Wanting to get a lever gun in 45 colt but I really want a ruger only chamber pressure tolerance. I see a lot of good about the Rossi R92 but am concerned about the stainless finish and quality of the wood. I want this to last a while but I simply don’t have the budget for a Henry or a marlin. My main concerns honestly is its potential to rust. I can work on wood as I gets older if I really need to.
Bought my do it all rifle today and I gotta say I’m excited to see how it groups next weekend. The fit/finish is fantastic, breaks down for easy travel, and is 30-06 so I can find ammo at literally anywhere that sells ammo across the US. Debating on throwing a scope on or just rocking the irons for a while. Also my first Browning. Color me impressed so far.
Swapped the plastic buttstock and forend over to the SBL laminate setup. Keep it or switch back? Thoughts?
I’m leaning towards the laminate more, mostly because I hunt November in Maine with no gloves…
It’s pretty crude but it’s functional so I’m happy with it
Hey gang; Looking for some insight as to what my best option is. I currently own a Marlin 1895 Trapper version in 45-70GOV. Upgraded most of the guns internal components; trigger, tube feeder; loading gate, etc.. Looking to purchase a suppressor to finish out the look. I’m looking for a version that has a flash hider that is screwed on the barrel and the can clicks on over it; if that makes sense! I’m not sure how to exactly describe it; sorry for my lack of proper description. This I think would look awesome; however, if there is a superior product recommended its not set in stone. Appreciate any suggestions and insight!!
Been shopping for a straight-wall lever gun for Ohio deer season, most shots 60-200 yards. I ran the ballistics on everything legal plus a couple bottleneck classics for reference, and the .360 BH came out on top for that job. The numbers surprised me.
Before the tables, here's a TL;DR, because half the replies to posts like this go the same way: this is NOT a "360BH beats 350 Legend" post. The 350L is great and its cheap ammo is unbeatable. The BH is a different thing: a modern .35 Rem for lever guns, straight-wall legal, which the .35 Rem never was. If you don't want a lever gun, none of this is aimed at you.
Two things follow from that. One, the BH is niche and always will be, so waiting for it to "overtake" the 350L is waiting on a race it isn't running (the .35 Rem stayed niche for 70 years, and the BH can have the same story if people just stop worrying about it). Two, if cheap FMJ is your dealbreaker, consider how much you actually plink with your hunting rifle. Mine goes to the range to zero and knock the rust off before season, and every one of those rounds might as well be the round I hunt with.
Tables first, takeaways after.
Typical factory hunting loads, 16-20" barrels, velocity (fps) / energy (ft-lb):
| Cartridge | Muzzle | 50 yd | 100 yd | 150 yd | 200 yd |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| .30-30 (150gr)* | 2390 / 1900 | 2200 / 1610 | 2020 / 1360 | 1850 / 1140 | 1685 / 945 |
| .35 Rem (200gr)* | 2080 / 1920 | 1880 / 1570 | 1700 / 1280 | 1535 / 1045 | 1385 / 850 |
| .357 Mag (158gr carbine) | 1800 / 1135 | 1650 / 955 | 1480 / 770 | 1350 / 640 | 1230 / 530 |
| .357 Mag (Buffalo Bore 158gr, carbine) | 2153 / 1625 | 1965 / 1355 | 1790 / 1125 | 1630 / 930 | 1485 / 775 |
| .350 Legend (150gr) | 2325 / 1800 | 2170 / 1570 | 2020 / 1360 | 1880 / 1175 | 1740 / 1010 |
