sghart3578
06-12-2018, 06:34 PM
Hello,
Today I started the DROS on my new Marlin 1894C in .357 magnum. I bought it online from Kentucky Gun Co for $620. They were very nice and shipped very fast. I will buy from them again.
222002
I am in California so today was the start of my 10 day waiting period before I can take it home. But I have an FFL that is very cool.
I use The Gun Range here in North Highlands California. I have no business connection with them. But I shoot there at least once a week. They have a terrific indoor range out to 25 yards. The staff is friendly and professional. If you are in the area you should drop in and say hi. They have rental guns available (you must bring a gun of your own) and I have tried many guns there first before I bought one.
One of the nice things about The Gun Range is that, if you are DROSing a gun with them, you can shoot the gun they are holding for you at any time on their range.
So I took all of my stuff with me and after doing the paperwork I took my new Marlin to the 25 yard line. What follows is my first impressions and some range results.
My initial reaction was very positive. The rifle looks very nice. The sights are straight and not canted, the wood has a nice grain, the bluing on the barrel is very dark and shiny. The bluing on the receiver is also nice but the metal was not as nicely polished. Not a show gun but a solid hunting and field finish. The action is a little stiff but positive. No flopping or binding in the handle. No gaps in the wood to metal fit. I am still on the fence about the checkering. As a rule I don't like it and I may sand it off and refinish the wood.
222000 222001
When I first looked down the bore I thought that I saw some tooling marks. This rifle has Ballard rifling as opposed to Microgroove and a very fast twist of 1-16". I couldn't quite capture a photo of the bore with my camera, sorry.
I removed the lever and the bolt and cleaned the bore with #9 and oiled it. The bore looked a little better so maybe it was shipping grease. I took a photo of the bolt face. The face is recessed like my JM Marlin and the extractor looks like it is installed at the 9 o'clock position. I had heard that Remington had made some changes to the new bolts but they look the same to me. I didn't think of it but I should have taken my JM bolt with me for comparison.
222003
I lubed the parts with white lithium grease and reassembled them. This helped a lot with the stiffness.
To break in the barrel I fired 50 rounds of jacketed 38 spl reloads. I cleaned the bore every 10 shots. I then fired 50 38 spl reloads with LSWC boolits sized at .358" and lubed with BLL. All 100 rounds were loaded with 4.5 gr of HP-38. The rifle cycled both JSP and LSWC 38 spl's without a hitch. The trigger is heavy, I would guess 5-6 lbs. But absolutely no creep. It is solid and breaks at the same place every time. I will lighten it up though.
I then cleaned the bore again thoroughly with #9. All the small imperfections were gone and the bore looked smooth as glass. I slugged the bore and it came out to just under .356"
222004
I then went to the accuracy portion of my testing. All loads fired were my own reloads. As a starting point I took the loads with me that work in my Rossi '92 in 357. It is as good a place to start as any. I removed the hood on the front sight because I find indoor ranges to be dark and the sights more difficult to see than outdoors. What follows is my target with ten groups. The groups are numbered from the top left to top right 1 thru 3 then 4-6. Then target 8 then finally the bottom row 10-12. Following the target photo is a table with the load info for each group. Now take it easy on me, I'm no Larry Gibson.
222005
Load table by target, all groups 5 shots:
1: 38 Spl 158 gr LSWC PB .358" BLL 4.5 gr HP-38
2: 357 mag Lee 158 RF .358" BLL 7.1 gr A#5
3. 357 mag Lee 158 RF .358" BLL 12.5 gr 2400
4. 357 mag RCBS 162 gr LSWC GC .358" TAC-X 12.5 gr 2400
5: 357 mag Lee 125 gr RF .358" BLL 12.5 gr 2400
6: 357 mag 158 gr Zero JSP 13.1 gr A #9
8: 357 mag NOE 180 gr WFN GC .360" BLL 12.5 gr 2400
10. 357 mag Accurate 158 RF .360" BLL 4.0 gr Bullseye
11. 357 mag NOE 180 gr WFN PB .360" 8.5 gr A #7
12. 357 mag RCBS 162 gr LSWC GC .360" BLL
I did notice that on each group the first three shots were much tighter but shots 4 and 5 opened up the groups. Maybe the barrel was overheating or I need to relieve some pressure points. But there was no vertical stringing, just larger groups than I wanted.
I cleaned the bore again and it was glass smooth. No leading with either the .358" bullets or the .360" bullets.
Final thoughts:
A solid rifle. Great so far. I want to put some Skinner sights on it or maybe a low power scope. I had to raise the rear sight all the way. I'm sure that it needs a shorter front sight for my style of aiming. No complaints yet. It cycled every time and as the range session went on it got noticeably smoother. Still up in the air about the checkering. Maybe it will grow on me. I do like the added sling points, a great touch. And the rubber recoil pad made it stay firmly in place even when I started sweating.
So far I am very happy. It needs more breaking in but I think Marlin has a keeper here.
Please don't hesitate to ask me questions. And if you are around my area come and shoot it before you buy your own.
