[SubZero]

Was looking at a Henry Lever Action in .357 Magnum / .38 Special and was wondering if that rifle is designed to use standard handgun ammunition.

My thought is that since my 2 handguns are .357 Mag / .38 Special models, I could simply use the same .357 Mag ammo in both of those as well as the Lever Action.

Was hoping someone (or many someones) could help me learn the answer.

Thank you in advance for any help you can provide.

[Gatoragn]

Yep, standard pistol ammo.

[JTJ]

You will pick up 400 - 500 fps in the rifle over a 4" barrel on magnum loads.
http://www.ballisticsbytheinch.com/357mag.html

[SubZero]

Originally Posted by JTJ

You will pick up 400 - 500 fps in the rifle over a 4" barrel on magnum loads.
http://www.ballisticsbytheinch.com/357mag.html

But the rifle is designed to use standard handgun ammo, correct?

I should be able to place .38 Special and separately .357 Magnum ammo that was made for handguns into the Big Boy rifle and be able to shoot it just fine?

That's the key point I'm trying to understand.

Thanks.

[canebrake]

Originally Posted by SubZero

But the rifle is designed to use standard handgun ammo, correct?

I should be able to place .38 Special and separately .357 Magnum ammo that was made for handguns into the Big Boy rifle and be able to shoot it just fine?

That's the key point I'm trying to understand.

Thanks.

Yes, it is designed for handgun ammo for the same reason you have a piqued interest in the Henry.

[SubZero]

Originally Posted by Gatoragn

Yep, standard pistol ammo.

Originally Posted by canebrake

Yes, it is designed for handgun ammo for the same reason you have a piqued interest in the Henry.

Thank you much. Both of you.

[Tackleberry1]

Yep, same standard handgun ammo.

Concept started about the same time the Henry was originally developed and Perfected by the early Winchester lever action rifles. The idea was to give Cowboys and Lawmen an arm with more reach than there revolvers but not burden them with a separate caliber to carry.

Attempts have been made to apply the same concep to modern semi auto sub rifles with offerings from Berreta, Kel Tek, and others. You can order some of these to take not only the same ammo as your semi auto pistol but also accept the same magazine.

Tack

[Cheeseman]

If you load,however, you can moderately juice up a pistol load for the rifle, being careful of course not to mix them up. If you have tank-like Rugers it's not as much of a problem as opposed to say a vintage single action not designed for wacko hot stuff.

[hiwall]

You can also mix the 357 and 38 in the same magazine.

[SubZero]

Originally Posted by hiwall

You can also mix the 357 and 38 in the same magazine.

Now THAT I did not know. Very interesting.

Thanks again for all the comments. Much appreciated.