"OLD" Marlin 1894 .44 Mag

[shooterg]

Several threads I peeked at seem to agree that the older (early 70's ) Marlin .44 mags just won't shoot cast. True across the board or do some boolits perform OK in 'em ? And yes, I have one, so inquiring mind needs to know !

[leadeye]

I have a microgroove 1894 I bought used in the 70s that shoots RD 265 to 3 inches at 100 yards which is about the best I have gotten so far with anything I have tried. It's been a good rifle over the years, can't complain.:D

[6pt-sika]

I "had" a Marlin 336-44 that was made in 1967 that shot both the Ranch Dog 432-265GC and 432-300GC very very well .

And this rifle was most certainly Micr Grooved .

[NHlever]

See the above 44/ 45 thread. I just measured a bunch of groups with an older micro groove 44.

[NickSS]

I bought one of the first 94 marlins in 44 mag that came from the factory. I liked the rifle but had a terrible time trying to shoot cast boolits in it so sold it. I did not buy another for years due to that experience but then I got a little knowledge and actually got a 30-30 Marlin with a MG barrel to shoot extremely well. So I bought another 94 in 44 mag and had the same trouble (poor accuracy and leading with my standard cast slugs sized to .431". So I slugged the barrel and found that it was over sized as the groove diameter was actually .434. My mold would not cast bullets that large so I had NEI make me one that did. This mold is a RFN design that casts 245gr slugs at .435 diameter. I had a sizer die opened up to .435". Ever since then my rifle will consistently shoot groups that are in the 1-2 inch range at 50 yards and usually stays under 3 inches at 100.

[jlchucker]

I never owned a 44 mag Marlin, but have one Micro-groove 30-30, and two micro-groove 35 Remingtons. Oh yeah--my 45-70 has micro-groove as well. The latter gun I bought in the early 1980's (no idiotlawyer safety). Since I started handloading in the early 1970's, and casting my own a few years later, I've shot as many cast bullets as jacketed ones--starting with Winchester 30-30's and that same 45-70. Back then, nobody worried about microgroove vs. Ballard rifling. I always used published loads, and never found a need to use bullets sized any larger than the Lyman preferred sizes. It seems from reading about these 44 mag Marlins that somebody at Marlin has a spec problem that proves problematic when it comes to cast bullets, and that they are choosing to let the customer correct the problem. Apparently this problem goes away when one uses another caliber, like 330-30, 35 Remington or 45-70.