The Right Mould for Marlin 1894C

[Chrome1981]

Hello , i would buy some mould for my Marlin 1894C. I'm reading Glen E. Fryxell review, and I discovery now that some mold has OAL problems.


As Glen says:

Lyman 358429
Lyman 358439
Lyman 35875
Lee 358-158-RF
Lyman 358665

they give feeding problem with the .357 Mag case but work very well with .38 special case.

Instead

Lyman 358156 SWC,HP
LBT 160 GC.SWC

Work well with 357 Case.

My question is:

I wanted to start experimenting with some charges without gascheck.

Is good this mould "Pistol Bullet Mould: 38/357 Caliber - #358477" for my marlin 1894C ?? or do u think that is it better to start with a 38 special case and a Lee 358-158-RF??

for starting what mould can i use with which case ?

Thank you very much!

[TCFAN]

Chrome, I use the Lee 358-158RF in my 94-C loaded in 38 special cases with Bullseye powder for a plinking load.
For every day all around use I use the Lyman 358156 HP loaded with H110 powder in a 357 case for about 1750 FPS.Like Glen says in that review you read it is a "rodent buzz-saw".
My 94-C shoots the best with a gas check boolit................Terry

[txbirdman]

The RCBS 150 Keith works well in my '94C but so does the 358665.

[Chrome1981]

The RCBS 150 Keith works well in my '94C but so does the 358665.

Ok, but 38 or 357 case? Which powder do you use?

[wgg]

I believe you would tailer the bullet and powder for what you wanted the load to do. I have the same gun and am trying to find the bullets and powders to use. I believe I am going to try the Lee 158 FN for a general purpose bullet then maybe 180 FNGC for a hunting [ deer and hogs ] it will be fun testing it. Good luck Glen

[Bodydoc447]

I think you can't go wrong with the Lee mold. Start off using .38 brass and you will have no trouble with overall length issues. You will find that it makes a great practice round (I like Unique and Promo for powders). You can then experiment with .357 brass to see if you have issues with OAL in your rifle.

Doc

[EDK]

NOE has a clone of LYMAN 358156..360160. Order a five cavity and get some of them plain based. Mine is on order. Got a LYMAN too.

NOE also has 360180 WFN in a four cavity brass. Do the same thing with it. I've got an aluminum 5 cavity.

I don't shoot my 357 Cowboy rifle a lot, but LYMAN 358665 work through mine in 357 brass. The LEE version has some fans, but some object to the bevel base and no gas check. I'd buy the LEE and try it; then move up to something else as you get more familiar with your rifle and your needs. (My generic load is either the 358665 or the NOE 360180 with TITEGROUP below maximum in 357 brass.)

[btroj]

I have found the Mihec 359640 to out shoot all others in my Marlin.
I found the Lyman 358156 wasn't bad but not close to the best. The Lyman 358429 was next best and the Lee 158 swc was worst of all. When I saw the Lyman bullets were not close I mean I couldn't get beteer than 4 inch groups at 50 yards. The Mihec 359640 will do better than that at 100 yards.
I will say that my Marlin is more recently made and seems to have a very sharp lead angle. The tapered nose on the Mihec bullet helps to center the bullet in the bore, in my opinion. This is why the few RD 180s I shot were decent too.
I did find that the Lyman 358156 shot much better pushed hard than it did at slower velocities.
I also got much better results using mag brass than I did with 38 brass. I was hoping this wouldn't be as I have soooooop much more 38 brass but the gun likes what it likes.

In the end I will say this- try numerous bullets if you can. Try a variety of load levels. It took me months to find something that was acceptable in the accuracy department. This gun was driving me nuts. I was excited to finally find a bullet it would shoot like a rifle, not like a shotgun.

[txbirdman]

Ok, but 38 or 357 case? Which powder do you use?

I use the Lyman in .38 brass and the RCBS in .357 brass. Unique is my powder of choice in these 2 bullets. With the 358156 I use 2400.

[gundownunder]

Like btroj I have found my 1894CB to be a frustrating rifle to load for and it has shown a definite preference for heavy bullets, and can't hit the inside of a barn with 158 SWC. To date I have found the best bullet for it to be a 180Gr commercial cast bullet. I have just received my Mihec 359640 and have started to cast some up but haven't had time to load any yet. I'm hoping that it will be a good one for this rifle.

btroj, is your 640 a solid or HP and would you like to share your load for this bullet.

[btroj]

Mine is the Cramer style and can do either solid or HP. I have only shot HP so far.
I don't know the load right off but I had good results with WC820 using 13 gr to 14 gr. Pressure seemed a bit more than I wanted so I will likely stick in the 13 gr range. It did seem to shoot better the faster I drove it.
I think the problem with mine is the lead angle is steep. It needs a bullet with a tapered nose to help center the bullet in the bore.
This may be my deer load and gun this year. Just not sure yet.

[Chrome1981]

I thought I'd start with the mold lee 358-125-RF because it's cheap.
then I will buy Lyman 358665 or RCBS 38-150-swc.

Then I thought to a powder like Vihtavuori N-350 which was fine on both the 357 Mag. and on 38 spl for to start doing some testing.

Unfortunately I have many doubts that I can remove just doing so many tests.

[btroj]

I ink the Lee 125 or 158 rnfp would be good. I think the tapered nose into full diameter rather than a sharp shoulder helps center the bullet in the bore.
I have thought about getting one of the Lee 125 moulds but haven't gotten around to actually doing it.
I really wish the Lee 158 swc worked better, I cast lots of those for my revolvers.

[Chrome1981]

I believe you would tailer the bullet and powder for what you wanted the load to do. I have the same gun and am trying to find the bullets and powders to use. I believe I am going to try the Lee 158 FN for a general purpose bullet then maybe 180 FNGC for a hunting [ deer and hogs ] it will be fun testing it. Good luck Glen

I do not go hunting, my goal and get a good result at 100 meters on paper target.

So I want do a lot of testing with the .357 Mag and .38 spl with the progressive powder as the N-110 and the N-350. I hope to do something good.



thanks to all the advice!!

[Snapping Twig]

Ranch Dog's new 358-175 Marlin specific mould is available now.

Long awaited and apparently just the thing for your rifle.

I just cast and loaded up a box for a friend with a 1894C using Ranch Dog's data.

Check it out.

[txbirdman]

The 358156 works better than any other SWC in my Marlin. I believe it's because the front drive band on this mould is not full diameter (mine measures .354). I've tried the Keith style with the full band and they tend to be hard to chamber. Now if I crimp on the front band it works okay but not if crimped in the crimp groove.