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ranger compact or Marlin .357 lever

4K views 8 replies 6 participants last post by  RickR 
#1 ·
I ordered a Winchester ranger compact .357 today. Now I am reading that the Marlin is much better for shooting pistol cartridges. I have a S&W .38 and want to use the same ammo. The winchester just felt a tad better to me.....But, should I cancel and get the Marlin 1894? It seems to have better reviews for shooting hand guns loads.
 
#2 ·
schlarmann said:
I ordered a Winchester ranger compact .357 today. Now I am reading that the Marlin is much better for shooting pistol cartridges. I have a S&W .38 and want to use the same ammo. The winchester just felt a tad better to me.....But, should I cancel and get the Marlin 1894? It seems to have better reviews for shooting hand guns loads.
It is not that simple. It is a gun-to-gun issue. Some guns feed better than others. The Winchester has deep cut rifling and shoots lead bullets well. If your rifle feeds .357and 38 cases well then you will be fine. On feeding it is luck of the draw regardless of brand name. I have a Winnie. Mine feeds anything. Regards. Lawboy.
 
#6 ·
RickR:

Winchester might have meant that the .38's may not always FEED well thru the action. They will certainly chamber tho, just like a .38 in .357 mag revolver.

I just received my Ranger Compact in .357 Friday. I have some .38 Special dummy rounds in rd. nose. It fed and ejected those time and time again without a hitch.

Overall, I was impressed with the quality. The bore is just as smooth as some of my Shilen match barrels. The action and trigger were ok as it came out the box. Needs a little slickin' up tho.

With the advent of the rebounding hammer, the 94's are a little easier to disassemble. The lower tang, trigger and hammer all come out as one unit. Remove a couple more screws, and the bolt comes right out. Sure makes it a whole lot easier if you want to do some serious cleaning from the tail end. Certainly not as easy as a Marlin, but acceptable.

This AM, it is one below zero here in the Frozen North. Will not get to the range untill it warms up a little.
 
#7 ·
oaklane said:
RickR:

Winchester might have meant that the .38's may not always FEED well thru the action. They will certainly chamber tho, just like a .38 in .357 mag revolver.

I just received my Ranger Compact in .357 Friday. I have some .38 Special dummy rounds in rd. nose. It fed and ejected those time and time again without a hitch.

Overall, I was impressed with the quality. The bore is just as smooth as some of my Shilen match barrels. The action and trigger were ok as it came out the box. Needs a little slickin' up tho.

With the advent of the rebounding hammer, the 94's are a little easier to disassemble. The lower tang, trigger and hammer all come out as one unit. Remove a couple more screws, and the bolt comes right out. Sure makes it a whole lot easier if you want to do some serious cleaning from the tail end. Certainly not as easy as a Marlin, but acceptable.

This AM, it is one below zero here in the Frozen North. Will not get to the range untill it warms up a little.
Thanks oaklane for your information. This site sure helps out. Nice people on it... Thanks again... Rick
 
#8 ·
Hi Rick, Just make sure when you shoot a bunch of 38 special rounds that you clean the chamber well or the build up of powder residue will make feeding, and extraction of 357 mag rounds a little sticky. If you're like me, and clean your gun after each shooting session then there should be no problem.

RickR said:
I just got a Ranger in 357 and was told by Winchester it will not chamber 38s. Who is right ? Thanks... Rick
 
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