Marlin 1894 .357 barrel inletting

[borderman]

This rifle does not shoot consistently at all. About the best it has done at 50 yards is 1 3/4" with a Weaver 6x scope. It will shoot this group size with several bullet/boolit/powder combinations. However the very next group with the same load can approach 5". My question regards the forearm fit. It tightly fits the barrel on both sides. Should it be 'free-floated', like a bolt action? Seems like an easy fix but I hesitate without advice from those more knowledgeable than myself, a lever action greenie.

[Char-Gar]

Hummm....

These little carbines are sensative to how you hold them and how hot the barrel gets. It is best not to rest the forend on anything solid, even sandbags. Place your hand on the sandbag or rest and place the forend in your hand. Pull back to get a good solid seat on your shoulder. Most of the rifles will group better this way.

Most rifle with tubular magazines and all the hooks and hangers open up the groups as the barrels heat up. Let the barrel cool between groups.

Groups will also be larger if you run the rounds through the magazine. As the magazine empties the center of gravity moves back and the pressure on the hooks and hangers change. When testing these rifle, it is best to single load rounds in the chamber.

There are ways to trick out a carbine such as your to give more consistant grouping. Mic McPhearson has made a fine are of doing this. Mic uses a soft beding compound in the forend. You can hunt him up online. He has several articles and also sells books on CD on tuning up the leverguns.

You can also check out www.treebonecarving.com . This guy makes and sell fine stocks for leverguns and has some good articles with photos on how to glass bed the wood to a Marlin rifle.

Now here is the bottom line... These little 357 Marlin carbines are not target rifles. If you can roll beer cans at 100 yards, then you are good to go. Don't spend much time, energy and angst trying to make these rifles into something they are not.

It also needs to be said that your inconsistance might come from the shooter or ammo.. Who knows?

[beemer]

The forearm and mag tube can be to tight or in a bind causing stress on the barrel as it heats up.You can take the wood off and assemble the metal parts and see if it is to tight. I have seen the tube to tight where it enters the action, you can clean the end of the tube up till it doesn't bind. Sometimes the wood is causing the problem, look for places where it has rubbed the metal. I don't like the fit to be loose but a bit of play will not hurt. If you remove any wood reseal it to help stop moisture.

The buttstock needs to be tight. If it shifts from side to side it will change the point of impact.
Sometimes one side of the stock seats against the reciever and the other side is to short.
The back of the tang should not touch the wood, this insures that the recoil is on the front of the stock where it meets the reciever, this also causes the tang to act like a wedge and split the wood.

As stated above the carbine is not a target rifle and how it is held can make a difference but group consistancy can usually be improved. There is no big fix but it all adds up.

If the Weaver scope is an old one check the parallax, some of then were off a good bit.

I have four Marlin levers and really enjoy playing with them. All of them have peep sights, they just seem right.

beemer

[omgb]

Heavy bullets, 180 grains or so, are far more accurate and far more consistant in my Marlin. But the truth be told, these guns are hunting plinking guns, not tack drivers. 2" at 100 yards is very good.

[Cracker]

Here is a good write up on this subject

http://www.leverguns.com/articles/paco/chapter23.htm

[Bass Ackward]

Dick,

If you didn't tell me anything specific about the gun, my comment would be that your bullets are too soft for the rate and amount your pressure is coming up. After you go into detail, you mention nothing of the material of the slugs. So I ask the same question.

Hard is relative to many facets of bore condition, so the only way to answer this is what does this rifle do with those same powders and jacketed weight bullets?

If you are getting the same size groups, then it is the rifle or something mechanically related of which forearm pressure can be one variable. If your jacketed groups are much better or just simply more consistent, then you still need harder bullets.

[45r]

If you want best accuracy out of a levergun look up the levergun.com site and see how McPherson beds and puts a through-bolt in the buttstock and uses RTV silicone in the forearm bedding.Rifles done that way have shot below MOA.They use the V-thread in the some of the XLR's now and if they started using the custom bedding systems they would be as accurate as a bolt gun and be much better for fast follow up shots.With the interest in leverguns on the rise maybe it will happen.The 308ME is shooting as well as a lot of 308 bolt-guns.My 357CB shoots well but I hold it the same and single load it when testing handloads.Pulling the rifle in snug and not putting to much cheek pressure on the buttstock helps.