Who shoots the Marlin 1894 45LC?

[Bnt55]

Finally getting around to playing with my 1894 in 45 LC, would like to know what CB and powder loads works for you guys. Also has anyone put a different sight/scope on theirs, my eyes are getting worse with age and I find that at 50 yards the front sight covers up the whole target and I just end up aiming for the middle-ish spot LOL.


Also I am trying to get my post count up to 30, so I can buy/trade for some 45 colt boolits on the swap forum :bigsmyl2:

[mnewcomb59]

Try shooting at a larger target so you can focus on your front sight and center it on the large out-of-focus target. If you focus on the target you won't shoot small groups.

My 1894 likes soft lead 250-260 grain boolits around 1000 fps for 1" at 50 yards. I use the Lee 255-RF and the NOE 265 HP. 1300 fps loads go towards 2" at 50 yards with the same boolits. 1700 fps loads with same boolits but harder alloy go into 3" at 50 yards which is good enough for deer driving but not great. The most accurate +p boolit I have tried is the Lee 300-RF which brings it back to 1" at 50 yards around 1600 fps. I have also tried a 310 gr Accurate plain base mold that shot around 3" at 50 at 1600 fps. I tried some 345 grain LBT or Mountain Mold gas checked boolits that shot 2" at 50 yards around 1400 fps.

http://skinnersights.com/1894_marlin_33.html I run a skinner aperture and a flat top post front sight. I hate beads. I like to sight in to the tip of the post rather than the center of a bead. When I sight in to the tip of the bead I end up shooting high on game. Most bead sights are wider than a post also so they obstruct more of the target. Without changing your sights I would recommend to shoot at like a 12" white circle at 50 yards. Focus on your front sight and let the target be blurry. When you see an even fuzzy ring of white around your bead squeeze the round off. My Marlin had a nasty bore and chattering and tearout and gouges down the lands. I had to fire lap it to get it to shoot half decent. I still wish it shot plain base a little more accurately but I will live with it.

[cwlongshot]

I have three of them. A 24" Cowboy, a 20" reg std model and my fav a Limited 16".

Both 16 & 24" wear peep sites. The 20" has a Leupold 2.75 power.

I have many cast molds for them. Lyman 454424 is a favorite. Lost my old LBT 325g mold somewhere along the years. The 300g LEE Ranch Dog is a good one. LEE's 300 is nice but needs be seated short. I have a nice BPI 260g with same profile of my old 325. I just bought LEE's 160 & 200g bullets.

Great and favorite guns.

CW

[mnewcomb59]

My Marlin is only a few years old. It is a later Remlin. Mine will feed the Lee 300-RF loaded long at the second crimp groove and it will feed the NOE 265 WFN with a lot of bullet outside the case. I think the OAL for these are around 1.66 and they feed fine from the magazine.

https://noebulletmolds.com/site/shop/452-454/454-265-wfn-ao1/454-265gr-wfn-rg2-cavity-pb/

[Bnt55]

Thinking of buying some cast boolits before investing in the mold, so I know what shoots best

[GBertolet]

I have a 2001 CBL in 45 Colt. I use the Lyman 452664 RNFP bullet @ 260 gr. I use 7.7 gr of 231 powder, which gives me about 1050 fps from the 24" barrel. The bullets drop out at .453, and I use them unsized, although my bore slugs out at .451. Marlins tend to have sloppy chambers, so a larger bullet, tends to fill the chamber throat a little more. I tried the 452424 bullet, which shoots OK, but it does not feed as smooth as the 452664 bullet. The sharp shoulder on the 452424 bullet, tends to snag momentarily, when entering the barrel during chambering. I also added Skinner sights on mine. My loading is pleasurable to shoot, and since I just use it for plinking, and shooting steel gongs, I see no real need to hotrod the ammo. 1.5" groups or less, are common at 50 yards. At the range, everone wants to shoot the cowboy rifle.

