Marlin 1894 .357 Mag VS Contender in .357 Mag Loads?

[JesterGrin_1]

Can you use the same powder charges that are listed for the Contender in a Marlin or say a .357 Mag Revolver?

I am loading the NOE 360-180Gr RNFP/GC for my Marlin 1894 in .357 Mag and noticed that the powder charges are hotter for the contender than other types of fire arms.

I am using H-110 and W-296 powder. And thus far the NOE 360-180 RNFP/GC with 13.5 Gr of H-110 in a Rem Case and a CCI mag primer will group right at 2 in at 100 yards with a ten shot group. I did go to 14.Gr of H-110 and the groups did open up a bit and were more scattered. So I am wondering if it would be safe to up the charge to the 14.5 and 15.O Gr of H-110 in a Marlin 1894 or will the accuracy get worse by doing so?

[JesterGrin_1]

WOW nobody?

[Combat Diver]

I've never had a Marlin to test my Contender .357 loads in but they are the same loads I used in my Smith revolvers. I do have both a .41 Mag chamber in a 14" Contender, Marlin 1894S and Smith M58. Never loaded any different hotter loads for one perticular gun. All load data that I've seen have been the same. I just recieved this spring a RD 411-255 mold but that was designed for the Marlin but haven't casted boolits yet (won't for another year at the least).

[JesterGrin_1]

As I said I did try 14.O Gr of H-110 and did not have any extraction problems and the primers looked fine. By the books I have it says for the 170Gr I can go up to 15.3Gr for the Contender. So I would think that 15.OGr would not be too far out of line for the 180Gr RNFP/GC Boolit?

So I think I will load a few with the 14.5Gr and 15.OGr load to see how it shoots? :)

[NickSS]

Personally I load for accuracy and not velocity. If you were happy with the groups you were shooting chances are upping the powder charge will not improve accuracy if a lighter load showed degradation of accuracy. Generally speeking I have rarely found best accuracy with max loads. Most rifles and handguns I have loaded for (several hundred different ones in 109 different calibers) all got best accuracy with somewhat less than full loads.

[wallacem]

I had a Marlin 1894 in 357 mag back about 25 yrs ago when they first came out, and shot it and the Contender both at the same time, and it does seem like I remember that the Speer loading book showed a small decrease in max charge for the rifle loads compared to the pistol loads. I think I took the lower max and shot them in both rifle and Contender, the deer could not tell the difference. Wallacem in Ga.

[JesterGrin_1]

Wallacem since you brought up Deer lol. Would a 125 yard shot at a Deer with a 180Gr RNFP/GC .357 Mag from a Marlin 1894 be too far.

[Blammer]

I'd say the working pressure of the T/C is higher than the marlin, so if you work up the load in the marlin, it'd be safe to shoot in the TC.

As far as distance on the deer, 125 yds, I'd practice at that distance so you know the drop of the boolit. I've found in my 360 DW (aka 357mag) that after 100 yds, the drop kicks in pretty quick. I'm shooing the NOE 360180 at about 1700fps, and about 2400fps out of my Whelen. :) (neener!)

[JesterGrin_1]

Why so slow out of the Whelen? I would think it would be easy to get 2700FPS or better. :)

Where I shoot the longest target is 100 yards. But my max range for the round will be right at 125 yards. :).

I hope to have my 35 Whelen in my hands very soon. :)

[9.3X62AL]

Since the onset of the S&W J-frame 357 Magnum CCW Volcanoes, SAAMI has downgraded the pressure specs of the 357 Magnum cartridge. Same-o with the 41 and 44 Magnums--from 42K PSI down to a lawyer-blessed 36K PSI. Current reloading data takes these revisions into account.

