Good article on Microgroove barrels

[Nobade]

http://www.leverguns.com/articles/fryxell/microgrove-barrels.htm

[7Acres]

Good read. Thanks for sharing! Sounds like the process for applying microgroove rifling is very similar to that of manufacturing polygonal barrels. Is that basically correct?

[Clark]

6067560676

I got an old Ruger Deerslayer 44 mag [semi auto, not lever action] for $180 at the gun show.
I was shooting 300 gr cast bullet from Liberty bullets and got the muzzle Leaded. I then shot 240 gr Jacketed bullets and the muzzle peeled back like a banana.
There was not enough barrel left to be legal, less than 16".
I got a 444 Marlin new old stock barrel from Numrich gun parts corp for cheap.
I took it to Randy Ketchum of lynnwood guns and ammunition.
He cut the rear off the chamber.
The front half of a 444 Marlin chamber is very close to a 44 mag chamber.
He drilled a gas hole and TIG welded a fixture on.
Now I have a micro groove 44 mag Ruger that is very accurate.

[rintinglen]

Love the Deer Slayer!

The knock on microgroove barrels is well deserved for the non-caster who shoots store bought boolits. For those who cast and understand the need to "fit the ball to the bore," they can be made to shoot well and with out leading. However, I have always thought Marlin was foolish to make their barrels oversized. I suppose they never anticipated the revival of cast boolit shooting, but from the get go, there were complaints about cast inaccuracy in their centerfires. How they avoided being sued out of business, Lord only knows.

Back in the 80's I tried to set up a garage-home gun shop, before the regulatory side put me out of business, one of my customers brought in a 44 Marlin that "just wouldn't shoot any more. One glance at the bore told me something was amiss. The words "sewer pipe" came to mind. There was virtually no rifling visible, only a bare inch or so at the muzzle and there was perceptible narrowing of the bore. He said that he had fired "a couple of boxes" of "junk reloads." The ammunition was remanufactured by HSM, and was hardly junk in my experience. Still, I took the gun in for a clean and inspect. I couldn't force a .44 jag down the bore with a patch on it. I ended up filling the barrel with mercury (good thing the EPA didn't know) overnight and scrubbing amalgam out of the barrel. I would not be surprised if I scrubbed out half an ounce of lead. I joined the "anti-microgroove" crowd then and stayed there for a number of years until I started shooting Lever Action Silhouette and learned the work around for the over-sized bore that caused the leading.

Now I have sizers ranging from .428 to .433, so I am ready for any .44 that comes down the pike, but it shouldn't have to be that way.

[Ed in North Texas]

" How they avoided being sued out of business, Lord only knows."

Have you ever seen a firearms manufacturer who recommends using reloads in their firearms? I could be mistaken, but can't remember a single manufacturer who doesn't claim that using reloads voids the warranty. I think that by the time the Model 1894 was resurrected, even most of the pistol ammo sold in the US was jacketed.

[rintinglen]

A heavily leaded barrel at magnum pistol pressures can burst. Winchester-Western manufactured factory lead 240 grainers that would lead in just about any gun much less a Multigroove Marlin.
In 1970, when the 1894s hit town, JHP's were pretty thin on the ground, especially in pistol and revolver ammo. I can recall scouring the tables at the Great Western Gun Show in the early 70's looking for Super Vel ammunition. Most Revolver ammunition was lead and nearly all Pistol Ammunition was full-metal jacketed. IIRC, Remington did make a soft point jacketed 44 magnum load, specifically recommended for the Ruger Deerslayer. I bought one at K-mart while I was still in the Marine Corps and had to look high and low for Jacketed ammunition. In fact, that was the 2nd caliber I ever reloaded. I bought Speer 240 grain soft-nose bullets at the PX and loaded them over IMR-4227 using an old Lee Loader.
All beside the point, though, Marlin was lucky no one got rich off them when one of those over-size barrels leaded up and let go.

[TXGunNut]

Awesome read, Nobade. Thanks. Reinforces what I've learned here and with my own MG Marlins.