I'd like a lever gun, but need help deciding which one!

[nvbirdman]

I bought a stainless Rossi 357 about a year ago and have had no problems with it. It is somewhat sensitive to boolit design and cartridge length, but that is because of the design of the M92 action and these problems are easily worked out.

[Mk42gunner]

A week ago last Saturday I bought a 20" blued Rossi in .45 Colt. I haven't gotten it to the range yet, maybe tomorrow, but the action is already slicker than my Marlin 1894CB. I like the way the Rossi handles, so I am waiting to see how it shoots before I change anything.

I'm not that wild about the buckhorn sight or the safety on top of the bolt. I also don't care for the saddle ring or the way it is mounted, I don't plan to carry it hanging from a saddle horn or a cavalry sling and it already has detachable sling studs on the gun.

Robert

[TXGunNut]

Responses all over the map, any conclusions, OP? It hard to beat Rossi's 92 but it sounds like the Uberti 1873's may be a good buy on your side of the pond. I know the 92's can be (and should be) tuned and suspect the same is true of the Uberti 1873's. Of the choices you mentioned I've had good experiences with all but the Henry and that's only because I don't have one....yet.
In other words, when it comes to the lever guns you mentioned there are no bad choices. Some may be better for you than others, finding that levergun is half the fun. Shooting it is the other half. Pride of ownership is another half....yep, it really is that good. It's a 150% experience. Buy one, have fun!

[njc110381]

I've just read through the replies that have come in since my last post. Thanks for taking the time to put your opinions forward. I'm very grateful.

I visited my local firearms dealer earlier today. After a look on their website it turns out that they had a fairly good range in stock. A used Marlin 336 20" .30-30, a blued Rossi 67 20" .357, a brass actioned Uberti 66 19" .44-40, a Chiappa 1892 Trapper 16" .357 and a Uberti 1873 sporting 24" octagonal .357 with CH action. They had some .44's and a couple of Henry rifles as well, but I've pretty much decided that I don't like the loading method of the Henry and to go with .357 just because of the price of ammo (I've bought dies and ordered a 6 cavity 158gr mould!)

After I'd spent some time with all of them I decided that the Uberti was going to be my choice of gun. I'd gone into it thinking I wanted a Rossi, but after handling them all the Uberti fitted me better and felt very nicely made. It's a lot more money but I think it will be worth the extra.

Now I'm stuck between the 24" or 20", and octagonal barrel or round? I'm thinking that the 24" octagonal was just a little bit to front heavy. Not terrible but I think that the 20" will handle better. I'm not very tall so big guns are a bit slow for me. I did like the octagonal barrel though. It looks nice.

Now all I need to do is apply to the police to add a .357 to my list of firearms I'm allowed to have. That will take about three months!

Edit... I had always wanted a .30-30, but it seems that most of the rifles in that calibre hold far fewer rounds. As our club competition is to shoot six gongs as fast as you can, having a six shot mag writes off your chances of winning completely if you miss just once. My .45-70 can't compete at 4+1!

[knifemaker]

I have a Rossi 92 in 357 and love the gun. Very accurate and reliable with both 38 and 357 ammo. That Uberti you picked will also be a very good rifle. My Rossi has the 20 inch octagonal barrel and has superb balance. I also found the 24 inch octagonal barrel too muzzle heavy and I think you will be happier with the 20" octagonal barrel. If that 6 banger mold you bought is a Lee round nose flat point design, you should have great feeding of that bullet in your rifle.

[TXGunNut]

Sounds good, lots of tempting choices there so hard to go wrong. Good call on the cartridge as well; easy to feed and fun to shoot. I'll bet that 45-70 really smacked those gongs, lol.

[Mk42gunner]

I haven't had an 1873, but I have had lever actions with barrels ranging from 16" to 24". An octagonal barrel wins in the looks department, but is usually heavier than the round option.

A 24" octagon is good for shooting and holding a lot of extra ammo. They are not quite boat anchors to move, but they aren't lively either.

A 20" round barreled carbine is pretty close to the best all around, and I would bet that close to 3/4 of the center fire lever actions made since the beginning are 20" round barrels.

16" barrels are quite lively when shooting multiple targets; but they do come with reduced mag capacity, and a full sized buttstock can throw them out of balance.

I haven't owned any of the Marlins that had IIRC 18½" barrels, but the few I handled seemed okay.

