick up a JM stamped Marlin fairly easily. Same w/ a Miroku made Winchester. If you want cheap there is only one option, Rossi. I gladly paid more for a Marlin. It was made by Remington but it is a good one.

[jlucke69]

I am a lever guy myself and find that there are not enough choices for them anymore. I did buy a new stainless Rossi last fall. It shoots OK for me. Fit and finish are not nearly the same as my Winchesters and Marlins, but it is a great truck gun as I do not have to worry about abusing it. Don't discount the Henrys either. Good luck on the lever hunt.

[snaketail]

Jr.- I bought a Stainless Rossi 92 about two years ago. The workmanship is good - not sloppy as before - I use mine for Cowboy Lever Action Silhouette (accuracy is fine). The only issue I have is the wood is a bit soft - I put several coats of Tru Oil on in and it got better. At first the action was stiff, but the more I shot it the better it became.
I put a Gunslinger spring kit in it last month - but may have to modify it...the trigger is awfully light...needs more testing to see if it is what I want.
And, they were hard to find two years ago too.
M

[Bullshop Junior]

I have a Rossi/Puma in 454 and my brother has one in 44 mag. They will put up to a lot of abuse. Mine shoots very well.

[fecmech]

The Rossi's are both loved and hated. I have two Braztech (Taurus) Rossi .357's and they haven't given me a moments trouble. I changed the springs in the action and they are both very smooth and have nice 2 lb. triggers. Both are very accurate and I use them a lot. The carbine has over 10K thru it and the rifle maybe 5K. These IMO are the best value in leverguns, mine were $430 ea. The Henry is a really nice quality rifle, the only downside is weight as it's about 8 lbs. A friend has one and it is very accurate and trouble free with nice wood. If you don't mind the weight that may be a place to look.

[Jr.]

Yeah I looked at the Henrys I was originally hoping to get my hands on a Marlin as I have a 336 in 30-30 I absolutely love the action but it seems that 45-70 and 30-30 are all that's available In centerfire. I guess I'll have to keep watching and see if anything comes available. Sad to see the production fall off. I have always loved cowboy actions.

[plainsman456]

My brother in law has a Rossi in 357.
It has a 24 in. barrel and looks nice,shoots even better.

I load for him and it has accounted for a coyote at 80 yards running.
It made a mess out of it and did go all the way through.
I might get 1 in the future.

[Beesdad]

Purchased a Rossi 92 last week.... Action was good right of the box... Great trigger .. Fit and finish was good.

Cycled 38's with no problems and I was able to hit a 9 inch steel plate at 60 yards with no adjustment. Next purchase will 44 mag. or 45lc. Great guns for the $......

[clownbear69]

Make sure extensively look them over before you get it. With all the problems I have dealt with I do not trust the BrazTech. Might have an awesome warranty but no point if your gonna have to send it back anways

[trapper9260]

I got one need to do some testing of sight it in for the ammo and also work the reloads and cast loads.I got a 44mag of a marlin from someone i know and it shoots with the same ammo I shoot out of my Redhawk I want to do the same with my blackhawk and the rossi

[typz2slo]

Been looking for a 44 myself. Not too sure about a Henry because Im not too crazy about the loading thru a tubular magazine. I may break down and get a Rossi if i can find one local.

[pirkfan]

I've got both a Rossi and a Henry in 38/357, I like both of them. Rossi is light and nimble and it's workmanship is pretty good. The only things I've done to it are replace the semi-buckhorn with a skinner barrel mounted peep and put in a stainless magazine spring and follower. It's a 16 inch round barrel carbine, so is very light. Both rifles handle both calibers just fine in semi-wadcutter loads. The Henry is much heavier, and seems to be the more accurate of the two with identical ammunition, but I suspect that a good part of that is the heavier barrel makes for a better hold....the accuracy differences are probably on me. As for tubular loading versus magazine port, I think it's kind of a wash...you can probably actually load the Henry a bit faster since you just drop the cartridges in. I could even foresee some sort of a speed loader for it, a brass tube with a cap....you can buy extra magazine tube inserts from Henry, if you removed the spring and follower and fashioned a cap for it, that would be an easy one to make. Workmanship on the Henry is spectacular and the customer service is great.

[searcher4851]

I think your basic assumption that no one is interested in "cowboy actions" anymore is incorrect. If that were the case, there would be leverguns all over the place. Since they are a bit hard to come by at times, it would seem that lots of people are buying them. Come to think of it, if they weren't buying them, Henry would be out of business. Cowboy action shooting is growing every year. That consumes a lot of leverguns. I own Rossi's, Winchesters, and a Marlin, in various calibers. I like them all. My next purchase will probably be another Rossi, to extend the depth of calibers there. They're good little levers, at a price point that makes owning more than one or two quite doable. JMHO

[osteodoc08]

Supply and Demand. Supply has been slow and demand very high.

