I'm not sure where this thread belongs.... Lever guns or CB loads.
I have a Marlin 1894(S) purchased new in 2010. As I only recently started casting my own, I've been using Hornady 240 gr. XTP's over 24 gr of H110 as my 'go-to' load for this handy little rifle. My dad has a SW M29 and I wanted to be able to cast for him so I bought the Lee 240 gr tumble lube mold. As it turns out, this mold drop boolits at .4315" Its my understanding that the .44 mag. Marlin rifles tend to like the 'fatter' bullets. I believe mine is no exception as it won't group well with .429" 'j' bullets, but puts the .430" Hornady bullets into a 2" group at 100 yards- good scope+good rest.
Curiosity has gotten the best of me. I've read that lever guns don't like to feed swc style boolits. A few minutes ago I loaded up a dummy round with this .4315" dia. 240 gr tl boolit at an oal of 1.595" and slipped it into the feeding tube. IT FEEDS....SMOOTHLY
This boolit was poured from lino and should be more than hard enough for .44 mag rifle velocity. Before anyone asks, I haven't slugged my bore, but I strongly suspect that this boolit will be a good fit.
My question(s): Has anyone tried this particular boolit in their lever guns? Have you shot them at 'magnum' levels or just at lower 'cowboy' velocities? If you've tried 'em, got any load data/suggestions for me? Am I crazy for wanting to try this boolit in that gun? All input gratefully accepted and appreciated, thanks in advance.