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Old January 5, 2011, 02:51 PM   #1
deadcoyote
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Reloading questions for Marlin 1894 20" 44 mag

This rifle has "Ballard" type rifling, 1:38 twist. What are some good fairly strong loads using 255 grain hard cast ammo for hunting hogs?

Also, I'm not too used to using cast ammo. Is it safe to shoot over 100 rounds at a time or can lead in the bore cause excessive pressure?

Any and all help will be appreciated.
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Old January 5, 2011, 04:13 PM   #2
Tuzo
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Loads for any caliber are best developed with a good reloading manual. Prudent advise is to begin with a mid range load and work up to a load that suits your needs. It is also wise to not exceed published loads.

Hard cast bullets such as LaserCast have not left any noticable lead deposits in my Marlin 94 in .44 magnum. I often shoot about 50+ rounds during a range session.
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Old January 5, 2011, 04:32 PM   #3
Rifleman1776
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My Marlin wouldn't hit paper at 25 yards with any handload.
I target shot excellent scores using my Ruger Redhawk, BTW. I do know how to load. And shoot.
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Old January 5, 2011, 07:01 PM   #4
AlaskaMike
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While I second the suggestion to look to authoritative sources for load data, that certainly doesn't mean there's nothing we can contribute.

The 1:38" twist on some Marlins is really too slow and usually requires full-house loads to give decent accuracy (of course, as soon as I say that someone will pitch in and say that it works just fine for them). That said, it isn't any different than any other firearm for getting successful results using cast bullets in it. The number one thing is bullet fit. If you have a bullet that's .430" and a groove diameter of .434" then you'll get leading and poor accuracy. That was actually exactly the case I had with a Rossi 92 in .44 mag. I bought a .434" sizer and now get wonderful accuracy and zero leading no matter what load I use with those bullets, or how fast I drive them.

Bullet hardness has far less to do with barrel leading than most people think. I push plain base bullets cast from air-cooled wheel weight alloy to 1400 fps in my magnum revolvers, and gas check bullets using the same alloy to 2000 fps in my rifles with virtually no leading. I've even experimented with 2400+ fps loads in my .30-06 and still had no leading whatsoever, although accuracy dropped off after about 2200 fps. As long as you're not shooting pure lead swaged bullets you'll be fine, assuming adequate bullet sizing.

Bullet shape is probably of more immediate importance. Some carbines have trouble with SWC shapes and only seem to function reliably with round nose flat point bullets. Before you buy anything in quantity it would be great if you could get a couple of example bullets and make up dummy rounds to test them in your carbine.

Regarding loads, I'd say that anything that isn't a midrange or powder-puff load should work well. I'd suggest looking at loads using H110/W296, H4227, 2400 AA#9, or N110. Any one of those would be great in your application. One note though--while I suggest "full-house" loads, that shouldn't be taken to mean I'm suggesting to jump to the max published load in a given manual! The normal rule to drop the max load by 10% and work up still applies (note that in the case of H110/W296, some manuals say don't reduce the max load more than 3% for a starting load)
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Old January 5, 2011, 08:11 PM   #5
mnhntr
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http://www.leverguns.com/articles/fr...arlin_1894.htm
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Old January 6, 2011, 12:35 AM   #6
ipscchef
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for Dead Coyote

Good question,
I am getting ready to load some 250.gr. Keith style bullets from Leadhead co.
I am looking for a load that will work in my Marlin and my old Super Blackhawk. I will get back to you in a couple of weeks when I get some results.
I have really only used jacketed Bullets in both guns and am just now getting into the cast stuff.
Talk about a useful gun, everybody who shoots should have a Marlin 1894 Carbine! There are very few things that it is not suited for as far as what you need a firearm to do. JMHO.
Willy
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Last edited by ipscchef; January 6, 2011 at 12:38 AM. Reason: sp.
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