I'm kind of back to the drawing board with what lever gun to get in the hopes of getting one that is as reliable and durable as a lever gun can be. First I was planning on the Uberti 1873 in .357, then my research raised concerns about shooting frequent amounts of .357 Magnum with the relatively weaker toggle link system.
Then I focused on the Winchester/Miroku 1892 in .357, but among CAS shooters there seem to be reported failure to fire issues with the rebounding hammer system and multi-piece firing pin of the Japanese-made current Winchesters.
Maybe I should look at simply getting a .30-30 like a Ruger-made Marlin 336, though I can't find any available right now. The Marlin 1894C in .357 is strong but the infamous "Marlin jam" with those is something I have seen personally and removes it from the running for me.
Potential solutions are getting a different caliber (.30-30 Marlin, .45 Colt Uberti 73, etc), or simply getting the Uberti 73 and limiting myself to only shooting .38 Special for normal shooting and only keep .357 in it for woods or defense use. I am open to suggestions.