The Firing Line Forums - View Single Post - What is max practical shoot distance for lever-action 38 Spl, 357 Mag, 44 Spl, 44 Mag

snipecatcher · January 31, 2012, 09:45 PM

I had a Marlin 1894 in 44 Mag that was great at 50 yards, but somewhere between that and 200 yards, the bullets would lose stability. One day I was using a pallet as a target backer at 200 yards, and I found a few of the bullets stuck sideways in the pallet. They didn't even make it through the 3/4 inch boards and were not damaged at all; they probably could have been reloaded. The rest of the bullets did not even hit the 4'x4' pallet. For that particular rifle, I limited myself to 50 yards, and it was great at that distance. Marlin should really use a bit faster twist.

January 31, 2012, 09:45 PM	#9
snipecatcher Senior Member Join Date: February 1, 2009 Location: Texas Posts: 314	I had a Marlin 1894 in 44 Mag that was great at 50 yards, but somewhere between that and 200 yards, the bullets would lose stability. One day I was using a pallet as a target backer at 200 yards, and I found a few of the bullets stuck sideways in the pallet. They didn't even make it through the 3/4 inch boards and were not damaged at all; they probably could have been reloaded. The rest of the bullets did not even hit the 4'x4' pallet. For that particular rifle, I limited myself to 50 yards, and it was great at that distance. Marlin should really use a bit faster twist.