I’m looking to buy my first .357 lever gun and would appreciate opinions from people who own or have shot these rifles. I’ve never owned or shot a .357 lever gun before.

My short list is:

• Marlin 1894 SBL
• S&W 1854 Stealth Hunter
• Henry Big Boy X H012MX
• Henry SPD HUSH H012MH

I’ve been leaning toward the Marlin 1894 SBL. It’s one of the only options I’ve found with 1/2x28 threads, which match the mount on my CAT MOB. I also plan to buy another suppressor for the lever gun eventually, and that can be the topic of another discussion.

I’m not opposed to switching my MOB over to Plan B and putting Plan B muzzle devices on the lever gun and my 9mm PCCs. That would give me a more flexible setup, but buying muzzle devices for all those hosts could add up quickly.

For those with experience, which would you choose? How do they compare for action smoothness, reliability, fit and finish, and overall value? Is there anything you wish you’d known before buying your first .357 lever gun?

Got this beauty a couple days ago, ready to take her into the mountains of Western MT

Rifle: Henry H024 Signature in 30-30 Winchester

Stock ammo holder from prestonleatherworkco on Etsy

Sheepskin scabbard from Holly Hawk Designs on Etsy

Slug gun had broken scope rings last year, instead of buying new optics and spending money on $$$ slug rounds, I felt it was more economical/justified to buy a straight wall rifle since they were legalized…here’s my S&W 1854 .44 mag, also…I’m lefty which I why I like lever guns and my stock wrap is backwards 😂

I saw one of these Winchester 1873 Deluxe Sporters earlier this year and told myself if I was still thinking about it later in the year that I would buy one. Am I glad I did.

The fit, the finish, the action, just the overall quality of this rifle. I think the only guns I've ever owned that come close were my MR73 and (ironically) my externally clapped out 1961 4" Colt Python. Why would a clapped out Python be on that list? Because that action was p e r f e c t. And you could tell based on how much finish was still great that the it was absolutely top tier. Like this one.

Miroku makes a super nice gun, loading it was such a joy, no fuss at all. Shooting it was great too, wherever I pointed, it went.

So I got myself a mad pig takedown screw for my Marlin 1895, but I find that it backs itself out very easily, after a handful of action cycles, which i believe to be even worse than the factory screw… yes i could add loctite but to me that defeats the purpose of an easy field teardown, being the point of the takedown screw. Anyone else experience this? What was your solution? Thanks

Hi all,

I am the new owner of a 1894 Marlin .357 Dark Series (New Model). I want to install grey laminate or wood OEM Marlin furniture to try out on the rifle to switch things up a bit. Has anyone done this and is able to post photos?

Also, I'm wondering if this will require any special fitment as I would be switching to a cap style handguard. I don't see the OEM handguard caps available for sale anywhere?

Thanks!

How did it do and how far did the deer travel after the shot ? Debating on taking my 336 with LEUPOLD 1-4 power with me into the woods opening day and leaving my .300 mag at home, I’m sighted in with lever evolution ammo

Here's the build so far:

Strikefire II with the low mount (cantilever was too tall, but if it had a machined notch on the base, the sights would work with it) 0.83" Vortex ring. I'm thinking I may use my Gen 1 3x Strikefire prism on it instead, after I get the screws to take the spacer out so it sits low as well.

I wrapped the lever. Turned out nice, but I think I'd like to figure out a way to take up some space inside the loop. My hand tends to fly around in the loop, and it doesn't translate into efficient for me. Any ideas?

Lastly, I want to get some ammo Quivers maybe a six spot for the stock and another six spot for the handguard. Other than RPP, are there any that look good? I did find some that I like that look really good, but they're $50 and it only holds three. I'm not trying to spend $200 for ammo quivers. I did attempt to put some 357 magnums in the stock, but the holders are not appropriate because the bullet just Falls straight into it. . You have to turn the rifle upside down and beat the shit out of stock to get it to fall back out. Any ideas for that part?

I contacted Marlin support and they've offered to replace the barrel with a correctly stamped one, how rare is this and has anyone else gotten something like this. It chambers and ejects 30-30s properly

The answer is tink. The lever gun says tink.