The Ideal Cast Bullet Rifle

[CZ93X62]

I'm out. The levergun disallowance is unrealistic. Brad's choices match my own--1895 in 45/70 and 336 in 30/30. I own both.

For varmints I have had VERY good work from bolt 243s. The RCBS 6mm-95-SP has shot wonderfully for me atop 12.0-14.0 grains of 2400, sized @ .245" and lubed with C-Red. I need to replace my now-departed 243(s). People love those things, they are the perfect Kalifornistan deer rifle given our coyote-sized coastal blacktails and desert burro mule deer.

 

[Rockydoc]

I'm out. The levergun disallowance is unrealistic. Brad's choices match my own--1895 in 45/70 and 336 in 30/30. I own both.

For varmints I have had VERY good work from bolt 243s. The RCBS 6mm-95-SP has shot wonderfully for me atop 12.0-14.0 grains of 2400, sized @ .245" and lubed with C-Red. I need to replace my now-departed 243(s). People love those things, they are the perfect Kalifornistan deer rifle given our coyote-sized coastal blacktails and desert burro mule deer.

Lever guns are definitely IN, by popular vote. I am the OP, and I have seen the error of my ways regarding the lever action restriction. I in fact have two lever action rifles that shoot cast bullets exclusively.
After this discussion I am now looking for a Marlin lever action in 35 Remington, but so far I don't know which model of Marlin to get. Maybe you guys will clue me in.

 

[Ian]

Marlin used the Model 36 designation for their rifle-caliber rifles until I think 1948, then they went to the round bolt, lost the "waffle top", and made them with cut rifling until 1955 when the microgroove technique was expanded to the center-fire lineup. Somewhere in the 60s or 70s (1978, according to Brownells mag tube listing) they changed the front band to behind the front sight and made a ramp instead of dovetail front sight.

Mine is a 1954 with cut rifling and I recently re-stocked and reblued it after fixing a bunch of major issues.



It shoots full-power cast pretty well:



216-grain hollow points going about as fast as pressure will allow:



Another target another day to test barrel for heat stringing:

 

[Rockydoc]

That is a Model 36?

 

[JWFilips]

My Target 30-30 right now is a Savage 340 But I put some work into it to make it a cast bullet target rifle Recut the throat, Glass bedded it Free floated the barrel ( got rid of the forearm screw) and tapped and drilled the forward top of the receiver for a custom scope mount. I use the scope for the winter months when the days are dark. In late spring & summer I switch it to Receiver Sights with a Lyman 17a Front globe site.
Somewhere on this site is my 340 thread... It is a long one I think this is it
https://www.artfulbullet.com/index.php?threads/a-christmas-present.2120/
and another
https://www.artfulbullet.com/index.php?threads/bedding-the-savage-340-30-30.4960/

 

[RBHarter]

I shot a 30-30 325C that was boringly easy to load .
Unique and IMR 4350 pick a weight under 200 gr .

 

[Brad]

The 35 Remington will be in a 336.
The 336 is the action used for 30-30, 35 Remington. Same action but with a different designation Is home to the 444 Marlin and 45-70. These are all round bolt actions.
The 1894 is a square bolt action for pistol cartridges.

I would go with any decent shape 336 in 35 Remington. I need one myself.

 

[MW65]

I love the 35rem... Have two. My favorite is a '51 336sc (sporting carbine) which is a pleasure to carry. In the Doug firs we have here, it's plenty good except for the long distance clear cuts. Traditional rifling, and Williams peeps make it easier to shoot.

 

[oscarflytyer]

Marlin in 35 Rem will be a 336 variant, or if very old, I believe the 36 was made in 35 Rem. Also, if it is a Marlin lever, it gets dressed up with a Skinner peep rear and front blade. Only these old eyes can still shoot them!

