have a Cimaron 1894 in 38-55, well made rifle. I have no complaints.
have a Cimaron 1894 in 38-55, well made rifle. I have no complaints.
My Uberti lever in .45 Colt loves a 265 gr fprn with either Win 231 or Unique. It will hold smaller than 1 inch 5 shot groups at 50 yards off sand bags. When I do my job, it drops deer in their tracks. I have no complaints about that rifle.
All 3 of these brands, though they may be the same thing, seem to be commonly used. I guess theyre like most other things, some have great luck others dont. I myself own a single henry that had to go back 3 times, so nobody is perfect.
I appreciate all of the testimonies.
My Henry Long Barrel Frontier just returned from its fourth trip to Henry for warranty repairs. While it was in for back to back repairs( yes they sent it back unrepaired/I shipped it back the next day) I spent a large sum of money for an unfired 1970s Marlin 39A with a 24" barrel. The Henry , if it works well enough will be my emergency backup rifle for metallic silhouette.
Wow! I was ready to send it down the road after the secind, cant imagine 4 trips home. Fortunately for me (?) or them or the gun, maybe all three, I finally found a load that that brand new barrel Henry put on it loves and is a literal laser, 19.5gr of A9 and a 240gr JSP from Roze Distributing is a "cant miss" proposition, its freaky really. So, Ill keep it I guess.
Sadly though, its just about the only load Ive found that it will shoot and to my mind I just dont think a rifle should be limited to one single load. Im really not exaggerating either, thats the only load it likes, and Im running low on A9 naturally.
So, Im exploring options on a brand other than the mainstream brands.
That sux, I hope they got it right this time. Pretty much any gun and gunmaker is a roll of the dice. I love my JM Marlins but there is no warranty or factory service whatsoever for them. I bought all mine when they were cheap, but I would hate to spend serious coin on one today and then discover I had to spend even more on parts/repairs. Far as Winchesters go, I think the Italian clones might be a safer bet given that the new Winchesters cost more and have a legacy of light strike problems that the factory won't fix.
Currently casting and loading: .32 Auto, .380 Auto, .38 Special, 9X19, .357 Magnum, .257 Roberts, 6.5 Creedmoor, .30 WCF, .308 WCF, .45-70.
I buy original Marlins and Winchesters with perfect bores in 38 55. I never have any trouble with them. If you keep your eyes open you can find them at the same price as the new junk.
I bought a Cimarron Indian Territory. Same thing, it shot uselessly above the sights and no recourse, the front sight was part of the barrel band and the fixed part of the ladder sight was as down as it goes. Shipped off to Cimarron after talking to them. Got it back rather quick with a test target of 3/4”, 1”, and 1” groups. Obviously shot at 10 yards. Gun was still off the paper at 50 yards, oh and they shipped it with no packing and it came back with the barrel band twisted around and the mag tube rotated out from under the barrel. My FFL recommended using the Davidson’s (wholesaler) 100% satisfaction guarantee so I did. I will buy a Winchester when one comes available.
I have 3 Uberti toggle link rifles from 2 different importers, from a 1986 '73 Sporting Rifle, a 2008 1860 and a 2014 '73 Short Rifle... Other than some smoothing of parts, lightened springs and clearancing the carrier for use in cowboy action, all worked as designed out of the box. But, they say anything can be built poorly while nursing a hangover on Monday!
Griff
NRA Patron
SASS Endowment/Life
CMSA Life
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 |