[Wheelguns 1961]

I have a newer remlin, and mine doesn’t feed hollowpoints especially well. So, in this gun, I use a NOE 454-280 WFN. This is a great bullet that shoots good at least to 100 yards. They load a little long, so you can only fit 9 in the tube. This bullet has killed many whitetails. I have yet to recover one.

I also have sight issues. I am 60, and have been wearing glasses for 20 years. I went with a skinner peep sight for awhile, but it wasn’t much good at dawn and dusk. Now it wears a 30mm ultradot, and it works great for my style of hunting. I am mostly hunting in the woods where a long shot would be 75 yards.

[Shawlerbrook]

Don’t think you need 30 posts to buy, only to sell/trade.

[Bnt55]

Hmmm, I'll have to check into that. My plan was to get 10 or so of each type of boolit to see which one is most accurate at 50 yards, then 100 yds.

[Walks]

Marlin 1894CB, one of the first from back in 1996. A favorite load for Cowboy Shooting/Plinking is the Lee #452-230-TC over 5.0grs Clays.
The stock front sight is a 3/32 brass bead. It's for fast shooting. For a more precise aiming point a white or brass 1/8th bead is a better choice.
For a bit heavier load the #454190 or Lee #452-255-RF over 9.0grs Unique.

For a nice stout load, #452490GC over
18grs 2400
19grs IMR4227
Feeds Smoooth.....

[Mk42gunner]

I've stuck with 250-260 grain projectiles in mine, anything from a commercial cast 250 RNFP to Lyman's 452424. My rifle seems to like just about everything from cowboy level mouse farts to almost Ruger level loads for deer.

Admittedly, most of my shooting has been plinking at fifty yards and under.

I am also in the "My sights are getting fuzzy" camp. One of these years I will mount a small Leopold scope on mine; although a quality red dot may work well, I just don't like the idea of trusting a battery powered sight.

Robert

[Baltimoreed]

My old .45colt 1894 Cowboy Ltd [ballard rifling] doesn’t like anything that weighs less than 225 gr lead [.451- .452]. Never shot any jacketed in it. I use about 5.0 gr of Clays, Clay Dot or Red Dot. These are cas loads. Also use 255 gr swc in the shorter Schofield brass in my Trapper 1894 [microgroove]. It feeds them ok. Shoots minute of sass marshall fine. Two of my favorite rifles.

[Bnt55]

My old .45colt 1894 Cowboy Ltd [ballard rifling] doesn’t like anything that weighs less than 225 gr lead [.451- .452]. Never shot any jacketed in it. I use about 5.0 gr of Clays, Clay Dot or Red Dot. These are cas loads. Also use 255 gr swc in the shorter Schofield brass in my Trapper 1894 [microgroove]. It feeds them ok. Shoots minute of sass marshall fine. Two of my favorite rifles.

Those are some good lookin guns, I really like the leather on the stock. I think my love of leverguns goes back to Louis Lamour books I read as a young teen, always wanted to be a cowboy after that LOL

[smkummer]

Not a Marlin but my 20” Taylor Colt burgess copy shoots Lyman 454190 FP with 9 grs. Unique accurate enough that I can’t miss a 10” steel plate at 100 yards. I think I am getting 1150 FPS. I size to .454 and while no crimp groove, the bullet seats hard enough in the case to not get pushed in. At 61, I wear a 1.0 reader glass to see the sights. Works for now.

[foesgth]

http://skinnersights.com/1894_marlin_33.html I run a skinner aperture and a flat top post front sight. I hate beads. I like to sight in to the tip of the post rather than the center of a bead. When I sight in to the tip of the bead I end up shooting high on game. Most bead sights are wider than a post also so they obstruct more of the target. Without changing your sights I would recommend to shoot at like a 12" white circle at 50 yards. Focus on your front sight and let the target be blurry. When you see an even fuzzy ring of white around your bead squeeze the round off. My Marlin had a nasty bore and chattering and tearout and gouges down the lands. I had to fire lap it to get it to shoot half decent. I still wish it shot plain base a little more accurately but I will live with it.

