Ruger 77/357 versus 30-30 (rifle, sale, 308, cheap)

[CptnRn]

I inherited a Colt .38 Detective Special and a Marlin lever action .30-30 Win. rifle.

I'm thinking of selling the .30-30 and getting a Ruger 77/357 because it will also chamber the .38 Special cartridge.

Ruger 77/357 Bolt-Action 357 Magnum/38 Special Rifle

I like the idea of being able to use both for target shooting firing .38 Specials but also being able to use the .357 cartridge when I want a little more power. It appears that the .357 is not as powerful as the .30-30 but it is more versatile.

I was wondering what others might think of this trade off?

[Themanwithnoname]

The .357 should be good out to 100 or so

The 30-30 isn't a long range round, but it'll reach out a little more.

You know where you'll hunt... Your choice

[ScoPro]

Hey Cptn,

Here's a good place to post your Marlin for sale:

http://www.texasguntalk.com/forums/forum.php (broken link)

Bought mine new in 1968 for about $65:



I don't have any Ruger M77 rifles, but a couple family members have several and love 'em. That .357/.38 Special looks very intriguing

[Tin Knocker]

I'd look for a Marlin or similar 357 over the Ruger. Ruger makes a great gun but thats discopntinued & parts might be hard to come by in the future. Theres a million Marlins out there & theyre still being made so parts arent going to be hard to find in the near future. Plus it holds more rounds. You can handload a 158 grain close to 30/30 performance too, it will never really match it but is plenty for small game & deer out to 125 or so yards depending on the shooter. Factory ammo gets about 1700 fps from mine.

[M3 Mitch]

Depending on who you inherited the 30-30 from, consider just keeping it and then buy a .357 rifle straight up.

I didn't know the 77-357 was discontinued - although, Ruger is very good to stand behind their products, beyond that, they really seldom break.

To me, the .357 is more at home in a lever gun, but, I guess that's just a matter of taste. The Marlin is a good design, will take a scope better than a M92 clone, but the M92 clone is more to my traditional taste.

The old 32-20, 38-40, and 44-40 were popular as carbine/sixgun rounds, although, really they can be loaded a good bit hotter in most rifles (M92) than most revolvers (SAA). Then you have the issue of how to keep the rifle loads out of the revolver.

[Flyover_Country]

Originally Posted by CptnRn

I inherited a Colt .38 Detective Special and a Marlin lever action .30-30 Win. rifle.

I'm thinking of selling the .30-30 and getting a Ruger 77/357 because it will also chamber the .38 Special cartridge.

Ruger 77/357 Bolt-Action 357 Magnum/38 Special Rifle

I like the idea of being able to use both for target shooting firing .38 Specials but also being able to use the .357 cartridge when I want a little more power. It appears that the .357 is not as powerful as the .30-30 but it is more versatile.

I was wondering what others might think of this trade off?

Depends on what you want to do with the rifle. The Marlin 336 in .30-30 is THE deer rifle in many places, since Winchester, ahem, Fabrique Nationale de Herstal quit producing new M1894s about five years ago. The 77/357 is the pest control/plinking rifle. Even a hot .357 Magnum isn't much on medium game beyond 75 yards or so, while the Hornady LeverEvolution rounds (or a handload with Lever powder and the polymer spitzer tip .308 Hornady FTX bullets) are good on deer for 200-250 yards. However, you can shoot a bunch of .38 Spl rounds for what one .30-30 costs, especially if you don't reload. But then again if you are primarily plinking, nothing is cheaper than a .22 and the .38 Spl isn't that much different in trajectory than a .22.

Personally, I'd buy the 77/357 and keep the Marlin 336 too. And then get a beanfield rifle like a .25-06 or .270, an AR in 5.56x45 for longer-range plinking, and a medium-bore thumper like a .358 Winchester, .35 Whelen, 9x57/9.3x57 or 9.3x62/9.3x74. Hey, why not? Life is short, why not enjoy it?

[Zembonez]

Originally Posted by ScoPro

Hey Cptn,

Here's a good place to post your Marlin for sale:

Texas Gun Talk (http://www.texasguntalk.com/forums/forum.php - broken link)

I'll second that site recommendation! That's my Son's site.