I had a good/bad day at the range the other day trying out a couple of “new to me” rifles. First the good. I borrowed a recipe from here and loaded up some low power rounds for my Winchester 94 30-30. I used a Lee C309-180R (185 grains wheel weight) on top of 11 grains of Herc 2400 using old dryer sheets for filler. I only shot at 50 yards, but had a group right at 7/8 of an inch. I was very pleased. A lot of fun, but the guys kept giving me a bad time about my “Downy fresh powder”!
Then the bad. I tried my Marlin 1894CS .38/.357 with some loads that have worked very well for me in my revolver. It is a Hornady 158 grain SWC over 12 grains of 2400. At 50 yards I couldn’t hit the target. At 25 yards I had a group at least 18 inches wide (those that hit the target). Not happy at all. I was using a rest so I knew it wasn’t me. I took the scope off and tried the iron sights. Same result. Not the scope. Came home and did some measuring. First I slugged the rifle. The slugs measure .358. Seems a little large, but now that I know it I can work with it. Maybe that’s why I got such a good deal on it? Then I measured those Hornady slugs. They are advertized at .358, they measure .357. A little on the small size. I have some All American lead 158 gr SWC advertized at .358. They measure .3585. I bought a Lee mold #358158. It throws an unsized boolit that measure .360.
By the way, there was no lead fowling in either rifle, though I am surprised I didn’t have any with the undersized .357.
Here’s my thoughts:
1. Melt down the Hornady slugs and reuse the lead.
2. Try the All American slugs and if they work, great, if they don’t, melt them down.
3. Try the Lee unsized and see what happens or size them to .359?
Am I on the right track? Unfortunately with my schedule it may be weeks before I can get out again, but I would like to hear your thoughts before I load up some more rounds.