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Posted: 5/19/2026 6:27:41 PM EDT
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Been looking to pick up another 357 lever gun. When I say another I have had multiple Rossi / Puma 92's and while they are nice guns metal wise , once you go thru them but that's another topic. The wood is lacking on newer ones IMHO. The old guns had walnut but ones I had were a low density white wood stained dark. Putting stock swivels in them you can feel the difference. The old guns are pulling some high used prices and there are thousands of new Ruger's to be had starting at 1K and going up. I have been watching Gunbroker and the prices added to sales tax , shipping , credit card, etc. added $100 or more. Started looking on Armslist , I never had a paid account , just the free one I have not logged into for ages. Logged in and found the rifle I purchased from a business account seller in Las Vegas that goes by Wildboy Firearms and ammo. Checked them out and they are legit. Listed as used but not fired along with the box and everything that came with it. Just arrived at my local FFL guy and picked it up. Its refreshing to deal with honest people that accurately describe their items for sale. Called them on the phone , they invoiced my within a couple minutes , I paid by CC , emailed an FFL copy and had a tracking number / shipped within the hour. Its a Ruger made Marlin from the North Carolina plant , Ruger serial number look up says shipped in 2024. Fit and finish is WAY better than any of my Rossi guns and with a nice stock and buttpad, Action is smooth and other than a couple minor handling marks it is brand new. Looking forward to getting it on some paper.  Not what I paid but inside the box ........  |
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Nice rifle. Had an original Marlin 38/357 about 30 years ago but sold it for some reason that I cant recall. It was very smooth and very accurate. Sorta missed it so I picked up the same one you did OP NIB about 8 months ago. Not as smooth or accurate as my old one but its growing on me. Need more trigger time with it and it'll probably break in nicely |
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Originally Posted By pokey074: Just wish they would have done a 20" barrel on the .357. And I would prefer my 44 classic to be 18”. Nice rifle OP. If you don’t reload, try several different types of Ammo. By all accounts the gun will let you know when you find the right one. My 357 is the trapper version and I was surprised at the difference in groups between the various brands. Many others have reported similar results. |
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I shoot mostly cast bullets, The Lee 125 RF is my basic plinker bullet and the gun likes it. I have found if you want light plinking it’s best to go lighter weight not slow down a heavier bullet. I wasted a lot of time trying to get slow speed accuracy with too heavy a bullet. Once the heavier bullet got a little kick in the pants accuracy would come together. I have a NOE mold that I am told is a 135 9mm bullet, mine casts fat enough to use in the carbine .357 loads and is very accurate. I had the mold already and tried it before I got the Lee 125 RF mold. In the Marlin I stick to bullets that are not SWC shaped. The shelf gets dinged on feeding in to the chamber and can cause a double clutch need on the lever unless you are very firm and that smooshes the bullet shelf of the SWC. The SWC will work but just not that smooth in mine. I don’t have a 158 RF from Lee but it has a stellar reputation as well. 2 cavity or even better the six cavity version are available. I have a couple other molds close to a WFN in shape, one a solid style from NOE in the 165 range and nearly the same mold from MP molds with their HP pin set up. They are the ones I tried to shoot too slow. |
The only hyphenated names I like are cartridge names......30-06, 30-40, 38-55 etc.
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Originally Posted By golfish: I have the same one but its a later Remlin made rifle. They were making some nice guns then. I have a new Ruger/Marlin 336 that's just as nice as the Remlin. I'm a model 92 guy but I'm slowly converting to the Marlin 94. Its just so much easier to work on. Funny, I too had been looking for a .357 mag 92 but couldn’t get my hands on a version that I wanted for several years, I had my buddy/FFL on the prowl for. I even stutter stepped in to a model 73 Cimarron that couldn’t be sighted in. Davidson distributors were awesome and took that turkey back after Cimarron “checked it” and fixed nothing. 15” too high at 50 yards and nothing left to adjust and the front sight was a fixed unit part of their barrel band. if it was a Marbles type I would have changed sight heights myself. A month or so after Davidson’s took the Cimarron back they had the Marlin and my buddy grabbed it for me. I’m happy with it but it’s not a 92 but still a great rifle. I got the 92 itch scratched a year later when one of the distributor reps ran a 92 by him that was available but not in .357. So that’s how I got the .44-40 and it’s quite fun too. Marlin’s bonus is its scope able when you get to the old man eyesight stage like myself. Irons aren’t that easy any more. Yea, that may be lever gun heresy but it beats not shooting it because your eyesight causes disappointment. |
The only hyphenated names I like are cartridge names......30-06, 30-40, 38-55 etc.
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Originally Posted By Pumpkinheaver: My Ruger made 1894 in .357 has been a great rifle. I added skinner sights to it and she’s a shooter. Yup. Mine is awesome. Has become my favorite gun by a wide margin. Attached File |
NorCal_LEO Issued Call Sign / FORTY FIVE
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I've got it's brother ! Attached File |
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