Chamfering the Chamber Mouth of your Marlin 1894 Rifle.

[W.R.Buchanan]

Many people experience poor feeding with lead boolits in the Marlin 1894 series of guns. Lots of people promote only using Round Nose Flat Point boolits to get around this. However the real performance from these pistol calibers is in using Semi Wadcutters like Lyman .429421 or 429244 or clones. As we all know these boolits were designed by Keith and Thompson for hunting but give superior all around accuracy in both Revolvers and Rifles. They will go clean thru just about anything in the US and similar sized game anywhere else. IMHO they are the best boolits for these cartridges there is.

There are about 8-10 different versions of these boolits from 215 gr (in .44 cal) to over 260 gr. with various HPs and Gas Checks, etc..44 cal SWC moulds are available from Lee Lyman RCBS, and all the custom mould makers my personal favorite being the excellent moulds by Mihec.

The biggest problem in trying to use these boolits in Marlin Leverguns is the fact that the chamber mouth is left sharp. When the Cartridge Lifter pins the new round against the top of the receiver and the bolt pushes it forward towards the chamber, the sharp edge of the chamber mouth digs into the boolit and stops it.. This is especially true with SWC's as they have a nice little step to catch on the Chamber Mouth.

I first experienced this in 2004 with my 1894 CB in .44 caliber. I wanted to use some LBT 250 gr. Wide Flat Nose Boolits I got from Beartooth Bullets but the Meplat was so wide that the chamber mouth gouged into it and stopped every round from going in the hole.

I had a real good look at what was going on and decided to break that sharp edge. On my gun I really wanted a Radius but had no way to do it without getting a special cutter made, so I used a 6 flute Severance Countersink on an extension and turned it by hand until I had enough chamfer.(.040-.050.) It took about 5 minutes to get the chamfer large enough as the barrel material is pretty soft.. I then smoothed out the edges of the chamfer with 400 grit W or D sandpaper and the result is in the pic below which I have posted here no less than 50 times!

My gun will cycle any .44 Magnum or Special cartridge, with any boolit I choose to use, as fast as you can run the lever. With no sharp edge to dig into the boolit the cartridge just slips right into the chamber. It feeds RN style boolits just as fast and there is no lead shaving to affect accuracy.

The Extractor Groove on these cartridges is .060 in width. Thus that area of the case is not supported in any way by the chamber. Also inside the case the extractor groove is actually in the sold base of the case so it doesn't need to be supported in any event..

This is not hard to do, and it works great, and is completely safe, and I hope the Mods will make this a Sticky so I don't have to post the picture and explanation 50 more times.

That's all there is to it.

Good luck

Randy

[Uncle Grinch]

I did the very same thing to my 94 chambered in 41 Mag. Now it feeds much better.

[bmortell]

They already come like that from the factory
241770
The feeding length problem is also different, mine will feed atlest a full 100 thousands more than what posts from 5-10 years ago say

Unless your buying an old one most online info is outdated already

[izzyjoe]

I had a 94 in 357 that someone got carried away with the radii on the bottom of the chamber, and it would bulge the brass at the head. The brass would not resize all the way down to the base with carbide dies, and would not chamber in my pistols. On the other hand I had older set of dies that were not carbide, and every case had to be lubed, and they would size all the way down, but what a pain it was. So I traded it to a fellow that shot factory ammo, so that being said don't get to carried away with chamfering the chamber.

[missionary5155]

Good morning
Our 41 mag CCL did not "come like that". We did a similar radius and that 30 minutes made all the difference between holding the carbine ejection port up to cycle and being capable of it working correctly.
Good to read Marlin finally "woke up" to the needs of cast shooters.
Mike in Peru

[Outpost75]

I used Brownell's revolver chamber tool on mine.

241871

[W.R.Buchanan]

Yes those round burrs would certainly work. Look guys this isn't rocket science, you are simply breaking the edge on the chamber so it no longer has a sharp edge that will gouge into the boolits. As I said in my first post the Extractor Groove of these cartridges is .060 wide so any Chamfer less than that, like .040-.050 will work.

Been looking a new Marlins but haven't seen one that is chamfered yet.

Randy

[Uncle Grinch]

My Marlin came with almost a sharp edge on the chamber mouth and it’s an early model. Like Randy said, you just break the edge, you’re not creating a feed ramp.

