Mossberg 464 on the way

[Mgderf]

I bought one of the Davison's Gallery of Guns exclusive offering 464's with the laminated stock and Marinecote finish about 2 years ago.
Last year, my state opened up the center-fire rifle rules to allow .30-30's, .308's, .30-06's, and a handful of other calibers for a 5 year trial period.

My 464 took a 3 point buck in November. It was the only deer I saw all season.
It was taken at the last possible light of the day, an over-the-shoulder off-hand shot, at approximately a 50 degree downhill angle at roughly 60 yards.

My buck was laid over sideways, never taking a step.
Hornady's 150gr LeverEvolution is powerful deer medicine.

I absolutely love the 464. So much so that I sold my Marlin 336 .30-30 to my younger brother.

I am waiting with baited breath now for Henry to ship their new Big Boy steel's in .327 Federal magnum.
My FFL has one on order for me. They're due to ship in "March 2017".
It's March already! I'm ready Henry! Start shipping...

[FergusonTO35]

Sounds good. What kind of scope or sights do you use on your 464? One of those Henry .327's would be sweet, essentially a .32-20 that can use four different types of brass.

[Mgderf]

Sounds good. What kind of scope or sights do you use on your 464? One of those Henry .327's would be sweet, essentially a .32-20 that can use four different types of brass.

The property that I have permission to hunt on is small, and relatively dense with flora.
Because of these limiting factors, my longest available shot is generally less than 60 yards.
My 464 came stock with Williams Fire-Sights and I used them with great affect. Those Fire-Sights are fantastic in low light situations.
I'm don't object to a scope, but really don't find it necessary for my hunting needs.

I have high hopes for the new Henry .327.

[FergusonTO35]

Fired the 464 after work some today. I shot up some old 170 grain jword loads just to use them up for brass and hopefully help the leade open up a bit. Wow, these things impact like ten inches above my usual 28 grains IMR 4895/150 grain Lee boolit load. Recoil is a lot stronger too, the action will open a bit on firing if you don't keep the lever squeezed tight. Don't know if that is from the lever hitting my fingers as the rifle recoils or if the rearward thrust of the bolt encourages the action to unlock like an automatic pistol does.

Anywho, I think this rifle is going to be winner once I get used to it. It seems that the leade needs to open up just a wee bit for the perfect fit with boolits. If you work the lever quickly you don't really notice but if you work it slowly some rounds require a fair amount of effort to chamber. Once all the jwords are used up I'll give it a good cleaning and reevaluate.

[nekshot]

I have a 336 that even when the reload is perfect according to chamber and throat it will close hard at the last 1/8 inch of lever travel. I simply seated the boolit a little deeper and it closes fine. I found sometimes we need to let the rifle tell us what works rather than over think the problem! Sounds like you are getting a winner.

[FergusonTO35]

Thanks. I did a bit of work to the 464 last night to correct some minor defects. Like the 94, the 464 tends to suffer a loose forend. I found that the forend band is somewhat oversize and allows play even when the screw is tightened as much as I dare to. You can actually move the band and forend back and forth a little. I applied a small strip of rubbery automotive molding tape to the inside of the top of the band where it goes over the barrel. This fills the yawning gap in this area and snugs the band into the forend more, now the forend and band seems to be as solid as my Marlins. The trigger block lever safety was pretty stout, as it was on my 94. This means that if you don't have a firm grip on the lever the safety can protrude a little bit and partially block the trigger, making a much harder pull. I removed the stock and bent the trigger safety spring up a bit to relieve the pressure. Now I can keep the lever completely closed with my normal grip and not have to consciously squeeze the lever, which is much better for accuracy.

Overall I think Mossy did a good job rethinking the 94 design. I really like how the rear tangs of the receiver are solid and use a horizontal wrist bolt to secure the stock. The bolt even has a 1/2" hex so you can use a socket and extension instead of a screwdriver. The tang safety also positively blocks the hammer when engaged, but moves well clear of the hammer when disengaged. I know the late model tang safety 94's had trouble with the safety catching the hammer even when disengaged, this design appears to preclude that possibility. I'm planning to shoot the 464 alot this summer, and make it my main go to/ready to roll long gun.