I don't have one in 45 colt but I do have one in 44-40. The Skinner blade front sight is the way to go! I have a Marble tang mounted rear sight with the Skinner front blade, it is a winning combo.

[BFJ]

Marlin 1894 Cowboy Limited . 45 colt 24" barrel made 1999. I started shooting CBA with, 250 MBC bullet and Trailboss.

[.45Cole]

My CB45 suffers from a large throat, so it smokes cases bad. It does well with most loads and really well with "crayon cast" 230RN, particularly the autocaster equivalent of the RCBS design over a stiff charge of Unique. Works so well that I usually just buy a bag of boolits at a gun show or while pawn-scumming. I've found HP38 and Power pistol are close substitutes for unique giving lower and higher power loads respectively.

[Bnt55]

It does well with most loads and really well with "crayon cast" 230RN, particularly the autocaster equivalent of the RCBS design over a stiff charge of Unique.


What does "crayon cast" mean?

[.45Cole]

Those bags of auto cast boolits by various companies that are always advertised as "hard cast" and have the super hard lubes in whichever color of the rainbow the person liked, like it was lubed with melted crayons.

google search "230rn lead hard cast" and you'll see. I see you're newer, size right and cast soft!

[PAndy]

My son's Marlin CB 24" definitely prefers Bullets of 0.454" and maybe a little bigger. We are shooting a 300 gr truncated cone and a 255 swc, coated. 1100 to 1300 fps. This gun is very dirty due to smoked cases etc .

[Bnt55]

Yeah, my Marlin smokes cases pretty badly. Right now I am shooting at starting loads, the smoking might get better with higher pressures.

[1Papalote]

Marlin CB 45 Colt x 24" barrel. Lee 255RF at .453, lube with candle wax/vaseline. I use Unique and the chamber seals. I've shot many deer with this load. Clay's at 110 yards off the bench are easy. Got shed of the original sights, now using a Marlin rear folding from an 1895 and a Skinner post up front. It is my favorite levergun.

[Steve E]

I shoot one in 45 Colt, does real good with a stiff load of Unique under an RCBS 270 gr SAA boolit.

Steve......

[RickinTN]

On the subject of dealing with large chambers and smoked cases. Don't fully resize after each firing. You're just setting up for the same thing next firing. Buy an old steel 45 colt sizing die and only resize enough to hold the new bullet. For my cases from my 24" marlin that is only about half way into the sizing die. After doing this your cases are sized to the chamber of the rifle and your smoked cases should go away.
Good Luck,
Rick

[Baltimoreed]

If sooted up brass bothers you that much try reloading .44-40 brass in your .45 dies. The thinner walls will expand to seal the chambers. I’ve never done it but have heard of others doing it. I’d load a light load to expand the brass and then reload them as if they were .45colt. I have cut 44-40 down to 45 cowboy special length. Worked ok.

[RGMO]

I dont have a 94 however i do have a Henry x model. I am running a lee 250grain bullet at about 850fps with a griffin bushwhacker suppressor. I put a sig whiskey 3 with a hellfire reticle on it this year before deer season and used it to take 3 deer so far. I am really impressed with the scope for less then 200 it has been great for my aging eyes. Id really encourage you to go look into one. Seems a bit overkill on a 45colt but the freezer full of venison proves it works.

[Pereira]

I have and shoot a Cowboy Limited, yes it smokes some cases. I have found that 9.0-9.5 grs. Unique eliminates a lot of that as does Red dot.
As to sights, I made a Redneck peep for mine. Not my idea, borrowed from a member of the Henryrifleforum. As the rear sight on the Henry is very similar to the Marlin's. Take a hacksaw blade, I used a bench grinder and slim it down and cut to length. Take out rear sight insert and slid this in. Works good on the gongs at 50-60 yds easily.
Made one for the BBB 44 MAG Henry also.

https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20211220/55f0c4337aa5ff858f788d66a457bae1.jpg


And yes I boogered the screw.

RP

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