whitch mold works marlin 1894 44

[LUCKYDAWG13]

i have a marlin 1894 in 44 mag on the way what boolits works good
in them i have a MP 434 mold will the hollow point feed ok
or do i look for a new mold
thanks

[stubshaft]

I've shot a bunch of 429421 in mine, so I don't see why it shouldn't.

[longbow]

Contrary to stubshafts success, my 1894 wouldn't feed 429421's well at all even if crimped over the front driving band to keep OAL reasonable.

It fed H&G #503 marginally better but still hung up either on the meplat or on the shoulder.

It fed factory rounds fine and short nose RNFP styles if the meplat wasn't large.

In the end I decided to modify the cartridige stop to allow longer OAL but it still hung up SWC's on the chamber mouth at nose and/or shoulder. A considerable amount of filing and polishing the carrier to lower the round as it headed for the chamber finally solved the feeding problem.

So, be warned ~ some 1894's seem to handle SWC's and other blunt boolits well while others do not. I am not sure if it is a tolerance issue, fit up issue or timing but I and many other folks have had picky guns that wouldn't handle anything off factory style lengths and shapes of bullets.

My suggestion is to stick with RNFP styles like the Lyman 429640 (or better the Mihec 434640) or look for RanchDog moulds. RanchDog moulds are designed especially for Marlins.

You might also consider ordering a selection of boolit styles you are interested from a commercial casting outfit and try them before buying a mould. You may be lucky and not have a picky Marlin. If not at least you will know what it likes before spending good money on a mould that may not work.

FWIW

Longbow

[LUCKYDAWG13]

(or better the Mihec 434640) or look for RanchDog moulds. RanchDog moulds are designed especially for Marlins.

FWIW

Longbow[/QUOTE]

i have this mold this boolit works great in my B/H i hope it will work
in my 1894 too thanks for the help

[longbow]

Just another comment or two I thought of after.

My Marlin also suffers from a large groove diameter of 0.4315" which is not uncommon so a fat boolit may be in order. Mine likes 0.432" or larger and handles unsized 434640's which cast at guess what... 0.434" (good 'ol Mihec moulds!). It is accurate as well.

And another tidbit I learned on the Marlin Owners site ~ apparently Marlins tend to suffer from tight spots under dovetails. I had never heard of that before (lived a sheltered life I guess) so slugged my barrel and ran a lubricated slug up and down slowly. Sure enough, tight spots! So even though it is microgroove I decided to lap them out. It didn't appear to hurt the rifling shallow as it is, resulted in an improvement to accuracy and eliminated leading issues. Mostly leading problems were with my Lyman 429421 which cast at 0.429" so very undersize for this gun (and most others in my opinion) but even with 0.432" boolits I was getting some leading.

Short story is that if yours feeds and shoots, you are good. If it doesn't there are some things to look for and fairly easy fixes.

Longbow

[stubshaft]

I've usually found tight spots by the barrel bands too.

[LUCKYDAWG13]

i did have a .432 sizer made for my B/H by buckshot
thank you all for your help
jim

[EDK]

MIHEC hasn't closed the group buy on the cramer version of 434640 yet. I've got the LYMAN original, but this one will be a plain base and I bought all three sets of pins so I could cast solids or large or small hollow points.

I really like RANCH DOG'S TLC 432 265 (and the NOE lube groove plain base clone) and he recently introduced a 240 grain version. LYMAN 429667 has been a good standby for a decade or more. Round nose flat points WILL feed nicely in your rifle...semi wadcutters MAY OR MAY NOT...mine work with selected designs.


If you haven't already, go to lasc.us and read Glenn Fryxell's article on 1894 MARLINS...read the rest of them AND his boolit book too! You'll get the benefit of his extensive knowledge and save time, money and "re-inventing the wheel." My home was burglarized back in 1977...they got most of my guns. The first one I bought as a replacement was an 1894 MARLIN in 44 magnum...enough said?

