Buy or Pass?

[u/Mysterious_Sleep7443]

Anyone buying one of these?

When the short barrel NR ones came out in .410 they were flying off the shelves and being resold for double on gunpost

People were begging for a 357/38 spl version

now we have it available

Did the .410 version leave a bad taste in everyone's mouth or something?

[u/Iokua_CDN]

So,  you got a lot to consider,  and it's definitely not an immediate yes or no. 

1. Price.  I bought my 410 revolver for 700 bucks. Now they also sell another brand for 600. For that price, you can have a pretty fun gun, even if it isn't super useful. 600-700 for a ranch toy fun gun ain't bad.  These 357 ones unfortunately twice  that, at 1300 bucks.  So while it might be fine  to mess with a revolver gun for 700 bucks, twice the price you expect more.

2. Cheap shooting though. The downside to my 410 is that 410 slugs are easily twice the price of a 357, getting close to 3x the price of 38 special.  So even though it's its cheap fun gun, it'd actually pretty expensive to shoot. 410 birdshot is a little bit better, but still not great.  So  if you have no use for shooting birdshot, the 357 version  is going to be more accurate, cheaper to shoot and more powerful,  while  stilling having even cheaper 38 special ammo.

3. Extra  gas.  I don't struggle with the 410 gas wise. I wear glasses normally. I have the Blast shields set to blow gas away from my face. I have a butt extension and a red dot that keep my face further back  when shooting. I don't even notice the gas. However other people really struggle with the gas. I'm assuming they don't have glasses or shooting glasses,  and maybe aren't doing the same preventative measures I am, and so they get tons of gas in the face. Or they are just being babies about it. I'd like to assume the former though and give them the benefit of the doubt. Even not wearing glasses probably makes  this less comfy to shoot,  and I'm sure plenty of folks who don't wear glasses,  also don't wear safety  glasses when shooting.  All of that to say, 357 is going to have a higher pressure, and likely more gas.  So if someone already struggled with 410, I imagine 357 is only going to be gassier.

4. Another downside to these, is they aren't really set up for 357. Its the same long 410 cylinder and mechanism, heavy trigger pull  to move it, and only 5 rounds. Lots of folks were hoping for  a 357 cylinder  that actually was designed for 357, having 6 rounds or more since the cylinder is bigger than a normal revolver, it would make sense to have 8 even.  But no, its still only 5.  Honestly, this is a big strike against the gun. I understand, costwise it makes sense. Keep  the same gun just do a different caliber cylinder and barrel, sounds way cheaper than building a semi new gun with a smaller  receiver and totally different cylinder and timing.  But if they are saving money on it, how come we aren't getting any of that savings? It's still $1300 bucks!  The rifled 45 ones go for 1k on sale  pretty consistently, so you are paying 300 bucks for the Canuck logo and 357 then?  And again, I paid 700 for mine, and even can buy chamber adaptors for it for 9mm or 38 special  for a hundred bucks. If I could put rifled insert in the barrel, I'd still be far  under the cost of these and have  pretty much the same gun.

5. But you also should look at the other side.  Short rifles are more expensive. They can't be easily sold in the US so they already have a smaller market. These revolver gums in general are also a niche and pretty expensive, woth alternative brands costing as much or more and have big long barrels. And these are also brand new so they are expected to cost a bit extra. Add in that the Canuck  models of the 410 already cost more than the old original Sulan models, then it isn't a stretch to see that the 357 rifled models would cost even more.  

6. But lastly you gotta look at the alternatives.  Turkish 357 lever actions  with short barrels. A Citadel Levtac is longer than this by quite a but, 16 inch barrel, but often sells for 800-900 bucks. No cylinder gap and 8 round capacity (9 if you chamber 1). Morrison,  another turkish lever action,  sells a short barrel with a full stock for just 800-900. With tactical  parts,  its a far better deal than the revolver.  By Canuck themselves, the Wrangler  Regulator and Wranger Trail  boss are 1k for a short 12 inch barrel. You'll likely want to add a stock though  which brings the price back up a bit.  But still, cheaper, better  capacity (6+1 in the chamber) no cylinder gap. I think it's pretty stiff  competition. For the same price though, you can even get a Heritage/rossi ranch hand or a Chiappa mares leg,  which I'd argue is a bit more quality 

So all in all? For me?  I still want one. I've loved my 410 revolver  I've wanted a 357 live everyone else. But price is the big limiter. I didn't buy a SR45. Paying  1100 instead of 700 was already a big jump for me for limited gains. The 357 does have some extras. Rail, tactical stock, no need for moonclips (the sr45 needs moon clips to shoot the cheap 45 acp. Otherwise  the 45 lc is nearly the same price as the 410) but I just can't pay $1300 bucks for it. At that price, I'd  rather just buy  a Mares Leg Lever action with a full stock, and keep enjoying shooting 410 slugs out of my old gun.  But  I got time. Maybe after a year or two, these will drop in price. Maybe a black friday in 2 years will bring them down to 1k. Then I'll have to consider them.  For now though, I already got 700 bucks in on my gun gun,  so I'll likely just enjoy it.