and you were looking to buy a current production 357/38 rifle. Would you wait for ruger/marlin to start shipping out 1894's not knowing MSRP and/or street pricing, wait for a henry to pop up at or near MSRP, or buy a rossi and potentially save $3-400?

stumbled upon a lightly used jm marked 94c, did a little bartering and was able to pick it up for 750 out the door

I bought a blued rossi carbine in 357/38 and it is beautiful.  The wood and bluing is gorgeous it is a new production rifle. Action is slick as well.

Personally, I am buying the first thing I can get my paws on. I really want a Henry Big Boy X .357, but if a Rossi or something else comes along, I am buying it. Good luck with your hunt.

I want the Henry Big Boy Model X in .357.  But, I’ll shoot it suppressed 95% of the time.  If you don’t ever plan to shoot suppressed, then I’d still wait for the Ruglin 1894.  Or buy a JM Marlin.  But I’d cry if it got safe rash.

Im looking myself , prolly just gonna rossi up.

yeah, want to suppress it. Cost to cut mag and thread a rossi puts it super close to the MSRP of model x, but I've yet to see one for sale near MSRP. I also assume the new 1894's are going to go for way over MSRP for good bit as well.

If it was my money, I would wait for a Miroku/Winchester 1892 #1, Ruger/Marlin #2. The Henry's just don't do it for me. I absolutely would not buy a Rossi. Just my personal bias against them.

Went with the Rossi last year. Couldn't find one in Florida but was making a Mich trip in a few weeks so called an older FFL shop in Jackson Mi that I used to frequent when I lived there. Asked him and he had a carbine 16" for $600 which was still cheaper than current prices were. Asked him to pick me a good one and planed to pick it up when we went there a few weeks later. Paid over the phone when ordered so he just had to store if for a few weeks. All went smooth other than the slow down at NCIS so ended up having to have it shipped back to Florida but again only $25 FFL to FFL and a $20 fee on the receiving end. No regrets, functions very well both 357 and 38 special. Wood looks very good and function is good altho9ugh a little stiff but have only run 75 rounds thru it. 50 38 and 25 357. No hiccups though and all ran flawlessly. Would strongly recommend the Rossi from a price point at least.

That's my story and I'm sticking to it.

I would wait for a Marlin. Just don't care for the Henry rifles, they work but are kind of crude looking and are clunky feeling IMO. The Rossi guns just don't interest me.

It depends on why I want it.  Rossi don't usually have the same degree of fit and finish, but can be polished up to be nice rifles.  What they can not be is modified for side eject.  If you want to make it into any style of tactical bolt action (other than perhaps mounting a red dot on the rear sight dovetail), you will probably find frustration.  If you just want to play cowboy-they can be excellent rifles.  I think the Rossi ones were probably all decent looking (better than the older Puma branded ones).  I have 2 Rossi - one back from the Puma days, but were built to a much better spec (it is beautiful, and after a bit of work a joy to shoot.  The other is a Rossie Mare's Lag - Ok out of the box, but I have modified it a bit to make it more palatable as well).  Miroku Winchester versions are probably the nicest-but those probably cost a mint right now.  I have sinned - I have 2 that I have not even shot (my older brother decided to get out of gun collecting, and I was all but given his collection since his kids were utterly not interested).  The Miroku were always out of my price range at the time.

I have a bias against Henry's.  It has no rational basis.  I don't think Henry had any 38's in production when I started my lever collection - perhaps that is the basis of it.

Marlins don't look as nice to me due to the square bolt - but I love shooting them so have a few.   I have a JB's (prettiest), Marlin (ok, worked on a LOT, but started life with me as a busted up truck gun that I did not even shoot till it got rebuilt-which cost more than the rifle), and Remlins - they have all worked great (ymmv), and a slicked up Marlin will be better than a slicked up Rossi.  There is a reason they were the most common rifle used in CASS.  They also had a reputation of being more reliable than the Rossi and Uberti's.  

There is also the Uberti's - the 1876 can be made slicker than anything else out there - but they are heavier.  fwiw-my brother kept his Uberti and Army San Marcos (1892).