[Gtek]

I used the little white and pink stone balls that came in the Dremel kits. Took a piece of wooden dowel and center drilled in lathe and epoxied stone shaft in hole. Took longer to make than use, and when just starting with new ball it kind of rolls into taper as stone wears. And all done by hand slowly, spin, air, look, about five minutes and helped a bunch. 336's and the 1895's in the house have had a tube taped in bore with a four foot long rip of crocus to polish the ramp at 6 o'clock. It is amazing what a little here and there can do!

[W.R.Buchanan]

The stone idea is a good one as it will wear into a nice radius quickly. Also if you use a fine enough stone it will leave a smooth finish on the radius that you won't have to polish afterwards.

Glad to see others are doing this simple mod. It makes a world of difference in the way the gun runs and being able to shoot Semi Wadcutters unleashes these guns true potential. It will run any style of boolit as fast as you can run the lever.

I run my 429244's at @1600 fps, (22 gr H110) and at that speed there is enough stabilization to deliver pretty good accuracy from the 1:38 twist barrel that everyone likes to complain about. My 1894 CB has a 24" Ballard rifled barrel. There is also room in that load for 1800 fps which is even more accurate. 24 gr should yield 1800 fps.

One other thing is Powder Coating the boolits enhances accuracy as every shot is going thru a clean barrel. No leading period.

Randy

[dverna]

Great thread and thanks all for posting your solutions.

[W.R.Buchanan]

Looked at a new 1894 CB 20" in .357 today. It had a little feed ramp integrated into the barrel shroud above the chamber. The mouth of the chamber had the edge broken, but only about .005-.010. The feed ramp on that gun should do the trick.

The .44's and .45's have much larger diameter chambers and I don't think there is room for the feed ramp like on the .357's still looking for a new large caliber one to look at.

Randy

[Walks]

I have 4 1894's, all made before 1996.

Either I'm luckier then everyone else, or my Marlin's are better made then every one else.

1894 - .44Mag, early 1970's
1894CL - .32-20, late 1980's
1894CS - .357Mag, early 1990's
1894CB - .45Colt, mid 1990's

.44Mag feeds Lyman #429421, # 429215, #429244
.357Mag feeds #358156, #358477, #358429 in .38spl
.32-20 feeds #311316, #3118, Saeco #325
.45Colt feeds #452423, RCBS #45-270-SAA

GUESS they put extra effort in mine.

They also feed from all the Cowboy Molds I use.

[oconeedan]

Where did you find your extension for your countersink?
I tried a small metal cutting ball in my dremel, it helped but looks ugly. I would like to clean up with the countersink and extension (or stone ball and extension). I may use suggestion above and make one with wood dowel and epoxy.
Thanks, Dan

[oconeedan]

Ah, my countersink bit has a hex shank. So I had extensions for it and didn't realize it, and used a 7-in-1 screwdriver handle on the end . Worked well.
BUT...the rifle still hangs up, regardless of bullet design. It leaves a shiny spot on the brass about 1/8" back from the bullet. I have tried chamfering more on the top, and it only helped a little.
I think the cartridge is being fed up at too sharp an angle. Didn't I read about an improved lifter or carrier?
Dan

[W.R.Buchanan]

Dan the chamfer needs to be at least .040-.050 and a little more is better. You can also use some W or D sandpaper to knock the edges off the countersunk edges, and smooth the whole thing out. If the gun is now gouging into the case it means there are still sharp edges present.

If this is a .357 then you might need to show us pictures of the area so we can figure out what is going on. A .44 or .45 should be fine with just the CS.

Randy

[shootinfox2]

Google Marauders web site for Marlin tune up. Loads of info.

[oconeedan]

Thanks guys. Still working on it. Dan

[MostlyLeverGuns]

I have chamfered several Savage 99's - 300, 308 and 358. I used a short chamfer with a hex shank and a flexible shaft available for hex screwdrivers. I remove the bolt and the flex shaft lets me reach the chamber edge through the action. I turn the cutter by hand until I get the chamfer I want. The chamfer does allow uncrimped cartridges to feed more smoothly. Using an 'M' die (NOE or Lyman) I don't have the case mouth catching on the chamber edge and just seat bullets without needing any sort of crimp. It does not take much to break the sharp edge on many chambers.