Feeding round nose in a lever action

[Jack Stanley]

I realize that some of the profiles might be a little to pointed for the tube magazine . But as far as feeding them reliably , has anyone here ever tried that ?One of the bullets I've been working with is the Lyman 358665 and infrequently it will hang up during feeding . Looking at it's profile it looks like a round nose that has been flattened so I'm thinking it should feed flawless .

Has anyone tried the Lyman 358416 in a lever action ? Any other round nose profiles ?

Jack

[hickstick_10]

I may be flamed as a moron for this, but Ive use round noses all the time in a henry 44 mag and a marlin 1894 CB in 357 mag. I distinctly remember reading in a noted firearms rag that tube mags were safe for flat pointed bullets and those with a generous round nose= not one to pointy.

Use the round noses for light kicking loads and BP and I've never had a problem. Good roll crimp and the feed well. Even used it for some heavier loads in 44 mag.

Never so much as miss shaped the primer.

I use the Lee 158 and 240 grn round nose. The lee has a round nose almost a half hemisphere in shape. Not pointier like some of the 30 cal boolits.

your mileage may very.

[gon2shoot]

OAL has more to do with feeding for me than nose shape. I have used lots of RN boolits over the years.

[TxBaylea]

Bear in mind that I am in my late 70s. I have used round nose bullets in my lever actions for a good part of those years. Never remember a report of a discharge in the magazine in those years. It has only been in the last few years that I have read all this noise.

I believe that some people think to much.

I plan to continue using round nose as long as I can.

Vernon

[runfiverun]

i use a 230rn made for the acp in my colt leverguns when just short ranging it.
they feed fine.
so do the 200 swc's.
and 160 rnfp's. and 452664, and 454429 crimped over the front band.
but i only have 3 45 colt 92's and 1 94 so i can't speak for all of them.
but oal is critical so the boolit don't hit the feed ramp on the way up.

[sargenv]

I know that Remington sells a 30-30 factory round that is jacketed with a slightly round nose.. if they can sell it with it's round nose, I don't see why it would not work as long as the lead tip is soft enough to deform on recoil..

[Guesser]

I've used a lot of 358311 in 38 Special in an early model 1894C Marlin. Works great!!!

[Jack Stanley]

Over all length has been mentioned a couple of times and I think there is something to that as well . My LBT hundred eighty-five grain bullet feeds real well when loaded into a three five seven case at or near 1.590" . But when loading for the thirty-eight special it doesn't like to be run short so I seat it at or near 1.560" and it runs well .

What sort of over all lengths are you guys using for thirty-eight special ammo ? I think I have more stoppages with that than the magnum ammo regardless of bullet style in the magnum .

Thanks for the responses , Jack

[SamTexas49]

The old safe story has been to only use round nose or flat point projectles in any tubular magazine for safty, but for some feeble reason I recall a near recent story or demonstration where pointed projectles were loaded in a rifle with a tubular magazine in an attempt to prove or disprove the potential problem and it proved that there wasnt enough recoil to cause primer detonation. Of course I cant recall or find the story...

[Mk42gunner]

Jack,

What rifle are you using? I have a Winchester 94 in .357 Mag the definitely likes longer rounds, .38's will sometimes do a backflip off the lifter when the bolt starts forward. If you aren't watching for it, it is very easy to belive you had a misfire; until you find the loaded round at your feet.

I think the 358416 would be a decent boolit for a lever action, except I don't think it has a crimp groove.

Robert

[Jack Stanley]

Robert , it's a Marlin 1894c and the current loads I am criming rather substantially . For the most part I don't use much of a taper crimp normally just enough to turn the brass into the lead driving band or what ever happens to be handy . If I could find one like the 358416 I would more than likely do the same with the front driving band .

Ya know I had a Winchester trapper in 45 Colt once and had a three five seven on order when they became available . When I learned they had the lawyer switch on them I canceled the order and went an bought a used Marlin . So far the only Winchester designs I've used have been that trapper I had and the Browning model fifty-three that I'm likely gonna keep for a long time to come . With this little Marlin , I'd just like to make it as drop dead reliable as I can .

