Le 340 in a 1895G

[fredj338]

Anyone having luck w/ this bullet in their Marlin 1895G? I am casting w/ ww & water dropping, Carnuba red lubed & sized to 0.459", running them o/ IMR3031 or IMR4198 about 1700fps. I just can't get them to group worth a ****. The rifle is a good shooter w/ 300gr & 350gr J bullets, 2" or less @ 100yds. So?[smilie=b:

[Guesser]

It works well in my #1, but I'm not using smokeless and I'm only running it at 1500.

[pdawg_shooter]

I tried it in my Marlin but it didnt work near as well as the heavier bullets. Faster but the accuracy wasent near as good.

[HammerMTB]

MIne does OK with 'em, not exceptional, just OK.
I am driving them ~1500FPS, and PPing some of them too.

[Russ68]

I have not had any luck with this mold either... it drops the nicest looking .457 boolits you'll ever see. I've tried different alloys, temps, lapping and Beagling the mold... But my 1895G needs .459 boolits.

[NHlever]

I've shot some good groups with them using light charges of Unique, etc. at 50 yards. So far they don't do as well as the RCBS 300, etc. but I am still working with them. Yesterday my H&R Handi rifle produced a 5 shot group at 50 yards of just under 3/4" (12 grains of Unique) but that is not an average. I'm still working on getting them to shoot better at hunting velocities. IMR-4227 is showing the most promise now, but I do have good luck with IMR-4198 with most boolits in this weight range.

[rob45]

It's been quite a while since I've done anything with the Lee 340.

Here are some things to consider. Don't take them as gospel, but maybe some things that may help.

1. For most people, somewhere around 1500-1600 is the upper limit with any plain base design, which the Lee is. Certainly, there are always exceptions, but that seems to be the general consensus.

2. You mentioned the previous use of jacketed bullets. Have you removed all jacketed fouling before switching to the cast? Just a thought. Especially if the jacketed loads have been a little on the high side.

3. You're water-dropping WW, which probably puts your bullet hardness somewhere around 18 BHN. On the high end of the alloy's capabilities, that should be good enough for near top-end pressures in your Marlin. The problem is that , for best results, you also have a minimum pressure that you need to reach. I would venture to say somewhere around 25,000 psi is needed for that hardness to work effectively.
I am not familiar with the low-side pressure characteristics of the exact two powders you're using, but for most powders in that range, you should easily be reaching over 1800 fps with that bullet weight by the time you hit 25,000 psi.



In summary, here are some things to try:

A. Make sure no copper fouling is present.
B. Make sure the bullet fits. I know you said you were sizing to .459", but if your mold will drop .460 then try that if you have the sizing die. It won't hurt to try.
C. Consider using a slightly softer alloy if you want to keep the same load parameters you're currently using. Either quit water-dropping your WW, or switch to 1:1 WW/Pb and water drop. Especially when using the 3031.
Or you could switch to a faster powder with your current alloy.
D. Don't forget that you may be at the upper limits of what can reasonably be expected out of a plain-based design. Too hard to say for sure, because some people do well otherwise, but I personally haven't. This is where everything has to be "just right". Smooth bore, perfect fit, etc.

Hope this helps.
Good Luck.

[tall grass]

Is it big enough, have you slugged your chamber? My 1995ss chamber measures 0.4595"and neither the 340 grain or the 405 grain Lee boolits worked at all ( dropped ~0.457-0.458") until they dropped out at least 0.460".

regards

Jim

[pdawg_shooter]

You mentioned the previous use of jacketed bullets. Have you removed all jacketed fouling before switching to the cast? Just a thought. Especially if the jacketed loads have been a little on the high side.

I paper patch ALL my rifle bullets. It is a real good way to remove copper fowling.

[fredj338]

I have not had any luck with this mold either... it drops the nicest looking .457 boolits you'll ever see. I've tried different alloys, temps, lapping and Beagling the mold... But my 1895G needs .459 boolits.

My mold actually throws a 0.460" bullet from ww. Maybe I should try pan lubing. I get 50yd accuracy under 2" but @ 100yds, I am lucky to get 4".
I did clean the bore, but maybe a good cleaning w/ bor efoam is in order then try again. I can back donw a bit on the powder charge & get them to 1500fps easily enough. Thanks guys, things to try.

