Tips on making one load for revolver and a Marlin .44 1894?

[NavyRedneck]

I have a Super Redhawk that I've been shooting cast bullets out of for a while. It loves them sized to about .429 and has been very effective on the range and in the woods.

Well, I found an 1894 .44 magnum lever action that I bought for my wife and now I would like to load up some ammo that would work in both guns.

I have the following .44 magnum moulds:
.44 mag 429215 210g
.44 mag 429244 255g

I have a ton of brass. Some of it is once fired and I have some new starline that I've been saving for this project. I prefer to use Unique in the practice loads and H110 in the heavier stuff. The point of it is to have two types of ammo: practice ammo and hunting ammo and use it in both guns. Any tips or is this not doable at all?

[crabo]

I have been doing the same for my 8 3/8 586 and Marlin 94 in 357. One thing you will have to remember is that if you settle on one load, it will be better in one gun or the other, unless you pick a compromise for both. I have settled on 7 grains of Unique with a 160 grain Mountain Mold boolit I had made.

I think it would matter what you want to end up with. What ranges will you shoot at? I want 100 yard accuracy from both of these guns so I can shoot hunters pistol or lever action pistol cartridge silhouette.

Do you want 25 yards accuracy for the pistol and 100 yard for the rifle?

I think we need a little more information on what distances you plan to shoot the guns. I don't know those boolits without looking them up. I do know levers sometimes have problems feeding SWCs. I would make up a couple of dummy cartridges and see if they feed those boolits before I did anything.

[O.S.O.K.]

The 255 boolit is a Keith style and tends to be too long to feed in the Marlin. So, for 44 Mags, you need to look to the 210 grain boolit for a "combo" load.

Now, there is another path. You can trim the brass or simply go to 44 Special brass and use +P 44 Special loads. Like 19 grains of H110 under the 255 grain Keith boolit. That should give you close to 1200 fps in the BH and 1400 fps or so in the Marlin.

You will find that the Marlin is going to want .431-.432" boolits though. But these should be just dandy in your RBH too...

This actually make a lot of sense for those boolits as they are plain base and can only be pushed so fast in the carbine before leading becomes an issue anyway...

These boolits feed just fine in my 94 Marlin loaded in 44 Special brass.

ETA: Another option would be to get a new mold for a 240 swc boolit with a shorter, fatter nose that will feed in the Marlin... or another "fix" to allow the use of the 255 grain boolits in the 44 Mag brass is to seat them down deeper and crimp over the front edge of the driving band... that can work too...

[NavyRedneck]

Great ideas that are a big relief to me! I bought the gun before I did a lot of reading in this forum and I was afraid it would be out of the question. I'm not even sure what kind of rifling the gun has... I bought it last year and have stored it far away but I'm going to get it next month.

I was hoping for 100 yard game accuracy (maybe a pie plate) in both the revolver and Marlin. That would make either gun a fine hunting weapon as all of my shots are that close anyway.

thanks for the responses

[Jack Stanley]

I've been down this same road that you are now traveling with both the .357 and the Forty-four . With the little gun I have both a hunting and practice load , the big one only has a practice load so far . My Marlin like bullets at .433" and so does the revolver , these weigh just over two hundred grains . I use a moderate charge of Universal and seat them to run flawlessly through the lever . The carbine is sighted for about eighty yards or so and I hole shots with the handgun to about thirty yards .

One of these days , I have a LBT that I intend to load for the "heavy" load .

Jack

[runfiverun]

figure the length that will feed reliably in the levergun,
then work a load that you are comfortable shooting. then mess with it for accuracy a bit and to get the velocity that shoots close enough to point of aim with your sights.
shooting to the sights is more important than one that shoots 1" groups 6" low
unless you want to change sights.

[Lloyd Smale]

the 215 will probably feed in your marlin but it wont feed like butter and ive allways had better luck with heavier bullets in a marlin. the nose on the 244 is probably to long. At least it is in my guns. Your option with that bullet would be to crimp over the driving band but i dont like doing that in lever guns as theres a chance the bullet will get pushed back into the case when feeding. Your best bet is going to be to find a lfn at about 280 grain with a nose that is on the short side.

[O.S.O.K.]

Navy - your Marlin most likely has the microgroove rifling - which is fine - just remember to size your boolits big - maybe even as-cast - the microgroove rifling likes em tight and will almost never shoot bore-sized boolits worth a flip...

I was just reading the replies and thought of another option for you - get a $20 Lee 310 gc mold.

That's "the" boolit for my Marlin 44 Mag right now - wheel weights and a little tin, Lee Liq Alox lube, Hornady gas checks and 21.0 grains of H110 give over 1500 fps and 2" accuracy at 100 yards with XS aperture sights. Boolits sized .431".

You're BH would give about 1250 to 1300 fps with that boolit/load. I did have to knock the edge off of the top of the chamber mouth of my Marlin though to make it feed this boolt smoothly, but that it does now!

[jack19512]

I was just reading the replies and thought of another option for you - get a $20 Lee 310 gc mold.

That is the boolit my Marlin 1894 likes best so far also.

[August]

I'd load for the rifle and count on the pistol accommodating that combination. I have found revolvers much more flexible about sizing, seating, and OAL than rifles.

[20nickels]

I'd load for the rifle and count on the pistol accommodating that combination. I have found revolvers much more flexible about sizing, seating, and OAL than rifles.

+1 Accomadate the picky eater 1st. The revolver will be much more forgiving, especially if it have adjustable sights.

