I just had to buy one, I just had to....

[part_timer]

A friend of mine at the local gun shop pushed the wrong button on the speed dial today. We hadn't talked in awhile so it was a very nice wrong call. He said that there were several marlin lever guns setting on the shelf and one was a .357 SOOOOO beings I have let the last 2 they have been able to get in go I decided I'd better grab this one. He's going to be back in town in two weeks so I can pick it up then. Man I can hardly wait. This will be one great deer gun for the daughter.
I have several different molds to try out. This is going to be FUN!!!!!!!!!

[Fire_stick]

Fantastic! That is great gun for anyone!

[Firebricker]

part timer, you won't be let down. I wish I'd bought mine a long time ago. It feeds 38spl just
as good as 357. The ony thing that I did to it is loctite (blue) the loading gate screw.
Have fun shooten. FB

[part_timer]

Well I went over yesterday and picked up my rifle. It seems to work just fine, maybe a bit stiff but nothing a few thousand rounds won't fix. it loads fine and shoots pretty good.

I do have one question. Is the RCBS sil boolit enough of a flat point to use in a lever gun? Maybe even hollow point it with a drill bit? I'd like to work up a hunting load for close, in woods deer hunting this season.

The kids were shooting REAL light 38's out of it and culling our heard of milk jugs down. My son is going to load up some with a hollow point style from a mold we purchased from Eric. We'll see what happens. It's a wadcutter so we may have to single feed them but that's ok.

[cajun shooter]

I think your gun shop owner is a wise man with fingers that hit the correct number and not by mistake!! Good buisness man.

[Lloyd Smale]

In my opinion its the only proper way to use 357 ammo!! It never thrilled me and i have never kept a handgun in 357 for more then a year. In a rifle though its a real good little round.

[gon2shoot]

You'll love it, two of my girls and my wife all have 357 levers (92s though) but it is a great cal. gun for younger and lighter shooters while being potent enough to do some actual hunting with.

Ok, Ok, I bought one for myself too. [smilie=1:

[cbrick]

I do have one question. Is the RCBS sil boolit enough of a flat point to use in a lever gun? Maybe even hollow point it with a drill bit? I'd like to work up a hunting load for close, in woods deer hunting this season.

Try the RCBS 200 gr FPGC with straight air cooled WW. You can load up the magazine with no problem and there is enough meplat and bullet weight to be effective. This bullet has .200" flat meplat @ 56% of bullet diameter. This should be an effective round under 100 yards which I would consider as max for this cartridge.

The RCBS silhouette 180 gr does not have the meplat for punching a bleeding hole both in and out. I have cast many, many thousands of this bullet but use them on steel critters only, it is a very accurate bullet in my revolvers. This bullet has a .150" "rounded" meplat @ 42% of bullet diameter.

Rick

[cajun shooter]

The 358665 is the bullet that I used in my 92's when I was using that caliber.

[Just Duke]

The 358665 is the bullet that I used in my 92's when I was using that caliber.

Sent you an email. :drinks:

[EDK]

Go to lasc.us and read Glenn Fryxell's article on the 1894 MARLINS...and everything else he wrote there also! You'll be a lot better informed afterwards.

I like 358665 AND 358156 AND 357446 AND now NIGHT OWL ENTERPRISES 360180 WFN in my MARLIN Cowboys. 358432 and 358429 work too. There must be something that won't work in these little rifles, but I haven't found anything yet that wouldn't work with a little tinkering with over all length and possibly a taper crimp instead of a roll crimp.

I like my 44s a lot, but the little 357 Cowboy rifles are really handy to have around....AND a little easier on the powder and lead supply.

:Fire::cbpour::redneck:

[leadman]

Don't recall the mould number, but it a Saeco 180gr. RFN GC. Very accurate in my micro-groove and may get used on deer this year.
Will probably cast some soft-nose boolits if I decide to hunt with it.
Straight ACWW don't work as well as water quenched WW.

[Jon K]

Don't recall the mould number, but it a Saeco 180gr. RFN GC. Very accurate in my micro-groove and may get used on deer this year.
Will probably cast some soft-nose boolits if I decide to hunt with it.
Straight ACWW don't work as well as water quenched WW.

That would be Saeco #354 for the GC and #353 for a PB.
The Saeco #399 TCGC is also a good one, and the PB version of it is #398.
For the 357 I prefer the GC boolits, cause I like to shoot them over 1500 fps.

Jon

[part_timer]

I got to spend some time shooting 38's out if it yesterday. These are 158gr swc over some 700x. The group wasn't to bad, maybe 1 1/2 at 30 yards. I have lots of load work to do but I had the 38's just laying around. I'm going to try loading 357's tomorrow and see what happens.

[JSH]

The sons marlin in 357 cycles 38's like who done it. Bad thing is after about 20 rounds it shoots paaterns rather than groups. I have tried about everything short of some type of chamber,throating job. 357's will not chamber after about 10, 38's, which is no real suprise. Then it takes about an evenings worth of cleaning to get it back on track again. 357 cases are all this one will see anymore.
jeff

[cbrick]

The Saeco #399 TCGC is also a good one, and the PB version of it is #398. Jon

Correction Jon, SAECO #399 is the GC version and SAECO #396 is the PB Version.

http://www.lasc.us/Left396Right399.JPG

396 on the left - 399 on right. Both of these bullets have a flat meplat of .200" @ 56% of bullet diameter. Both are a two diameter bullet, notice the front driving band wasn't touched by the sizer die.

Rick