Rossi1892, as we know cheap, extremely strong, rough from the factory .
Marlin 94, still produced under remington(or was). For a while the quality dropped but apparently the ones made in the last few years are very good. Either get an older JM stamped marlin or a very new one.
Chiappa 1892, I dont like to say anything bad about companies but after the warranty issues I had.. I am not interested in them anymore. They do a takedown though if that is your thing.
Winchester/Miroku 1892, high quality and well finished 1892, expensive.
Uberti 1873, heavier weaker action, stylish guns, similar price to Win/miroku
Winchester/Miroku 1873. See above comments for the Uberti. Win/miroku probably has slight quality advantage.
Browning 1892, probably the best 1892 ever made, but only produced in the 1980's, hard to find, command a premium these days.
Henry- I have no experience with them. Personally I am not interested in their end tube loading models.
My personal choice is a Rossi 1892. The cheapest of the lot, possibly the strongest, also 1892 is the smallest action. 20" barrel version weighs only about 6lbs, 16" is even lighter. Mounting optics in the scout position is doable. As mentioned they can be rough from the factory, there are DVD's out there to smooth them up a little, or give to a gunsmith to do the once over. A stainless little rossi smoothed out is a great truck gun.
As to which feed 38 special best in 357 it is individual to the rifle. Some dont like short 38 specials or bullets too wide. People generally consider the 1873 to be a little more tolerant on average than the 1892 but again it will come down to the gun. Ask on any forum you will get different votes for 94, 92, 73 being the easiest feeding
