What lever action would suit me?

For what its worth I agree with KO. I use the 22 Magnum quite a bit and I find it marginal for ?catch as Catch can? shots on adult fox.
I primarily use the 50-grain Federal Premium load. The 50-grain bullet will punch a shoulder and into the lungs when the lighter bullets will not.
I have good luck using the ?new? 35-grain Remington plastic tip load for lung shots. This load is very destructive if it does not have to punch through heavy muscle and bone.

None of the 17 rimfires I have tried are real killers using body shots. I am not a head shooter but several of my friends are and they are very happy with the 17 HRM. I primarily use the 17 rimfire for smaller ground squirrels where the rounds wonderful accuracy is a plus.

My experience with the Marlin in 357 Magnum is limited but I have a Winchester Model 94 and I am pleased with its performance. The 357 round has the accuracy for adult fox at 100-yards but for shots beyond 50-yards I would want to be sitting.
I have experienced best accuracy with 180-grain cast bullets. I cast them soft, about 14 BHN. Beyond 50-yards you need to be able to estimate distance pretty well. I use a Williams receiver sight which is slow to make elevation adjustments due to the need for a screw driver. If I had a Marlin I would drill it for a side mount Lyman reciever sight as they are easier to adjust.

Here is a poor picture from Saturday of a nursing mother and a barn cat giving each other the evil eye.

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