| .360 BH (180gr) | 2400 / 2300 | 2240 / 2005 | 2085 / 1735 | 1935 / 1495 | 1790 / 1285 |
| .400 Legend (215gr) | 2250 / 2415 | 2100 / 2105 | 1955 / 1820 | 1815 / 1575 | 1690 / 1360 |
| .444 Marlin (265gr FTX) | 2325 / 3180 | 2140 / 2700 | 1970 / 2285 | 1810 / 1925 | 1650 / 1605 |
| .45-70 (325gr FTX) | 2050 / 3030 | 1885 / 2565 | 1730 / 2160 | 1585 / 1815 | 1450 / 1515 |
| .44 Mag (240gr carbine) | 1760 / 1650 | 1560 / 1300 | 1380 / 1015 | 1240 / 820 | 1115 / 660 |
| .450 BM (250gr) | 2200 / 2685 | 2015 / 2255 | 1840 / 1880 | 1680 / 1560 | 1525 / 1290 |
| 20ga sabot slug (260gr, rifled bbl) | 1900 / 2085 | 1730 / 1725 | 1575 / 1430 | 1435 / 1190 | 1305 / 985 |
*bottleneck, not straight-wall legal, included for reference
Same data, ranked by energy. Watch who moves between these two lists:
Muzzle energy, most to least:
| Rank | Cartridge | ft-lb |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | .444 Marlin | 3180 |
| 2 | .45-70 | 3030 |
| 3 | .450 BM | 2685 |
| 4 | .400 Legend | 2415 |
| 5 | .360 BH | 2300 |
| 6 | 20ga sabot slug | 2085 |
| 7 | .35 Rem | 1920 |
| 8 | .30-30 | 1900 |
| 9 | .350 Legend | 1800 |
| 10 | .44 Mag | 1650 |
| 11 | .357 Mag (Buffalo Bore) | 1625 |
| 12 | .357 Mag (standard) | 1135 |
Energy at 200 yards, most to least:
| Rank | Cartridge | ft-lb |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | .444 Marlin | 1605 |
| 2 | .45-70 | 1515 |
| 3 | .400 Legend | 1360 |
| 4 | .450 BM | 1290 |
| 5 | .360 BH | 1285 |
| 6 | .350 Legend | 1010 |
| 7 | 20ga sabot slug | 985 |
| 8 | .30-30 | 945 |
| 9 | .35 Rem | 850 |
| 10 | .357 Mag (Buffalo Bore) | 775 |
| 11 | .44 Mag | 660 |
| 12 | .357 Mag (standard) | 530 |
Drop with a 100-yd zero:
| Cartridge | 150 yd | 200 yd |
|---|---|---|
| .30-30 | -3.2" | -8.5" |
| .35 Rem | -4.6" | -12" |
| .357 Mag (standard) | -6.5" | -16" |
| .357 Mag (Buffalo Bore) | -4.4" | -11" |
| .360 BH | -2.8" | -7.4" |
| .350 Legend | -3.0" | -7.8" |
| .400 Legend | -3.2" | -8.3" |
| .444 Marlin | -3.5" | -9.2" |
| .45-70 | -4.0" | -11.5" |
| .44 Mag | -7.5" | -18" |
| .450 BM | -3.5" | -9.0" |
| 20ga sabot slug | -4.3" | -12" |
Recoil energy, ~7 lb rifle:
| Cartridge | Recoil (ft-lb) |
|---|---|
| .357 Mag (standard) | ~5 |
| .357 Mag (Buffalo Bore) | ~8-9 |
| .350 Legend | ~9 |
| .30-30 | ~11 |
| .44 Mag | ~11 |
| .35 Rem | ~12 |
| .360 BH | ~12 |
| .400 Legend | ~15 |
| 20ga sabot slug | ~22-24 |
| .450 BM | ~23-25 |
| .444 Marlin | ~25-27 |
| .45-70 (325 FTX) | ~29-33 |
Cost per round buying online right now, hunting loads (checked AmmoSeek/Lucky Gunner/Ammo To Go type retailers, rounded):
| Cartridge | Hunting $/rd | Cheap practice ammo? |
|---|---|---|
| .357 Mag (standard) | $0.75-1.50 | Yes, ~$0.40 FMJ |
| .44 Mag | $0.80-1.30 | Sort of, ~$0.60 |
| .350 Legend | $1.00-1.50 | Yes, ~$0.50-0.60 FMJ |
| .360 BH | $1.25-1.75 | No, hunting loads only |
| .30-30 | $1.30-1.80 | Not really |
| .400 Legend | $1.30-1.80 | Limited |
| .450 BM | $1.50-2.50 | Not really |
| .45-70 | $1.75-3.00 | Not really |
| .357 Mag (Buffalo Bore) | ~$2.00 | No, boutique only |
| .35 Rem | $2.00-3.00+ | No, and it's scarce |
| .444 Marlin | $2.50-3.50+ | No, and it's scarce |
| 20ga sabot slug | $2.50-4.00 | Foster slugs, but different POI |
**What jumped out (ballistics):**
- 360BH's the flattest of the whole group, including the Legends and the .450 BM. -7.4" at 200 from a lever gun with a 100 yard zero. Zero at 150 and you barely have to think about holdover inside 200.
