# .357 Marlin Lever Action loads



## fishnfeathers (Jan 6, 2004)

I have a chance to pickup on a bunch of .357 ammo that was loaded for a Marlin .357 Lever Action rifle. I have a Ruger .357 revolver, do you guys think the ammo would be ok to shoot out of it?


----------



## Wildone (Aug 8, 2008)

fishnfeathers said:


> I have a chance to pickup on a bunch of .357 ammo that was loaded for a Marlin .357 Lever Action rifle. I have a Ruger .357 revolver, do you guys think the ammo would be ok to shoot out of it?


 How do you like your lever .357? That seems like a neat and fun little gun.
I have read guys load 200gr hardcast and kill deer 200 yards out.


----------



## Ron L (Nov 12, 2000)

Question is how was it loaded? OAL? How much of what powder? What bullet weight? 

Ammo that's "loaded for a Marlin" may only be loaded specifically for that gun because that's the accurate round for that particular rifle. 

I used to load the same basic ammo for both my Marlin and my Dan Wesson, but I was sure that both firearms could handle them. For me, it wasn't so much a round for one gun, but when I found one load that worked well out of both guns, I'd stick with it.


----------



## Ron L (Nov 12, 2000)

Wildone said:


> How do you like your lever .357? That seems like a neat and fun little gun.
> I have read guys load 200gr hardcast and kill deer 200 yards out.


Not to butt in, but I love my Marlin. I have some 170 and 180 grain handloads 
that would shoot very well. Nowadays, some ammo makers are loading 170, 180, & 200 grain bullets for 357 Magnum. I wouldn't stretch a shot to 200 yards, but within somewhat "normal" ranges, those would be a great round.

The rifle has a great grin factor and, once I've gotten a new shooter comfortable with a .22, then we load then Marlin with .38's, then later with .357. It really fills in the gap nicely between a .22 and a bigger rifle.


----------



## Wildone (Aug 8, 2008)

Ron L said:


> Not to butt in, but I love my Marlin. I have some 170 and 180 grain handloads
> that would shoot very well. Nowadays, some ammo makers are loading 170, 180, & 200 grain bullets for 357 Magnum. I wouldn't stretch a shot to 200 yards, but within somewhat "normal" ranges, those would be a great round.
> 
> The rifle has a great grin factor and, once I've gotten a new shooter comfortable with a .22, then we load then Marlin with .38's, then later with .357. It really fills in the gap nicely between a .22 and a bigger rifle.


 No problem at all...I have always wanted on of them. I wish they had it in the .357 Maximum (not the Maximum magazine)  than you could shoot 3 cartridges of of the same gun.


----------



## ajmorell (Apr 27, 2007)

Ron L said:


> Question is how was it loaded? OAL? How much of what powder? What bullet weight?
> 
> Ammo that's "loaded for a Marlin" may only be loaded specifically for that gun because that's the accurate round for that particular rifle.
> 
> I used to load the same basic ammo for both my Marlin and my Dan Wesson, but I was sure that both firearms could handle them. For me, it wasn't so much a round for one gun, but when I found one load that worked well out of both guns, I'd stick with it.



x2 but I would say the OAL is what will probably determine whether or not he can 'shoot' it out of the gun. It might not be super accurate if the load was worked up for a rifle but it should fire out of the revolver (Ruger's are built as stout as any other revolver out there) if it fits.


----------



## jmoser (Sep 11, 2002)

If you have a Ruger Single Action [Blackhawk] I would feel OK, Double Action [GP100] are not as strong but still much stronger than other makes. Some load data for .357 rifles is far higher than revolver pressures but I have gone off the charts in my Ruger handguns safely.

The Blackhawk cylinder is long enough for any COAL that will feed in a Marlin, my Blackhawk 180 XTP loads are too long to feed in my buddies lever gun!


----------



## Ron L (Nov 12, 2000)

Wildone said:


> I wish they had it in the .357 Maximum (not the Maximum magazine)  than you could shoot 3 cartridges of of the same gun.


We're on the same page here. Once upon a time, I looked into a couple of Marlin custom gunsmiths that did a lot of action work and a couple of them said it could be feasable but very expensive. I suppose if you wanted a nice truly custom gun and didn't mind paying for it, it could be done. That thought still lingers on my mind. Maybe one day....


----------



## fishnfeathers (Jan 6, 2004)

jmoser said:


> If you have a Ruger Single Action [Blackhawk] I would feel OK, Double Action [GP100] are not as strong but still much stronger than other makes. Some load data for .357 rifles is far higher than revolver pressures but I have gone off the charts in my Ruger handguns safely.
> 
> The Blackhawk cylinder is long enough for any COAL that will feed in a Marlin, my Blackhawk 180 XTP loads are too long to feed in my buddies lever gun!


I would be shooting them out of a GP100, it has a good strong frame. If it was my Super Red Hawk I wouldn't even give it a second thought. Have you shot the same hot loads out of your GP100 as you do your Blackhawk?


----------



## old professor (Oct 26, 2008)

I am shooting hot Buffalo Bore 180 gr and Corbon 200 gr out of my GP100 with no problems. My concern would be knowing exactly what the handload was, ie: pressure and velocity.


----------



## jmoser (Sep 11, 2002)

fishnfeathers said:


> Have you shot the same hot loads out of your GP100 as you do your Blackhawk?


No - the Blackhawk can take more than the GP100 and the COAL is too long anyway to chamber in the GP. I'll check some data and see how hot the rifle loads look compared to some o my GP100 rounds.


----------



## fishnfeathers (Jan 6, 2004)

jmoser said:


> No - the Blackhawk can take more than the GP100 and the COAL is too long anyway to chamber in the GP. I'll check some data and see how hot the rifle loads look compared to some o my GP100 rounds.


Thanks, I really appreciate that! My dad loaded the rounds and he passed away recently and I have been trying to figure out how he has them loaded. He told me he had loaded them for his Marlin but I never did ask him what they were loaded with.


----------

