357 Mag lever and cast bullets

[handirifle]

How well does this combo work? Am curious of loads at all levels. I have a Savage target rifle I never use and am considering selling it off to buy a pistol cartridge levergun. Also bullets being hard to come by, casting would be preferred. So am wondering about cast loads, reliability, accuracy, etc.

[TomF]

I have 3 357 Marlins--24', 18.5" and 16". I shoot Ranch Dog 190 gr GC boolit designed for the 35 Remington. I load H110. No leading, accurate enough to hit clays at 110 yards. Taken 1 deer and 1 squirrel with it. I crimp on the ogive to get proper feed length. The 357 rifle is a hoot.

I also shoot a marlin 45 Colt X 24" with cast. Same results as above but load with unique. I have taken many deer with it. One can load hot or mild, light and heavy. I seem to carry the 45 more than the 357s.

TomF

[Chuck 100 yd]

Cast works fine in my .357 leverguns. I have pushed em and just poofed em. Any loading in any gun can and will most likely preform differently in another gun of the same make so give it a try.
Have fun!!

[ollogger]

my 357s does great with cast PB or GC
Unique or LIL GUN Mild to wild

ollogger

[TedH]

180 gr. cast RFN with a gas check. 15.0 gr. of LilGun. 1700-1800 fps. Deer slayer.

[Old Ironsights]

180 gr. cast RFN with a gas check. 15.0 gr. of LilGun. 1700-1800 fps. Deer slayer.

Proven. From 30yds to 110 yds. Excellent Urban Defense Rifle too. Doesn't freak out the Sheeple as much as an EBR.

[handirifle]

180 gr. cast RFN with a gas check. 15.0 gr. of LilGun. 1700-1800 fps. Deer slayer.

Proven. From 30yds to 110 yds. Excellent Urban Defense Rifle too. Doesn't freak out the Sheeple as much as an EBR.

Yea, thats always a consideration nowdays. I suppose if a 357 from a handgun can do it, a rifle only makes it better. Are the Marlin pistol round rifles having the familiar Remlin issues or is that a thing of the past yet? Would consider a Henry too but I knowsome do not like the feed tube design. I am undecided. I understand the loss of on the fly reloading.

[TedH]

Latest reports that I've heard suggest that the Remlins coming off the line nowadays are pretty decent. New ones at my local stores I've handled look good, though are priced quite high, IMO.

[gundownunder]

.357 rifles are just about the most fun you can have with your pants on.

Depends on your rifle, but some can be fussy.

My Marlin 20" cowboy will shoot jacketed 158 gr bullets into one hole all day long, 10 rounds into 1" at 50 isn't impossible.
With lead it gets fussy, and won't group with 158 gr at all, like 3 rounds into 6" at 50.
With light and heavy bullets, like 125 gr and 180 gr it will do very well with full pressure loads. It will consistently put 5 rounds into 1.5" at 50, while a friend of mine can put my bullets into under 1" at 50 from his Marlin carbine.
I use mine mainly for cowboy silhouette these days. A 180 gr driven by a load of 2400 or 4227 will do the job on 200 mtr rams if I do my part, provided the rams are not hard set. Shorter ranges or just for plinking a 5gr load of Trailboss is great fun and a couple Lbs of it goes a looong way.

[6pt-sika]

A few years back Lyman cut a SWC GC mold that was in the 215 grain range , when I had the pair of Marlin 1894's in 357 MAG I happened to have one of those molds .

You couldn't crimp it in the actual crimp groove or OAL wouldn't cycle . But if you shortned the OAL a bit it worked fine and shot very nicely on paper at 50 and 100 yards when I did my part !

Had virtually the same results with the Lyamn 358156 FN and the HP version . The RCBS 35-158GC also did a nice job in those two little rifles .

[El Chivo]

Mine are more accurate than 30-30.

[Old Ironsights]

180 gr. cast RFN with a gas check. 15.0 gr. of LilGun. 1700-1800 fps. Deer slayer.

Proven. From 30yds to 110 yds. Excellent Urban Defense Rifle too. Doesn't freak out the Sheeple as much as an EBR.

Yea, thats always a consideration nowdays. I suppose if a 357 from a handgun can do it, a rifle only makes it better. Are the Marlin pistol round rifles having the familiar Remlin issues or is that a thing of the past yet? Would consider a Henry too but I knowsome do not like the feed tube design. I am undecided. I understand the loss of on the fly reloading.

You only lose "on the fly" BULK reloading.

A little training and you can single-feed a tube gun while shooting without working the mag until the ROF requires it. A pocket full of loose ammo can go a long way.

Also: I have found that you can refill the tube pretty quickly using Bianchi Speed Strips like stripper clips to feed the gate.

Still, I would venture that most engagements would never go past a dozen or so rounds anyway... and if they needed to, you should be there with friends, not a different rifle.

[handirifle]

Plus I have weapons better suited for "long term" engagements.