I bought a Model 1892 last week in .357 Mag, thinking that this is a pretty nice round. Now I see the .45 Colt is very popular. Did I make a mistake?

dhthorpe,


Is the .357 what you wanted? Does it satisfy your needs? Did you buy it on a whim, or did you have a purpose for it?

The .45 Colt is very popular because it is the most used handgun round in cowboy action games. So it stands to reason rifles in this caliber are popular.
With modern loads from a rifle it can surpasse the .44 Mag. So it has a lot of uses.

For myself I have nothing to do with cas, but the .45 Colt is my all time favorite handgun round. So I have handguns and rifles chambered for it.

My wife likes the .357, when we get her a levergun, it will be .357.

So, did you make a mistake? I don't know, did you?

Sorry for the tone of my post, but only you can decide if you made a mistake buying the .357 or not. It's a great caliber, don't sell it short.

Joe

Thanks for your views on the .45 Colt. By making my inquiry sound kind of stupid, I was trying to draw various opinions. I am not afraid to say that I bought the gun simply because I liked the way it looked and felt, and the fact that it was designed for pistol rounds. I guess that is buying on a whim! I may hunt whitetail with it, and I am becoming interested in CAS. I also have a pistol in .357.

I am not afraid to say that I bought the gun simply because I liked the way it looked and felt, and the fact that it was designed for pistol rounds. I guess that is buying on a whim!
I've done this more times than I can coun't.

My responce was kind of off base a bit because of your last question. "Did I make a mistake"? It seems that I've read a bunch of posts in the last couple years from people spending money on guns and then asking questions. I just kinda got cross. I don't usually answer posts in this maner. Again I apologize.

The .357 Mag cartridge is an excellent mid bore round. In a rifle you can really get some worthwhile velocity increases with the slower burning powders, and slightly heavier bullets.
My wife and I used to have a Marlin 1894CS in .357 that we really enjoyed. But it was sold to pay bills, (never again). So hopefully sometime in the future I'll be able to get her a replacement.

Since you already have a revolver in .357, I'd say you have a good set up. As for cas shooting, I have no experiance with that. The only thing I know is that they have a velocity cap on the ammo used, and many, if not most of the cas shooters seem to use game loads that are just one step short of squib loads.

Enjoy your new 92.

Joe

Thanks Joe.

I bought a Model 1892 last week in .357 Mag, thinking that this is a pretty nice round. Now I see the .45 Colt is very popular. Did I make a mistake?

dhthorpe: I would not say that you made a mistake as it is hard to go wrong with .357 cartridge. In my view it is the most flexible round in the world to reload (do you reload?). It can be loaded very light with lead bullets so reccoil is minimal for all day target practice or loaded heavy for a decent deer cartridge at short range. I found myself asking the same question after my purchase of a .357 Mag Marlin 1894 Cowboy, but after about 5,000 rounds through the rifle, I am glad I went with the .357. the 45 LC is a great round for pistol, but not quite the rifle round a .357 is (in truth, both cartridges are so-so rifle rounds). What the .45 Colt has going for it is authenticity, which is definetely worth something. I'll probably get a .45 Colt down the line myself. --Mykal

The 357mag is a good round for all around use of self defence or hunting ! But just like the bigger rounds you have to place your shots in the kill area of a deer or any other critter ! It will be cheaper to shoot also then the bigger rounds ! I like the 32/20 myself and i have shot dear dead with that ! JAGG

Kind of slow to respond on this one. Went over to a local shop that always has a big display of used guns. I hardly ever buy used guns but a buddy who knows nothing about lever guns tells me there are several new guns on disply we did not see on our last visit. Tells me there is a long barreled
45-70 with full length mag. tube, real cheap. AH! Cowboy marlin, been wishing for one a long time. Turns out to be a 24 in. Rossi in 45 Colt. Bought it any how, on a whim.
My point is if you like a gun and spending the money does not impact you or you family, just do it. Now I have been posting questions on 45 Colt. The best used gun I ever got was from a fellow who got a 300 Win. Mag. and he was real shy about the recoil. He bought it on a whim and now it is one of my favorite guns.

=FLASH=

If you'll do a search here one the forums, you'll see that your little Rossi 92 is a much favored levergun by many here on these boards. I too am much taken by the flexibility of the .357 Rossi, and own a couple of them, a 20" and a 16" version. They've piled up LOTS of game over the years, from silver-gray squirrels, to rabbits and possums, to raccoons and deer. Even have a cow elk to the credit of one of them. With the right load they are very flexible in their field applications, and easy on the pocketbook when rolling your own ammo. Too, bullet selection is almost endless, and the variety of powders that perform well with these guns is impressive.

