-
Had a stainless Rossi in .45 Colt and thought it was nice till I started shooting it and comparing it to the Marlin Cowboy .45 Colt rifle I also had . I then realized it was just a bit short of being junk so it went first chance I got . I'd pass on the Rossi and wait on something better if you decide not to keep the 30/30 .
Eddie
-
I would keep the Marlin 30-30! Much more knock-down power than the Rossi. IMHO.
HV
-
Lazarus thread?
I’ve used both, I’ll take the 30-30.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
-
I'm a Winchester Buff. I've had the Rossi 357 & it was an ok rifle no real complaints. I sold it & still have 3 30-30's , one I had JES re-bore to 38-55 which I really like. I'll probably hang on to the ones I have & may add to them in the future. They just work!
-
Not going to disparage the Rossi 357 as it on my to get list, but no comparison to a Marlin 30 30.
-
30-30 won't do much a 308 couldn't get done at any range so I think I would go with the 357Mag for under 100yrd brush if you really want one as you could carry a sidearm of the same caliber.
-
My first rifle was marlin 336 30/30, I won't sell it. Thought about the 357 or Max in a single shot but opted for BO. Not a real hunter so what I have will do.
-
I don't like the .357 with 16 inch barrel because of muzzle blast. My Marlin 94 has eighteen inch barrel and it's too short. Don't need to make my tinnitis any worse.
-
The 308 with a low power scope is probably the best brush gun mentioned here. It has a flat trajectory that will let you shoot through small holes without hitting hunkc of wood. Many years I believe Outdoor Life shooting column did an article on shooting through brush. An assortment of calibers were tested. Don't remember the small, fast one but the 45/70 was the big slow one. After much testing the conclusion was if you hit wood your bullet was going to be deflected . My early hunting experience confirmed thus. Shot at a deer standing behind fairly thich bush. Useing a 6.5 x 55 swede with 140 gr factory jacketed bullet. First shot broke both front legs. Deer ran slowly but stayed behind brush. It took several shot to put it down so I could bet close and applied a final shot. If you want to shoot in brush have a scope and flat trajectory so you can pick your shot and shoot through holes that wii exist in brush. If your target is close to brush your bullet won't deflect that much , 10 feet or more behind the bush you are probably not going to hit anything. Low power scopes are for old eyes and shooting in heavy cover.
-
.30-30 or .357.........30-30 every time! :grin:
DG
-
Chalk up another vote on the 30-30 board.
Zingger
-
The Marlin is much the better gun, regardless of the cartridge. Make it a 336 in .35 Remington and you've got the best of all possible worlds.
-
Maybe not the best of all possible worlds. Some prefer the 356, 358, 375, & or 38-55. Which could be down loaded to the 35 Rem. But everyone has there preferences. That's what keeps it all interesting....-06
-
With the 30-30 Marlin in your possession, I would put a 2-7 scope on it and develop a load with the 30-30 using an RCBS flat point mould, something like the big flat meplat 150s. If you do not have Unique, you can use 3031 or 4227 and pushed up to around 2k fps. The 30-30 in a decent lever is capable of excellent accuracy with a scope and the Marlin is built to take a top center mounted scope.
-
Got both, but my R92 357/38 has a 22” octagonal barrel that’s a lot forgiving on my old shoulder.
I still load light 30-30s for my old Marlin (not the newer Remlins)
-
The 30/30 is the better choice for a lot of reasons, but it sounds like you really want the Rossi. If you can’t have both, keep the Marlin.
-
I had a ruger #1 in 308 and decided to sell it and bought a win 94 30/30 to replace it then along comes an r92 and an offer I couldn't refuse and I bought the rossi and kept the 30/30.
I'm not in the same boat as you as the rossi and the win 94 could be twins, same size, same weight, trouble is the 30/30 never goes out the door with me now.Attachment 315206 In the image, the win 94 is the one with the red dot. The 357/38 is cheap as chips to reload, I have over 4500 small rifle primers about 500 ponds of roofing lead the 30/30 is about the same to reload but I'm down to my last 1000 large rifle primers and they have to load another caliber as well.
Of the two, the rossi is slightly more accurate and with 185 grain cast flat points at just over 1750 fps is a real powerhouse, the 30/30 with 185grn fp cast at just over 1900 is too, but a 35 caliber hole is bigger than a 30 caliber hole all day long....
I'd say keep them both.
The only thing that I don't like about the rossi is it is stainless.
-
I would keep the 30-30, but the 357mag is easier to load for. The carbide dies speed things up.
-
It has been 8 years are you now happy with your choice ?
About the same time I was looking for a .357 Mag lever gun but ended up getting a 1953 Marlin model 336 and have been very happy . Two things Mechanically I prefer on the Marlin 336 . A) my "old eyes" need a scope to hunt with B) The pistol portion on the stock allows my "OLD WRIST" much more comfort holding the gun.
I chose only cast bullets for the gun the Lee 170 mould casts a pure lead bullet that coated (Spray enamel paint and baked) is 184 grains . I load it with not the maximum load of IMR 3031 from a Lyman book velocity averages 2040 f/s and groups at 100 yards are well under 2 inches. The bullet of soft lead preforms a lot like a jacketed bullet for me mushrooming rather then breaking up .
My second load is for pest control rather then the .22 rimfire . I load the lee 90 grain .32 caliber (hard cast) bullet it is sized at .310 after powder coating and loaded at 1040 f/s . This load shoot dead on with scope at 25 yards and makes small groups , The gun is sighted dead on with other load at 100 yards . This slow load drops about a foot to 100 yards but I rarely would use it past about 40 yards .
-
I would have the 30-30 rechambered to 30-30 Ackley Imp. Compare and judge for yourself.
Forty Rod
.