Ha sanyone had experience with a henry 357 magnum? What kind of accuracy is it capable of at 100yards?

I saw one at the range the other day and wanted to fire it, but the guy didn't offer, so I didn't ask. He was kinda all over the place at 50 yards, and I think it's because he was rushing his shots and not aligning the sights the same way each time. I don't know what kind of ammo he was using. The gun was screaming for a tang/globe sight setup.

I think I'm going to stick to my Marlin 1894m .22 magnum. It'll take down most targets, with the exception of a few rams that are being pushed by the wind. I know the .22 mag has sufficient power for everything but a few rams,so I think i'll save my bucks for a 30-30 for the 200 yard event.

I'd like to have a Henry .30-30 too, but the price of entry is a little high for my wallet - actually my wallet is okay, my wife's wallet is the one that has problems with it.

If I was gonna get a Big Boy (and I really want one), it would be a toss-up between the 357 and the 44, with a subtle yet noticeable lean toward the 357. I'm hoping I can negotiate a portion of our tax return this year into the purchase of a Big Boy along with an appropriate change in sights (a creedmore and a globe sight).

I bought my 357 Marlin 1894c for the PC game and had hoped to use it on the CLR game also. I tried it for the first time last night at the CLR match at Williamsport with dismal results on the turkeys and rams.

Even with the rams set at the back of the rails as allowed in the NRA rules the 357 shooting factory loads and 158 grams bullets it would not knock them over.
Looks like I'll need to buy that 3rd gun to be able to shoot all three cowboy games.

Majority of guys last night were shooting 30-30's and with scores in the high 20' to mid 30's I think that's the way to go. Without adjusting sites, just loads, they were hitting all animals.
ppkny

If you are going to try to use one rifle for both centerfire and pistol cartridge I would think you need to go to .44 or .45 cal. I started shooting a .44/40 for pistol cartridge which is more than needed. I never tried it in centerfire but it could knock most of the centerfire animals over in practice. I have a buddy that shoots a .44 mag for both and he does fine on the rams. I shoot a 30-30 and ring rams. Go figure. If you want a 30-30 they are the easiest rifles to find and they are cheap. You can go into almost any gunshop around here and find 2, 3 or 4 of them used for around $200.

I shoot a 30-30 because I already had one, but there are several guys up here that shoot 357s for both PC and CLA and knock down the CLA rams well. None of them shoot factory loads that I know of, though. They're all shooting heavy bullets with about all the oomph that a 357 can push them with.

You can use a 357 for cf rams. You will need to push the bullet in excess fo 2000 ft per second. You might even get away with a 125 soft point at 2200 ft/s. The 30-30 with no sight adjustment are going around 2200 with a 150grn bullet. Factory ammo will not hit the required velocities.

I believe Evelio uses a 357 for CF some times.

Find a 357 with a long barrel, 20-26 inches with longer being better.

Thanks fella's maybe I'm giving up on the 357 to soon. All suggestions are appreciated.
ppkny

ppkny wrote:Thanks fella's maybe I'm giving up on the 357 to soon. All suggestions are appreciated.
ppkny

I say to give up, the sooner the better. I'll give you $50 for that non working .357.

I purchased an 1894 in 357. I shot a match with it and the rounds were 158's. I knocked over everything easily, but the rams were pegged because of the wind. I have loaded a nosler 180 at near maximum and hope this will take the rams down at 200yards.

I shoot a Winchester Legacy with a 24" barrel 357 Mag. loaded with 22.0Gr. of H-110 with a 125.0Gr. soft point going about 2200 fps it will knock the rams down all the time. Guess what, same zero from 50 to 200 yds.
Do not use this load for center fire pistol, it puts a nice hole on c. and p. and will crater the turkeys really bad.
Evelio

Some good advice here, Thanks, I'm going to shoot some more matches with this gun after I get the right ammo. Bob, I thought you were selling yours after my report.
ppkny

Evelio,
Thanks for the loading info. I'm not a reloader but Bob J. (he's got about 3 of your guns) and I will be sharing some ammo when he gets his setup going. Could you please tell us what primer you are using for the loads that you described for the 357.
ppkny

PPKNY
I use Winchester primers.
Evelio.