Ruger Marlin 1894 .357

[Confederate rifleman]

SAAAWEET PIECE!
Ruger got it right. Exceptional wood to metal fit, very fine machining/ polishing of all parts, and pretty slick right outta the box.
Trigger needs work. Gotta be something...
I put a 1.5x Burris on and with 158 gr Federal American Eagle soft points, she shoots! Likes a couple of my handliads too.
VERY mild recoil, .22 size and deer capable?!
I call her " Giggles". First shot, I giggled a bit.
Btw, those Federal 158's are doing 1760 fps...

 

[bronko220002]

I just sold an original Marlin 1894 in 357. They are nice little rifles.

 

[snapbang]

deer capable?!

I have used a 357 pistol on about 5 deer. All within 25-30 yards and all broad side through the rib cage. All showed no real sign of a hit. Walking off tp 50 - 60 yards and standing there. Then after a few seconds they tip over and its done. I think the 357 is very capable of deer size game but pick your shots and don't expect dramatic results. Probably not a good choice for public land and may be a test of your tracing ability after the shot.

I never experimented with different bullets and others may give better results.

Beautiful gun and nice shooter.

 

[Hanshi]

Foolishly, I did not keep my M94 .357 Marlin. I did keep the .44 mag M94 and love that little rifle. I got it at Kmart in the 70s and it wears a 2X Weaver (old steel tubed one) scope that is a perfect combo. It kills deer DRT with my handloads.

I've also used revolvers to kill many of the deer I bagged over the decades. I used two different .357 mags, a .41 mag and a .44 mag. The .357s were an S&W M19 4" and an S&W M686 6". The .41 (my favorite) is an old 3-screw Ruger BH 6.5" and the .44 mag is a Ruger SBH 3-screw 7.5". I never needed more than the first shot from any of them to drop deer quickly. The .357 mags accounted for the majority but all three magnums are excellent. In the .357s I used factory 158 grn JHP, 125 JHP handloads and possibly some other. I, for some reason, consider the .41 ideal for whitetail even though I have no ballistic data or comparison information suggesting exactly why. Maybe I just like the old BH revolver. Handloads with the Hornady 210 grn XTP are amazing. In the .44 I handloaded and used the 240 grn JHP and the 200 grn Hornady JHP. Both did a splendid job of dropping deer right where they stood. The longest shot was a 90 yard kill of a buck. I never liked or used optics on a handgun and preferred stock iron sights. I eventually dropped revolver hunting as my eyesight deteriorated just enough to be bothersome.

I prefer the 200 grn JHP Hornady or Speer in the SBH and favor the 240 grn JHP in the Marlin. If I still hunted deer with handguns I'd have absolute trust and confidence in any of the three magnum cartridges.

 

[Confederate rifleman]

I found some OLD Hornady 158 gr soft points at Dixon's of all places! 600 to be exact. Don't know when they were made, but I have a 1973 Hornady manual that doesn't have them!
I'm not a minimal caliber/ load kinda guy. I'm taking a critter's life and its all it has, so I want to be QUICK about it.
A fast expanding bullet, of modest velocity and power, can punch above its weight due to how fast it dumps its energy in said critter. Assuming adequate penetration. Here the little .357 seem to excel when launched from a carbine. The extra 500 fps does help. A LOT.
I aim to personally find out as soon as possible...

 

[LBAhunter]

Those 158grJSP may have age soften. I would load a few and shoot them in water soaked paper to check'em out.

 

[Confederate rifleman]

I have some 200 grain .35 caliber round nose Core Lokts that has lead oxidized white. Call 'em snowballs.
They do a number on deer!

 

[snapbang]

Here the little .357 seem to excel when launched from a carbine. The extra 500 fps does help. A LOT.

Yeah, I wasn't thinking of the extra velocity from a rifle. Real good point.

 

[LBAhunter]

Over the past few years, the 357/358 caliber has been my go to gun. It's big brother, 357 Max, is my favorite. My 280AI has became a safe queen.