.357 lever

[bushfox25]

Anybody have any experience with .357 lever guns? How do you like them and how is the .357 for deer hunting?

[creeky]

I've had one since I was 16. (I'm 38 now.)

It's a marlin with a williams peep sight. Love it!

Just a plain great gun to shoot. Pins, paper, etc.

I have carried it deer hunting before but never saw anything while

carrying it though. My Dad bought it for me because when he was

a boy he used to borrow a lever action in 32-20. I thought that it

was too light for deer, but he said "not if you aim for the head son." LOL!

I think it would do okay for deer... but I'd rather have a 35 rem, 45-70,

44 mag... or even a dirty 30-30.

But I can't over state how much fun it is to shoot. My 11 year old

loves it as well. he shoots .38s through it mostly. Though the .357 isn't

much different for him. Just a hotter barrel.

[cknight8]

i have a Marlin 1894c in .357 that i love! it is one fun rifle to shoot. i have Williams peep sight on it (shouldnt all lever guns where some sort of peep?) and it is very accurate as long as i do my part. i have never deer hunted with it before, although i'm sure it would work if you kept your distances short and treated it like a loud bow and arrow. by that i mean keep your shots off the shoulders and in the lung/heart area. here are some pics of mine...

Edited June 12, 2008 by cknight98
forgot a word that kinda changed the meaning...

[creeky]

(should all lever guns where some sort of peep?)

I think so!

Was going to post a picture of mine but it looks exactly like yours.

[cknight8]

I think so!

Was going to post a picture of mine but it looks exactly like yours.

that should have read "Shouldnt all lever guns..." i'm editing it now to change it... also, i agree 100%, all my levers have peeps. scopes just ruin the smooth fluid lines of a good lever gun IMHO.

[KahrMan]

.357's have taken a lot of deer over the years. With that being said, I feel that is a slightly underpowered round for deer. If you keep you distances to bow range and only take good broadside shots you will be ok. The problem is if the deer is farther away or at different angles the round lacks the energy to cleanly take a deer. IMHO.

[molonlabetn]

I have one, never hunted with it, but it's very fun to shoot. I'm sure with some potent .357mag loads, such as Double-Tap, Buffalo-Bore or Hornady's new Leverution, it would be perfectly sufficient for medium game, such as the deer around here, inside of 100yd.

[KahrMan]

I saw in a Hornady Leverevolution ad that the energy for the 140gr round out of an 18" barrel is low to mid 800's ft/lb of energy at 50 yards. That is plenty of power for the deer in TN. At 100 yards it dropped to the loww 500's which is iffy. Keep your shots at reasonable distances and I think you have a great deer gun.

[bushfox25]

Thanks for the responses guys.

[Woody]

i have a Marlin 1894c in .357 that i love! it is one fun rifle to shoot. i have Williams peep sight on it (shouldnt all lever guns where some sort of peep?) and it is very accurate as long as i do my part. i have never deer hunted with it before, although i'm sure it would work if you kept your distances short and treated it like a loud bow and arrow. by that i mean keep your shots off the shoulders and in the lung/heart area. here are some pics of mine...

I have the same gun. I've had mine for 23 years (I think).

Great little rifle !

[Guest Smitty]

That's the exact same rifle I had when I was younger deer hunting, but I had a scope on mine hehe. Anyway, it's a great rifle for deer hunting. It always put the deer down in one, well placed shot in the vitals area. It did the job well for me imo.

[Woody]

Mine has a scope also, with scope rings so I can use the open sights as well. All this talk makes me want to get mine out and run a few rounds through it !! ( I think I will...)

[strob2000]

bushfox, I just bought a 44 mag lever and love it, 357 is next on my list and should be adequate for deer with the right loads and within range.