Would I be correct in rating the current big names accordingly:

Uberti
Cimmaron
Henry
Rossi
Marlin

I ask because my wife is wanting a lever action .357, probably 20" (has to be octagon) as her first firearms purchase. 1873 style rifle.

I see Cimarron makes one and I always remember them being of pretty good quality.

Any reason to avoid an Uberti or Cimarron?

Prices right now are crazy, I always remember Uberti being around 1100-1200 and now I'm seeing 1500-1600. We have some time to shop around but I want to narrow the search a bit.

My history book says the originator was this now defunct company, Winchester. Better known as Winny. They don't make them these days, but Browning has them manufactured in Japan. From what I've seen, those are better quality than the others. Down in my dungeon I've got a "knock off" of and 1892 and I bought it because it was top notch.

The names mentioned have become kind of famous because of cowboy shooter's. If that's the reason for the purchase then it might make sense.

Winchester makes one with everything she's looking for but it has a 24" barrel.

I'll keep it in mind but I'm leaning towards her wanting the shorter model.

I don't know why I had in my head that newer Winchesters weren't off good quality. Probably nothing to base it one other than internet rumblings getting mixed up in my head.

Most cowboy action shooters use Uberti model 1873s, myself among them.

Great looking and great shooting rifles.

We need Rolan Kraps in this thread.

The other manufacturers, I couldn’t speak to, but I had a Marlin 1894C in .44 Mag that was built in the mid-late 90’s for a few years. That’s one of the few guns I’ve sold that I regret parting with. I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again here, some day a stainless 1894C in .357 mag is on my short list of guns I insist on owning, and I don’t plan to let it walk once I get it.

I know the “Remlin” period is looked down on for iffy quality, but I’ve been reading and hearing good things about the more recent production rifles. Ruger purchased Marlin recently and made a statement to the effect that they want to restore the brand to it’s pre-Remington reputation. Probably, I’ll end up snagging one of those at some point. Ruger takes care of the cowboy action community.

Edit - I see you mentioned 1873 style in .357, but Marlin doesn’t make one of those. They have, however, been making the 1894 since, well... 1894.

ive owned several those makers and I currently only have the Uberti 1873

I’ve got a couple Henry rifles that are excellent. The only problem is that a lot of Henry rifles are heavy, but the quality is very good. I have an older Marlin that is also a very high quality gun. I have no experience with newer Marlins.

Recently I asked here about Rossi rifles and was surprised at the very positive reviews. Unfortunately I have yet to find one in .357 so I have not purchased one yet but that is going to be my next lever gun purchase.

I bought a Uberti 1873 in .45 Colt last fall and it's a great rifle. Fit and finish are very nice. Mine is a 24" octagon barrel and is fairly heavy (also muzzle-heavy) for the caliber. For general use I think a 20" would be a better option, I just love the looks of the longer barrel. The octagon barrel will be heavier than a round barrel in any length, if that's an issue for her.

I used to have a Henry Big Boy in .44 Magnum, also with the octagon barrel, but it was a 20" version. It was a little heavy for the caliber, but not muzzle heavy like my Uberti is. It was good quality gun too.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Expert308,

Cimarron is not a manufacturer. Most if not all of their guns are made by Uberti.

This is the way that I would rate them:

Winchester (Miroku)
Uberti / Cimarron / Taylor's / Beretta Renegade (Beretta owns Uberti)
Marlin (Now Ruger) See Note below
Browning
Henry Better for .22's than Centerfire.
EAA
Rossi

Marlins that were made before the Remington purchase were VERY good. You can tell because these guns' barrels will be marked with a "JM" stamp near the receiver. Now that Ruger has bought Marlin I expect them to be restored to their prior greatness. I shot Marlins for YEARS for Cowboy Action Shooting.

It can be debated if the "Winchester 1973" is REALLY a "Winchester" since it is made by Miroku in Japan. I have one and it is a lovely rifle. Very smooth and well balanced.

Uberti rifles are like a sore penis... "you can't beat 'it"! After you get it, we can talk modifications that will turn it into your favorite rifle (hers too).

My wife kept her Marlin for years after I transitioned to the 1873. I finally got her to try one at a match and after she finished she grinned and said "OK, now I get it"!

Bea Itchin' and her 1873




DSCN2301 by Dave Steier, on Flickr

I own two Winchester/Browning lever action rifles. One is 357mag, the other is 45/70.
Both are made in Japan by Miroku and are beautifully made.

I've been happy with my Marlins (39, 56, 1894, 1895, and 336), both pre- and post- Remington. One Remlin 1894 did have a front sight post that was loose in the dovetail, but I was replacing it anyway so no big deal. I'm looking forward to seeing what Ruger does with them...I'm hoping they bring back the 39M!

My Marlin addiction aside, I'm really jonesing for an 1873 clone in .45 Colt. Wish they weren't so darn expensive!

quote:

Wish they weren't so darn expensive!

You know, I find myself wondering if lever-action rifles will ever return to pre-ridiculousness pricing. I see other things starting to drop in price a bit, but not leverguns.

quote:

You know, I find myself wondering if lever-action rifles will ever return to pre-ridiculousness pricing. I see other things starting to drop in price a bit, but not leverguns.

I'm okay with a $1500 Uberti deluxe model, as it's not too crazy from what I remember seeing 8 years ago.

I am NOT okay with $1500 for a Marlin 1894 because some jackass movie made it famous.

With that said, I will still shop around because I believe 1200-1300 can snag a nice example.

Which movie did that?

quote:

Originally posted by P220 Smudge:
Which movie did that?

Jurassic World.

1895SBL specifically, prices went through the roof, apparently it affords one the ability to communicate with Velociraptors.

Subsequently noticed an increase in all Marlin Lever actions across the board, and THEN the craze hit.

When I say made it famous I say that too loosely, I believe it popularized the Marlin Lever actions with a younger generation, mentions across reddit and instagram at one time asking what kind of gun that was. Marlins were popular before, just not to crowds that are willing to pay $1500+ for one as though its the latest accessory.

Ah, gotcha. I looked and the only mention I could find was the 1895whatever Jeremy Renner used in Wind River. Apparently those are sought after, or were a couple years ago because it'll pick a man up off his feet and blow him from one wall inside a trailer home clear across and slam him into the other from several hundred yards away.

Yeah, I'm sure the same thing happened with the SPAS-12 when the original Jurassic Park came out.

quote:

Originally posted by P220 Smudge:
Ah, gotcha. I looked and the only mention I could find was the 1895whatever Jeremy Renner used in Wind River. Apparently those are sought after, or were a couple years ago because it'll pick a man up off his feet and blow him from one wall inside a trailer home clear across and slam him into the other from several hundred yards away.

Yeah, I'm sure the same thing happened with the SPAS-12 when the original Jurassic Park came out.

I love movies more than guns, you got me smiling thinking about those specific scenes!

Wind River was indeed great! Unrealistic, but a great movie. And yes, I think that those two movies popularized the Marlins somewhat....especially the 1895 SBL. But prices didn't get really stupid until Remington went out of business and took Marlin with them. Yeah, the old JMs were getting up there even before the movies, but I bought a new Remlin 1894 a year and a half ago for $750. I'm hoping that once Ruger gets production going again, we see prices come back to something close to reasonable.

Yeah, it was back in... 2002? Maybe 2003 that I bought my 1894C. I think I paid $650, used. It looked like it hadn’t been handled or fired. It was a JM. Going for and a half times that now. I traded it for a ‘43 Winchester M1... that I also let get away. Young and stupid.