1894 marlin rifle

[gumpy]

i recently slugged a marlin 1894 barrel and no surprise it came out at a little over .431
I have ordered some cast bullets sized at .432 to fit the rifle. The question i have is using the same 240grain bullet sized to .432 in my s&w classic model 29. I have always cast and used bullets one thousandth over, but that is a big jump from .429 to .432. The idea is to be able to use the same bullet/load in both rifle and pistol. Curious as to what others thought. I should add of course this is .44magnum

[Wayne Smith]

What do your cylinder throats measure in the 29?

[44man]

That is what you need to know. Many 29's, etc had large throats but tight chambers. Measure and fit. If rounds with .432" boolits chamber and the throats are large enough they will shoot fine.

[44man]

Your biggest problem will be the goofy twist in the Marlin.

[btroj]

Your biggest problem will be the goofy twist in the Marlin.

I find that the best way to over coming the Goofy twist is to Mickey Mouse around with bullet shapes.

[44man]

I find that the best way to over coming the Goofy twist is to Mickey Mouse around with bullet shapes.
Round ball??? :bigsmyl2:

[Thumbcocker]

Mine loves 429244's and 2400

[Kraschenbirn]

I'm shooting the Lee 200 gr RNFP (sized .432) in both my 1894 and my OM Vaquero. 9.5 gr Herco in .44 Mag cases makes for a comfortable and accurate load in either piece.

Bill

[Wally]

I'm shooting the Lee 200 gr RNFP (sized .432) in both my 1894 and my OM Vaquero. 9.5 gr Herco in .44 Mag cases makes for a comfortable and accurate load in either piece.

Bill

Very wise move..the Lee 90285 429-200-RF is a fantastic bullet in all my .44 Cal guns...seems many feel that they have to shoot the much heavier bullets, when this one works so very well, save on a lot of lead. In the carbine the Lyman 429215 is also excellent as it has a GC...I find it to be a bit more accurate, but I use the Lee bullet more often.

[tuckerdog]

marlins twist is 1-38 many gun writers and gun owners have tried to get marlin to change this but they wont do it. a 1-20 twist will stabilize heavy boolits much better. try running a 225 grn or lighter boolit and size for the marlin as long as the round chambers in the revolver you should be ok

[XWrench3]

i hate to say this, but also don't forget to check for a constriction in the barrel where the barrel screws into the frame on your smith & wesson. mine was almost .002" smaller there, than anywhere else. also, the forcing cone of my barrel looked like it was machined with a machete. rougher than a cob. it took almost an hour to straighten that out.

[gumpy]

What do your cylinder throats measure in the 29?


while this may not be the best way to do it, working with what i had, i shoved a 30.06 casing in the front of the cyclinder, marked it and measured. I came out with .429
Later to day I am going to slug the bore and see what i get.

[gumpy]

i hate to say this, but also don't forget to check for a constriction in the barrel where the barrel screws into the frame on your smith & wesson. mine was almost .002" smaller there, than anywhere else. also, the forcing cone of my barrel looked like it was machined with a machete. rougher than a cob. it took almost an hour to straighten that out.
the inside of my forcing cone was a lot rougher looking than i expected. I am going to have to compare that to some of my older smiths out or curiousity. I don't have a guage to check constriction where the barrel screws in.

[gumpy]

Very wise move..the Lee 90285 429-200-RF is a fantastic bullet in all my .44 Cal guns...seems many feel that they have to shoot the much heavier bullets, when this one works so very well, save on a lot of lead. In the carbine the Lyman 429215 is also excellent as it has a GC...I find it to be a bit more accurate, but I use the Lee bullet more often.

am I missing something? The most I can seem to find in a sizing die is .431, haven't been able to catch a .432

[EDK]

RANCH DOG TLC 432 265 or NIGHT OWL ENTERPRISES lube groove plain base clone of same. Size to .432, brinnell hardness 10-to-12, depending on velocity desired. Casting for use in 12+ VAQUEROS and 1894 MARLIN Cowboy Rifles...I'm the boolit caster of the group. The guns do well with MIHEC'S 429421 clone, but the rifles CAN have feeding issues. LYMAN 429667 works well...shoots point of aim/point of impact in 5.5 and 7.5 inch 44 VAQUEROS with various loads in the 1000 feet per second range for me. Just got a Lathesmith .433 die for the STAR...got to cast some boolits to try and see what this will do.

I like the combination of a pistol and rifle to use the same ammo, but you'll do a lot of experimenting to get THE ONE GOOD LOAD for both. If you throw in multiple guns, you are going to stay busy for a long time. I load generic of Cowboy Action Shooting/target, and then do "rifle specific" as needed.

Same situation applies for my 357 combinations....similar boolit situations also.

[Wayne Smith]

while this may not be the best way to do it, working with what i had, i shoved a 30.06 casing in the front of the cyclinder, marked it and measured. I came out with .429
Later to day I am going to slug the bore and see what i get.

Brass has springback, not accurate. Get some soft lead and push that through and measure it, just like slugging a barrel. Egg shaped fishing sinkers work fine.