I've fired a 357 1894 Marlin and was amazed at how quiet it was. Has anyone shot both a 44 and 357 and if so can you compare the noise difference? Obviously the 44 is going to be louder but by how much? With the 357 I found it to be closer to a 22 than a 357 handgun.
1894 Noise levels - 357 vs 44
- Thread starter JohnnyMac
- Start date
Thanks for the feedback.
The shots that I fired in the 357 were factory. My hadgun 357 loads have all been handloads but all have been much louder then through the rifle. I'm not surprised the 44 is louder but I just thought it would be nice to have a lever gun that was a little bit quieter. With the 357 I know it's relatively quiet but it would be nice to have the additional power from the 44.
The shots that I fired in the 357 were factory. My hadgun 357 loads have all been handloads but all have been much louder then through the rifle. I'm not surprised the 44 is louder but I just thought it would be nice to have a lever gun that was a little bit quieter. With the 357 I know it's relatively quiet but it would be nice to have the additional power from the 44.
FishDoc
CGN frequent flyer
I love my Marlin especially with hand load 38 spl with just 3 grains of Varget! For plinking it`s cheap, accurate at the Cowboy ranges we practice at and fun fun fun! Great choice of gun! My wife likes it almost as much as her 9422 with the hand loads, but she never tried it with the 357... it is a blast.
??? You been doin' a lotta shootin' without hearing protection, haven't you?I have rarely fired my Marlin 1894 w/o earplugs but I did try it once, out in the bush and was surprised that it wasn't as bad as I anticipated. A month or so ago I put 4 rounds from it into a black bear that had attacked one of my neighbour's alpacas and I didn't have any ringing in my ears afterwards. However, this was at 3:45 am, and between the confusion and adrenaline rush I'm sure some part of my hearing automatically shut down in anticipation!
StuartUnregistered
Regular
- Location
- South Ontario
A month or so ago I put 4 rounds from it into a black bear that had attacked one of my neighbour's alpacas and I didn't have any ringing in my ears afterwards. However, this was at 3:45 am, and between the confusion and adrenaline rush I'm sure some part of my hearing automatically shut down in anticipation!
What kind of loads were you using?
21.9 gr. of H110 over a Hornady 265gr FP. These bullets are really for the 444 Marlin but apparently they will expand from about 1500 fps. I haven't chrono'd them but I believe the MV to be around 1600. The shots were at around 25 yds. I didn't autopsy the bear but the .44 certainly did the job. Fortunately the first shot went a bit high and hit the spine and put him down. The rest were for insurance as we didn't want to risk a non-dead blackie running amok at 4am!
I subsequently did expansion/penetration tests @25 ds. into wet newsprint + 1/2" ply with the 265 FP, 240 XTP and 240 hard cast. Rather than hijack this thread, I can pm you the results or maybe post it on the Reloading forum.
edit: Posted in Reloading
Stuart
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.38's are reasonable as far s noise is concerend but couldn't be qualified as being quiet or even comparable to .22 rimfire. I you're handloading to keep velocities in the sub 800 fps. range you'll definitely appreciate a reduction in noise level, however, I'd be careful in doing so and would prefer using cast lead bullets instead of jacketed bullets.
it greatly depends on the LENGTH of the barrels as well- in 44, if you're using a rifle length barrel, you get a pleasant "pop"- something in the 20-24 inch range- use one of the trappers, (16) and you get a full blown thunderstorm, complete with fireball if you're using one of the hunting loads- must be something to do with that particular barrel length- i don't get it with either the 5 inch or the 7.5 inch pistols