:redneck::cbpour::guntootsmiley:

[6pt-sika]

I'm kinda partial to the following in my circa 1967 Marlin 336-44 , 44 MAG .

Lyman 429215
RCBS 44-225 SWC GC
RCBS 44-240 SWC GC
Lyman 429244
Lyman 429244 HP
Ranch Dog 432-240GC
Ranch Dog 432-265GC
Ranch Dog 432-300GC
Mountain Molds RD 432-325GC

Some I have an want to try but have yet to do so ,

Saeco #431 250 grain
Saeco #432 265 grain
Saeco #433 300 grain
Lyman 429640
Lyman 429650
RCBS 44-300 SWC GC
Lee 430-310GC
NEI 429310

[W.R.Buchanan]

If your gun wants to hang up boolits on the chamber mouth all you have to do is chamfer it about .030-.040 This is the easiest and simplest way to fix this problem.

I have posted this fix no less than 10 times here. I wish Marlin would just do it at the factory. It would take 5 seconds to do when chambering the barrel, and would cure this problem for good.

That's all there is to it.

Randy

[Char-Gar]

I have not done much work with my Marlin 1894 in 44 Mag, but this is what I have learned so far.

1. It is very picky about the COAL as it comes from the factory.
2. This can be fixed by filing back the cartridge carrier. There are instruction on the Internet, but I don't recall the addy. It WORKS!
3. If you want to shoot bullets in the 240-260 grain range, you will need to push them at full speed for them to stablize in the slow twist barrel.
4. Mostly I used 220-230 grain GC bullet over 10/Unique and get outstanding accuracy.
5. I run these through a .432 sizer to lube and check.

[TJF1]

I have had good luck with the ranch dog
moulds in my 44 and 45/70

[44 flattop]

My most used .44 mould for Marlins is the RCBS44-245 PB. All but one of my Marlins really like this bullet up to about 1500fps.

My hunting bullet mould is the RCBS44-240SIL. It feeds through just about any rifle and is super accurate at 1800fps. And kills game like a hand grenade.

44

[LUCKYDAWG13]

My most used .44 mould for Marlins is the RCBS44-245 PB. All but one of my Marlins really like this bullet up to about 1500fps.

My hunting bullet mould is the RCBS44-240SIL. It feeds through just about any rifle and is super accurate at 1800fps. And kills game like a hand grenade.

44

can you size boolits out of this mold to .432

[44 flattop]

I would think so. My .431 just barely sizes it so a .432 would basically just lubricate it and leave 'as is' which would be just about perfect.

44

[LUCKYDAWG13]

thank you for all your help

[W.R.Buchanan]

Char-Gar: The instructions are at www.leverguns.com IN the resources section on the right side of the home page.

A good one to book mark.

Randy

[Just Duke]

Good info.

[JesterGrin_1]

i have a marlin 1894 in 44 mag on the way what boolits works good
in them i have a MP 434 mold will the hollow point feed ok
or do i look for a new mold
thanks

I would have to say try what you have and see how it goes. Every Firearm is a law unto itself. :bigsmyl2:

I had a Marlin 1894 SS in .44 Mag and found for mine it did not like SWC.

I had good luck with the Ranch dog 432-265Gr RNFP GC But chose the Lee 310Gr RNFP GC. But from the factory the Lee bullet came out of the Mold Small so I had to open it up till I could get and size to .432.

As for accuracy with a Scope at 100 yards the norm was right around 2 1/2 to just under 3 inches.

Lucky if you would like to try some I think I have some Ranch Dog 265's and some Lee 310Gr and some 300Gr HP from Mih.

[bones37]

My Marlin Micro groove 44 also suffers from an oversize bore, measuring out at .431", so I had to send my RCBS 200-CM to Erik @ hollowpoint mold service to have it enlarged to cast a .433". Before having this done, the mold would not cast a large enough boolit. I realize that not many people want to shoot a 200 grain boolit in their 44, but for where I live, I have no need for anything much heavier. Also, I find the 200 grain much more accurate than anything I tried previously, especially at the lower than" normal" velocities that I run them at.