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Marlin vs Henry vs Chiappa vs Rossi


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I'm seriously looking for a lever action in either 357 or 44mg (I'm not that concerned which tbh) but what I'm unsure of is which of the big manufacturers - Marlin, Henry, Chiappa or even Rossi deserves my hard earned money?  For any of you guys that have fired these rifles, what are your biggest pros and cons?

Any advice will be gladly received,

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The Chiappa Alaskan is very good, I have used one a few times now, most recently I put 100's of rounds though one while on a visit to their factory in Italy. It was .44 Mag and was my favourite out of all the rifles/shotguns/pistols that I tried.

I have found the Marlins I have used work best in .38/.357 for some reason but admit my experience is limited. 

Henry are alright but they don't have side gate reloading (though they have just launched one with a sidegate in the USA). 

Good luck with your purchase!

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I have a Henry in 45/70 and a Marlin in 44Rem.   The Marlin was absolute crap out of the box (I believe they're a lot better now), I had to spend hours fettling the action and trigger to work well.

The standard buckhorn sights don't work for me so I fitted a peephole vernier sight.

The Henry is excellent in all departments - the magazine loading is a matter of taste.  The ghost-ring sights are good but I prefer a scope.

I had a good look at Chiappa a few weeks ago and they are impressive on the face of it (I didn't get to shoot one).

If you intend to fit a scope, Winchester actions are more restrictive due to top eject.

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Marlin every time.

They were a lot of dogs about when the factory moved, I bought a stainless one, and could not get it to work. It went back and a new blued one replaced it. I tuned and slicked that one, and used it to good effect in the England team for 3 years. It never misses a beat.

The old JM stamped Marlins are coming back down in price again, and a sure bet. The new marlins are good again too.

Rossi's are ok, but winchester style internals, which are a swine to work on [as are winchesters ]

No experience of Henry , but would love one.

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Hmmm, I've had or have quite a few lever actions, but mostly Marlin and one Henry.

Marlin's were: a 22 LR 39A TDS (short-barreled takedown); a 25-20 WCF 1894 Classic; a 32-20 WCF 1894 Classic; a 38-55 WCF 336 Cowboy; a 44 Remington Magnum 1894; and a 45-70 Gov. 1895 XLR. All bar the 45-70 was pre-Remington and were very well made. The Remington-era 45-70 needed a lot of fettling, as there were sharp edges everywhere and the trigger wasn't very good. The 32-20, 38-55 and 45-70 were all very accurate, within the limitations of the firearms, but for gallery rifle shooting, with low-power ammo, all were one ragged 10-shot hole-capable at 25 yards.

The Henry Big Boy Classic, in 327 Federal Magnum, is well built and accurate with both low- and full-power loads. Only negative is that it's temperamental with the bullet head shape and its material, along with the round length. Plus, in my model, ejection is very poor compared to all my Marlins.

I have tried fellow shooters' Brownings (Mirukos) Rossis, Winchesters (Mirukos) and Ubertis. The Brownings, Ubertis and Winchesters are generally very well made, the Rossis more basic. I don't have enough range time with them to say more.

I wish Marlin made a comparable model to the now-defunct 32-20 1894 Classic, but in 327 Federal Magnum. I loved my 32-20 1894 Classic, but the case life was terrible, mainly as they are paper-thin as they were originally designed to hold bulkier black powder charges. The 327 Federal Magnum round is like the high-velocity versions of the 32-20, but on steroids, its performance in a rifle similar to the 30 Carbine.

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What are you looking to ‘do’ with the rifle? Do you need to mount a scope? Are you looking to shoot gallery rifle or just for fun.

This sort of thing will ‘shape’ which rifle you go for. Also try before you buy if possible - they are all a bit different.

I’ve had Marlins in 44mag and 32-20 , they were pre Remington buyout which is when the issues creep in , think  this is sorted now? Have shot Winchester  92’s and 94’s, did not like the feel of the 94.  Some of the modern copies of Winchesters are really nice, other not so.

Lever rifles are indeed different and fun, the bigger cartridges can be a bit of a monster in full loads, but definite grin factor,  I’ve owned an 86 in 45-70 and a Brownchester 71 in 348 Winchester which was very well made by Miroku, accurate. 

My bucket list is a re-finished big bore by Turnbull :  https://www.turnbullrestoration.com/

Big selection of fun out there - you just need to decide ‘which one?’

T

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To the OP .

i think the one thing that your going to hear from all of us that have or owned an underlever is there all great really , there just good fun and there also be challenging enough with open sights @ 50/75/100 to keep you interested for a long time . 
also when your at the range there a great talking point . 

in the same way the lads shoot the 303s and the other old rifles , it’s History! 
so for what it’s worth my advice would be . Just find a calibre you like , if your not going to reload stick to the generic calibres  .22/.357-38/ 44 mag 

if your going to reload then get whatever takes your fancy .

once you have got the calibre sorted just find a rifle that feels right in the shoulder and you are able to cycle smoothly.

what ever you buy your gonna have a blast with 👍

I only went for 44/40 WCF for the historic side as it’s a Black powder cartridge and that’s how I like to use it , I do use smokeless powders Now and then , but black powder gets under your skin 👍

keep us all updated . 

