seriously considering a lever gun, could use some opinions.

[Strtspdlx]

I'm definitely going to get one. Right now its a matter of time and money that's holding it up. While its being held up I decided id look around and that's where I ran into trouble. rossi makes exactly what I want in 45 colt and 38/357, however henry also makes what looks to be a beautiful gun, the only thing that's keeping me from buying it is ; no loading gate. I really want a loading gate so if I need to just load one or two I can easily do that in a timely fashion. I don't think messing with a tube and all that would exactly be timely, but ive never fired or owned a levergun. I'm dead set on either 45 colt or 38/357 and I'm leaning more towards 45 colt right now as I already load in 45 acp and a tiny bit of that may transfer ( the one mold I have I can use). and I hate having a buncha of different calibers, I want to keep it simple. is it possible to have a loading gate installed on a henry? none of their models show a loading gate, but they look to be very well built and comfortable. I held a Winchester tonight, needless to say its in rifle caliber and I wasn't very impressed honestly. so if anyone can help PLEASE DO!!

[Outer Rondacker]

Sounds like Rossi might be for you. 45LC brass is a bit harder in my area to find then 357/38. You might not be able to use that 45 mold with that 45lc but then again I do not know what mold you have. Lets see 357/38 uses less lead. Henry does not have a loading gate that is kinda their sig. Most of the 357/38 rossi do not need crazy over sized bullets. I am not sure I am helping. Henry's are oh so nice but for me I buy shooters. I would cry if I messed up that golden gun jumping out my backhoe to shoot a tree rat. So you know what one I would buy.

[Strtspdlx]

To me a firearm has one sole purpose. To be shot, if I don't shoot it I don't want it. Which is why I'm getting rid of my ar to purchase a lever gun. I have a 452-230-tc Lee mold and I want to say I can use that for 45 colt shooting. I'm thinking the Rossi will end up being my choice. The loading gate is very important to me. However I am very new to this hobby (that's what it is to me).

[Jim K.]

Also mite consider a marlin 1894 in 45 colt. I have one and would not trade it. Also have one in 357 and 44-40. They're great!

Jim

[Ramjet-SS]

I am keeping my ARs and just adding another lever gun.........Life is GREAT

[jcren]

Don't have a lever YET, but the Lee tl452-230 tc (pc'd smoke's gloss black) is very accurate and hits like a hammer in the Rossi circuit judge carbine. I also want a loading gate model, throw back to shotgunning, so I can quickly pop in an alternative load.

[Strtspdlx]

I am keeping my ARs and just adding another lever gun.........Life is GREAT

one day I will be there, I haven't put in my fair share to earn that yet though.

[olafhardt]

I am a lever lover and have been for years. I have several and have traded off a few. That said I have to say that I find loading gates to be an amazing pain in the thumb. They are hard to load, hang up, and let in dirt. I find the slide out tubes on my rimfires to be superior. I have found the two best leveraction rounds to be 22lr and 30- 30. Since this is the forum we are on, I am assuming you are ameanable to casting and reloading. It is no trouble to cast and reload boolits for the 30-30 that are effective at 150 yards and will at that range shoot through a hog with very little holdover. 357's and 44's have looping trajectories. If loaded to the energy of a 30-30 they also have the recoil and use comparable lead and powder. A 30-30 can be loaded to become a farting mouse. True that a 30-30 doesn't have the magazine capacity of the pistol cartridges but even a carbine legnth 22 will put them in the shade. Don't get me wrong. I drool over the short cartridge levers and am planning on getting a 44 or 45.

[TXGunNut]

My second rifle was (and still is) a levergun. My most recent rifle was a levergun. (See a pattern here?) Most of them are older than I am, some over 100 yrs old. A couple are relatively new. My point is proceed with caution, they are addictive! I don't have a Henry but I picked one up the other day, I may be able to overlook the loading gate deficiency someday. It seems to truly be a well-made rifle. I don't have a Rossi yet either but a 357 could very easily make a home here. I have thousands of pieces of brass left over from my PPC days and a set of dies for my Dillon so it won't go hungry. ;-)

[Scharfschuetze]

I have or have had lever guns in 25/20 through 45/70 and many calibres in between. I think that the most useful or flexible for the lower 48 is the 30/30 or 32 Special. For Alaska... perhaps the 45/70. In the end, take a look at what you your end game is with it... hunting or plinking or both.

