I gave up on a Marlin 1894...

BBerguson

BBerguson

Official Pennsyltuckian
I bought this last spring for a gun for my son and I to play and hunt with. Shot cast and jacketed reloads, 4 different powders, 4 different bullets in 3 different diameters, 429, 430 and 432. None of them would group well. About 3.5 inches at 50 yards with a 7 power scope was the best I could get. I tried different holds too and nothing worked. Heck, my S&W M29 with a 8 inch barrel and open sites was just about as tight at 50 yards. Everything I read and all the videos have the same problems with reloads. Most claim their gun will shoot well with Winchester “white box” 240 gr ammo... Factory ammo? No, I didn’t buy it for that. My M29 shoots everything well and I was expecting similar in the rifle. It’s not the micro groove but it has the shallowest rifling I’ve ever seen. Slow twist too, 1-38. Also read that the rifles were bored to .431 compared to the pistols .429. This has me scratching my head too...I was shooting some stiff 296 loads and nothing was keyholing so I know they were spinning but .431 bore??? Wth???

Oh well, it’s for sale and it’s replacement is ordered. (The shop selling it knows the trouble I’ve had so they will be recommending it to a non reloader. I have a CVA Cascade in 450 Bushmaster on the way. Hopefully, it will shoot my cast (powder coated) bullet loads. I have lots to try from 200 gr 45 colt bullets up to 330 gr cast for the 45-70 but sized down to 452. Something better work! I’m convinced anything has to be better than the Marlin...

BB
 
Brad

Brad

Benevolent Overlord and site owner
Staff member
I have tunas large as .433 in my Marlin 44 mag. Had to make a new seater and crimp die to handle that large a bullet.
Didn’t lead but didn’t shoot any better either.

I tried about everything I could to get mine to shoot under 4-5” at 50 yards. No dice.
 
Brad

Brad

Benevolent Overlord and site owner
Staff member
Never tried anything that light. Don’t own such a bullet.
Best I got was the ACE 240.
 
fiver

fiver

Well-Known Member
yeahp someone forgot to tell remlin about the elmer keith invention of the 44 mag and it using bullets not designed for the 44-40, they did however read the saami spec. where rifles are made with 431 diameter barrels [some leftover holdover from the 444]
don't feel bad.
there's some 357 taurossi's out there that only shoot 125gr. bullets, and some 44's that have slow twist 431 barrels too [shrug]
 
Brad

Brad

Benevolent Overlord and site owner
Staff member
I have some 180 gr jacketed, maybe I need to try them?
 
RicinYakima

RicinYakima

High Steppes of Eastern Washington
My own experience after owning and reloading for 218 Bee, 32/20, 45/70 and 44 magnums is poor. They are all gone and I don't want another. I am very happy with my Japanese Browning 32/20. FWIW
 
BBerguson

BBerguson

Official Pennsyltuckian
Yes, a 200 (or so) grain bullet was one that I tried. 25 yard groups looked like I was shooting buckshot.

Bryan
 
BBerguson

BBerguson

Official Pennsyltuckian
I really don’t understand why a company would continue to use out of whack specs, like .431 barrels for a 44 magnum where everything revolves around .429. It falls in the same category as 22-250 barrels still being 1-14 and everyone complaining how they won’t shoot heavier bullets...

BB
 
CWLONGSHOT

CWLONGSHOT

Well-Known Member
Many folks have issues. But INMO its slightly missplaced. Its NOT the 1:38. Yea yea its not ideal for heavier bullets. But it can work OK. The issue is what you touched upon. Bore dia. Ya need a fatter bullet.
I would slug the barrel. You dont have forcing cones just a throat. Id use the fattest cast I could chamber.
Im not a 43 mag fan. But I have loaded for them and fixed this exact problem doing as I suggest.
Im a 45 Colt fan and these had same twist and I shoot 300's and 310 cast with sub 4" 100 yard groups using peeps.

I bought a Rossi long rifle last year. Stupid twist in that as well. But she will clover leaf my LEE 300g Ranch Dog bullets sized 454 @ 50 yards with buck horn iron sites.

Good luck with your choices. Know ta aint alone and it is fixable. Or sell it and move on either is understandable.

CW
 
JonB

JonB

Halcyon member
This is why I switched to 41 Mag.

Side note, Henry says they have switched to faster twist barrels in their 44 Mag BB.
 
L Ross

L Ross

Well-Known Member
Years ago my brother was jonesin' for a Marlin 1894 in .44 mag and I found him one at a real good price. He could not get it to group well with jacketed bullets and after a couple of years wanted to dump it. I said, I'd take it and I'd get it to shoot. Nope, no way, at least not rifle worthy groups. Perhaps the best it ever did was 3" at 50 yards with 429215's at .432" and 22 gr of 2400. Gone!
 
BBerguson

BBerguson

Official Pennsyltuckian
L Ross said:
Years ago my brother was jonesin' for a Marlin 1894 in .44 mag and I found him one at a real good price. He could not get it to group well with jacketed bullets and after a couple of years wanted to dump it. I said, I'd take it and I'd get it to shoot. Nope, no way, at least not rifle worthy groups. Perhaps the best it ever did was 3" at 50 yards with 429215's at .432" and 22 gr of 2400. Gone!
Click to expand...
2400 is one of the powders I tried too with same results as the others.

Maybe if I still lived where I could shoot from my back porch I would have kept playing with this. But, it’s now a 15 minute drive to my range and I don’t have the time or patience. I would love to find a REM 788 in 44 mag but pretty sure that won’t happen... If Remington ever got smart again and brought this gun back out, I bet they’d sell a boatload of them.

BB
 
RicinYakima

RicinYakima

High Steppes of Eastern Washington
My issue with the Marlin's was the chamber specifications. The 25/20 was the original 1890's Marlin spec's for their 25/21 and same with 32/20 as 32/21. No throats nor lead in the 218 Bee, excess head space, so even partial resizing head separation on third reload. I could get the 21's to shoot with 50/1 alloy bullets as big as would fit in a fired case and nothing slower than Red Dot, with Bullseye being the best. Problem was that those loads would not shoot in any other rifle but their own.
 
BBerguson

BBerguson

Official Pennsyltuckian
Now that you mention it, I had several cases separate about .5 inch from the from the rim and a number of split cases. I thought it was the old brass I was using but it never happened to me in my M29. Chamber larger than the M29 possibly?

BB
 
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