Lever action some advice.

[JSW]

Hi all, can anyone give me a bit of advice on a lever action rifle in 38sp/357mag .now I've had marlin in 45-70 and 22lr in the past but nothing else, so can anyone give me a yes or no on Rossi/Henry/ chiappa or Winchester do they jam a lot are they OK to clean etc honest opinions appreciated. Many thanks.

 

[JSW]

Sorry can someone move this to rifles and cal please

 

[safer]

Henry and Winchester are reliable but much more complicated then Marlin. For me personally, Marlin any time.

 

[Greenmist]

I have a rossi, it works, not had a jam or misfire yet, down side is the top ejection port which rules out a scope, although you can mount a rail in place of the rear sight and use a red dot etc

 

[farmer7]

Hi all, can anyone give me a bit of advice on a lever action rifle in 38sp/357mag .now I've had marlin in 45-70 and 22lr in the past but nothing else, so can anyone give me a yes or no on Rossi/Henry/ chiappa or Winchester do they jam a lot are they OK to clean etc honest opinions appreciated. Many thanks.

I have a 16" Chiappa Alaskan takedown, previously I've had a Winchester 94 and a couple of Marlins. The Winchester broke the lifter which I believe is a common fault and also had a few jams. Marlins were pretty good.
I've had the Chiappa for 3 or 4 years and can't fault it. Being a takedown it's very easy to clean the barrel! It's a faithful reproduction of the superior Winchester 1892 action which is very strong.
I usually use the very good peep sight, but sometimes stick 1x red dot on it.

 

[safer]

 

[suburban bushwacker]

PM

 

[disco_ike]

I had a Winchester and have sold it and gone over to a Marlin. My reason is using it for gallery competitions I can’t risk down time and no one is making spares for them. The marlins can still get parts and more older rifles being scraped so for me it was parts availability that drove the decision.

Tried mates Rossi and Henry and they are nice but not so much of a fan of them just actions not as smooth, larger loops or the odd way of loading some through the end of the magazine instead of through a loading gate.

 

[gixer1]

Had Winchester 94’s and marlins (336 and 1884) all have been reliable and good guns, winchesters are a little more pleasing to the eye but I feel a marlin is nicer to operate/shoot.

90% of what you see on the GR scene is marlin and I guess there’s good reason for that.

 

[Smallholder]

Yes, the majority of rifles at our club are Marlins. Most people can put 1,000s of rounds through them without problems. I have seen the odd broken firing pin but I would say most other problems are user error. Jams down to people not getting the COL right on home loads or using 38s and 357s without cleaning the chamber, and lifter problems due to short stroking. Cleaning wise it is easy to take the bolt out and put back in, plenty of advice online for stripping and working on it.

One thing with Marlins is the changing ownership over the years. I don't know much about latest ones and worth doing research about the second hand ones. Also people 'tune' them, some do better work than others!

 

[Rake Aboot]

I’d love a cowboy rifle for in the pickup !

 

[Smellydog]

The Winchester 94 in 357 is unique in that it needs a tiny flimsy part to control the rounds traveling in and out of the magazine tube.
The lever itself controls the contents of the magazine untill the action is fully closed.

Without that part the gun will function but only in positive cycling of the action. Short stroke it and you may hang up!
No other calibre in the Winchester 94 has this issue.