Sunday new-gun day

[u/prosper_0]

Took my new Morisson 12" 357 levergun to the range today, very satisfied with this oddball Turk. 12" barrel, 38/357 top-ejecting levergun. It's kinda sorta like a 94 Winchester, but with a somewhat shorter stroke and a beefed up action. Mine surprised me with a checkered stock (none of the pictures online have checkering), which I'm very pleased with. The fit and finish is very good - I have yet to spot any flaws or loose parts, or metal shavings anywhere. Its not blued, sadly, but matte parkerized. Though the finish is very durable, and hasnt scuffed or dinged yet. The action is a bit stiff - you have to cycle it 'with purpose,' but it's already breaking in very well after a few hundred cycles.

I mounted an inexpensive 1.5-6x32 Vortex IR scout scope on it. The blued rings I'd bought were about 1mm too low, so I mounted it in some stainless rings I had on hand. I had to remove the factory rear open sight to clear the scope bell. I like the scope OK, but it doesn't hold a candle to a Burris scout scope. Still, I'm satisfied with the optic at about the $350 price point, I guess. At low power with the reticle lit, it feels a lot like using a red dot. I don't like open sights, and the integrated rail was a major selling point for me.

At the range, I fired a hundred or so mixed 38spl and 357 rounds. It fed everything well, with one or two misfeeds on one of my 38spl loads - mostly due to being a bit too timid on the lever. A more assertive operation fed with no failures. There were no FTFs or other operational issues. I didn't test for accuracy (yet) but had no problems consistently drilling the 6" gong at 100 yards. The gun points and aims very well, and is really easy to use standing or from the bench. The balance and swing is just about perfect. The top eject does have an unfortunate way of throwing brass right back at you, but thats true of any top eject lever gun. I didn't chrony anything, but it threw all loads tested at a fairly close POI, from really light 38spl with 124gr over 3.5gr of Clays, to stouter +p loads with 125 and 158gr bullets, and full house 158gr 357 loads over 16.5gr of h110. The short barrel did mean that all shots were relatively loud, and the 357's especially made for a big blast and an impressive fireball. The delay between the shot and the impact with light 38spl loads was fun. Seemed like a real long wait for the 'ting!' whereas the fireball loads felt almost instant in comparison.

I see a fresh batch of Morissons has arrived, in fun new calibers. Wonder if the 44 version is gonna be available in 12"... I'd DEFINITELY buy another of these guns.

[u/Iokua_CDN]

I've contemplated a simular gun to this.  Chiappa does a full stock  12 inch lever sction in 357 or 44 mag, but it's certainly  pricey.

Canuck or rossi or heritage all offer Mares legs, but they don't usually have the rail, and you also have to factor in the price of buying a full stock for it.

My family member has the Mares leg 44 for animal defence out in the bush, and he loves it for that role, even without the full stock, but I would much rather have the full stock

[u/prosper_0 → u/Iokua_CDN]

yeah, I never much cared for mares legs.

In any case, I'd put the build quality and overall function of the Morisson at least as good as a Rossi or Chiappa, so (based on my sample size of '1') I can recommend you consider this one. My only real complaint is that I hate the oversize lever loop. Would WAAY rather have a standard loop, which would be faster to operate than the 'hand flop' needed with a large loop.

[u/Iokua_CDN → u/prosper_0]

My Citadel has a similar lever, and while I like the look, I feel you. Running it hard this week and it was such a flop.  Some woven paracord  or leather cord made it feel a bit better, but it's still floppy.

I'll definitely give Morisson a look! This is my first time hearing from someone who ones one!  I might have to see if they make a pistol grip model as I kinda like the looks of that over the straight  grip