Marlin 32 mag feedback wanted & 32 vs 357

[6.5BR]

Any feedback on this gun appreciated.  I am familiar with the 357.  I would expect this gun to perform but for a plinking/target/hunting small game rifle, is it redundant if one had a 357 model........since you could load light bullets?  Or is it worth having?

I would think it would be a fun plinker and small game gun, and performance in a rifle high....velocity....but ?? Thanks.

[DaveShooter]

I got both marlin 32 mag and 32/20 I like the 32/20 for woods carrey. Both are very nice rifles. I would love to have my marlin 218 back.
I traded it off yrs ago. My loss.
DaveShooter

[6.5BR]

Dave,

Is the 32/20 a lighter gun?  Different ctg right?  Thanks.   Oh, how does a 32/20 compare to the H&R Mag?

[Lloyd Smale]

I love the 32 mag and dont have much use for the .357 other then in the application your talking. the .357 in a rifle makes a fine whitetail gun and the .32 is lacking in that dept. Not that it couldnt do it but the 357 is much better. A properly loaded 357 rifle will give a 3030 a good run for its money. The 32 mag/3220 are a tad flatter shooting and make probably a better all around small game and varmit gun. As factory loaded there isnt much differnce in the 3220 and the 32 mag but both can be loaded to alot better ballistics then the factory ammo in a marlin or ruger.  If your talking handloading in a strong gun the 3220 has a defineate edge in powder over the 32 mag.  Being they have a smaller bore and there basically built on the same rifles a marlin 32 will be slightly heavier the a 357 and he .357 can be bought with short round barrels and most of the .32 marlins are oct barrels which make them heavier yet.

[6.5BR]

If one intended to hunt deer with a Marlin lever, would you have a 357 then, and use it for all applications, or does a 32 bore offer enough advantages for target/plinking/small game to warrant owning a second gun? 

I would not go looking to hunt deer with a 32, but with a good shot opportunity and a proper load, at a close distance, I might would pop one, but that is not likely.

I notice the 'cowboy' models with octagon bbl is about .5 lb heavier per Marlin website.  Is there any good reason why Marlin does NOT put the checkered stocks on the cowboy models?  It seems they have a better 'fit/feel' and the buttpad does not slide around on your shoulder.  Perhaps cowboy action shooters want them to slide on the shoulder?  Oh, what I do not like about the 32/20 is the 6 shot capacity vs 9/10 on the 357 models.  Perhaps the 32 mag cowboy was a 10 shot?  Discontinued?

[Lloyd Smale]

The 357 would no doubt be better for deer but ive seen enough deer killed with the 3220 to know that the 32 mag would do the job with a well placed shot. But if you looking for one gun to cover it all the 357 would be a better caliber to pick

[6.5BR]

Thanks for the advice Loyd, last ?, what load in a 357 would best 'duplicate' 32 bore performance for lighter bullet with flatter trajectory, that would give similar 'on target' performance?  Perhaps a 125 or 140 medium load?

I suspect you may have taken or know personally deer taken with 32 levers?  That would be interesting.

I would suspect a 32/20 or 32 magnum might give close to 357 handgun performance?  What ballistics are had in those 32's can you say ......in a Marlin rifle of course......it must spit them out pretty quick I'd guess.

[Oldtimer]

I have an early production Marlin Model 94 in .357 Magnum and it does not like bullets lighter than 150 grains.  The heavier the bullet in my gun, the better.  I have shot .38 Specials with heavy bullets and had good luck, also, so velocity does not appear to be a significant variable.  A .32-20 can be loaded up to about .30 Carbine velocities, so it is a marginal deer rifle, but adequate in the hands of an experienced hunter.  From what I have heard, it is easier to develop accurate loads in the .357 and components are much more available.

[DaveShooter]

Dave,

Is the 32/20 a lighter gun?  Different ctg right?  Thanks.   Oh, how does a 32/20 compare to the H&R Mag?

6.5BR get you a copy of Shooting times dated FEB 1989. Yes the 32/2o can be loaded up hotter than the 32 h&r mag. I like them both as I also have a 357 and a 44 mag in a marlin as well.The 32/20 came before the 357 and used to be a poachers round.Not that I would of done any of that. That is what was told to me by some old timer shooters.
DS

[Lloyd Smale]

In the 357 id stick with 150 class bullets. especially if your deer hunting and if your specifically deer hunting id recomend a good hardcat 180. The 3220 and 32 mag are real close as to baillistics with factory ammo. Both can be greatly improved handloading. The edge goes to a 3220 in a strong gun because of case capasity. Probably a 200 fps advantage or maybe even a little more. IVe withnessed personaly many deer shot with 3220s and even 30 carbines. The 30 carbine was actually my first deer rifle when i was a kid and I can honestly say i never left a wounded deer in the woods with it. But most of the shots i took were around 50 yards. The 3220 has been our camp gun for as long as i have hunted. In the hands of just about everyone in the family its taken deer and other then some crappy shooting on a couple deer has never made long tracking nessisary and the wounded ones would have probably ran just as far shot with a 3030 or even an 06. A guy shot deer is a gut shot deer. As long as i can rememeber it was loaded with factory ww soft point ammo which is no better ballistically then factory 32 mag ammo out of a carbine. Granted it doesnt put the whack on a deer that a 270 does or even a 44 mag but a hole through the lungs makes for a dead deer in a very short time. I personaly have only took one deer with a 357 and it was my first handgun kill a small doe that went about 50 yards and piled up. I know alot of knowlegable freinds that have taken deer with .357 rifles and they all say it kills about like a 3030 if loaded properly and its noting to push a 158 to 1800 fps out of one and thats right on the heals of a 3030 and if your using cast its probably a better gunt then a 3030 as your pushing a bullet with a larger diamenter and meplat to the same velocitys. my girlfriend shot a wild boar with her 35 rem shooting a 200 grain hardcast at about 1700 fps and the boar took one leap and piled up and the damage the bullet did was impressive. So theres no reason to think the 357 would be any less effective.

[6.5BR]

Great info here, I am aware of what the 357 is capable of in a rifle, in fact with Lil Gun, a 158 can do 1900-2000 from what I have heard.....which is DANGED close to a 30/30 and given it's lesser recoil, me personally would rather tote a 357 in a rifle over a 30/30 for deer.  No I guess a bear MIGHT be better thwarted with a hot 170gr 30/30 but a stout 180 gr in a 357 rifle, good load should give it a good run.

I was thinking of a 125-140 gr in 357 to get close to 32 bore ballistics, or is the BC so inferior it will not equal trajectory w/o pushing speeds real high? 

I will have to try getting some research done on 32 rifle ballistics, with modern top loads in a good rifle.  Thanks for the tip on the article also.

[Rich Siegel]

What about accuracy at 100 yards with lead bullets in the 32/20?  Marlin lists the rifle as having micro groove rifling and I've always heard that lead bullets don't shoot well with that type of rifling.  Any experience?

Thanks,

Rich

[fitzhugh]

Will this rifle (.32mag) also feed and eject .32sw longs.l

[BigJakeJ1s]

IINM, the marlin in .32 does not have a loading gate in the side of the receiver. The loading gate is in the tube.
The 357 does have the loading gate in the side of the receiver.

Andy