My worst experience was with a Marlin 1894 Cowboy rifle chambered in 45 Colt. I never could get that rifle to shoot well. It's chamber was too large and its slow rifling twist ruled out heavy for calibre boolits and it never did shoot light boolits well either.

Surprisingly, my funnest lever gun is a Marlin 1894 CL in 32/20. It's fun, accurate and pretty cheap to shoot. On the other end, a Marlin limited run 1895 in 45/70 is a hoot too.

The lever I shoot the most is a Marlin Cowboy in 357 Magnum. I always seem to have a lot of 357 loaded and laying around so that rifle gets the nod more often than not thanks to a Dillon press that cranks out that calibre almost as fast as I can think about it.

The one with the most class and value to me, is an 1893 Marlin in 30/30 with a 26" octagon barrel. It's been in the family since it was new and it's now well over 113 years old and still shoots just as well as any new 30/30.

Levers to stay away from are Winchesters made between 1964 and 1968 as well as the earlier production Marlins made by Remington.

[Outpost75]

If considering ONE levergun, for "back to the land", "rural-agricultural," hippie, hermit, survivalist, subsistance farmer-rancher, outdoorsman purpose, a .44 Magnum is the OBVIOUS choice!!!!

Factory ammo is sold everywhere! Factory .44 Specials will do the "Cat Sneeze" and discrete poaching roles with low recoil, low noise, no flash. Handguns and rifles are common as dirt, affordable, accurate enough and reliable, as are brass, molds, etc.

You can load .44 Mag with black, smokeless or BP substitutes. The guns are strong and you can't blow one up unless you get INSANELY stupid!

Frugal cheap SOB can get 1000 rounds per pound of fast burners like Bullseye, Titegroup or Clays and get most of the work done with cheap plainbased, cast bullets of wheelweights or backstop scrap which equal .44-40 or .45 Colt energy. Save your full power "Buffalo" loads for when you really need them, which is not very often.

If Jean-Luke Picard of the Starship Enterprise were to beam me to my own virgin planet rich with game and I could take only one rifle and one handgun, they would be my 5-1/2" Ruger .44 Mag. Vaquero and Marlin 1894S in the same caliber. Keeps things simple. Kills stuff!

[Buckshot]

..............I have two Rossi lever guns. One is their round barrel carbine 38/357, and the other is a rifle with octagon barrel in 45 Colt. I also have a JapChester 1892 which is also a rifle and it has a round barrel, and is chambered 45 Colt. The one thing about Rossi's are is that the amount of work it takes to get one smoothed up, and/or get it shooting can vary one to another. I believe the way they make them has much to do with this. That is I think the folks on the line who build them from parts are not only assemblers, but "Fitters" too.

The 38/357 carbine was a shooting Essobee from the git-go. The only thing that bothered me about it was that the lever lacked about a 1/4" from lying against the lower tang. Otherwise it was great. A bit of time with an acetylene torch and a judiciously applied rawhide mallet got that issue remedied. I do not have any pictures of the carbine.

http://www.fototime.com/7848272124A4E8F/standard.jpg http://www.fototime.com/95900A3C1D2F5E8/standard.jpg

http://www.fototime.com/6095DE66E2CE882/standard.jpghttp://www.fototime.com/6D5B36957F8A650/standard.jpg

It's a casecolored version. The action, crescent butt plate, and the forend cap are colorcased (or however they produced the effect?) The lever, barrel, and mag tube are blued. The octagon barrel isn't polished but it is nicely finished and the corners of the flats are sharp, and straight without any waves or whoopties. What IS polished is the action, lever, buttplate and forend cap. None of the screw holes are dished and whoever polished the parts knew what they were doing. It seems to me that barrel bore and grooves may vary. I don't know if Rossi (BrazTech) makes their own or sources them someplace else. The bore and groove of this rifle is tight with a .450" groove and a .446" bore. That gives grooves only .002" depth. I'd like it to be twice that, but to date I've not had any leading issues to speak of.