Jack

[HeavyMetal]

Saw a column in either Handloader or Rifle mag a few years back, pictures of a Ruger 44 mag carbine in pieces!

Story stated that the owner fired RN FMJ rounds handloaded in the gun and the rounds fired in the mag. At that time Hornady was selling FMJ 44 bullets for speed loader use on Bowling pin matchs.

Suggest you proceed with caution! Getting a specific round to feed is a matter of polishing, if needed, and adjusting OAL to suit the specific gun.

No one OAL is going to work for everything in a specific caliber!

[hickstick_10]

Saw a column in either Handloader or Rifle mag a few years back, pictures of a Ruger 44 mag carbine in pieces!

Story stated that the owner fired RN FMJ rounds handloaded in the gun and the rounds fired in the mag. At that time Hornady was selling FMJ 44 bullets for speed loader use on Bowling pin matchs.

Suggest you proceed with caution! Getting a specific round to feed is a matter of polishing, if needed, and adjusting OAL to suit the specific gun.

No one OAL is going to work for everything in a specific caliber!

Isn't the ruger 44 a rotary magazine?:shock:

Something doesn't smell right.

[missionary5155]

Good morning
If you take a look at any of the very old Ideal molds and others for the lever guns you will notice the molds all have a rounded nose profile with a flat tip. They just feed better and that was very important if you ever needed to repel boarders.

[Jack Stanley]

Hickstick , I guess that would depend on which carbine they were describing . The older semi-auto version has a tube magazine if I remember right . While I'm not familiar with Ruger very much , I think the bolt or lever action does have the rotary mag .

Looking at old molds and designs , I'm seeing they tend to be rather blunt and the 358311 seems to be the most pointed of them all . I read that the pointed bullet scare tends to be more on the modern side , maybe it's just that if an old timer back then blew the magazine apart he just went about fixing it not looking for a lawyer and someone with deep pockets .

Perhaps it's time to start polishing but really , I have so few stopages ...... I'd rather adjust ammo before I start removing metal I can't put back . Besides , let's say a "rounded profile" makes the rifle work with zero stopages . It might be fun to have that mold hollow-pointed and go bust big holes in woodchucks with it . In the process I'm learning something huh?

Jack

[HeavyMetal]

The Ruger 44 magnum carbine, semi auto version used a tube magizine even though it looks a lot like its little brother the 10-22

Not sure what the scoop is on the lever gun or the bolt gun.

[ironhead7544]

The Speer manual has a warning not to use the TMJ bullets in a tube magazine. They have a flat point. I have also seen the Ruger carbine with the tube mag blown up. Not sure what bullet caused it. It seems the later model lever guns have a feeding problem with OAL. I had some older models and never had a problem with any suitable bullet. I had a very fussy Marlin Cowboy model in 44 Mag. It would feed the 325 gr LBT LWFNGC perfect at 1.710 and I could not MAKE it jam with that bullet. Most of the 240/250 gr SWC just would not feed. The true Keith bullet worked fine. It was even fussy about FPRN bullets. I guess you just have to feed them what they like.

[cajun shooter]

Jack, I fired a lot of the 358665 Lyman when I first started in Sass from both Rossi and Marlin rifles. The biggest thing was getting the correct OAL. If it is just off by a few thousands then it will jamb. It is a very good bullet and is used by the thousands in SASS.

[Jack Stanley]

Jack, I fired a lot of the 358665 Lyman when I first started in Sass from both Rossi and Marlin rifles. The biggest thing was getting the correct OAL. If it is just off by a few thousands then it will jamb. It is a very good bullet and is used by the thousands in SASS.

Currently , I'm loading them in three fifty-seven cases at a length of 1.590" and it might misfeed once in a hundred rounds . Usually it's just a matter of back up the bolt and try again . Since every gun might be a touch different , what is a good length to start with both the thirty-eight special and the magnum case ??

I would like to find the point where I can't make it jam :bigsmyl2:

Jack