Rate of twist for a 45-70 Marlin..

[icehunter121]

Buddy of mine got a 45-70 from in here but has a problem shooting lighter loads out of it,Its a Marlin guide gun and he is trying to shoot light loads out of it,namely 300 t0 350 grain slugs...seems to me that the rifling is probably set more more for a 400 grain slug.

Any ideas???

 

[ben hunchak]

My Marlin is 1-20 and my Sharps 45/70 is 1-18, my Sharps 45/100 is 1-18 and they all shoot the rather short 330 gr. Gould hollow pt. very well. That bullet has been shooting well in 1-20 twist barrels since 1900, so I suspect there is some other problem with your rifle and short bullets. Are you using cast or j-word bullets? If cast bullets, the first thing I would try is a wider(by a thou. or two) bullet. Either way I would suggest you slug your bore and then compare the bullets you are using with your bore.