bamaranger
New member
.357
I bought a pre-safety Marlin in the mid 80's and have never regretted it. Shot all manner of loads through the little carbine, the only ammo that would not reliably cycle from the tube mag was .38 wadcutter. Single loaded, the .38 WC was a hoot and akin to shooting .22 lr in terms of noise and recoil, very mild.
The idea of handgun and carbine in same caliber was appealing, but I never really found myself simulataneously carrying both . Also, there was enough variation on points of impact with different loads that I found myself rezoring the rifle frequently to match what ever handgun/ load was on deck at the time. As an example, I shot a lot of .357 mid range 158 SWC in those days from a SA revolver, , and the carbine did not do badly with them either, .....but when zeroed for the mid range load, nothing else heavier or milder really shot to the same point of aim. Likewise, if zeroed for full house 125 JHP to match a DA revolver carried for SD, the midrange loads were not on target. Eventually, I zeroed the carbine for a full house 158 JHP and just left it.
A peep helped prolong my use of the carbine as a GP rifle, but I really need a low powered scope these days to bring my shooting with it back up to par.
I believe a .357 lever carbine makes a very versatile GP rifle and you will not be disappointed if you get one.
I bought a pre-safety Marlin in the mid 80's and have never regretted it. Shot all manner of loads through the little carbine, the only ammo that would not reliably cycle from the tube mag was .38 wadcutter. Single loaded, the .38 WC was a hoot and akin to shooting .22 lr in terms of noise and recoil, very mild.
The idea of handgun and carbine in same caliber was appealing, but I never really found myself simulataneously carrying both . Also, there was enough variation on points of impact with different loads that I found myself rezoring the rifle frequently to match what ever handgun/ load was on deck at the time. As an example, I shot a lot of .357 mid range 158 SWC in those days from a SA revolver, , and the carbine did not do badly with them either, .....but when zeroed for the mid range load, nothing else heavier or milder really shot to the same point of aim. Likewise, if zeroed for full house 125 JHP to match a DA revolver carried for SD, the midrange loads were not on target. Eventually, I zeroed the carbine for a full house 158 JHP and just left it.
A peep helped prolong my use of the carbine as a GP rifle, but I really need a low powered scope these days to bring my shooting with it back up to par.
I believe a .357 lever carbine makes a very versatile GP rifle and you will not be disappointed if you get one.