CAS .357 Lever Rifle: What is Best

[Hillbilly Harry]

Hi All

This is my first season for Cowbay Action Shooting. I have a Chiappa 1892 - .357 Lever Rifle and like it but would like to upgrade. I did have some difficulties withthe rifle jamming, but with some tweeks to the ammo (factory crimp) it works good.

I have been looking at the Uberti, Marlin & Winchester 1873 in .357 as a replacement. I'm looking for a smoother action and less jamming.

I was just curious what others like using and if they prefer certain rifles over others.

Need your experience.

Thank-you
Hillbilly Harry

 

[kraigwy]

To confess, I haven't tried many of the others, but I sure like my Marlin '94 in 38/357. Don't think you could go wrong with one of those.

 

[jmortimer]

Probably a short stroked 1873 like this:
http://www.evilroy.com/store/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=1_4&products_id=224

 

[mehavey]

I'm very interested in the Chiappa jams,

Take a look here at my own experience: http://thefiringline.com/forums/showpost.php?p=5089628&postcount=10

Can you give us some additional info on what/why it didn't eat certain thing?

 

[Crunchy Frog]

The '92 has a very strong action and it can be smoothed up but it will never run as smoothly as a '73 (the '66 has essentially the same action).

The Marlin is a good solid gun and can be slicked up as well but if you look at what the top shooters in state/regional/national matches are using, you will see '73s almost all of the time. You might be able to find a good Marlin at a lower price than you would pay for a '73. After Remington purchased Marlin and moved the rifle production facility there were some widely reported quality issues and the price of the older guns went up. One hears they are better now.

Winchester has not made an 1873 for quite some time. The ones you see used today are reproductions and almost all of them are manufactured by Uberti. Many are sold under various importer names such as Cimarron, Navy Arms, or Taylors and Company.

This is an expensive rifle out of the box, and most cowboy shooters have work done on the guns to make them run right so add more dollar signs. Occasionally you will find a used rifle that will save you a little money.

 

[Big Shrek]

The Marlin I used for SASS ran like a dream, after being cleaned up and polishing the necessary components...
Wish I still had it...sold it when I needed funds badly, missed it ever since...