Quiet loads for the .45LC Marlin 1894

[MikeSSS]

I've been loading Lee .452" 200gr's, unsized (.453"), with either 3.3 or 4.5 gr of Clays for the Uberti revolvers. They shoot very well and are not that noisy but there is quite a bit of blowback as is expected. You can see those boolits fly out and slay the cactus'. There is a hog trap 270 yards away from the back porch and I let one of the 3.3 gr 200's fly at it with the short barreled model P, what were the chances? "Clank" came back just as pretty as can be. Sometimes you should stop while you're ahead. Wish I had.

I shot some 3.3 and 4.5 200's in the 24" 1894 Marlin and it was the same. Some noise and they shot good. Also shot some .452" 200gr SWC hardcast's in the Marlin, it feeds them like a champ. The hit you under the eye with some blow back though.

What I really wanted to try was a 300 to 350 gr bullet. Got some lead on a trade and surprise, there were some .459" 350 gr RN FP's. Hmmm. But I don't have a sizer. But there probably wouldn't be blow back. Loaded a dummy and it chambered! Loaded some with 3.3 and some with 4.5 Clays and off we went. Well, let me tell you, they sure slap the steel plates down. Slap em down so hard they bounce back up. Noise wasn't all that quiet but the primers didn't show much pressure, the 3.3's showing less than the 4.5's. I did wear some Peltor Tac 6S's with the electronics turned up and there was stuff around for the noise to reflect off.

Off to the hundred yard line. Both the 3.3 and 4.5 gr loads shoot pretty flat to 100 yards. Huh? These things are going faster than I thought they would. Didn't try off the bench but accuracy seemed about as good as my eyesight.

Case seal was very good and powder burn seemed complete. Not a big surprise.

I'll try some with a lighter load and watch for boolits stuck in the barrel. Got a dowell rod I take for testing light loads. Eventually I'll try some Trailboss powder too.

I've been wanting one of these Marlins to try very heavy boolits at BB gun speeds and now I've got it. This is fun.

Gotta get Lee 300 and 350 gr molds and a .454" push through sizer, I guess.

Anybody else trying for real quiet loads that hit hard?

Older now but still ride'n against the wind,

Mike S

[mtngunr]

I'd be scared to death of sticking one and not catching that until I'd pulled the trigger on the follower....but you seem used to the idea of those very light loads (for cowboy comp?) and are aware of the risks....my definition of light loads in a rifle have pretty much been limited to what I'd call standard pressure handgun loads.....in your instance, a 250gr bullet over 9grs Herco/Unique....the same weight/charge/powder in a .38-55 gets about 1100fps....same speed in the 32 WCF with 115gr and a little over 3grs/Bullseye....and back to that same first 9gr powder selection with various high powered rifles shooting cast and light jacketed plinkers for 1200-1500fps depending on caliber and case capacity....but will admit your heavy bulleted light .45 Colt load is suspiciously like a slightly scaled up version of the .38-55 load with high sectional density at modest speed...and maybe near as penetrative...I'd give the edge on that to the smaller slug, though, in theory, just because it has less frontal area inhibiting penetration.....sounds like fun, but take care....

[August]

I'm having a difficult time finding shooting glasses that provide enough protection to participate in these activities.

[MikeSSS]

An update from Saturday.

Tried 2.4 gr of Clays with 350, 260, and 200 gr boolits.

Noise was more than I wanted. 350's get good case seal and are good at 30 yards but hit about 8" low at 50 yards. The 350's stabilized, I was thinking they might not at very low velocities but they did. (The all time quiet champ is the round ball with about 1.5 grains of powder, these conical boolit loads weren't even close.)

260's perform like 350's but the case seal is not as good. There is some black blowback along the case. Again 8" low at 50 yards.

200's don't have enough inertia for 2.4 gr. There is lots of fouling along the case and the velocity is low and so is the accuracy. Combustion is incomplete.

None stuck in the barrel, I checked between shots just in case.

3.3 gr worked very well with 200's and 350's but only the 350's sealed well. Both shot pretty flat to 100 yards and I didn't try them farther. Did not try 260's with the 3.3 gr loads.