[FergusonTO35]

I fired the 464 some more today and have decided I am going to send it back for service. When firing, the bolt is nearly unlocking all the way on it's own. That is not ok in my book, smells like a headspace problem and/or tolerances in the action. My old 94 was loose as a goose but never did this.

[jmort]

Better safe than sorry
Your updates are appreciated

[FergusonTO35]

You bet. I really like this rifle, hopefully Mossy will get it straightened out.

[FergusonTO35]

I sent Mossy an e-mail last night explaining my concerns and got a reply back this morning saying to send the rifle in and they would have the lead tech handle it. Dropped off the rifle at my dealer with a note explaining what needed to be done. He asked if I had bought the gun there which I replied in the affirmative. The dealer said not to worry, he would make sure it was taken care of and immediately got the rifle boxed up and printed a shipping label for it. Wouldn't let me pay for the postage even though the rifle was used when I bought it. So I just spent that money on some reloading crack.

Two for two on getting the rifle fixed, we shall see how it goes.

[jmort]

So far, so good

[FergusonTO35]

Ok, finally got the 464 back today. It actually arrived back a month ago but the shop owner forgot to call me. Honest mistake, I'm not worried about it. The rifle arrived with only a receipt stating it was serviced under warranty and test fired with 10 rounds of Winchester ammo. No mention as to what they did to it, however the bolt looks new and it seems to close more tightly than it did. With a little luck I will be able to try it out tomorrow.

[Treetop]

Be sure to let us know about the bolt lock up problem. Sure hope they fixed it! Treetop

[leveraction 45 colt]

I hope he tells us as I am interested in one as well! I wonder if it has ballard rifling as I shoot cast bullets?

[Treetop]

I hope he tells us as I am interested in one as well! I wonder if it has ballard rifling as I shoot cast bullets?

Yes, they are conventional, Ballard, button rifled. Twist rate is 1:10". Mine loves cast boolits. Welcome to the forum, leveraction! Treetop

[FergusonTO35]

I put a box of 8.8 grains Unique/Lee 309-113-RF through it yesterday and am happy to report the problem seems to be fixed. Previously, even these mild loads would cause it to unlock. Did have some light strikes though. Not sure if that is due to the new parts or some hard primers. Will shoot it some more with different primers this week.

Yes, the 464 has conventional rifling and does great with boolits. Aside from some irritating QC issues which are endemic to all low cost lever actions it is a great rifle, certainly no worse than the department store grade Winchester 94's were.

[leveraction 45 colt]

Yes, they are conventional, Ballard, button rifled. Twist rate is 1:10". Mine loves cast boolits. Welcome to the forum, leveraction! Treetop

thank you for the invite and yep glad to know it has ballard rifling i'll be lookin at one soon!!

[FergusonTO35]

Be aware that you may have to send it back, so buying from a local place that will take care of you is a very good idea. Just honest opinion!

[Mgderf]

I've only put factory offerings through mine so far, and not a lot of them.
I took it to the range when I bought it for sighting in procedures.
I don't think I put a full box of 20 rounds through it before I was satisfied that it was zeroed to at least minute-of-deer at 50+ yards so I stopped there for the time.

The next shot, a single shot, took a 3-point buck at about 50 yards.

Mine seems to lock up tight and I don't have any issue with the lever safety.
I did notice that it does require some effort to keep the lever properly engaged, but my normal grip suffices, and I've had no problems with the bolt kicking open upon shooting.

All in all I'm VERY impressed with the 464.
So much so, that I just bought another Mossberg rifle.
Found a good deal on a new Mossberg Patriot bolt gun in .30-06. It looks to be a keeper too!

[FergusonTO35]

Glad to hear it. If you ever want to make the lever safety a little easier just take the stock off via the through bolt under the buttplate. You will see the little finger that engages the lever on the bottom tang of the receiver. Bend it up slightly to reduce the downward pressure and you're done. I adjusted mine so that gravity will engage it, and gripping the lever with a bare minimum of strength will disengage it. The trigger pull on mine is a fairly crisp 8 pounds or so and I'm going to leave it as is.