- 360BH outruns the .30-30. Not by a mile, but faster, flatter, and about 340 ft-lb more energy at 200. My grandfather's generation killed everything in the woods with a .30-30 and this does all of that in a case that's legal during straight-wall season.
- Same story vs the .35 Rem. It's 300+ fps faster, 450+ ft-lb more at every distance. The .35 Rem drops under 1000 ft-lb around 160 yards, the BH is still carrying about 1285 at 200.
- Meanwhile the standard .357 falls under 1000 ft-lb by about 50-60 yards from a carbine and the .44 Mag by 100-110. Fine woods cartridges but I wouldn't want them for my longer lanes.
- Credit where due on the hot .357 loads though: Buffalo Bore's 158gr running 2153 fps from a carbine per their own data, which is basically 350 Legend energy at the muzzle. The catch is it's still a 158gr pistol bullet launched from a case half the size... run both out and the BH lands at 200 with ~1300 ft-lb to the .357 BB's ~775, because it left the muzzle with 675 more and 22 more grains of bullet. At ~$2 a round it also gives up the 357's cheap-ammo advantage. Great 125-yard woods setup, but at 775 it runs out of steam (for my preference) before my lanes do.
- The .444 Marlin is straight-wall legal, it's a lever cartridge, and it hits hard (3180 ft-lb at the muzzle, still 1600 at 200 with the 265gr FTX load). But it drops a hair more than the BH, kicks twice as hard (.450 BM territory), rifles are scarce, and ammo runs $2.50-3.50 a round when you can find it. It does 450 BM things with 450 BM downsides.
- The .45-70 is like the .444: straight-wall legal, huge energy, and honestly the easiest big bore lever gun to actually find on a shelf. But with the 325 FTX it's dropping 11.5" at 200, it has the stoutest recoil on this list, and it's only carrying about 230 ft-lb more than the BH at 200 while costing more per round. Both feel like overkill for deer while lacking flatness for distance.
- And for anyone still running a slug gun: a premium 20ga sabot from a rifled barrel hangs in there better than I expected on paper, but the BH beats it on every line (flatter, more energy everywhere, half the recoil, and a third the cost). $2.50-4.00 per slug to sight in/practice with.
- 360BH is rimmed and was actually designed for tube mags and lever actions, unlike the Legends which are AR cartridges that got adapted.
**Recoil and cost:**
The BH gives the most energy per unit of recoil of the serious 200-yard options. It kicks like a .30-30 while the .450 BM is double that (I've watched guys develop a flinch with one in a single range session).
On price, I expected 360BH to have a new-cartridge tax... but instead it's priced right with .30-30 and under .450 BM, with Remington, Federal, and Fiocchi all loading it now and boxes regularly on sale in the $25-28 range. The knock is there's no cheap FMJ practice load... every trigger pull is a hunting round.
**The 350L question:**
To be fair to the .350 Legend: its cheap ammo is structural, not luck. A 4/5 year head start, and it rides the huge AR market, so manufacturers can run high-volume FMJ lines the BH will never justify.
The BH will never be mainstream. It's built for one job (lever gun, straight-wall state), same as the .35 Rem, which served one rifle for 70+ years and never lacked for ammo until Marlin dropped the gun because the company was mismanaged. Shooting an AR or bolt gun? The 350L is the obvious pick. Period.
**Support, three years in:**
Rifles from 5 manufacturers (unless I missed any): Henry, S&W, Rossi, CVA, and Traditions Performance Firearms.
Ammo variety is better than "niche" implies: round-nose Core-Lokt in 180 and 200gr, Federal Power-Shok, Fiocchi, Federal HammerDown (200gr bonded, BC .263, slickest bullet in the cartridge), the new Core-Lokt Tipped (180gr flex tip, BC .212 at the same 2400 fps), and a 160gr Core-Lokt Copper for lead-free zones. The .35 Rem never had it this good. And note: my tables use the round-nose load, the WORST bullet the cartridge shoots. The tipped stuff stretches the 1000 ft-lb line past 250 and cuts wind drift.