Me being me when I got the rifle I simply HAD to take it apart! Never had a 1892 apart before but with some online instructions getting it apart and then back together wasn't an issue. But lemme tell'ya is sure isn't as simple as a Marlin. There were a few places that could stand some attention in smoothing, but a Dremel and some Cratex abrasive bits made short work of them. Works slick as could be. Something I didn't like was that the ejector would sling the empties 4' up in the air and about 6' off to the right. I replaced the spring with one for a Japchester '92 and that took care of that. Operate the lever normally and they eject a couple inches high and maybe 4" off to the right. Operated energetically and they go maybe 6" to the right. The wood is some So. American hardwood of some type, but nicely done and stained a pleasing brown. I have no issues with it. The only real problem is that the chamber will accept a round with a .457" slug.

http://www.fototime.com/744223B96FDE8AF/standard.jpg http://www.fototime.com/D17E117B0ED6111/standard.jpg

The above is the Lee 457 - 340F and it will feed, and surprisingly enough it shoots quite well, which was surprising with that slow twist.

This is the Miroku made 1892 Winchester:

http://www.fototime.com/745969169444B08/standard.jpghttp://www.fototime.com/96B6094162EA240/standard.jpg

It does have Walnut wood, and ALL the metal is polished.

http://www.fototime.com/B655FB7E5A3EBD2/standard.jpghttp://www.fototime.com/DA71F46E61B6784/standard.jpg

This rifle has a perfect barrel dimension wise, as it slugs .443" x .451". It also has a 16" twist which is the pistol twist for the 45 Colt. However it really hasn't outshot the Rossi. About the best I can do with either rifle, their iron sights and my 63 year old Mk1 Mod1 eyeball detectors is 5 into 1.5" @ 50 yards. The Rossi was purchased brand new at $609. A year or so later I stumbled into another gunshop and this Japchester was in with a bunch of other guns on consignment. It was $350 but didn't have a buttplate. The store owner said a bunch of this guy's rifles were missing them, but they had one ordered for it. When it finally came in it was the buttplate for a carbine. They gave me $50 back so I ordered a buttplate and then paid a pal with woodworking skills to install it for me. I don't know what this rifle cost new, nor do I know when it was made but it didn't anything done to it (other then the buttplate) so far as "Playing with it" went.

Both rifles are a lot of fun to reload for, and shoot.

.................Buckshot

[MrWolf]

Love my Marlin levers. Started with the 45-70 and they kept multiplying. They are addictive. I keep hearing about the Henry in .41 so much I may actually have to see one some day. Have fun.

[TrashcanDan]

I would definitely recommend getting one, which one you want is a matter of preference.
I shoot left handed so its easier for me than a bolt action, I don't take hot casings to the face like I did with my a.r., and theres no need to special order a south-paw version.

I picked up a henry .22 for my stepson a while back. Fun little rifle. All the henry's, save a few, seem to be tube loaded, which for me wasn't convenient. Some people swear by them and say it feeds better, but again its a matter of preference. It is a smooth cycling fun little rifle though.

I have a marlin I picked up about 20 or so years ago. A 336 in 30/30. Again, nice rifle, was easy to put a peep sight on and I hear its even easier to mount a red dot on it. Ammos expensive and its a punishing round so I haven't put more than 2 boxes through it. Cycles nice, but I'm also told, around my way at least that marlins are getting harder to get. something about the manufacturing plant relocating.

I have a rossi 92 in .357, 20" octagonal barrel. Out of the box, it cycles nice for me at least. I like the side load feature. I'm told there are various sites that offer services or advice on how to "slick it", spring replacement, all that good stuff.
My 2 biggest complaints about the rifle are this, and i wouldn't really consider it a complaint.

Length of pull in the stock. Easily fixed for me with a slip on recoil pad or sleeve. With my a.r., it was swapping out the stock. With my Anschutz, it was adjusting the butt slider.

Rear sight. Tang sight is an option I'm looking into. The rear sight works, don't get me wrong, but I find that when I try to align the rear notch with the front sight, the elevation ramp wedge blocks the front sight. I could swap out the dovetail in the rear, but from what I've read, depending on the production run the dovetail is either 3/8ths or around 9mm. Again, easily fixed with a swiss file.

Aside from that, I like the rifle so much much that I'm sticking money away for the .44 version for no other reason other than thats what I have reloading dies for, brass, and different weight heads.

I'd love a winchester, but price is a big factor.

It comes down to what you want to spend.

Hope that helps man

[Ballistics in Scotland]

In one sense the choice is pretty easy - Marlin 94 if you plan to scope it, Winchester 92-type (and Buckshot's observations on the Rossi make a pretty good case) if you don't. I have never liked even early 94s as much as the 86 or 92, for I can imagine a lightbulb above John M. Browning's head as he thought "Who made the rule that we have to pivot the lever in the receiver at all?"