 

[JWFilips]

Guys,
I'm sure not knocking the 35 Rem In a Marlin 336! That was my first rifle & my Dad bought it for me in 1964!
I shoots ( fat) cast in it extremely well But with target shooting I like to experiment with bullets it wasn't made to load in the magazine! This is no problem loading single shot....just needs to be reset every time after ejection on the bag and rest.
My old girl is a real shooter with pretty much anything I feed it! I'm amazed at how well it can shoot a 125 TC cast bullet at low speed and it handles the RCBS 200 grain in Hi and Low Node
Sure is nothing wrong with a 35 Rem!

 

[fiver]

you'd be hard pressed to go wrong with a waffle top in 35 Rem.
they hold their value that's for sure.
any of the 35's will give you very good service with just about any lead bullet you can find to shove in the pipe with about any powder you care to put in the case.
it's just a matter of do you wanna shoot it or do you want everyone to comment on it.

 

[Glaciers]

Okay I have lived in Alaska for 45 years, so I have a slightly different take on things. While I suppose it really doesn't bother me to be discriminated against, I just won't pay attention to the lower "48" references.
I just naturally think in a little bigger diameter then most, not all, lower "48" guys. I'm going cast on just about all my firearms, but, I'm just in the last couple of years getting serious again since the 70's and 80's. So here goes.

First off I have not rung these rifles out with cast yet. I'm working on 30-30's and powder coating, when I get that tested out, I will move to the 35's. Got to stay focused and not get distracted. The first is a Springfield customized by R.F. Sedgley in 30-06. Great caliber but kinda on the minimum side in Alaska. Have not fired it yet as I have yet to mess with the 06 in cast. My jacketed loads are run slightly on the hotter side of common since. So that's a no go in this rifle. Also the bore is the best of any rifle I have, so why foul it with gliding metal..



Next is a push feed Winchester Featherweight model 70 re-bore to 35 Whelen.



Followed my a Remington 660 re- barreled from 6.5 Remington mag to 458 x 2 American. This rifle because of the short magazine requires simi-spitzer bullets to feed reliably. I use the Barnes Originals in 300gr and 400 gr. Reliability is perfect with the semi- Spitzer. I use the 300's in the interior of Alaska as it's mostly black bears, 400's on the coast. So I'm going to try the LEE 500 gr Spitzer plain base and see if it functions reliably. Probably Powder coated and fairly soft. Hoping COWW at about 1600 is what I'm looking for. I built this rifle in the early 80's for big furry critters in mind. I took my Father Brown Bear hunting in the Wood Tik Chik lake system in south west Alaskain in 82. My rifle at that time was a 458 mag built by a gunsmith friend on an interarms action and a Lyman peep. Nice working rifle, nothing fancy, but 47" long and 11 pounds all up and ready to go.. Going through the Alders and brush was a core, and to be able to swing that beast was really not easy. Watching a Brown go through the same brush like a freight train was an eye opener. So the 458 x 2 was born when I got back.. 40.5" and 8 pounds with the scope. I had a Leupold 1 x 4 on it which was great, but I switch to a Leupold Vx 6 in a 1 x 6, 30 mm tube. Awesome scope. The 1 x 4 has a 60' field of view at 100, while the 1 x 6 has a over 100' field of view. I carried this rifle along with a Ruger 480 to guide tourists and fishermen on shore in Prince William Sound for quite a while.



Loaded round with a 400 Barnes and the LEE next to it..

if I was in the "lower 48", it would be 30-06 and 35 Whelen. Well maybe 30-06 and 35 Remington. Very difficult.

 

[RicinYakima]

I can not fault you at all where you live. I thought 30/06 where I live until about 15 years ago, but not now.

Since I had to dig out my 35 Whelen last week for a picture, it went to the range today for the first time in a couple of years. Shot to the left is the first from a clean cold barrel. The others are the next three.



100 yards with Lyman 3589 sized .360" from WW's +2% tin over 12 grains of SR7625 for 1200 f/s.