**Bottom line:**
For a lever guy in a straight-wall state, unless you need big-bore energy for bear or hogs, the 360 BH is IMO the best tool for deer: flatter than everything, kicks like a .30-30, half the ammo cost of the big bores. Niche? Sure. So was the .35 Rem, and it did just fine.
Anyone else here running one?
What did you just say about my setup? You’ve got no idea what you’re talking about. I run a Henry .357 Model X that’s been built out with absolute precision. Ranger Point Precision upgrades for days. Takedown screws, trigger sear, quiver, and a firing pin that's harder than your erection right now. Your gun is stock? That's cute...Welcome to the show - mechanical perfection manifested as a work of art.
A chisel handguard to match my jawline - no compromises. Only a fool would think those railwoods inserts are for looks, true marksmen know that the flat-top checkering spells P-E-R-F-O-R-M-A-N-C-E every day of the week.
A stock that was made from a tree that a bald eagle nested in, shaped perfectly for control and stability. The finest leatherwork that Tourbon has to offer because seven in the tube wasn’t enough, so I’ve got sixteen more riding on the rifle like it’s nothing. That's right, poppin off 24 times. This rifle might be illegal in 15 states, who knows?
What'd you say to me, you little bitch? Peep that holosun 510 and just know that you're already in my 65 MOA donut of death. That fucker is fast, clean, reliable. But if I feel like it, I can swap over to thermal and turn night into day or add a magnifier and hit you from 3 states away. This isn’t just a rifle, it’s a system.
And it’s not just for show, I’ve put plenty of holes in paper, so everything on this build has been tested where it actually counts.
Everything about it is intentional. Every part upgraded, every detail tuned. It’s not loud, it’s not flashy. It just works, exactly how it’s supposed to.
You’re out here talking like it’s just another lever gun. It’s not. It’s built, balanced, and ready. And if you knew what went into it, you probably wouldn’t be running your mouth about it in the first place.
Now get out there and eat some crayons. Red ones taste the best
Marlin 1894 sbl 357 mag
Damn this thing looks and feels sweet!
Gonna try to get out tomorrow to try her out
Just got my first lever
S&W 1854
I'll be saving up for some additions. I'm going to go to the range later today to try it out. This was the easiest and fastest firearm purchase I've made.
I am a happy boy.
Edit: 357 mag
I’m from NY so our AR platform customization abilities are heavily handicapped and I’m looking to get that fix from a lever action as they aren’t regulated at all in terms of what you can do to them besides suppressing. I’m looking for good recs on something that can give me that and I’d be interested in a more cqb build so I’m sure .357 would be the caliber of choice there. I’m familiar with the Marlin dark series but their 357 seems very hard to come by especially at msrp. Is there any that have good aftermarket support that would allow for mlok furniture without needing too much experience with taking apart and rebuilding the gun itself as this would be my first real time doing so which is another reason I wanna do it! Thank you very much for any help!
It’s a smith&Wesson model 1854 stealth hunter chambered in 357. He gave it to me with an obsidian 9 suppressor and he’s letting me use his eotech. I’m new to guns but I don’t think I’ve ever loved anything more.
Looking to get this a leupold RDS set up on my Marlin guide gun 45–70. I chose to go the route of using my own mount instead of buying the item that comes with the 1 piece mount as I want it as low as possible. Unfortunately, this particular mount is too wide to fit on the rear of the red dot scope. Obviously, it’s not as stable as having one on the front and one on the back but as long as it keeps zero and I realize that any kind of bang to the rear portion of the scope can likely cause additional damage it’s not unreasonable to try to set up, right?
Just picked up a Holosun HS510C+HM3X 3X Magnifier Red Dot Sight Combo for a good deal online for my Smith & Wesson Stealth Hunter in 357.
Waiting for it to ship but debating if it will be a good fit. Was debating on getting a 3x prism but thinking the red dot & 3x magnifier will be the best of both worlds.