ammo.crafter
New member
Is there any reason why we do not have a lever action carbine in .357 Maximum?
A certain somebody once told me they were thinking about producing a 358 legend barrel (it seems to me KAK isn't going to revive that) and I suspect there would be significant demand if they did, though I suspect some experimentation would be needed with throat/freebore designs to adapt to the rather limited lower weight range 358 bullets available. I definitely would not use the same kind of rifling as the .355 legend. My 350 legend I shot today using power points (which are actually just under .355) showed signs of copper fouling.Another reason is that the bullets currently available for use in the .357 Magnum and .357 Maximum are pistol bullets designed for velocities much lower than can be attained with the .357 Magnum let alone the 357 Maximum. As an example, I have 2 Rossi .357mag leverguns; a 20" carbine and 24" rifle.
Using Lil'Gun powder which produces peak pressures considerably lower than the SAAMI spec 35,000psi and a jacketed 158grn bullet, I've chrono'd 1,952fps MV (measured at 15ft from muzzle) from my carbine and 2,009fps from my rifle. Those velocities are significantly higher than the bullets were designed for.
Even shooting 180grn or 200grn hardcast bullets at velocities in the 1,600 - 1,800fps range is significantly high for the bullet designs.
.358 Rem.
Not true, the winchester 94 was chambered for 44mag, the 357max is no problem for either a win 94 or Marlin 336 size gun.Because it is too long for the regular revolver caliber lever actions like Marlin 94 and Winchester 92 and short and small for a .30-30 action.
It would take an all new or heavily modified action for a niche round, no payoff to the makers.
Not true, the winchester 94 was chambered for 44mag,
We have built two 336s in 357 Maximum for the same customer. No more. The cartridge is too narrow for the lifter of the 336, and too long for the 1894 to handle. You have to replace the magazine tube, modify the lifter, modify the loading gate, modify the bolt face, and then deal with the feeding issues that come with a long, skinny cartridge. If you want a 35 caliber lever gun that's not a 35 Rem, use a Marlin 1894 in 44 mag and make a 357/44 Bains-Davis. It's a really straightforward modification: new barrel and chamber and done. Modified a Marlin 1894 30+ years ago along with a Ruger Redhawk in 357 for the same customer to 357/44 Bains Davis. Not near as much hassle as turning a 336 into a 357 Maximum.Because it is too long for the regular revolver caliber lever actions like Marlin 94 and Winchester 92 and short and small for a .30-30 action.
It would take an all new or heavily modified action for a niche round, no payoff to the makers.
I looked up the 357/44 Bains Davis rd in Wikipedia and it's impressive with a max pressure of 42,000psi. Further, I looked up the rd on Hodgdon's Reloading Manual site and they have loads for it.We have built two 336s in 357 Maximum for the same customer. No more. The cartridge is too narrow for the lifter of the 336, and too long for the 1894 to handle. You have to replace the magazine tube, modify the lifter, modify the loading gate, modify the bolt face, and then deal with the feeding issues that come with a long, skinny cartridge. If you want a 35 caliber lever gun that's not a 35 Rem, use a Marlin 1894 in 44 mag and make a 357/44 Bains-Davis. It's a really straightforward modification: new barrel and chamber and done. Modified a Marlin 1894 30+ years ago along with a Ruger Redhawk in 357 for the same customer to 357/44 Bains Davis. Not near as much hassle as turning a 336 into a 357 Maximum.
I lived in Pennsylvania when I was young, and my whole family is from there. When I was a kid....many, many years ago, a lot of old timers used to say that the deer in PA were "mule" deer. This myth goes back to a time when Pa. had almost no deer at all. Back in the early 1900's the deer herd in Pa. was nearly entirely wiped out by market hunting and no game laws. My grandfather remembered when he was a kid on the farm that it was a rarity to see a deer track in the woods and even rarer to actually see a deer. This is in places that fifty years later became overrun with deer. The PA game commission brought deer in from Michigan and stocked them back in the 1920's. Those "mule deer" were Michigan deer. When I grew up in Pa. back in the 1950's and 60's it was incomprehensible that there was a time when deer were scarce in that state. It was literally overrun with deer in my younger years.My dad said “mule deer”. Reading up on it, they must have been elk.