 

[Ian]

Good shooting, Ric, but you tuned the mighty Whelen down to a .357 Magnum! I can appreciate that, having a retina stuck down precariously with laser-scar tissue, but it's no bear load. I had big plans to rebarrel a push-feed featherweight deluxe .270 to .35 Whelen just like John G's pictured above, but logic eventually prevailed when I couldn't come up with a practical answer for the question of "what would I DO with it?" Most likely answer was shoot plain-based, powder coated pistol bullets through it at paper at about 1,000 fps, but I can do that with the .270 just as well.

John G, any comments on why you don't seem to prefer a lever-action .45/70 for the heavy, close work? I've never come close to hunting bear in brush and don't ever intend to but it SEEMS that something like a Marlin Guide Gun would be pretty good for it.

 

[Glaciers]

100 yards with Lyman 3589 sized .360" from WW's +2% tin over 12 grains of SR7625 for 1200 f/s.

Ric is that the Lyman 35897? Anyway that's the listing in my handbook, showing a weight of 232. Nice shooting by the way.

 

[fiver]

I thought it was the 358009 now days.
something closer to 300grs.

 

[Glaciers]

I had big plans to rebarrel a push-feed featherweight deluxe .270 to .35 Whelen just like John G's pictured above, but logic eventually prevailed when I couldn't come up with a practical answer for the question of "what would I DO with it?" Most likely answer was shoot plain-based, powder coated pistol bullets through it at paper at about 1,000 fps, but I can do that with the .270 just as well.

Funny you have a a 270 featherweight you're thinking about changing to 35 Whelen. The reason it's funny is mine started life as a 270. But the problem with leaving it a 270 is, the holes are just too small. Love those early featherweight rifles.

John G, any comments on why you don't seem to prefer a lever-action .45/70 for the heavy, close work? I've never come close to hunting bear in brush and don't ever intend to but it SEEMS that something like a Marlin Guide Gun would be pretty good for it.

That's a very tough question. Well the 458 wildcat just has more "snoose" then the 45-70 levers and I couldn't, at that time warm up to the Marlin. I was a Winchester collector of takedown levers and 1885 single shot rifles. So I could not bring myself to carry a orininal 1886, even a late model light weight in 45-70 and subject it to the abuse and the salt water conditions. And I certainly was not going to carry a lowly Marlin. The bolt gun is more versatile with semi-Spitzer bullets as well. There has been a lot of advancements in bullet development since then as well. I felt the reliability of the bolt gun and a little more power was worth it. But, I did feel the 458 x 2 was OK, but not quite there. A little more power would be nice, but the handy size I felt made up for lesser power the some cartridges. Keep in mind if I needed to use it, it was going to be up close and personal. I also carried a 44 model 29, 4" until the 480 Ruger came along. Shortly after that I started putting together a Browning 71 in 50 Alaskan. That gun was a PITA. I'm not a high velocity nut, but the guy that was asked why he had a 45 Colt, the answer was because they did not make a 46 Colt.
I no longer have my Winchesters, unfortunately, but, I do have a Marlin 1895' couple of 336's and a 1894. I love levers,Winchesters in particular, but, I tolerate Marlins. I'm starting to warm to them.
No offense intended to you guys with Marlin's, I love my 35 Remington. I'm done digging a hole, so later.
John

 

[Glaciers]

I thought it was the 358009 now days.
something closer to 300grs.

That's what I thought, 300 grains more or less. But I have a 1973 Lyman cast bullet handbook on the table and 35897 was as close as I could find.

 

[Glaciers]

Ian somehow my answer to your Whelen statement got buried in your quote in my post. IT stuff gets me.

 

[Glaciers]

Rockydoc I didn't get into the levers yet, because you started out leaving levers behind the door, so I stuck with the bolt guns. Levers like the 38-55, 348, 35 Rem, 405 Win, 45-70, 50 Alaskan. Fun stuff like that. I said yet.