This sub forum is new for me, just asking on options an a lever stainless in 357?

Marlin.......pre Remington $$$$$$$$$$ even a blue/walnut 357 will start at $900

Henry.........probably the easiest to locate....just remember the tube loading

Rossi......strong......C/S sucks......357 in any lever is tough to find

https://www.henryusa.com/rifles/all-weather-big-boy/

I've had trouble with the Marlin .357 lever actions, both blued and steel.

I had the blued gun on a mid winter jackrabbit hunt, temps around zero. The loading gate is on a long spring. The little screw that holds the spring to the frame broke mid-hunt. End of that. I don't know if it was defective or didn't handle the pretty intense cold well.

The stainless gun was one of the big loop carbines with picatinny rail. I bought it for a bedroom gun mostly with maybe some hunting later. I got it home. It would not accept a 2nd shell into the magazine. Rather than wait weeks for Marlin to maybe fix it, I told them to give me my money back and I bought an AR for that job instead.

I can't speak to the other options.

Tom

I’ve got a Marlin 1894 CSBL in .357 and love it, no issues. I did take it apart and smooth out the edges around the loading port and took some of the spring pressure off the loading gate by bending it a little. Feeds and functions fine and accuracy is great.

Have owned 3 Rossi's and 2 Marlins in stainless, all good shooters. No experience with the hard chrome finish on the Henry model.

I have my ffl trying to locate a Henry 357. Seen in short supply currently.

Buds shows the Henry 357 in stock. I've got one. Great gun. Wouldn't mind getting the one with the side loading gate, but other guns have priority right now.

is this junk?

Those Rossis are not junk. The local store has that model in stock. The safety on the bolt is a bit of an eye sore. The wood could be finished better. The action is not buttery smooth like the Henry but it does work as designed when you handle it with authority.

trying to find it in stock locally and I can't, I found a blued one, but not stainless

Steves Gunz makes a replacement filler for that eyesore safety, its a snap to change.

...he also makes a filler that uses a Skinner peep to replace the safety lever. It's the cat's meow.

Middle son recently bought a threaded Henry 38/357. I sent him a 4x Weaver Classic and a box of 180 gr XTP 357 handloads. A trip to his future family's property resulted in a dead whitetail and hog. He advises it shoots very well.

Rossi 92's very popular here in Australia for shooting pigs mostly. Both blued and stainless. Be wary of the 24" versions with the octagonal barrels. Great shooters, but heavy. Original octagonal barrels had a lot more taper, Rossis seem almost paralell sided

Has their popularity increased since the Port Arthur gun control or have they always been popular?

Not trying to hyjack this thread, but what is a Marlin SBL in 44 worth? Are all of these made in CT? Or were some made in NC?

It looks like I shoudla bought one when i could. (Wry grimace).