Don't do an 1894 unless you have a valid reason to do it.  It is compact, it looks good (ok, they made some that looked good and some that looked like shit), but the action is rediculus.  If you do need an 1894, just get it in 30-30.  I think I have 2 that look like shit - but they were my wife's uncles guns, so have grandfathered safe space.  Winchester truly turned out some ugly guns, but they were chasing the dollar and that meant they made some that cut every penny possible.
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So, to answer your question, what would I do...  If I just wanted a caliber - I would probably get what is available.  But preference tends to be Marlin.  Correct answer is get both.  Get what you can now, and upgrade it later if you want to.  Looked at both Rossi and Henry web site - Just not feeling the love there personally.  None of the Rossi models look anywhere close to as nice as the one I already have.

I went with the Henry. I like the tube feed option and its really well finished with nice wood and sharp checkering. The Rossi I looked at was poorly finished with cheap wood that looked like it had been finished with red deck stain.

The Henry is a nice gun if you want a threaded barrel. It is very smooth operationally and the option of tube feed is a plus, as it is a lot easier to load and you have the option of standard loading. I have a couple Henry rifles and they are fun to shoot but I don't have the "X" model. The only thing I don't like about it is the plastic stocks. It just seems off to me.

I bought a Rossi a while back, as I got a great price for it and am very pleased. It is an accurate shooter and functions perfectly. The only downside is the safety on top but that can be rectified with parts from Steve's Gunz website.

A Ruger model would be nice but who knows how long it will be before they come out with any great production. The cost will be interesting to see as well.

I agree....Winchester then Ruger.

If you do some gun smithing and don't mind working on guns then Rossi could work, but there are just some things you might not be able to fix and their customer service is terrible..

The Rossi 92's I saw at gun shops last year all seemed very nice, smooth action and finished well. I think all but one was a 16" .44, I don't know if Rossi is prioritizing one configuration over another. The Henry plastic stocks are actually very solid and probably some of the best plastic stocks I've held. The mlok slot isn't perpendicular to the barrel on mine, that seems to be the case with all the rifles I see in videos.

Henry

I literally bought a 357 Model X last Friday.  I love it.



So I guess that’s my answer.

I have the Rossi 94 in 38/357 and no regrets. I do have a Henry model x in 45 colt that I have yet to shoot. Looking for the 44 mag so I was thinking the Henry Case Hardened one. If you get your hands on any 38/357 and dont like it you will have no problem moving it when the one you want pops up.

I lucked into a Rossi r92 16” large loop in .357. I bought that one and went back to the same shop a few weeks later. The shop had a Henry big boy classic with brass receiver in .357. I traded the Rossi and another pistol for the Henry and I am very happy with that trade.

If it were my money, I would get an original US made Winchester 1873 or 1892 in a classic old west caliber like 38/40 or 44/40. Preferably antique.

If I was going modern I would keep an eye on the used market and wait it out until I found one at an acceptable price. Might take you a while.

I recently inherited a Marlin 1894 in .357. My Grandfather bought it new from Gibson's in 1980 or so. I loaded it, but haven't shot it yet. I'd trade it even for one more day with Dad.

Henry, then Ruger/Marlin. I really like the fact that Henry has models with the side loading gate and tube magazine.

Stumbled on a JM 1894 in 357. Externally it was in excellent condition. Sadly didn't have much time to really look over it. If I go back for it, anything I should be aware of or look out for? What's a realistic price?

It's hard to beat the 1894, JM or not. I wouldn't trade my 1894 .357 Remlin (2018) for any JM that I've seen.

The price for the JM marked 94s are pushing anywhere from $1500.00 - $2000.00. IMWO, their way over priced.

The Ruger 1894s are going to be out soon and the MSRP is going to be a lot less then these JM guns. Everything I have read says they're going to be a much better gun too, of course it might be a couple years before you can get one for a MSRP.

So to answer your question, I'd say $1750.00 is realistic. Of course I wouldn't pay anywhere close to that. If it was in really good condition I might go 1k.

You got a good deal on that 1894. They are nice rifles.

I would buy the Henry X…and I did.

I now understand why these are relatively hard to find. Holy crap this thing is a stupid fun. Even stout 357 loads are mild at worst.