Lenthening Marlin Actions for PPCBoo Work
[Cannot edit title, but first word is supposed to be "Lengthening". Zeek]
On the way back from this year's Shootists' Holiday, I stopped by friend-and-fellow-Shootist Mic McPherson's place to pick up some rifles he had been working on for me, to get some other rifles and pistols fixed (while there), and to pick his brain. It occurred to me that I should not keep his input to myself, given that you each deserve it just as much as I, so here is the WHAT, WHY, and HOW information.
One of the services that he offers [see http://www.levergun.com/main_index.htm ] is to "lengthen" your Marlin levergun's action so that it will feed longer-than-normal cartridges while improving functioning with all cartridges from standard length to maximum feasible length (e.g., 2.73" for a 30-30, up from 2.55" standard max LOA). This is VERY handy for the PPCBoo shooter, as it allows many more options, bullet-and-patch-wise, than would otherwise be accessible. Therefore, I have had ALL of my leverguns given his full treatment, including a super-solid through-bolt tie-in that makes the buttstock integral with the action, improves accuracy, strengthens the stock, and reduces felt recoil.
At that website, you can also order his excellent book (signed) Accurizing the Factory Rifle (published by Precision Shooting), which will set you way ahead on getting the most out of each of your factory and military rifles. Of special interest is his use of high-temp RTV silicone for controlling and reducing vibration patterns in the system (barrel, magazine, forearm, etc.). You'll also find lots of articles of his there that are worth the reading.
He and his partner invented and patented some special chamberings that get far more velocity than is typical (by comparison, normal chamberings in any one of the calibers he addresses need a larger case and considerably more powder to achieve the same MV, all other factors being as equal as feasible). Read about it at http://www.superiorballistics.com/ .
Lastly, although Mic will argue that it was a team effort, I believe that he is the principal person behind our now having a Billy Dixon range where you can attempt to recreate Dixon's awesome waaaay-long-range BPCR shot at Adobe Walls, with shooting lines out to 1800 yards! Read about it at http://www.friendsofbillydixon.org/ . Many of the folks shooting at this range and event use PPCBoo black powder cartridge loads to great effect.
I hope that you get as much out of this information as I have. Mic is an excellent resource that every PPCBoo rifleman should have available. He's "The Real Thing," and that just doesn't say the half of it.
Regards, Zeek
