Just got a Puma in 357 , took it to the range today, all went fine until………..

I tried to shoot some 38 spl, 148 full wad cutters in it . Seems the OAL was too short and I had to push the one in the mag back into the magazine tube to get the one on the lifter to feed.

Does any one have the minimum OAL for my Puma??

The wad cutters shot the best group 3.0 gr Bulleye so far

Thanks

A lot of lever guns in.357 won't handle even semi wad cutters. let alone wad cutters in 38SP, and a lot won't do it even in a.357 case. Some won't even digest RN in a 38 SP.

You really need little bit of rounding on the bullet to make it slide along the loading ramp.

Best bet for flawless function is to use a flat round nose in a.357 case.

Agreed. jvmm, you're essentially trying to get the rifle to feed an empty case. You'd be hard pressed to find any rifle outside of a falling block or a break action that would do that consistently.

If it will feed SWCs, especially in .38Spl, consider yourself lucky. A truncated cone, WFN, or RN is the recipe for better feeding and you should try those.

Otherwise, check with the 'smiths that run the levers for cowboy action shooting and get their advice.

I did get it to feed a Lee 115 gr swc in spl cases from the mag. so I guess I am lucky!!!

will try to post updates

The Puma shoots standard length 38 spl fine

I appears to be a very good made rifle 1 1/2 to 2 at 50 yards over bags