You'll learn to really enjoy that rifle if you give it half a chance, and don't measure it's worth by how it measures up with a rifle of a different caliber or chambering, but rather by the utilitarian value and enjoyment it brings into your outdoor experience.

Shoot is some, then shoot it a whole lot more.... you'll come to be attached to it!

God Bless,

I bought a Model 1892 last week in .357 Mag, thinking that this is a pretty nice round. Now I see the .45 Colt is very popular. Did I make a mistake?

dh..you did not make a mistake. The .45 is a great caliber, I have no complaints with it but the .357 is one of the most versitle calibers you can have. The diversity in ammo available allows everything from low cost casual plinking to serious hunting. When I want to go out out in the desert and just have some fun, of all the rifles I own, I grab my Rossi .357, some cheap .38's and a bag of apples (great targets and the critters have a feast when your done). On the other hand, for serious shooting, you can buy some $15 to $28 a box hunting loads and have a real powerhouse in your hands. It's like owning two rifles in one.
For Cowboy Action Shooting or just cheap plinkin, heres a place where you can get .38 Specials for under $6 a box, shipped to your door! www.ammodirect.com
You might want to run abox of .38's thru yours to make sure it feeds them ok before ordering. Thou I've never had a problem with mine, some .357 rifles don't feed .38's reliably......... Enjoy!!!

If you really enjoy shooting the 357 rifle is a fun gun to shoot. Get into reloading and shoot it a lot more. You can almost approach the cost of shooting a 22 by rolling your own and shooting cast bullets. You can pick up lead reasonably priced or free if you look around a little. I got about a ton of lino-type free when a newspaper went from lead to plastic. I'm still shooting that and it's been almost 20 years. All I pay for is the primer, powder and cases. Careful loading can make a pistol case last a long time.

Good luck with your new 357 and shoot, shoot, shoot.

I got started with lever guns just a few years back. This happened when researching brass from the 444. It is used to form semi-wildcat rounds for Contenders. I was amazed to find this type of power in lever guns. So I'm no expert and for the sake of a gentlemans arguement , when did the 357 become a serious hunting round. The most credit I have ever heard a so called expert say that it is good for coyotes and javelina. A Rossi in 357 would be a welcome addition for my small lever gun collection but I would only consider it a sporting gun and not a real hunting rifle. Is there something I have missed after having 4 revolvers in this round. This includes the one in the night stand that I count on for protection.

Flashole,

The so-called 'experts' who say a .357 won't work either have never used it, or simply chose bad ammunition.

Perhaps it's just the 'magnumitis' craze we go through where everything smaller than a 20mm cannot gets viewed with a suspicious eye for 90 lb. whitetails... dunno.

I can tell you the deer I've shot went down pretty fast. You do need the correct bullet, but the same can be said with any cartridge.

I think javelinas are tougher than deer, if anything.

The original .357 loadings were used to take all sorts of large game - bear, moose, etc. After all, in the 1930's it was pretty well top of the heap, in terms of handgun power.

Keep in mind that in those days, they were using lead (not jacketed) bullets. Surprise - the lead bullets are still the best choice. Probably the lightweight JHPs gave some bad results on deer.... just a guess.

Try a 180-185gr. cast bullet and prepare to be amazed, especially in a rifle.

Marshall,

What load did you use in the .357 Puma for the cow elk? How far? Where hit?

It was, as you said with the .357 Rossi '92. Load was:

BTB .359"-185gFNGC/16.0g H110/WSPP/Rem Brass

This load clocks over 1800 fps out of the 20" tube on my Rossi, and is very, very predictable and uniform in performance.

Cow elk was about 525 lbs (estimated weight on the hoof), about 75 yards quartering away down-hill. Hit her on the last rib, the bullet angled through hitting the right lung, severing two major arteries at the top of the heart, and exited low, just ahead of the left leg. She was at a brisk walk when hit, and traveled perhaps thirty yards before piling up in a heap. Even in that short travel distance, there was already a good blood-trail pumping out both the entrance and exit wounds.

I'm not saying that I would choose a .357 carbine as a primary elk hunting weapon of choice, but as a tool of opportunity I most definitely wouldn't back down from another elk with this rifle/ammo combination. I carry this little carbine in my saddle-scabbard when riding, and it serves a whole host of duties, for which it's well suited. It just so-happened to become an elk rifle one day!

Odd things happen when you spend enough time in the woods!

God Bless,