I have had a number of various caliber lever guns, and if I was set on a lever gun, it would be a Marlin .45-70. They are very stout and actually lighter than a Marlin 30-30. One hit with factory 300 grain should be definitive.
If I wasn’t set on a lever, I would consider a CZ bolt in 7.62x39. Otherwise I would just go with a Benelli M2/Beretta 1301. The eastern part of southern CA is pretty sparsely settled!
Likes pretty much everything in every caliber.
Reading this thread, got curious, went to the Rossi USA website and found that the only 16” versions shown are all black with a large loop. Sheesh. https://rossiusa.com/lever-action/
Looks like some interesting parts here, including sight options: https://store.stevesgunz.com/
I have a Rossi 92 saddle ring and it's one of my never-sell guns.
Very slim, very light, pretty punchy with heavy .357s. Out to maybe 75 yards it's amazing.
Never done anything to it but drip in a bit of oil, although I agree the loading gate spring is excessive.
Yes, two versions of the 158gr XTP. The FP is listed with a much higher optimal velocity range, and thus is more suitable for heavy loads from a long gun. The 180gr HP XTP is actually listed as a higher BC than the 158 FP, but you get lower muzzle velocity. I think the external ballistics end up being pretty close to a wash much past 75 yards.
My idea about how to exploit the difference is to use the 158 FP over 110/296 for non-revolvers, and use the 180 over 4227, which is single base and less likely to cause flame cutting, in revolvers if I want a heavy load. The 180 will use smaller powder charges at max and has a longer burn time due to the longer, slower-moving bullet, before exposing the cylinder gap. Also, 4227 can be reduced more than 110/296 if you want to do that, although it tends to leave unburned chunks behind if you do. The 180s would then obviously also be usable in guns with no cylinder gap.
I think it's definitely an interesting use case to run standard-pressure .38s in the carbine. They should get about enough velocity bump to equal a 124gr 9mm round from a service pistol. I know Doc keeps downing the concept of a pistol caliber carbine, but I keep thinking about a round that is as effective as a service round with very little felt recoil, about half the peak pressure and a lot more time for pressure to dissipate before the bullet leaves the barrel. Should be very friendly to the shooter. Not hearing-safe, but may do usefully less damage to one's ears if not wearing pro.
Remember that a lot of lever guns made to handle .357s have issues feeding .38 cases. Definitely be sure to vet your gun and ammo, including feeding in a variety of positions, etc.
Taylor's is the current importer of the lever guns made by Chiappa in Italy, AFAIK. I really like that 1892 Alaskan takedown; keep thinking about getting one, especially the threaded version. I happened to handle a .44 Alaskan in a LGS a couple years ago, and it was smooth like you wish Marlins are. I haven't seen any reports about how they hold up to Cowboy competition-type service, though.
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Not another dime.
Gentlemen, I absolutely love this thread. Thank you for all for taking the time to share your experience and knowledge - a .44 Mag lever gun to match a 4in model 29 is pretty make a very serious bucket-list pair for me.
I'm going to tag @Lost River here so he can (hopefully) come post a bunch of awesome pics and share some awesome experience with pistol cal lever guns, so this can officially become my favorite P-F thread.
Likely never will. The only reason people run '92 s are the cheap prices of the Rossi's, and the Alaskan is about 2.5X the price of the basic models. '92's have a much longer lever stroke and it is a competitive disadvantage in SASS, for that price you get a new '66 or '73 which is much more competitive and faster to run, and unlike the '92 those models will accept short stroke kits which make them even faster. The Alaskan is illegal for NCOWS because it is not an original configuration.
I do think it is a neat gun. I have seen very few people break a Rossi '92 action running them hard and the Chiappa guys tend to import quality guns.
Had a EMF (Rossi) M92 20" Carbine in .357 that was very nice. Never a problem with it.