If I needed a new one and couldnt find a marlin, I'd order one through Davidsons that way if there was ever an issue, they have an unconditional guarantee through them.

[enoch59]

I got one need to do some testing of sight it in for the ammo and also work the reloads and cast loads.I got a 44mag of a marlin from someone i know and it shoots with the same ammo I shoot out of my Redhawk I want to do the same with my blackhawk and the rossi
trapper9260, I have had both 357 lever and pistol setup as well as 44 mag lever and pistol combo and I have reloaded for both for years and tested thousands of rounds for accuracy out of each. I roll my own and have come up with some great loads for both which I would be more than happy to share with you or others if you like. I hunt now with a GP100 in 357 as my only pistol and with either a Henry in 357 or with a Marlin in 444.

[enoch59]

Yeah I looked at the Henrys I was originally hoping to get my hands on a Marlin as I have a 336 in 30-30 I absolutely love the action but it seems that 45-70 and 30-30 are all that's available In centerfire. I guess I'll have to keep watching and see if anything comes available. Sad to see the production fall off. I have always loved cowboy actions.
Jr., the action of the Henry and the Marlin (1894) is exactly the same with but a few exceptions as far as I can tell. The Henry has a transfer bar that rides alongside the hammer and the Henry's locking bolt has an internal spring. That's it. All other things are the same. I've had them both stripped many times and that's all I find. The Henry is made better but the Henry also weighs 8.68 lbs . I'm 6'6" and I have some weight behind me so hunting with the Henry is not nearly as bad for me as it might be to some others. If you can't find a Marlin ( I waited for almost three years for a Marlin to show up in 357 with no luck) then you should be able to get a Henry. I must admit though that all of the guys chiming in on the Rossi's have me itch'n to get one in stainless.

[GRUMPA]

I don't know if it's me or what.....but it seems for some odd reason levers that can use pistol ammo are getting real hard to find. It's like I'm seeing that utilitarian or multi-purpose type situation is frowned on.

[Jr.]

I don't know if it's me or what.....but it seems for some odd reason levers that can use pistol ammo are getting real hard to find. It's like I'm seeing that utilitarian or multi-purpose type situation is frowned on.

This is kind of my mode of thinking as well. A lot of people around here have them but no one will part with them.

[hickstick_10]

357 components are rare as hens teeth here, let alone the rifles. Found some of the old standbye magnum powders but not alot. Tons of the oddball 38 (short/long colt/smith) cases, but no specials and no magnums.

Bought 300 used 357 shells yesterday, and they were the first I've seen in 2 years anywhere. Its a good thing the brass lasts so long or I would have had to give up shooting the thing long ago.

[Jr.]

Lucky for me I live out in the toolies and not a whole lot of people reload I picked up a couple dozen casings the other day that couldn't have been there long I went out two days in a row. A lot of brass to be collected in the hills where people go to shoot.

[pirkfan]

If you watch Starline brass's websight, occasionally .357 mag brass will go from not available/no backorder to backorder OK. Get your backorder in and you can get new .357 brass in 500 round lots.

I think the reason pistol caliber components (and maybe pistol caliber lever guns) are hard to come by is due to the shortage of 22 rimfire. You can reload 38 special with cast boolits for about the price of 22lr if you can find components. Unlike 22lr, the brass is reusable, so you're not shooting up your stash and unable to replace it.

I just went to a Cabela's "doorbuster" sale this morning, because they advertised 1000 packs of Winchester 22lr (for around 4 cents a round, what I'd consider not even a great price). OMG, there was a huge line stretching across the parking lot when I got there at opening time (8 am). They were giving number tickets to folks in line, no ticket, no ammo. Just nuts!!! And of course they have no reloading powder of any flavor (except black powder and substitutes).Fortunately I was just there for a great deal on a marine battery.


357 components are rare as hens teeth here, let alone the rifles. Found some of the old standbye magnum powders but not alot. Tons of the oddball 38 (short/long colt/smith) cases, but no specials and no magnums.

Bought 300 used 357 shells yesterday, and they were the first I've seen in 2 years anywhere. Its a good thing the brass lasts so long or I would have had to give up shooting the thing long ago.

[fecmech]

Buds guns has Rossi .357's in stock http://www.budsgunshop.com/catalog/advanced_search_result.php?keywords=rossi+92&osCsid=qqvajqr5nq7uqomoe07t2d73p5&x=18&y=8