lever action carbine?

Most 357 lever actions will shoot the 38 spl.

I have a marlin 336 in 35 rem and a 30/30. Both are tried and true deer calibers. You can buy them with 16.5 to 24" barrels if you are patient and look around. Marlins are great. I prefer them over winchesters (less moving parts and side eject vs top)

I also have a marlin model 444 in the heavy hitting 444 marlin caliber and also a model 1894 in 44 rem mag. Its a great brush gun for deer and good out to 125 to 150 yards. I'm a huge fan of lever guns and my preference falls on marlins. But I enjoy the winchesters and henrys as well. They are all good!

You can't go wrong with the 336. You can get em in lots of different calibers too. You can get the 308 marlin express too. That's a neat little deer round. But the 30/30 or 35 rem are awesome. A 30/30 will put a deer to bed. Fast and the ammo is cheap (less than $15 per box of 20)

Check out marlinowners.com. Lots of great info. I have the same user name. Holler at me if ya sign up.