Leslie Sapp
02-22-2014, 03:19 PM
I've been working on a load for my newly acquired 1889 Marlin.
Knowing the older rifles ran to a larger bore size, I pulled some old factory Remington and checked the sizes.
The jacketed bullet was .3125, larger than I expected, but the lead one was .309! I don't own a 32-20 of any vintage that is that small. Since some of this ammo came with the gun, that could explain why the grooves were completely filled with crud except for the last 3 inches of the bore.:)
After soaking and cleaning for a day or so, I slugged the bore of the rifle and it came out to .3145. I beagled a 311316 mold up, and got a 50/50 ww/range scrap combo to drop at .316. This thing has potential, if I can find a tang sight I can afford. This is about the best I can do with aging eyes and open sights, but I'm sure it shoots better than I can.
Knowing the older rifles ran to a larger bore size, I pulled some old factory Remington and checked the sizes.
The jacketed bullet was .3125, larger than I expected, but the lead one was .309! I don't own a 32-20 of any vintage that is that small. Since some of this ammo came with the gun, that could explain why the grooves were completely filled with crud except for the last 3 inches of the bore.:)
After soaking and cleaning for a day or so, I slugged the bore of the rifle and it came out to .3145. I beagled a 311316 mold up, and got a 50/50 ww/range scrap combo to drop at .316. This thing has potential, if I can find a tang sight I can afford. This is about the best I can do with aging eyes and open sights, but I'm sure it shoots better than I can.