Steve in N CA
Today I started the DROS on my new Marlin 1894C in .357 magnum. I bought it online from Kentucky Gun Co for $620. They were very nice and shipped very fast. I will buy from them again.
222002
I am in California so today was the start of my 10 day waiting period before I can take it home. But I have an FFL that is very cool.
I use The Gun Range here in North Highlands California. I have no business connection with them. But I shoot there at least once a week. They have a terrific indoor range out to 25 yards. The staff is friendly and professional. If you are in the area you should drop in and say hi. They have rental guns available (you must bring a gun of your own) and I have tried many guns there first before I bought one.
One of the nice things about The Gun Range is that, if you are DROSing a gun with them, you can shoot the gun they are holding for you at any time on their range.
So I took all of my stuff with me and after doing the paperwork I took my new Marlin to the 25 yard line. What follows is my first impressions and some range results.
My initial reaction was very positive. The rifle looks very nice. The sights are straight and not canted, the wood has a nice grain, the bluing on the barrel is very dark and shiny. The bluing on the receiver is also nice but the metal was not as nicely polished. Not a show gun but a solid hunting and field finish. The action is a little stiff but positive. No flopping or binding in the handle. No gaps in the wood to metal fit. I am still on the fence about the checkering. As a rule I don't like it and I may sand it off and refinish the wood.
222000 222001
When I first looked down the bore I thought that I saw some tooling marks. This rifle has Ballard rifling as opposed to Microgroove and a very fast twist of 1-16". I couldn't quite capture a photo of the bore with my camera, sorry.
I removed the lever and the bolt and cleaned the bore with #9 and oiled it. The bore looked a little better so maybe it was shipping grease. I took a photo of the bolt face. The face is recessed like my JM Marlin and the extractor looks like it is installed at the 9 o'clock position. I had heard that Remington had made some changes to the new bolts but they look the same to me. I didn't think of it but I should have taken my JM bolt with me for comparison.
222003
I lubed the parts with white lithium grease and reassembled them. This helped a lot with the stiffness.
To break in the barrel I fired 50 rounds of jacketed 38 spl reloads. I cleaned the bore every 10 shots. I then fired 50 38 spl reloads with LSWC boolits sized at .358" and lubed with BLL. All 100 rounds were loaded with 4.5 gr of HP-38. The rifle cycled both JSP and LSWC 38 spl's without a hitch. The trigger is heavy, I would guess 5-6 lbs. But absolutely no creep. It is solid and breaks at the same place every time. I will lighten it up though.
I then cleaned the bore again thoroughly with #9. All the small imperfections were gone and the bore looked smooth as glass. I slugged the bore and it came out to just under .356"
222004
I then went to the accuracy portion of my testing. All loads fired were my own reloads. As a starting point I took the loads with me that work in my Rossi '92 in 357. It is as good a place to start as any. I removed the hood on the front sight because I find indoor ranges to be dark and the sights more difficult to see than outdoors. What follows is my target with ten groups. The groups are numbered from the top left to top right 1 thru 3 then 4-6. Then target 8 then finally the bottom row 10-12. Following the target photo is a table with the load info for each group. Now take it easy on me, I'm no Larry Gibson.
222005
Load table by target, all groups 5 shots:
1: 38 Spl 158 gr LSWC PB .358" BLL 4.5 gr HP-38
2: 357 mag Lee 158 RF .358" BLL 7.1 gr A#5
3. 357 mag Lee 158 RF .358" BLL 12.5 gr 2400
4. 357 mag RCBS 162 gr LSWC GC .358" TAC-X 12.5 gr 2400
5: 357 mag Lee 125 gr RF .358" BLL 12.5 gr 2400
6: 357 mag 158 gr Zero JSP 13.1 gr A #9
8: 357 mag NOE 180 gr WFN GC .360" BLL 12.5 gr 2400
10. 357 mag Accurate 158 RF .360" BLL 4.0 gr Bullseye
11. 357 mag NOE 180 gr WFN PB .360" 8.5 gr A #7
12. 357 mag RCBS 162 gr LSWC GC .360" BLL
I did notice that on each group the first three shots were much tighter but shots 4 and 5 opened up the groups. Maybe the barrel was overheating or I need to relieve some pressure points. But there was no vertical stringing, just larger groups than I wanted.
I cleaned the bore again and it was glass smooth. No leading with either the .358" bullets or the .360" bullets.
Final thoughts:
A solid rifle. Great so far. I want to put some Skinner sights on it or maybe a low power scope. I had to raise the rear sight all the way. I'm sure that it needs a shorter front sight for my style of aiming. No complaints yet. It cycled every time and as the range session went on it got noticeably smoother. Still up in the air about the checkering. Maybe it will grow on me. I do like the added sling points, a great touch. And the rubber recoil pad made it stay firmly in place even when I started sweating.
So far I am very happy. It needs more breaking in but I think Marlin has a keeper here.
Please don't hesitate to ask me questions. And if you are around my area come and shoot it before you buy your own.
Steve in N CA