Seems to me the 1873 is a fairly heavy rifle, and with the .357 you won't be dealing with really heavy recoil so if I were you I would get a 20" barrel. I do like the looks of the short rifle version better than the saddle ring carbines, but I'm not at all sure what is available to you.

Good luck with whatever you decide,

Robert

[M-Tecs]

The speed kings in SASS shooting prefer the Winchester 1873. Of the guns I own the 73 is the fastest, next is the Marlin 38 Special Cowboy and third is the Browning 92 in 357. I don't own a Rossi but some friends have them and they really like them.

[35 Whelen]

I have a Rossi .357, a Uberti 1866, a Uberti 1873 and two original Winchester 1873's (1886 and 1890 production).

The Rossi is lighter and handier, but the more complicated mechanically. The '66 and '73's are simple, rugged, can be run fast and due to their straight feeding seem to have fewer feeding issues.
I think you made a good choice.

35W

[Wayne Smith]

As long as you pay attention to cartridge OAL the 66/73's will feed, as well. Get too short and have room for two cartridges in the lifter - not good. Get to long and the lifter won't lift, you have to take the side plate off and partially disassemble the action to get it out. Not really a problem, but embarassing!

[njc110381]

Sounds good, lots of tempting choices there so hard to go wrong. Good call on the cartridge as well; easy to feed and fun to shoot. I'll bet that 45-70 really smacked those gongs, lol.

It smacked the gong alright... It snapped the re-bar that I'd made the stand out of and sent the gong flying down range! All that with a modest cast load, so I hate to think what a stout load with a jacketed bullet would have done to it?!

As for the OAL of the rounds, thanks for the heads up. I'll make sure I get them right and then crimp them.

[Crash_Corrigan]

I have a Marlin CB 336 in 38-55 and I love it. It is accurate and reliable out to 125 yds with handloaded CB'd at this point. I am working out better loads for longer distance shooting with a longer tang site. It is a great looking and handling weapon and a joy to shoot as the 38-55 is a low recoil round at mid range loadings. I expect more recoil if I were to load up for hunting purposes. However the only hunting I will be doing is for coyotes here in the desert and a light and fast round is what I want for that as obtaining a deer tag in this state is a long shot at best and I really do not want hunt Bambi. I would rather call in Wiley E. Coyote and give him a big surprise.

[njc110381]

You'll be wanting a .243 then?... one of the best calibres I've ever used for fox here, which are a bit like small coyotes.

[KCcactus]

Both my Rossi 92's are 20" round barrels. It makes for a nice handy rifle. 38/357 is a good flexible choice. Light load 38s are fun plinkers. Full bore 357 mag does well for deer at reasonable ranges. Or load anywhere in between. I haven't had a chance to try an 1873 clone. They look nice, but they're a little outside my toy budget.

[njc110381]

Here in the UK the .357 doesn't quite have the energy to shoot the larger deer legally. Only muntjac and chinese water deer, which are very small. I would have needed .44 to stand a chance of that, and even they only just make it. We need 1700ft-lbs and a minimum calibre of .240

I'm now on the search for cheap primers and powder that will do the job. I only need to launch them fast enough to ring a gong at 50 yards

[1Papalote]

I haven't shot my Marlin 44 in 20 years. I haven't shot my Marlin 357 in 20 days. Get the 357!!

1Papalote

[shoot-n-lead]

In my experience, the 38/357 are too narrow for the feed ramp of the R92 - or the feed ramp is too broad. Either way, the problem is it has more frequent failures to feed with 38/357 than with 45. It may be less of a problem with 44 Mag.

Sorry, but you are obviously talking about something that you have little knowledge of.

The Rossi's handle .357 fine.

[TXGunNut]

Sorry, but you are obviously talking about something that you have little knowledge of.

The Rossi's handle .357 fine.

My R92 handles .357's well, .38's even better. Must admit I was a bit surprised with all the negative reports I read. I suspect this gun has been worked over a bit but it could be well broken in or built a bit better than most. I suspect the executor of my estate will have to find a new home for a well-used fun little R92 someday...hopefully a long time from now.

[35 Whelen]

I have Rossi '92 that the wife and I used for CAS. .38's have to be loaded long or it flips them out. Aggravating!

35W

[BwBrown]

I like my three Browning BLR's:
Shot a bear last September with the 450 Marlin.
Carried the .257 Roberts a couple days looking for a buck.
The.308 is as handy as it gets.