[MakeMineA10mm]

All of these are good answers. I've got three S&W 629s, a Ruger 44 Flat Top, a Marlin 1894 (Stnls.), a Ruger 44 Carbine, and a Win. '94 AE Trapper. (And those are just the 44 Magnums... Got some Spls and Russians too.) I can tell you flat out that I don't load specialized ammo for each. Most of my 44 Mag. ammo is intended to shoot in any of the guns I stick it in, with some exceptions.

I have two cast loads that are intended to work in any of the guns (except the Ruger Carbine, which gets jacketed only). A plinking load with a 205gr RNFP (soon to be replaced by the 225gr RNFP GB from Catshooter) with 7.5grs of W231. (This is a low-cost, plain-base, medium-low velocity plinker that is intended mostly for accuracy and economy.) The other is the BoomerMikey GB version of the Lyman 429640, which is a 285gr RNFP-GC. This, I load with 18.5grs of AA#9, and get plenty of power and recoil. I size both of these to .431", so they'll fit regardless of throat/chamber size.

Now, if I have a specific need/desire, I'll taylor small batches of ammo to a specific gun, but for the most part, those plus my version of the Keith load are my main shooters in 44 Magnum.

[Three44s]

Another + for accomodating the "picky eater" first!!!

Your Super should like the fater slugs that your Marlin may well require.

If not then I'd suggest this book:

http://www.beartoothbullets.com/bulletselect/index.htm

It's a steal at the price Marshal Stanton charges for it ....... and a good read to boot!

Just click on "book" on the left side bar and you'll be there.

Three 44s

[NavyRedneck]

Great advice. The wife loves the gun and I've been taking it to the range frequently myself.

I think the gun has Ballard rifling. It looks like normal rifling to me with 6 fat grooves.

I've been shooting the 429215 (per your recommendations) with a gas check, sizing only the check to crimp it, over 10 grains of Unique. As a plinking load it has been great. My wife and I can consistently hit within 1.5" at 50 yards which may be our limit with the stock sights. I've also ordered a couple of Lee molds for .44 as they were mentioned in this posting.

The sights are the factory adjustable semi-buckhorn folding rear and ramp front sight with brass bead. I need to keep some type of iron sights on this gun as it will function as a bush gun for deer/hog. Given how much my wife likes the gun it may be her choice for home defense as well.

Next I'll be working on a deer load using the same bullet and H110. Dropped it is measuring around .431" or so. Should I change anything since it is Ballard rifling?

Any recommendation to improve accuracy using the stock sights? That front bead is pretty fat when looking at a 100 yard target.

Thanks for all the helpful advice. I'm still very new at casting and reloading but forums like this really help minimize the frustrations.

[kingstrider]

I did the same thing last year with my ported 629 and 1894SS and found both shoot pretty well using Lyman Devastators and 19 grains of Alliant 2400. I just got a stainless 4-5/8" Super Blackhawk which I'm going to try that load in but am really back to square one. Gotta love getting to know a new gun!

[chasw]

I have two Marlin levers, an M1894 in .44 mag and a M444 in .444 Marlin. Both of them are fussy about feeding any bullet with a shoulder, e.g., a SWC design. Accordingly, I've switched entirely to LBT designs with their smooth curving ogives: 250 grainers with GC for the .44 mag and 300 grainers with GC for my .444 and its Douglas barrel with a 1 in 24" twist. I go for the standard OALs and use taper crimps, e.g., 1.6" on the .44 mag. I don't attempt to use the crimping grooves and roll crimps, the grooves are usually in the wrong place for the correct OAL. The .444 rifle is particularly accurate with 300 grainers and a full case of IMR 3031 at about 1750 fps, which is the upper limit of my recoil tolerance in this rifle. - CW

[Two401Pm]

I use a lee factory crimp die,,,, and crimp where ever i want the over all length to be.. Works for me..

[NHlever]

The Lyman 429244 has a shorter nose than the 429421 so don't count it out without trying it. So far, my favorite hunting load for both my Super Blackhawk, and my Winchester 94 is the 429244 with a magnum primer, and 23 grains of H-110. This is a near max load, so work up to it carefully. It could be different in your guns. Just about anything feeds in my 94 so I don't know about those issues with your Marlin. Guess I need to get one to find out!

Edit: I size the boolits at .431, and it works fine in both guns. Also, Lee has some 44-265 RNFP molds on sale. I think they are Ranch Dog reject, or surplus molds, and they should feed fine in your Marlin. I have one on order myself.

[missionary5155]

Good morning
I bought a Marlin 41 Mag CB 7 years ago with just the same idea. One caliber for the carbine and revolver. Powerful & easy to load.
BUT remember... the idea is to USE the carbine for everything possible and the revolver is for that close up, "backup" shot while reloading the carbine. In that senario precision accuracy is generally a mute issue. We are talking paper plate at 15- 25 yards.
So I have my 265gr GC load for my Marlin that also fits and shoots in my Ruger single actions. The revolvers shoot OK with that load. The revolver will get used as a last resort IF the Marlin is still operating and in my hands. I normally carry the short barrel Ruger when the Marlin is with me also.
I do the same with 38-40 and 45 Colt. The rifle is for everything... the revolver for backup... which gladly I have never needed in that role so is really extra bagage generallybut there if ever needed.

[phaessler]

Have tried alot of .44 boolits in my 1894 Marlin / Ruger Redhawk to get a "one-load" fits all.
I found that the Lee 310, Lyman 429244, and the Lyman 429640 all work well. The Lyman 429215 tends to hang-up a little in the lever gun feeding.
NHLever is correct on the RanchDog rejects, and they shoot just fine in mine.
Loads used are varying and we all have our favorites, I am hooked on 2400 lately.

Pete