Are 1894 Marlin .44 Magnums O.A.L. Sensitive?

[35 Whelen]

I've been on a quest for a '92 of some sort to replace my Rossi in said caliber. But I've begun entertaining the idea of one of the more recent Marlins with traditional rifling. Are these picky about cartridge length?
Thanks.
35W

[birdshot]

i have an 1894 in 44 mag. I can't say how OAL effects the cycling, though I can say mine had problems with some semi wad cutter bullets I tried. I use mostly jacketed bullets now, which don't have a lip to catch on while lining up with the chamber. I have heard the problem doesn't happen with the 45 colt rifles. not sure why that is.

[longbow]

Not sure about the new ones from Ruger but I have an 80's vintage 1894 in .44 mag and yes, it was very picky about OAL! I made the mistake of buying the "best" mould for .44 mag aqnd that being the Keith designed 429421. While it may be one of the best for revolvers, the length of nose from crimp groove to meplat exceeds SAAMI OAL for .44 mag. and they jammed regularly. Not always but often. Not only that, they wouldn't feed well even when seated deewper and crimped over the front driving band due to the large meplat.

I wish I knew then what I know now! I would have filed the cartridge stop to allow longer OAL not for the 429421 but for longer heavier boolits. It is an easy job but I didn't know back then.

Another issue is groove diameter. In case you don't know, SAAMI specs for .44 mag. rifle are different than for .44 mag. handgun. The groove diameter is larger so fat boolits are a must in rifles made to SAAMI specs. My Marlin mic's 0.4315" groove diameter so needs boolits of at least 0.432". Not sure what Ruger has done with groove diameter... to SAAMI spec or not? It is something to check.

Longbow

[Txcowboy52]

I too have a Marlin 1894 in .44 magnum. As longbow stated mines an 80’s model also. It is picky about OAL. Mine especially doesn’t like full wadcutters.

[Bazoo]

Full wadcutters hanging up might be cured by chamfering the chamber edge.

A gun that won’t cycle cartridges longer than saami max... eh, I guess since the Keith is the most popular bullet for 44 they should have adjusted the guns to take that bullet.

I’m interested how they run with specials and RNFP bullets.

[Outpost75]

On the Marlins in .357 or .44 Magnum, they would double-feed with OAL less than 1.40" and will jam the lifter with rounds over 1.61".

[35 Whelen]

I appreciate the responses. I think I'll stick with the '92 design as it sounds.like it's more forgiving.

35W

[Walks]

As much as I love the Win 92, these days I'd rather have a Marlin. Even though I grew up with 2 Win 92 carbines; .38-40 & .44-40. The later needed it's bullets cast from an OLD Lyman #42498 1cav mold.
Had an early Browning/Miroku M92 Carbine in .44Mag that digested just about anything I fed it. Lost it when My Dad passed.

Out of the box the various Marlin 1894's ran better then the Rossi R92's. They were always a crap shoot.
I have a few Marlin's left, but only one Rossi. It runs great after extensive work. It'll probably be the next long gun to go.

[longbow]

I mentioned that I filed the cartridge stop to allow longer OAL and that is an easy job and works.

I also have the Mihec 434640 mould which casts a 270 gr. Solid RNFP and that feeds very well... and did before the cartridge stop filing.

I haven't tried the 429421 since I filed the cartridge stop but I have a Mihec H&G #503 mould and that boolit is so far the most accurate and feeds well now. Not sure if it is as long from Crimp groove to meplat as the 429421 but it wouldn't feed well before I filed the cartridge stop.

I am a bit surprised that the .44 mag rilfes tended to come with 1:38" twist and the fat groove diameter but that is a SAAMI spec for some reason no-one seems to know. I guess if you are building to SAAMI specs that's what you do but I think it would have made more sense to have the same bore and groove diameter as the handgun spec and a faster twist, SAAMI spec or not. And same issue with the OAL! The 429421 is a popular revolver boolit but it is too long for rifles! It would be an easy job for Marlin/Remington/Ruger or any other rifle manufacturer to allow a longer OAL for popular boolits. What would it hurt?

I am going to go into rant mode!

There... that's better. I'll go now.

Longbow

[35 Whelen]

I modified the cartridge stop on my Rossi and chamfered the top of the feed port where the cartridges exit the magazine tube. These two actions allow the Rossi to feed everything I cast, including the 429421, but not the RCBS 44-250KT. The Rossi's are easy enough to slick up too but mine just isn't as accurate as I'd like. I'm leaning heavily towards a Cimarron because the Italians typically use a .429" groove diameter in their barrels.

35W