[redgum]

I have pretty good results with 12-13 grains of "Trailboss" but I'm only plinking & not hunting with them.
I can keep them t within 2" at 75 yards or so from a solid rest with my Guide gun & iron sights

[fredj338]

I have pretty good results with 12-13 grains of "Trailboss" but I'm only plinking & not hunting with them.
I can keep them t within 2" at 75 yards or so from a solid rest with my Guide gun & iron sights

I'm going to try shooting them as cast & slowing them down to 1500fps or so. The best I can do is about 3" @ 100yds. Good enough for hunting, but when the 350gr SP shoot into 1 1/2", I know the rifle is capable.
thanks guys

[XWrench3]

i just shot my first ones from my replacement mold yesterday. they were loaded pretty light, i just wanted to see if they would lead the barrel or not (the old ones did, the first mold cast out of round). anyway, these grouped about 2 1/2" @ 100 yards. not great, but not bad for my first load. also, i just used lee dippers to measure the powder. the next batch will be measured by weight, and a little hotter. you may want to consider softening up the alloy a bit. i am running 1/2 ww & 1/2 soft lead, air colled. i want them to be soft enough to deform to fit the barrel ( i dont know how to spell "obiturate?"). anyway, good luck if you find an excelent accuracy load, dont be afraid to post it. i for one, could use a good starting point.

[BigBill]

I have had good luck with this mold. I have 2 loads that I have been using. One is 16 grains of Unique and the other is 34 grains of Reloader 10X. I also place a small Dacron puff over the powder in both loads. I cast them using WW's which are then water quenched. I use RCBS lube and I size them to .457. Using iron sights and a good rest, I can consistantly keep my groups under 2 inches @100 yards. My best group was a 3 shot group using the 10X load. It measured 1.25 inches. I hope this helps.

BigBill

[fredj338]

I have had good luck with this mold. I have 2 loads that I have been using. One is 16 grains of Unique and the other is 34 grains of Reloader 10X. I also place a small Dacron puff over the powder in both loads. I cast them using WW's which are then water quenched. I use RCBS lube and I size them to .457. Using iron sights and a good rest, I can consistantly keep my groups under 2 inches @100 yards. My best group was a 3 shot group using the 10X load. It measured 1.25 inches. I hope this helps.

BigBill

Thanks Bill. Do you know how fast those are going? I would like something running 1500fps+.

[BigBill]

fredj338,

not sure how fast they are going. I don't have any way to check them. I do know that the Reloader 10X load has worked good on coyotes out to about 100 yards. Three have fallen prey to the load so far. I wish I could tell you more, I just know that it has been working good for me.

BigBill

[fredj338]

fredj338,

not sure how fast they are going. I don't have any way to check them. I do know that the Reloader 10X load has worked good on coyotes out to about 100 yards. Three have fallen prey to the load so far. I wish I could tell you more, I just know that it has been working good for me.

BigBill
I have about a 1/2# of RL7 left to try. Since they no longer make it, maybe I'll give the RL10 a go. thx

[BigBill]

fredj338,

When I get back from work next week. I will see if i can borrow a Chrony. If I can find one to use, I'll let you know how fast they are going.

BigBill

[alamogunr]

I have about a 1/2# of RL7 left to try. Since they no longer make it, maybe I'll give the RL10 a go. thx

I just went to the Alliant website. Nothing there about discontinuing Reloader 7.

John
W.TN

[fredj338]

I just went to the Alliant website. Nothing there about discontinuing Reloader 7.

John
W.TN
You may be right. I just looked & PV has it. Maybe I was thinking of RL12?

[Maineboy]

I know lots of other people swear it's a great boolit in their rifles; it isn't in mine.
After great success with boolits in the 400-500 grain range from Lee, Lyman and RCBS, I bought a Lee 340 but I could never get that boolit to shoot well in my 1895. I thought that maybe my Marlin didn't like lighter boolits, but then I bought a Ranch Dog 350 mould and it's one of the most accurate boolits I shoot. Go figure.

[Jim]

Yeah, Fred, I think you're just pushing them a tad too fast, that's all.

[fredj338]

Yeah, Fred, I think you're just pushing them a tad too fast, that's all.

Ok, more experimenting is needed. FWIW, it shoots the 300gr RCBSgc into about 2 1/2" @ 100yds, not bad, but I know the rifle is capable. I just need to find the right combo.[smilie=s:

[Dale53]

I have had good luck with modest loads of 4198 or RL-7. I kept the loads within 1400 fps. I get five shot groups at 100 yards of 1.5". I think that is pretty dern good with a lever action.

The Marlin 1895 is a fine rifle. I LIKE the Lee 340 gr bullet...

Dale53