They beg the question "Why rule out the .44-40?" But although the only originally chambered cartridge for big game, I don't think it is as good a reloader's cartridge as the others people have recommended. My own choice, unless limited to small game, would be the .44 Magnum, for it is a better long range cartridge than the others, except maybe .454 Casull.

It is a pity they don't offer a button magazine, which I am convinced is less likely to interfere with barrel accuracy than the full-length one with an extra dovetailed mount. The one I have is a .32-40 which is no longer at the pinnacle of barrel accuracy anyway, but the reduced capacity isn't that much of an issue, and less with the short cartridges. Shooting a deer isn't like hosing down your motorcycle.

[Edster]

I have a Marlin 336, A Rossi 92 in 45 Colt like the one shown in a previous post, and 3 Henry's --a Golden Boy, a Silver Boy and a brass receiver 45-70. All have their strengths and I love each one of them. As far as the magazine tube loading while in a hurry to load one or 2 shells. You can load from the ejection port one at a time much like folks do for a shotgun. Like anything it takes practice to be proficient at it.

163075

[OilyPablo]

Seems like it's a bit easier (lower cost) to find a used 44Mag (in my area).

My advice is to get and shoot BOTH. Just save for each. It's what I did and do. I have a Browning 44Mag and Win 357Mag. First, HOT loaded 44Mag are nothing to sneeze at out of a rifle. Yeah wow (friends are surprised at "the kick" from a hand gun cartridge. And 38Special are like .22 plinking, but more fun if you can believe that. 357Mag fine for normal deer. I also have a Winchester 9422 XTR Classic .22LR-L-S that is pristine. Lever guns are still my favorite, but AR's are may favorite to work and tinker on. My levers I just clean, but never change or tinker. I wonder why!:target_smiley:

[fecmech]

Both the Henry and Rossi's are good guns IMO. The main difference between the Rossi 92 and Henry as you noted are the 92's loading gate and the Henry is a tube loader. I think you could get used to either. The Henry like marlins can be scoped with conventional scopes on the receiver. The 92 requires a scout or pistol scope on the barrel. This only matters if you want to scope it. The round barreled Rossi's Are D&T'd for scope mount under the rear sight. The steel framed Henry's are a solid pound heavier than the Rossi so that is something to consider and the brass frame with octagon heavier yet. Look them over make your choice but beware, levers are like potato chips, you can't have just one!

[Shawlerbrook]

Not easy or cheap, but look for a Ct.-made Marlin.

[hp246]

I use the same bullet in my .45 acp and .45 Colt loads. Works great. I got rid of my Rossi. I have two Ubertis. A 66 Carbine and a 73 rifle. love them. Not quite as strong, but they aren' breaking all the time like the Rossi did

[AnthonyB]

Buckshot! Great to see you posting.
Tony

[northmn]

While I do not know the bullet, a lever gun should have a bullet with a crimp groove as they can stovepipe due to the spring loading issues. The side loading gate is great for continuous fire as one can shoot a few and load a few and maintain a loaded rifle without taking it out of commission. As I have never been in combat with any of my rifles I do not give that much credence. I do like the abiltiy to unload with a tube in my Henry 22 mag.
I have a Rossi 357 and shoot it a lot. It is a very nice tractor/4 wheeler rifle. While some seem to see a need to smooth them up, over a short time loading and unloading by working the action makes them fairly smooth. The Rossi is a fair copy of the Winchester 92 and is kind of cool for that. The Henry brass frame is a bit heavy and the steel ones a bit lighter. The Rossi is not D&T for receiver sights and the Henry can be adapted. For older eyes like mine I need receiver sights. I D&T my Rossi to use them.

DP

[qwiksting]

I really enjoy the insight/experience in this thread. I just purchased my first lever, waiting for it to get to my LGS. A Henry 45LC Big boy steel. I made my descision to go with Henry for pure patriotic reasons. I dont mind the tube loading as I have a marlin model 60 and its not a big deal. I also made the caliber descision to have a rifle that also accepts the cal. that my Ruger Redhawk takes. I reload so cartrige cost wasn't a factor. I am not knocking Rossi, winchester, uberti or any other variations as they all are fine firearms. You can take just about any firearm and find something that may need "some fine tuning" for individual reasons.
I am sorry, not trying to hijack the thread, but just my 2 cents worth. Again any lever action rifle is a work of art and workmanship. Those guys were pretty smart to invent them. I am hoping my rifle will handle what I load my ruger redhawk for.

