Loads for an 1894 Marlin in .45 Colt?

[Idaho45guy]

Developed some loads for my Ruger Blackhawk 5.5" using 8 grains of TiteGroup behind a 300gr cast boolit. Will try those when the rifle arrives next week.

Any other combos I should try? I have TiteGroup, H110, and Lil' Gun along with Lee bullet molds for 250gr and 300gr. Also might have some Hornady 250gr XTPs laying around as well.

Looking for a load for carrying in the woods, so looking for hard-hitting loads.

[Idaho Mule]

I would suggest looking up a load for your H110 for heavier bullets, especially in the rifle. Titegroup is a great powder in short barrels, but for rifle length barrels, a slower burning powder produces much more gas volume and will push the bullet through the barrel in a more consistent manner, leading to better accuracy. I have had pretty good luck with 2400 with 260 to 280 grain bullets in mine. I do have a few moulds for 45 Colt and would be happy to help. I still owe you a beer anyway. JW

[Seeker]

I can't speak for that Marlin. I can tell you that my Henry Steel .45 colt is dead nuts accurate with Hornady 250gr XTPs using 10.5 grs. of Unique. Makes a great hard hitting, hunting load.

[Idaho45guy]

I would suggest looking up a load for your H110 for heavier bullets, especially in the rifle. Titegroup is a great powder in short barrels, but for rifle length barrels, a slower burning powder produces much more gas volume and will push the bullet through the barrel in a more consistent manner, leading to better accuracy. I have had pretty good luck with 2400 with 260 to 280 grain bullets in mine. I do have a few moulds for 45 Colt and would be happy to help. I still owe you a beer anyway. JW

Great advice! Thanks!

[Idaho45guy]

I can't speak for that Marlin. I can tell you that my Henry Steel .45 colt is dead nuts accurate with Hornady 250gr XTPs using 10.5 grs. of Unique. Makes a great hard hitting, hunting load.

I'll try that!

[Randy Bohannon]

21 grs. of IMR 4227 300 gr.GC boolit gives me 1200 fps in my 20" 92 Win/Miroku 45 Colt with superb accuracy.

[MGySgt]

One thing about the Marlin veerus Win - the Winchester will take a longer OAL than the Marlin. Like I can't shoot the Sierra 300 in my Marlin - too long to feed properly they hang up going from the mag to the carrier, but my buddies Win 94 handles them just fine.

[dubber123]

One thing about the Marlin veerus Win - the Winchester will take a longer OAL than the Marlin. Like I can't shoot the Sierra 300 in my Marlin - too long to feed properly they hang up going from the mag to the carrier, but my buddies Win 94 handles them just fine.

It may be of interest to you, it is supposed to be an easy fix on the Marlin to move the step on the cartridge lifter back to allow longer OAL. I saw a write up on it once. Just a little file work.

[MGySgt]

It may be of interest to you, it is supposed to be an easy fix on the Marlin to move the step on the cartridge lifter back to allow longer OAL. I saw a write up on it once. Just a little file work.

Yes I have heard that - 2 things - I am not good with a file and they don't make this model (The Marlin Limited - with a 16 in barrel) any more and is worth more now than I paid for it. You going to buy me a new carrier when I barf this one up?????? :) :) :)

[dubber123]

Yes I have heard that - 2 things - I am not good with a file and they don't make this model (The Marlin Limited - with a 16 in barrel) any more and is worth more now than I paid for it. You going to buy me a new carrier when I barf this one up?????? :) :) :)

The internals are the same. If you aren't confident in tackling it, it should be a pretty cheap gunsmith job. Or just stick to the short OAL.

[Thin Man]

MGySgt, my experience with a Winchester 94AE is a bit different. The SAAMI maximum COL for the 45 Colt cartridge is 1.600" but ammo loaded to that length is not always reliable to feed up in my rifle. It probably has something to do with the profile of the nose on the SWC boolits I prefer to load. My ammo testing so far tells me the maximum COL I can count on for the action to cycle without any problems will be 1.575" with any boolit. Even that small of a change makes a considerable impact on boolit selection if I want to crimp in the boolit's crimp groove. Others have shortened their cases to match the location of the crimp groove but I am resisting that so all cases are uniform spec length. The original 45 Colt boolit mold from Lyman is their 454190 pattern. Lyman also offered this exact design plus a gas check as the 454485 pattern. I have the GC mold and am working with these boolits to develop accurate full power loads for my 94AE. Time will tell...

[OverMax]

Here

http://castpics.net/dpl/index.php/reloaders-reference/cast-bullet-data-lookup

[Jeff Michel]

My experiences are exactly opposite in regards to feeding. My Marlin will feed any and all, my Winchester 92 gags on anything over 1.60 regardless of profile.