In that case try the S&W 586. Crazy accurate.

Methinks a S&W 686 (I think it is) using .38 Sp. would be an awesome, rea$onable way to join the club .... then .357s later ... after the .22 semi-auto, and the ???? :D

Have fun, listen to these guys and then go buy a hat ...

Levers are next :)

Learning on a revolver will teach you skills that will transfer .... particularly with larger calibers, a semi-auto that absorbs recoil is "easier" for some.... jmho.

Like picking up a guitar .... acoustic or electric ...

I don't play :D

How did you know? One of the things that attracts me to .38spl is the availability of pistol caliber levers.

I have revolvers and levers in .357/.38 and .22 ;)

Do you have a hat .... yet :D?

henry model x in .38/.357

pull the plastic furniture off. Screw a three lug muzzle device on it and you have a level that can easily be suppressed and with 158gr .38's thing is damn near silent

I'm not going to lie, the aesthestics are part of the attraction. I was thinking more along these lines.

https://www.marlinfirearms.com/prodi...es/70433/2.jpg

I recently bought this 1994 Ruger Mark II (LR22), a virgin! Took this pic before the first shot. I like it but it's heavy. More accurate with the heavy barrel I suppose. http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1765211072.jpg
I gave the guy 5 oz of silver valued at $40 an ounce at the time. Now silver is $58. I think I got a good deal

S&W M686 .38/.357
Marlin lever .357
Ruger Mark II
Henry Golden Boy .22 lr

And a hat!

A cheap hat ;)

do not go cheap on the hat

Assuming you mean cowboy hat... go with Resistol. Stetsons are for Yankees and drugstore cowboys. Just kidding but it is the name recognition for those folks.

Felt in winter and straw in summer. And FFS, take if off inside unless you are at the indoor rodeo.

I don't recall seeing anyone add this to the thread:

Consider buying pre-owned. You can usually save some money and usually find a spoon that is like new that someone got and didn't want after they bought it.

There are a couple of dealers in my city that typically have good quantity of used stuff. Both have web sites and one actually offers their used on a well known web site for resale (it starts with a g and ends with broker...)

Henry Model X .38/.357 with the plastic furniture removed and wood put on - with and without can

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1765225599.jpg
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1765225599.jpg

One of the all-time American classics, the lever gun and revolver in the same caliber. Here are my Marlin 1894 Cowboy with its 24" octagon barrel and a 5 1/2" Peacemaker, both in .45 Colt.

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1765228751.jpg

The lever action .22 has got to be about the most fun we can have with a rifle. Early '60's Marlin 39A "Mountie" takedown posing with the 1894.

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1765228751.jpg

^^^ Older means better :)

Newer kidz..

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1765229500.jpg

I never acquired a .30-30 Thompson pistol, but 2 outta 3 works for me ;)

Have fun with your new search and journey ... whatever floats yer canoe!

I have never worn a Cowboy hat ... but it would be a Coboy hat if I did .... with Birkenstocks and a tie-dye tee too :D

Hey Dudes are OK as well. Give them a look if you haven't seen them. Super comfy and lightweight. It is a staple for guys around here. Probably as comfy as your Birks.


http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1765230028.jpg

I'd prolly wear white tube socks in those too :D

My full range of Marlins. Left to right, 1895 in .45-70, 1894 in .45 Colt, and a 39A Mountie in .22LR.

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1765233157.jpg

Then there are the Winchesters. Left to right, 1886 Extra Light Rifle in .45-70, then a real oddball (right up my alley). Model 71 in .348 Winchester.

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1765233157.jpg

Sometime in the 1930's Winchester quit using the year of introduction as the model number and just began numbering sequentially. Thus, the Model 71 came right after the Model 70. The Model 71 was an improved 1886, the strongest lever action they had ever made. Which was a good thing, it chambered the new .348 Winchester, probably the original "short magnum" if there ever was one. The .348 was their last gasp effort to keep their bread and butter lever gun relevant to modern hunters, who were adopting the bolt gun in droves. The .348 represented a significant step up in lever gun performance, launching 200 grain bullets at pretty much the same muzzle velocity as the .30-'06 did 180 grain bullets. Factory loads included, in addition to the 200 grain, a 250 and a 300 grain load.

The Model 71 and the .348 chambering were a direct "1:1" relationship. The Model 71 was never available in any other caliber. The .348 was never chambered in any other rifle. They both died, commercially, in the 1950's. Shooting one today is strictly a hand loading proposition.

Here it is alongside the .30-'06.

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1765233719.jpg

Once ya get a revolver, a lever, and a hat ... then yer gonna need a dawg ... I like Chocolate Labs and Golden Boyz ... like Ed :D

Then try a PDP & VP9 .... we got off topic....

Need a pic of Ed tho' :)

In the field, doing what he does best.

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1765241004.jpg

At home with Tilly, his partner in crime. Known as "the planning committee".

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1765241213.jpg