I have had the good fortune to acquire two very nice Marlins, one in .357 and one in .44, over the last coupla months. What kind of distance do you gentleman think I could reasonably expect to kill a deer at with each of these? 75-100yds maybe? Thanks much....Jake.

75 to 100 would be a reasonable expectation.

Few people can shoot a lever rifle with factory sites well enough to take a deer beyond 100 yards. That is a reasonable limit for the handgun cartriges.

I killed one [140 lb doe] right at 200 with my Marlin .357. Got a complete passthrough on a broadside lung shot at that range. Your effective range will have far more to do with YOUR capabilities and the accuracy of your individual rifle/load than any limitations of the cartridge.

Thank you gentlemen. I appreciate your insight.

As an aside, don't ever forget that bullets matter. There's a big difference between a cast SWC and a cup and core or the latest gee wiz bullet. Proper aim hits your target but bullets kill.

Blackbart,

Nice shot...What load did you use?

Doc

I put a scope on my 44 the other day. With out a scope, the factory sights limited me to about 50 yards of confidence. I just can't use them.

With the scope, 2 rounds went into a ragged hole at 50 yards, with Winchester white box. At 100 yards, not so good. Having said that, 2 rounds would be about 1.5 to 2 inches apart then the 3rd would open up to another 4 inches or so. Good enough for hogs and such.

One of the reasons I shot it at 100 yards was to see where the POI was. It was about right on, maybe an inch low.

I too owned both 357 and 44 caliber Marlin Levers. The 44 kicked like a 30-30 so I sold it. Kept the 357.

At 100 yards, the 357 has the velocity and energy of a handgun at the muzzle. So I say 150 yards for deer. I regularly shoot targets at 200 yards with my Marlin 357.

I'd recommend putting a set of XS sights on them. Huge, Huge improvement over the factory sights. Makes shooting out to 100 a breeze.

I'm fond of a Lyman 66 on my Marlins.

Yes, 100yds will be just fine with either caliber. I don't use hollow point bullets for deer with my .357, just soft points or hard cast bullets. YMMV

Ed

You fellas must be blind

With me doing my part behind the trigger, my Marlin can find its mark up to 175yrds easily. This is standing without a sling help. Hitting maybe a 12" circle which is over sized for the killzone of a deer but still impressive given the limitations of the cartridge.

You must be from Lake Woebegone, you know, where all the children are above average? I have a SOTIC Honor Grad plaque with my name on it and I can't do that with my Marlins offhand.

There's no doubt that the rifles are capable of farther shots. Someone not familiar with the sights/trajectory may not want to try it, though. Most people are comfortable out to 75 to 100 yards, and in the terrain that the .357s and .44s are intended to be used in, that is more than sufficient ability.

.357s with 180s, and .44s with 300s can do some long range damage.

The VERY first thing I get rid of on a rifle of that type is the factory sights. Go Receiver sight, young man.

My marlin 1894C in 357 is minute of 12" plate at 200 yards.

I havent looked at the numbers for a while but Im sure a 357 out of a rifle is going a good 400 fps faster than a 6" revolver. That would have it going faster at 100 yds than a revolver at the muzzle. So cetainly with accuracy figured in it can be effective beyond that.

+1 on the sight change. I have the Marlins in .22, .357, .44, .45LC, .45-70 & .30-30 (seems I also have an affliction...... tee hee) All of the above have been outfitted with aftermarket sights & with the exception of the scoped .30-30 all have Skinner Peeps. Not saying they're much (or any) better than the others but I have had great service & performance from them. Just a thought & IMHO well worth a look.

BTW, the .357 is by far my favorite of the rifles. Honestly, probably my favorite rifle that I own. Fun, cheap & accurate. If you ever sell it you'll regret it...... I sold the one I had as a kid & regretted it until the day I got another.

I feel the same way about mine in 44mag. It would be the last of all my guns I would part with. They are great rifles, tons of fun to shoot and perfect for hunting with.

I've had both the 44 mag and 357 marlins. The little 44 mag kicked a little too much for the grandkids so it went down the road. I do like the 357 and with skinner sights 100 yards is no problem. Just a fun gun to shoot too.

Nothing by coincedence. I just bought (yesterday) a 357 marlin w/a Leupole Vari X IIc 4-12x40 on it. I have not shot it yet but going to the range on Monday. I really thought the Leupole was to much for the rifle thinking it was really only good out to 150 yds. What say you guys.
Also what ammo do they like? I also have a Marlin 444 a real cannon and not fun to shoot I am hoping the 357 is nicer!

Haven't shot much factory out of mine but American Eagle 158 grain JSP ammo did very well.

Sounds like a heck of a lot of scope. Too much for me personally, but you may find it differently for you..

I thought to much scope myself but both scope and gun are in great condition and I got them for a little more then the price of the scope. Let you know on Tuesday after the range trip how I did.

Look forward to it! At least you'll be able to see you holes in the target from the bench.

The .357 will be much nicer, recoil wise, than the trip-4.

If I were to hunt with that rifle and considering where a rifle like that would be used, I'd go 1-4X20 or fixed 2.5X20. Field of view would more than likely be more important than magnification.

Hell, I use a reflex sight on one of my "brush guns". It's not precise at 400 yards, but I can flat smoke a whitetail at 50 that's on the move through timber.....pigs hate it, too.

Those Marlin .357s are sweet..

.

My neighbors regularly take deer out to around 200 yards with their 357's with Winchester white box ammo. If you look at the velocities you will see that the 357 is right on the heels of the 30-30 in speed and performance.

As Blackheart said above, the limitation is the shooter not the gun.

I have a Leopold 3X on my stainless 1894 357 shooting the 180gr. Hornday XTP....a perfect bullet for the 18 1/2 inch barrel.

Doc

Finally got my new to me Marlin 357 to the range yesterday. What a great gun to shoot. I was using 38 cal. reloads I bought at a gun show a while back and even with them I was shooting 5" groups at 100 yds. No kick at all and not to heavy. I thought it would act more like my 444 and imprint the butt plate lines into my shoulder, but that didn,t happen. Almost makes me want to sell the 444.
(only kidding)

I like my Skinner sights. Kinda makes the lever gus a bit more sexy.

That should be GUNS

I've got 2 loads for my 1894C. A fairly light load pushing a 125 RNFP cast bullet from a .38Spl case for small game & a fairly healthy dose behind a 158 JHP from a .357 case. Oddly enough both print the same to about 45 yards so there's no need for sight adjustment when shooting the 125's for squirrels & bunnies. I've shot a number of loads for a cast 158 but haven't found a load that doesn't lead up the barrel terribly that I find suitable for deer. I've killed several with the 158 JHP's & all but one were pass thru's but I limit my shots on deer sized game to 75 yards. I know it'll kill farther but I'm not willing to risk it. Me & a buddy shoot 12" plates at 300 with them & hit more than we miss but there's not much steam left out there. A long time favorite rifle/round combo of mine but you gotta know it's limitations. Have fun!!!