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The new Japanese Winchester’s are very nice guns, far better than any of the factory rifles coming out of the states at the moment. 

I’ve got a recent Marlin 1895 and while it’s a nice gun the general finish isn’t as good as my Japanese 1873 Winchester. You need to strip it down and remove all of the sharp corners or you’ll end up cutting yourself on the loading gate!!

My friend has the Henry and it’s very smooth to cycle and shoots well but it’s let down by the barrel finish, It looks like it only saw a sheet of 120 grit paper before being blued!

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I bought a little used Rossi 92 in .44mag for cheap, simple fun at gallery ranges. Granted it doesn’t look as fully refined as some, but at a 1/3 the cost of some, I wouldn’t expect it to. However the main this is that it shoots...and does so reliably.

The 92 was a bit rough/tough to cycle but I knew that was likely to be the case and ordered a replacement spring kit.

Stripping the gun is simple (if a little fiddly), replacement springs more than halved the effort of cycling. And whilst the bits were out, I took a bit of time to gently polish/smooth out the edges of critical sliding surfaces. 

It is now very very smooth, very easy to cycle and feeds/ejects perfectly.

Shoots lead cast no problem.

Theres loads of good vids on YouTube and info on the web about simple smoothing of the Rossi 92. Very easy to do and they just work. Supposedly they’re one of the few manufacturers who’s guns follow an original design pattern intended to work well with straight walled cartridges.

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had a blast today at the range despite the torrential rain  . Pic below was my 44/40 WCF 75m shooting off elbows with  standard open buckthorn sight and 200 grain RNFB bullets .

feeling rather pleased  with myself as my last PB was nearly a twice the size ( I have been practicing my ass off though over the past few weeks ) 

the squares are 1” 

3423E7BA-EEC2-4A92-B42D-2CCF5AFB95E3.jpeg

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+1 for Henry. Customer service is outstanding along with fit and finish. I have .357 Golden Boy and .44 steel. .357 accuracy with magnum loads is impressive, the heavy octagonal barrel is likely a factor. Overall would highly recommend and tube loading is fine. 

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On 10/26/2019 at 7:58 AM, terryh said:

What are you looking to ‘do’ with the rifle? Do you need to mount a scope? Are you looking to shoot gallery rifle or just for fun.

This sort of thing will ‘shape’ which rifle you go for. Also try before you buy if possible - they are all a bit different.

I’ve had Marlins in 44mag and 32-20 , they were pre Remington buyout which is when the issues creep in , think  this is sorted now? Have shot Winchester  92’s and 94’s, did not like the feel of the 94.  Some of the modern copies of Winchesters are really nice, other not so.

Lever rifles are indeed different and fun, the bigger cartridges can be a bit of a monster in full loads, but definite grin factor,  I’ve owned an 86 in 45-70 and a Brownchester 71 in 348 Winchester which was very well made by Miroku, accurate. 

My bucket list is a re-finished big bore by Turnbull :  https://www.turnbullrestoration.com/

Big selection of fun out there - you just need to decide ‘which one?’

T

Thanks Terry,

 

I'm definitely looking for grin factor.  I fire 22.lr every week and i love it, but fancy something with a bit more oompf whilst still being cheap and easy to reload for.  I'll be using irons, maybe I'll fit a skinner or ghost ring sight.

 

I think i can rule out the Rossi, i was shooting our clubs 92 this weekend and it was a bit rough to cycle, and weirdly...on a number of occasions spat out the following live round with the previous empty.

I have to say, I'm probably leaning towards Marlin but am hoping to get my hands on a Chiappa Alaskan for comparison.

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On 10/27/2019 at 11:55 PM, JonM said:

+1 for Henry. Customer service is outstanding along with fit and finish. I have .357 Golden Boy and .44 steel. .357 accuracy with magnum loads is impressive, the heavy octagonal barrel is likely a factor. Overall would highly recommend and tube loading is fine. 

Thanks,

I have to say, everywhere i read, the quality of the Henry comes up as a positive.  My only concern is the tube loading and if you think its not a deal breaker maybe i'll have a look at one.

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4 hours ago, iamJim said:

Thanks,

I have to say, everywhere i read, the quality of the Henry comes up as a positive.  My only concern is the tube loading and if you think its not a deal breaker maybe i'll have a look at one.

Possibly a problem if a grizzly bear is running towards you and you've got to get one up the spout right quick but otherwise I find no issue with tube loading (45/70 so only five rounds).

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  • 3 weeks later...
56 minutes ago, iamJim said:

@One on top of two Thanks for the advice,  I had a chance at the target show last weekend to look at a few and i really liked the Henry Golden Boy, it felt so well made and solid.  So there we go, Despite not thinking i would, i'm going for the Henry in .44.

I will be adding a Skinner sight though!

you won't be disappointed by the quality - enjoy!

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  • 1 year later...

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