Marlin 44 Mag 1894 Twist Rate

weblance · June 18, 2017, 02:35 PM

I'm getting ready to buy a Marlin 1894 in 44 Magnum. Looking over the specs, I see the twist rate is 1/38". I have a Ruger Super Redhawk in 44 Magnum that shoots great, its twist rate is 1/20" Can someone explain the reason these barrels have such a different twist...? Thanks

Jim Watson · June 18, 2017, 02:39 PM

Marlin thinks you don't need anything but a 240 grain bullet at full velocity. The Ruger revolver is more flexible. But the original Ruger .44 carbine had a slow twist, too.

Hanshi · June 18, 2017, 03:22 PM

I don't like light bullets in the Marlin. Their excellent in the revolver but the 240s and up make the Marlin sing.

ThomasT · June 18, 2017, 04:06 PM

I am not sure why Marlin choose such a slow rate of twist. Maybe because winchester used a similar twist in the 44-40 rifles with a 1/36 twist. I guess it doesn't matter because they seem to shoot fine with the rate of twist.

Some will argue the the 1/38 will not stabilize a 300gr bullet. To me that has never mattered because the case capacity is small enough that you really can't get a usable amount of powder to really make a 300gr bullet work as well as it should. A 444 Marlin is better for that.

But you can get decent velocity with a 260gr bullet if you think another 20 grains or so of bullet will make a difference between a clean kill and a wounded animal. I have killed one deer with my 44 mag and seen several others my buddy killed with his 44 mag and I couldn't see any indications that a heavier bullet would have done any better.

I have shot 200gr bullets at lower velocity and they shoot good enough for brush hunting. Like 4" groups at 100 yards. And a 200gr bullet at 1600-1800 fps will kill deer just fine. I have also shot 200r bullets at just over 2000 fps and they were about 5-6" groups at 100 yards.

The Marlin 44 mag is a nice little rifle. Mine has the Ballard rifling so it will shoot lead bullets better than the Micro-groove barrel. I have had mine for over 10 years and have never shot a single lead bullet through it.

bamaranger · June 20, 2017, 11:35 PM

The slow 1-38 twist in most of the contemporary .44 mag carbines has always been a mystery to me also. Ruger finally upped the twist rate to 1-20 with the 96/99 series, but now those carbines are gone too.

My own early Ruger auto carbines (1-38) have responded well to lighter (shorter) slugs, and I've pretty much settled on 200 gr bullets from them on deer. Lots of guys report that 240's shoot well in their 1-38 twisted rifles, regardless of make, but my two don't.

Part of that may be that I tend to load for the carbines modestly to avoid wear and tear (there are NO parts out there to speak of) and my slightly lower velocities w/ 240's, a bit slower than factory and max loads, may contribute to innaccuracy. I suppose I should experiment a bit with some factory 240's, but I really don't have any complaints on deer with my 200 gr XTP reloads.

June 18, 2017, 02:35 PM	#1
weblance Senior Member Join Date: October 3, 2012 Posts: 1,229	Marlin 44 Mag 1894 Twist Rate I'm getting ready to buy a Marlin 1894 in 44 Magnum. Looking over the specs, I see the twist rate is 1/38". I have a Ruger Super Redhawk in 44 Magnum that shoots great, its twist rate is 1/20" Can someone explain the reason these barrels have such a different twist...? Thanks

June 20, 2017, 11:35 PM	#5
bamaranger Senior Member Join Date: October 9, 2009 Location: North Alabama Posts: 8,303	twist The slow 1-38 twist in most of the contemporary .44 mag carbines has always been a mystery to me also. Ruger finally upped the twist rate to 1-20 with the 96/99 series, but now those carbines are gone too. My own early Ruger auto carbines (1-38) have responded well to lighter (shorter) slugs, and I've pretty much settled on 200 gr bullets from them on deer. Lots of guys report that 240's shoot well in their 1-38 twisted rifles, regardless of make, but my two don't. Part of that may be that I tend to load for the carbines modestly to avoid wear and tear (there are NO parts out there to speak of) and my slightly lower velocities w/ 240's, a bit slower than factory and max loads, may contribute to innaccuracy. I suppose I should experiment a bit with some factory 240's, but I really don't have any complaints on deer with my 200 gr XTP reloads.

June 18, 2017, 02:39 PM	#2
Jim Watson Senior Member Join Date: October 25, 2001 Location: Alabama Posts: 18,539	Marlin thinks you don't need anything but a 240 grain bullet at full velocity. The Ruger revolver is more flexible. But the original Ruger .44 carbine had a slow twist, too.

June 18, 2017, 03:22 PM	#3
Hanshi Senior Member Join Date: April 23, 2017 Posts: 239	I don't like light bullets in the Marlin. Their excellent in the revolver but the 240s and up make the Marlin sing.

June 18, 2017, 04:06 PM	#4
ThomasT Senior Member Join Date: January 22, 2009 Location: Texas Posts: 2,753	I am not sure why Marlin choose such a slow rate of twist. Maybe because winchester used a similar twist in the 44-40 rifles with a 1/36 twist. I guess it doesn't matter because they seem to shoot fine with the rate of twist. Some will argue the the 1/38 will not stabilize a 300gr bullet. To me that has never mattered because the case capacity is small enough that you really can't get a usable amount of powder to really make a 300gr bullet work as well as it should. A 444 Marlin is better for that. But you can get decent velocity with a 260gr bullet if you think another 20 grains or so of bullet will make a difference between a clean kill and a wounded animal. I have killed one deer with my 44 mag and seen several others my buddy killed with his 44 mag and I couldn't see any indications that a heavier bullet would have done any better. I have shot 200gr bullets at lower velocity and they shoot good enough for brush hunting. Like 4" groups at 100 yards. And a 200gr bullet at 1600-1800 fps will kill deer just fine. I have also shot 200r bullets at just over 2000 fps and they were about 5-6" groups at 100 yards. The Marlin 44 mag is a nice little rifle. Mine has the Ballard rifling so it will shoot lead bullets better than the Micro-groove barrel. I have had mine for over 10 years and have never shot a single lead bullet through it.