[MostlyLeverGuns]

If I was just starting like I did in 1963 as a13 year old I would get a Marlin .30-30, I put a Lyman 66LA peep sight on it and cast 311041 froma single cavity Lyman. Maybe I would put a 2-7 x32 scope and use a Lee double cavity in today's world. A Win 94, even a Mossberg or Henry might be considered. The Marlin 336 or Winchester 94 in .30-30 are the 'Classic' leverguns. Things might get strange after that .32 Special, .35 Remington, .218 Bee - Savage 99's ( a .300 to start), Winchester 71 .348 (Browning clone OK), .45-70 by Marlin, Winchester, Henry, Browning or Rossi. 22's - Marlin 39A, Winchester 1894 and Henry, Oh Yeah then the pistol cartridges in Marlin 1894's and the Winchester 92, 1973 and clones. BUT a .30-30 is a good place to START.

[smokeywolf]

Have you seen this thread?

http://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?299904-WTS-1876-Winchester-repro-by-Chaparral-in-45-60-26-quot-bbl

[flyin brian]

I've owned lever guns all my life but never as many as now, since I got afflicted with Marlinitis! I can't seem to stop buying them, but they make me happy and I'm having fun with them so I guess I won't stop.

I'd say my favorite overall is the Marlin 1893 in 38-55, but I've got them in 25-20, 32-40, 38-40, 44-40, 357mag, 45 colt, 40-60 Marlin & 45-70.

There is something about the 1893 & 1894 design that just works- simple yet strong and elegant. Remove one screw and you have the lever off and the bolt slides right out, ejector removed, ready for a thorough bore cleaning from the breech. Try that with other levers ;)

[NavyVet1959]

My last levergun was a Rossi 92 in .44 mag. I was looking for one in .357 mag as a plinking rifle and I already had a Marlin in .45-70 so I didn't need anything for hunting. The price was such ($300) on the Rossi that I just couldn't turn it down.

https://www.googledrive.com/host/0B8A9o0AImjXHfmlSQWdFVFRfSmd6d19mTG1jVXUzRWhrZk1KQ WFvdjJidlFtUERRcXh3M1k/rossi-model-92-480w.jpg

I figure for plinking, I'll just load the .44 mag with round balls.

[kungfustyle]

I just got a Rossi 20" round barrel in 44 mag. Great little gun. However, for $500 retail you would think they would make the sights to shoot poa at 50 yards or so. Mine shot 8" high. I opted to scope it, targets are getting hard to see through a 100 yard peep. The gun slugs out at .432 which is common. So I had to get a mold and a new sizing die for reloading it. Just a thought, if you go with a 357/38 you can hunt everything from squirrel to deer with it. I don't regret getting a 44, but now I'm thinking I might want a 357/38 too.

[PerpetualStudent]

As HP246 points out, there are a few .45 bullets that can go in either .45ACP or .45Colt. I don't know if yours is one of those but even if you wind up buying another mold that new mold could feed both your guns. That's an efficiency that appeals to me and would push me to the .45Colt if I were you.

On the other hand that thread Smokeywolf posted would be hard to beat. Mold, dies, some brass and the gun for that price. Makes me wish I was in a position to beat you to that.

As somebody else mentioned you can load 1 into the chamber of the Henry. You can't top up the magazine but I imagine with practice you could reload the entire magazine faster than someone with a side loading gate. So you would have one extra if you need it and a decent reload time for the whole mag.

[Rizzo]

FWIW, I recently bought a Henry Big Boy Steel .357 mag rifle.
I went with the Henry because it ejects out the side (where a loading gate would be) and gives me the option of mounting a scope or Red Dot.
Other lever rifles eject out the top so scope mounting would be an issue.
Lastly, I went with the Steel model due to it being over 1.5 pounds lighter (7.0 lbs.) than the brass model (Big Boy).

Hope this helps your decision.

[Strtspdlx]

Have you seen this thread?

http://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?299904-WTS-1876-Winchester-repro-by-Chaparral-in-45-60-26-quot-bbl

that would be a great deal of I had the money right now. Hopefully within the next several months I'll be able to save some extra money to purchase one. I've gotten so much input recently from here and amongst trusted marksmen that I think my brain is about to implode. I'm almost 100% positive I'll be buying a Rossi in 45 colt.

