Marlin 45-70 meplat

[Parson]

What is the widest meplat that will reliably feed in a Marlin 1895? Also what is the longest OAL that will properly feed? (my rifle is on the way or I would know these things)

[Lloyd Smale]

mine feeds the 540 ballistic cast wfn and its so wide its almost a wadcutter.

[crabo]

Lloyd, how does that bullet shoot?

[Vly]

In the Handloader Magazine Special Edition for Cast Bullets (1992) there is an article on the Marlin 1895SS written by Paul A. Matthews. I read this with interest as I just acquired one of these a few weeks ago. In that article Matthews claims the max overall length is 2.55".

I'm still getting going with load development, but I have found I can seat the Lee 405 gr FN to a OAL of 2.68" and still functions through the magazine and feeds correctly. Watching the round, there is not much room to spare as it feeds, the true max OAL is very near that 2.68" figure.

[dubber123]

The Marlins vary too much to really say. My widest meplat mould is a .355" meplat I had cut, and it feeds great in my new Cowboy, O.A.L is 2.543". This boolit was just a touch long, the ogive hit the rifling just as it chambered, requiring a squeeze on the lever. After firelapping, it fits great, no squeeze needed.

HOWEVER, the only way this boolit will work in my brothers Guide Gun, is to shorten the brass a full 1/10th of an inch, so these guns can vary alot.

[The Nyack Kid]

once apon a time when i was younger and dumber i had a 460gr FN cutt for me , it had a 90% meplat or .412 inch . it would not feed in a friends 1895 CB then nose is .450 inchs long so COL was not the problem . IIRC the max meplat that would work in most marlins was 82% or .375 inches . i did have a mold that was cutt with a meplat of that size and it did work in the above mentioned marlin , it too has a nose lengh of .450 inches .

[charger 1]

That fella on the right feeds best actually. He's 83 plus.. Just watch your size vs meplat in that 45/70 ball throat. That one is .458. Buddy ordered one .460. Because of the large meplat dia the area that sized above to crimp ring was too long , and is now only useable in his ruger #1 seated back further. So if you go large meplat % keep the dia down or go with an actual drive band in front of crimp groove like the RCBS 405 on left does
http://usera.imagecave.com/chargerdive/HPIM1023.JPG

[Naphtali]

once apon a time when i was younger and dumber i had a 460gr FN cutt for me , it had a 90% meplat or .412 inch . it would not feed in a friends 1895 CB then nose is .450 inchs long so COL was not the problem . IIRC the max meplat that would work in most marlins was 82% or .375 inches . i did have a mold that was cutt with a meplat of that size and it did work in the above mentioned marlin , it too has a nose lengh of .450 inches .These .412-inch meplat bullets -- can any off-the-shelf M1895 be adjusted by a competent marlin-smith to feed them?

What about feeding and accuracy of such a wide meplat in a lighter bullet, say 410-425 grains? Have you any suggestion for a gunsmith capable of such feed adjustments?

[JesterGrin_1]

Maybe you should look here. :) http://www.ranchdogmolds.com/

[NHlever]

Wide meplats are a great thing, but like many great things too much can be problematic. I shot a lot of 300+ grain wide meplat bullets (Lee 45-300) in my 45 colt cowboy gun with 24" barrel, and also in my blackhawk. I found the accuracy to be very good at 50 yards, but there was evidence of keyholing at 100, and that was naturally more pronounced from the handgun. I found that you really have to drive those bullets to get the longer range accuracy, and stability we sometimes take for granted with older bullet designs. Naturally, a 45-70 can drive those bullets faster than I could, but they will slow down at some range, and become unstable. As long as it is beyond our intended range I guess that's fine. I hunted with those loads, but didn't get the chance to shoot anything with them. Here in NH, the hunting can be much better than the finding.

[Naphtali]

I applied my micrometer to a bunch of bullets to see what I was seeing.

I pleasant man in Michigan sent me several .50-caliber rounds and bullets -- ABW 450-grain FNSP, ABW 500-grain FNSP, and 525-grain cast FN GC.

I had in inventory for 45-70 -- Hoch 390-grain cast FNSP GC, Lasercast 405-grain FN GC, Speer 350-grain FNSP.

For 475/480 -- Speer 325-grain Gold Dot, Speer 400-grain Gold Dot, LBT 410-grain WFN.

One pair of numbers startled the heck out of me. The .50-caliber 525-grain FN GC is an awesome bullet to look at. And its meplat is .395 inch. But my LBT 410-grain 475 bullet has the same diameter meplat. And a 475 LBT mold for 340-grain bullets appears to also have .390-.395-inch meplat. I think it's the same bullet one groove length shorter.

Several people whose expertise I respect have informed me that meplat diameter is more a important indicator of how effectively a cast bullet performs on game than is diameter. Would that show that a 45-70 bullet with a .390-inch meplat on a 400-425-grain bullet would have essentially identical effectiveness on game as the .50-caliber FN GC bullets?

[acsteve]

Beartooth has a some wide meplate. The 430grwfn feeds great in my xlr. Although, I really like the ranchdog.