So my lever action journey has seen 2 Rossi's and a Henry. All in 357. My question is if i could take my dad's old Marlin 30-30 and make it a 357. None of the previous rifles have really worked for me for one reason or another. So, is it possible?

I'm pretty sure the Marlin will work better for me. Mostly for the sights and rail I can put on it. Hell, i may even send it off to turn it into a takedown and sbr the joker. So does this sound like a good idea or find one done already?

Not a very good idea. Pistol cartridges are best kept in rifles designed for pistol cartriges; Winchester '66, '73, '92, Marlin 1894 and variants.



If you want to change the caliber, keep it in the same cartridge family: .25-35, 7-30 Waters, .30-30, .35-30, .38-55.



By the way, what model is this Marlin .30-30?



Why did the 92s and the Henry not work for you?

Your trying to fix something thats not broken --- dress up the 30/30 if you want to slather it with "tacticool" crap   and dont worry about converting it to something weaker

-----  The takedown mod is cool if you have the bucks ,  but SBR'ing a levergun makes little sense  ----    

If its just for something that looks cool and is a fun range toy - i understand that ----    but the 30/30 needs at least 16" of barrel and preferably 20 to get the most out of it ---   as well, the 357's really gain FPS with a little extra barrel length

Personally i think the 16" trapper length guns are about perfect in many calibers  -------

I will throw one caveat at the takedown idea (even though i like TD's in general)  --- it depends on your use , but i hate to think of my rifle being broken down and tucked away in a briefcase when i need it sometimes

Buy a Marlin .357 and leave the 30.30 alone.

The rossi's never ran good with 357 and I didn't really want to take the time to have it slicked and tuned to run better. I had a 16" stainless and a mares leg. The Henry is beautiful and runs great, it's just heavy. I invested pretty heavily in 357 so that's why I considered changing the caliber.

Not sure of the model, it's my dad's old gun that he doesn't use anymore so I'm gonna trade him something for it. I already relieved him of his 22 marlin. Gave him a full size usp 45 for it.

I don't want to tacticool it up, just want to put that lever rail on it. It looks pretty useful. I guess your right about making it an sbr or takedown. If i can't make it a 357, it would be useless. This 30/30 has taken many a hog over the years with no problem.

I'd be concerned with the lifter & other internal workings having problems going to the shorter oal cartridge.

I think the Rossis are often tuned from the factory to run with .38 SPC, and it seems sighted for the .38 as well. I think they are really targeting the CAS shooters.



Adjusting the actions for the longer .357 is not too big a deal, though. I would sure do that before I attempted a more difficult and more expensive caliber conversion on another rifle. There is good information on the internet on tuning the action for the longer cartridges. It isn't hard. Most of them already feed the .357, just not quite as smoothly as the .38s. So the adjustment is much easier than adjusting for a cartridge they won't feed.



I agree on the weight of the Henry.



Does the Marlin have a square or round bolt?
 

I'm not sure, I'm going to bring it home today.

Eta: Round bolt 336 jm stamped barrel. It's an old one.