[smokeywolf]

Strtspdlx, I'm sure you'll be happy with the Rossi. I don't have one, but have heard little, if anything negative about them. I can tell you for sure and certain, unless you're wanting a lever gun that kills on both ends, the model '76 is just about the most fun you can have with your clothes on; especially if you're shootin' black powder loads.

[Pereira]

The thing about lever actions are, they come in all sorts of calibers, with different barrel lengths, and configurations.
Some load through the side and others at the magazine tube. Myself am like Mostlyleverguns, I own levers by Henry, Marlin, Rossi, & Winchester, and in calibers like 22 lr, 357 Mag., 30-30, 308 MX, 35 Rem., 44 Mag, and the Marlin 444, & I like them all.
They are fun, accurate, and ambidextrous. At the end of the day it just depends on your wants and desires are. But beware they are addictive.

[Nicholas]

I bought my first rifle, a brand new Marlin 336T in 30-30 almost 50 years ago for $75 hard to come by money. It is the one rifle that I would not part with, though eventually a lucky grandson will have it.

[TXGunNut]

Keep us posted, OP. If you haven't noticed leverguns are addictive. You've been warned, lol. I've lost count and my modest collection pales in comparison to many around here. The first one is awesome but soon after the second one your safe tends to get a little crowded. Enjoy, there's truly something wonderful about a levergun.

[birch]

Miroku 92 in 45 Colt is one of the finest leverguns ever made. If I had to sell my firearms, that one would be one of the last to go. It is a masterpiece of a gun.

[John Barleycorn]

Get an Uberti 1873, they are competition proven.

[dverna]

For cheap shooting, load .38 Spl cases with a 125-130 gr bullet. Shoot for less than .22LR.

I agree with you about getting a gun with a loading gate. I have had Rossi's, Marlin's and 1873 clones. If you want to mount a scope, go with the Marlin. If you want fast, go with the 1873.

[TXGunNut]

Have you pulled the trigger yet, OP? There are few bad choices, might as well buy one and join the fun!

[griffiga]

I too feel a lot like many others on this thread, and all the input may be overwhelming, but it is nice to get a different perspective on something before you actually buy. I have owned and still own several lever guns over the past 40 years and everyone of them has it's purpose. I look at it on the 80% rule - which is "what am I going to be doing with the gun 80% of the time?" If plinking is it, I would look for something in the .357/.38 or even .22 long rifle range. Also included would be the .44's and .45 (colt, .44 WCF, .44 spl/mag), pretty much anything in the "pistol" calibers. It's true that hot .357 and .44 mag loads can also be used for hunting, but 80% of the time you will be plinking. I have an Uberti 73 in .44 WCF, Uberti 66 in .45 Colt, Marlin CL in .218 bee, 2- Marlin 1895's in .45-70 and .444, Winchester 1886 in .36-56, a Winchester 64 in .30-30, two other marlin 94's in .30-30 and .35 Rem, another winchester 92 in 32-20. My most recent acquisition is a Win model 71 in .348 WCF. I used to have a Marlin 94 in .25-20 and a Marlin 93 in .32-40 but ended up selling/trading them off. If I had to pick one to use for everything (I'm just glad I don't) I would take the plain old .30-30 although my favorite is the 86 in .38-56, but it's too danged heavy to pack around the hills very far. I know this probably didn't help, but rambling got a lot of stuff off my mind.

[modified5]

As TXgunnut said. Lever guns are addicting!
Before I throw my .02 into the ring I guess I should give some "credentials." ��
I have five Winchester 94's.
1898 stripped receiver that is going to get a period correct restoration.
1906 octagon barreled rifle.
1966 carbine.
1981 carbine.
An angle eject carbine, the year escapes my memory.
All of them in 30-30.
1895 Marlin guide gun in .450 Marlin.
Rossi R92 in .44 mag.
Can you tell which ones I love the most?
The difference is really just in personal preference.
Its like the old Chevy Ford Dodge argument. They all get the same job done.
I do keep eyeballing a Marlin 336 at my local Cabelas for $399 though.
If you can take some on a test drive I would encourage that.
Whatever you get enjoy it to its fullest.
Then start looking for the next one. ��