Tell me about the 1873 rifle.

W

Walks

Well-Known Member
None of the 6 Marlins I've owned have ever had any kind of problems. Previous experience seems to tell me it depends on the person using the rifle as much as the rifle itself. And it doesn't matter if long or short action. I've watched many a new Cowboy Shooter struggle with every brand of Lever Rifle.
My Dac taught me to work a Lever Action in a positive fashion, I taught My kids the same way.

Only Lever Gun that I ever had trouble with was a henry .22LR . It went back to the factory twice. I gave up on it and dumped it.

Guess it boils down to who's working the Lever.
 
J

JustJim

Well-Known Member
Walks, I had around 50,000 round through the Marlin that problem rifle replaced, and never had a jam. Over the years I've owned 12 other Marlins, the only jams with them came when I tried to get Lyman's 462560 to feed through the 45-70. Some of the guys I shot CAS with had won or placed at the state level (and later, at EoT) while shooting Marlins. I guess none of us knew what we were doing.
 
Rockydoc

Rockydoc

Well-Known Member
My 1961 336SC in 35 REM is about the smoothest feeding Gun I have. “Your mileage may vary “.
 
fiver

fiver

Well-Known Member
my one and only marlin will feed and shoot cases 1/2" short.
they ain't accurate, but they 'work'.
 
CZ93X62

CZ93X62

Official forum enigma
Late to the party--sorry about that. The eye is working again.

That whole "Marlin jam" sequence is outside my experience, and I've owned and fired a raftload of Marlin leverguns. Both slide action and lever action systems need to be worked vigorously. Doing so enhanced their reliability greatly.

Lots of time-in-grade with the 44/40 WCF. I really like the caliber, though at 150 years of age it might be getting a bit long in the tooth. Starline's edition of the 44/40 WCF brass is FIRST-RATE. It is stronger (though not thicker) than its W-W and R-P counterparts. Please note that I don't put my 44/40 loads up at CAS strengths--I load full-value 1873-levels and have no burn-backs on Starline brass in my rifle and revolver.

Just my view--I think chambering ANY 1873 action in 357 or 44 Magnum is an error of huge proportions.

In the 19" barrel of my 1873 carbine, 24.0 grains of RL-7 gives about 1175-1200 FPS to the SAECO #446 (200 grain flatnose) I run through it. In the Uberti Cattleman x 4.75", 875-900 FPS results.

The late John Kort was my source for the RL-7 loading date. The rationale for use of RL-7 was as a black powder substitute in terms of both pressures and bullet base support. Lymans #311008, #401043, and #427098 all lack a crimping groove, and were meant to be supported by the powder column beneath them against telescoping inward, while a roll crimp wrapped around the ogives prevented creep-out.
 
Missionary

Missionary

Well-Known Member
Have owned a bunch of real 1873's over the years.. 32's, several 38's and 44's. 2nd Models are my favorites.
Only one repro has come our way. A Santa Fe model (Stoeger ? ) in 44 WCF that went through a fire. Replaced all the broke springs and re-tempered the good ones. Cut the barrel to 16 1/4". 4 grains of Unique is my max load or 2F Goex. Fun little close in ground hog carbine.
 
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