4.5 gr worked well with 200 and 350's, flat to 100 yards and only the 350's sealed well. Didn't try 260's.

All loads, 2.4 gr, 3.3 gr, and 4.5 gr with 200, 260, and 350 gr boolits just shoot holes through two liter Pepsi bottles. The bottles sit there and guggrle out the water.

I don't know if the better case seal of the 350's comes from their .459" diameter or from their extra inertia. It may well be both.

Primers indicated low pressures for all these loads.

A problem with the 350's is that you only get 20 boolits per pound of lead. Good thing I have a lead mine. It's behind where I set my targets. Very convenient.

If I shoot similar bottles with the .30 Carbine using Lee 120gr gas check boolits powered by 10.1 gr of 2400 the bottles split or blow out some plastic if hit in the shoulder. This load cycles the action 100%.

It is interesting that a light load with a 120 gr Carbine boolit does so much more damage than the big .45 boolits. Yes the Carbine boolit is traveling faster, maybe 2 to 2.5 times faster but it has half the weight to one third the weight. I'll bet the Carbine boolit slows down a lot more in the water thus dumping more energy.

Boy, the Carbines sights sure are better than the buckhorn and brass front bead on the Marlin 94. The peep on the Carbine gives a lot more depth of field to the vision and it's plain, smoked front sight is easier to see than a shiny, brass bead.

Well that's this pilgrims progress, so far.

Don't try these loads yourself. If you do, remember I told you not to.

Ride'n the range and acti'n strange.

Mike S

[45r]

do you get good accuracy out of your 45 cowboy and does it have a good chamber for not stretching brass. to much.I would like one with tight chamber and shorter tube instead of one that goes out to the end of the barrel and might have one custom built some day but might get one like yours if I can find one that looks good.I'm thinking a 300 grain GC sized 454 might be good enough if they make the chambers tight enough nowadays.

[Ricochet]

If you've got to go to the lightest loads you can get away with, use the fastest powder you can find. I've been using Nitro 100 for some fairly light loads in .44 Special and Magnum, but I'm not looking for the bottom as you are, either.

[Hanz]

You don't get the fun of making them yourself and they won't knock over much but if you like quiet you have to try Colibri Aguila .22LR out of a 24" barrel. I have a Marlin 39A that loves 'em. You can hear the hammer slap :-D

[OBXPilgrim]

Hanz - knows what he's talking about.

I compared the Colibri Aguila .22LR in my Win 9422 & they are quieter than my .22 cal pellet rifle.

[MikeSSS]

Update on the light loads:

45R, the 1894 Marlin's chamber is not as tight as my Rossi 1892's but it's still OK. I'll never shoot heavy loads in it so it won't matter much. The upside is it feeds everything really well. Accuracy is enough to hit 2 liter water bottles offhand at 50 yards and hit 20 oz bottles most of the time. Don't seem to get much case stretch but I have not checked. I use a smear of Imperial Sizing Die wax and just leave it on the cases so they might not grip the chamber wall.

I left some very light Clays ammo in the trunk overnight on a really cold night. Next day some of the bullets dropped 2 or 3 feet at 20 yards and some shot normally. Thats way to inconsistient for me.

The noise level of the .45 LC's never would come down anywhere near the quiet of the Cowboy Action Pards shooting 38's with 105 gr bullets and 2.9 gr of Trail Boss.

So, I gave up and loaded the last bunch of 200 gr bullet loads with 5.0 gr of Clays. Loaded some for next time with the same load and some with 6.0 gr of Trail Boss.

Usually I water quench the bullets but cast them yesterday and today with air cooling. I'm hoping for softer bullets that will give less blowback. The 200 gr water quenched over 5.0 gr of Clays gives too much blowback. They tell me to use 250 gr bullets and Trail Boss powder to reduce the blow back. The 350 grain bullets didn't have blowback but they have a lot more inertia, their base is much deeper in the case and they are .459" diameter.

Yup, shoot those Colibri's and they are darned quiet. CB caps are quiet too if you have a long barrel. The Aguila 60 gr bullet cartridges are fairly quiet for something that reaches out to 100 yards pretty well.

Love those Lee molds!