356402 in the Marlin 1894 Carbine

[Wally]

Looking to develop a plinking load for the 356402 for the Marlin 1894C Carbine in either/or the .38 Spl or .357 Magnum @ around 1,500 FPS muzzle velocity. Does anyone have a pet load for alraedy develope? I would single load each round.....

[Ben]

Most Marlins like a larger bullet.
Getting a 359" or 360" bullet from a 402' mold could be a real challenge.

Keep us posted with your successes.

Ben

[Ed_Shot]

My 356402 drops at .359 and I size to .358. It was disappointing with several loads I tried with .357 in my Marlin. Tried it in 38 Spl also. Tried it in my Security Six too and was unimpressed. By contrast my 358242 does great in .38/.357. The 356402 is a winner over 6.0 gr Blue Dot in 9MM.

[Wally]

My 356402 drops at .359 and I size to .358. It was disappointing with several loads I tried with .357 in my Marlin. Tried it in 38 Spl also. Tried it in my Security Six too and was unimpressed. By contrast my 358242 does great in .38/.357. The 356402 is a winner over 6.0 gr Blue Dot in 9MM.

Thanks for the feed-back...looks like it is not a good one to develop a load for in the M1894C. .

[rockshooter]

Dont give up so easily! For years I used the 356402 sized to .358- the size it dropped at- with 6.0 grains of Unique in .38 sp cases. It was a great fat .22 LR substitute. Excellent accuracy, no recoil in the 1894c.
Loren

[runfiverun]

you gotta at least try the boolit in the gun.
7 grs of herco, or 11 grs of 2400, 5-6 grs of unique, 5 grs of red dot/231 all are worth a try in the 357 case.

[Wally]

Dont give up so easily! For years I used the 356402 sized to .358- the size it dropped at- with 6.0 grains of Unique in .38 sp cases. It was a great fat .22 LR substitute. Excellent accuracy, no recoil in the 1894c.
Loren

Well looks like I best get it out and do me some casting...that's exactly what I was looking for, a good substitute for a .22 LR. Thanks for the encouragement!

This bullet would be a good plinking bullet as it has a heavy back end--when it hits solid objects, it tends tol tumble and be a better choice for shooting cans and pieces of wood.

[Wally]

Most Marlins like a larger bullet.
Getting a 359" or 360" bullet from a 402' mold could be a real challenge.

Keep us posted with your successes.

Ben

I had some 356402's previously casted from WW metal---they measure .3585~.359"... If you try pushing them into the breach end it is a very tight fit...takes a lot of pounding to push them through the barrel. I am now encouraged to try it out...sized to .359".

[fecmech]

I shoot the Lee 120TC and RCBS 124TC out of a couple Rossi's with 4.5/Bullseye or 5.3/231 both are very accurate to 200 yds and those loads run 1200 fps. It's just a big .22.