Having zero time in grade with either the Marlin 94 or a Contender in 357 Magnum, I can't relate experience with either platform. Just revolvers, so far. I have a Ruger BisHawk x 7.5", and it gets the intrepid load work. Of course, in a rifle you are achieving much higher velocities than in a wheelgun--but I have seen no significant fall-off in accuracy with either Lyman #358156 or with 357 Maximum's 180 grain Group Buy design at some pretty high velocities. Tell ya what--180 grains setting out at 1400 FPS announces its departure loudly, and the push-back lets you know the primers functioned.

[KCSO]

For a number of years my wife used a 357 mag carbine for a deer gun. We loaded a 180 grain cast bullet and a healty load of H110 and velocity was right at 1900 fps from a 20" barrel. The gun suffered no ill effects and the rifle was just as effective on deer under 100 yards as a 30-30 and in fact the 180 at 1900 is just about the same 170 at 1900 as the early 30-30 loads. BUT I didn't try and get every last FPS from my gun, I figured the deer would never notice 500 fps more or less anyway. I, like oters here was more interested in grouping than sheer power.

[NHlever]

Often, loads for the Contender use a longer over all length than is suitable in the carbines. Having said that, I've had no problems with my Marlin, and Winchester carbines in .357 using loads on the warm side, and have carried both deer hunting. The thing I would warn about here is oversized chambers, and chamber / throat combinations that could cause problems in either gun. Be safe, and have fun!

[BrettT/C]

I have had T/C in 357 and I now have a Marlin. I will be getting another Contender barrel in 357 Mag soon. I have shot old loads that I had left over from my last T/C barrel and I had no problems at all. I think they were actually safer in the marlin than the T/C. I would think that the two would stand up to any safe load that was listed in the reloading manuals but most T/C loads will not cycle in the marlin.

Here is a good write up that is on the Mountain Mold forum.

http://www.mountainmolds.com/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=7&t=22


Brett

[45r]

I didn't like the long throat on my T/C 357mag barrel and rechambered to 357max with a rifle reamer.Much better accuracy and power.When it was a 357mag barrel I got best accuracy with Vitt N-110 around inch and a half at 60 yards.The Max does ragged hole groups with several loads.I can seat boolits into the lands easy with it.

[Newtire]

I made some 180 RF group buy gas checked boolits for a guy and he shoots them in his Marlin carbine and his Desert Eagle auto pistol using 12.5 grains of 2400. He swears by this load. Says it outshoots anything else in his Marlin including j-words.

[Groo]

Groo here
As the marlin is a lever gun and has a somewhat larger chamber than found in some other guns'
[to ease case removal] I would say load for the marlin and check in the TC..
I load for revolvers and shoot in all.
Also the 94 is chambered for the 44 mag at the same pressure so a smaller case
should stress the gun less [not as many Sq In's]

[JesterGrin_1]

I do not have a TC. Just asking why the loads in the reloading books show a higher loading for the TC.

Thank You all for all of the good info. I am going to head out to the range in a bit and try some new loads.

As I said before the 13.5Gr Charge did ok at right at 2 in at 100 yards. But I do hope for better. So since I did try 14.oGr and they opened up a bit I am going to try 14.5Gr and 15.OGr to see if they do better. If not then I know I am back to the 13.5Gr load.

For this go around I did change powders from H-110 to W-296 for grins. :). It is said both powders come from the same spout now. We will see. :)

[JesterGrin_1]

Ok Back and it was HOT 100F lol.
This is out of my Marlin 1894 .357 Mag Pre Safty Micro groove. 100 yards.Each Square is 1 in.
NOE 360-180 RNFP/GC Size .359
14.5Gr W-296
Remington Case
CCI-550 Primer.
Top right hole I did not pull I yanked lol.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v453/SHAKERATTLEROLL/IMAG0060-1.jpg

[Blammer]

good shooting, leave the sights the same and use the same load, and move the target to 50 yds and see how high it hits.

[JesterGrin_1]

good shooting, leave the sights the same and use the same load, and move the target to 50 yds and see how high it hits.

Ok Why? :bigsmyl2:

[Artful]

cuz boolits don't fly straight - but you new that ;^)