357 Rem. Max Rifle

[Ian]

Do you guys like the handling of the Henry lever gun? TO me they feel clumsy, bulky and way heavier than needed. A Win 92 clone or Mrlin 94 clone in 357 would be a darn near perfect "truck/tractor gun" IMO. I had to settle for a 44 Mag Puma since I've never seen a 357 in the flesh.

I like mine except for my previously mentioned complaints about the clubby buttstock shape and 10-22 style, squared-off butt plate. The weight isn't really all that noticeable when carrying around the property and shooting at the range, but I haven't put a sling on it yet and it might be a bit weighty on the shoulder. The balance of mine is good, but it has the biggest hole through the barrel and that makes the front end lighter compared to the octagonal .357s. It's no '92, but it feels better to shoot, holds well on target, and the action is a heck of a lot smoother than Browning's design. If Marlin had made a round-bolt short action it would probably be very similar to the Henry.

 

[fiver]

Ian if you look around USFA made the colt's lightning in those calibers my pop has/had [not sure] one in 45 colt.
it wasn't all pimped out like the Taurus so you can actually see it's sights.
it also wasn't all hinky clunky in operation like the Taurus.

 

[Tony]

I wish Henry would offer these single shots in at least a few of the following calibers: .22 Hornet, .218 Bee, .25-20, .25-35, 7x30 Waters, .30-30, .30-40 .38-55. If they did I could see myself with two or three of them.

One of the cartridges these rifles are available in is the .45-70. I have thought that a Ruger No. 3 in .45-70 would be a lot of fun until I consider recoil potential. Would a 300 +/- grain bullet at about 1,200 fps from a 7 pound rifle punish the shooter when shooting from the bench (for load development)?

 

[Brad]

A 300 gr bullet at 1200 fps would be a pussycat. I have fired a 300 at 1500 from a Marlin 44 mag and it is manageable. My 45-70 Marlin is fine with a 420 at 1350 from the bench.

 

[Ian]

I got a blued Taurus second-hand off Gunbroker and it had been worked over by a moron with a Dremel to get it to feed faster for SASS competition. It is indeed hinky, but adequate, sans the grossly hogged-out chamber and bolt face being about 3-4 degrees out of square with the barrel. I want an Uberti but ain't gonna spend $1400 on one.

 

[300BLK]

I bought my first Marlin 357 back before they had safeties, so make that around 1981, and I still have it. A few years back I picked up an 1894CP in .357. It has the shorter 16" barrel and is ported, but has conventional rifling instead of MG. I had looked at both 20" and 24" CB versions and liked the 20" better of those as the 24" just felt too muzzle heavy. I have another 1894 in 44mag, and an 1894CL in 32-20. Sometimes I think I should look for a 25-20.

 

[fiver]

a 30-40, X39, or 303 with a scope on the shotgun padded version would be a pretty nice rifle.
I'd hate to lose a piece of brass in the field though.

 

[Ben]

a 30-40, X39, or 303 with a scope on the shotgun padded version would be a pretty nice rifle.

Anyone priced 30-40 Krag brass lately ? ?

 

[fiver]

pretty proud of it ain't they.

 

[300BLK]

Price is immaterial if they are out of stock. Graf and Buffalo Arms have new 30-40 Krag brass, Jamison I'm told, for $84/100.

 

[Tony]

Brad,

You are correct about powder puff load status. I found a load from Lyman Cast Bullet Handbook No.2 using Unique with Lyman 457191 with a start load velocity of 1,285 fps. Assuming 300 grn. bullet, 15 grn, powder charge, 7 lb. gun and 1,285 fps mv I calculate the following approximate values: Recoil Velocity ~ 8.41 fps and Recoil Energy ~ 7.69 ft.-lbs.

 

[John]

I have a Handi/NEF in 357 I reamed to the max. It does so much more than the 357 does from the 16" rossi there is no comparison. 180 NOE WFN at 2200 fps is a fun combo that hits hard.