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Thread: Marlin 93 38-55, tell me about it.

  1. #1
    Boolit Master
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    Marlin 93 38-55, tell me about it.

    Just bought one of these. Looking for brass and see 2 lengths listed by starline. Should I go with the long or short. Also bought some 260 grain hunters cast boolits, they don't have gas checks, but rhey are cast for one. Is this going to cause leading? Load recommendations.? Is this gun safe for standard load data published?

    Thanks

    Rosewood
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  2. #2
    Boolit Master
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    Gun is in good shape and is mechanically sound.
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  3. #3
    Boolit Master

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    Do a chamber cast to measure chamber\brass length. Paraffin cast should be good enough. Use the longest brass that does not exceed chamber length.
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  4. #4
    Boolit Master
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    I have some cerrosafe. Will use that.

    Bolt was gummed up. I took apart to clean, but am not positive which way the firing pin spring goes. I can't find any videos online showing this. Anyone know which way the spring goes?

    Thanks,

    Rosewood
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  5. #5
    Boolit Buddy
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    Get the long brass. The short brass is a Winchester modern thing. The 38/55 is a Marlin cartridge from the Ballard era. The bore on your rifle is to the old specs and is probably .379 or .380 groove diameter. Sometimes bullets loaded this diameter won't chamber. Unless the barrel is marked "Black Powder Only" it is good for loads in loading manuals. Best of luck with it.

  6. #6
    Boolit Master
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    Your rifle appears to be in great shape. I had one just like it back in the '70's - loaded a 255 gr bullet, cast from wheel weights and lubed with 50/50 Alox/beeswax. Can't recall the load but seem to recall I used IMR 4198. It was a tack driver and I killed a couple of deer with it. Wound up selling it to a friend for more money than I thought it was worth at the time.

  7. #7
    Boolit Buddy
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    As a starting point try that bullet with 9-10 grains of Unique. It may not be the best load but it has worked in many 38-55s over the years. The spring goes in first then the firing pin. It makes the firing pin retract when not under hammer pressure. Do you also have a bore slugging kit??? That is something that should be done on 38-55s as the bore measurements are all over the place. I have 375 through 381 bores. Good luck and keep us posted.

  8. #8
    Boolit Master Shawlerbrook's Avatar
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    Great advice above. Slug the bore, get the long brass and 9-10 grs. of Unique is 38 55 perfection. Mine was made in 1900 and the .379 boolits work great.

  9. #9
    Boolit Master
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    Thanks for the tips guys. Guess I likely have 500 boolits that are undersized at .376. Will have to slug the bore and see. Maybe I can strip off the lube and powder coat them..
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  10. #10
    Boolit Master
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    Is the firing pin spring symmetrical? Maybe mine is broke, one end is straight other looks kind like it has a hook/bend.
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  11. #11
    Boolit Buddy
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    Marlin 1893s and 93s have a two piece firing pin. The spring is not symmetrical. My is a late 1893 built about 1904. The barrel is a 26 light round replacement that is from about 1906 or so and is marked "Special Smokeless Steel" like the ops. It has a bore of .376, so I size to .377. I shoot the RCBS 250gr FNGC, which actually weights about 265gr cast out of a Lyman #2 equivalent. I use 4895 to get about 1300 - 1400 fps. A great hog killer.

  12. #12
    Boolit Master
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    Thanks barker. Do u know which way the hook on the spring goes? Toward front longer firing pin or smaller rear?
    Last edited by rosewood; 08-25-2022 at 09:44 AM.
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  13. #13
    Boolit Master

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    https://www.gunpartscorp.com/gun-man...93-early-model . There should be a little groove in the bolt for the end of the firing pin spring to sit in. This spring pushes down on the rear portion of the firing pin so the gun will not fire if the lever is not closed all the way. The locking lug pushes the rear part of the firing pin up to aline with the front part of the firing pin. Hope this all makes sense.

    My father picked up a 93 for working on a car many years back. Story on the rifle was that it was found in a miners cabin and the barrel and mag tube had been bent. It was a 25-36 rifle but when it was sent back to Marlin for repair it came back with a 30-30 carbine barrel. After it got handed down to me I found an original 25-36 octagon barrel but it had pore rifling so it was one of my first rifling jobs to take it out to 38-55. It didn't shoot quite as good as I would like and I thought of putting a liner in but handed it down to my daughter instead. The butt stock had three notches in the bottom just behind the lever, We always speculated as to what they were for, three bears, three Indians or three claim jumpers.
    Last edited by John Taylor; 08-25-2022 at 10:48 AM.

  14. #14
    Boolit Master

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    My Marlin 93 38-55 likes .380 cast boolits. You may find shorter brass will chamber the larger bullets better. Unique speed powders at about 1300 FPS shoots cast 255 gr in most rifles well. Marlin rifles in good condition with slower powders easily safely reach 1800 fps.
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  15. #15
    Boolit Master
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    John, are u saying the crown of the spring goes down and the hook up into the bolt? Does that hook go toward the front or rear of bolt? Figured I would ask before taking apart again.
    I did figure out how the lever and firing pins work together for safety. But it seems to work no matter which the way the spring is positioned. But if I don't have it right, it might come out at the wrong time.

    Thanks!
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  16. #16
    Boolit Master

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    Quote Originally Posted by rosewood View Post
    John, are u saying the crown of the spring goes down and the hook up into the bolt? Does that hook go toward the front or rear of bolt? Figured I would ask before taking apart again.
    I did figure out how the lever and firing pins work together for safety. But it seems to work no matter which the way the spring is positioned. But if I don't have it right, it might come out at the wrong time.

    Thanks!
    There should be a small cut in the bolt for the lip to fit in, crown goes down.

  17. #17
    Boolit Master
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    Perfect. Thank you. I think it was in upside down when i took it apart. Even see wear marks where it was upside down.
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  18. #18
    Boolit Master
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    Figured out the spring is broke. Gotta order one now
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  19. #19
    Boolit Master
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    Slugged the bore. .371 lands/.379 grooves. I had previously ordered 500 .376 boolits when I ordered dies. Dangit.
    Last edited by rosewood; 09-06-2022 at 06:54 AM.
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  20. #20
    Boolit Master
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    Quote Originally Posted by John Taylor View Post
    There should be a small cut in the bolt for the lip to fit in, crown goes down.
    There is no cut in the bolt, I checked from one end to other. Did u mean firing pin? Could this be the way it goes? The notch in the firing pin isn't deep enough, so I will have to fit it.
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Abbreviations used in Reloading

BP Bronze Point IMR Improved Military Rifle PTD Pointed
BR Bench Rest M Magnum RN Round Nose
BT Boat Tail PL Power-Lokt SP Soft Point
C Compressed Charge PR Primer SPCL Soft Point "Core-Lokt"
HP Hollow Point PSPCL Pointed Soft Point "Core Lokt" C.O.L. Cartridge Overall Length
PSP Pointed Soft Point Spz Spitzer Point SBT Spitzer Boat Tail
LRN Lead Round Nose LWC Lead Wad Cutter LSWC Lead Semi Wad Cutter
GC Gas Check