trouble with Leverevolution

[nanuk]

so, my buddy and I are out in hunting camp

he carries a Marlin 1895 in 45/70.

he got all excited about the Leverevolution ammo, but could not find any for some time.

finally finds a box, so we take it with us. In camp we set up some targets to see where it shoots and it seems to match the sights as set for his regular ammo. so we run a box through...

then on the second box, something unusual happens. The gun locks up about half way through the cycle.

we finally get it open and pull the other rounds out, and noticed something. there were lots of brass shavings in the action.

we then looked at the fired brass and lots of marks and shaved brass.

my buddy was in a 'smiths shop recently, and the smith says they have had numerous returns on the ammo due to problems in the Marlins. He told my buddy that this was NOT an isolated event.

He suggested that Hornady is aware of the problems but refuses to action them.

Anyone else have these problems?

Oh.. and this rifle shows absolutely NO problems or issues with ANY other ammo, brand, style, nothing....

 

[tbrwlf]

That's a marlin issue. When you cycle the action don't stop. It must be one clean stroke. I have had both my GG and 336 lock up during cycling. It prefers to be perfectly upright when you cycle the action.

The brass is shorter than standard 45/70 rounds. That may be causing the shavings although I have not seen that in my GG.

 

[blasted_saber]

Is it a newer Marlin? Since their takeover by Remington they've had A LOT of problems with quality control.

Hornady on the other hand, seems to go the extra mile to ensure their products are of the utmost quality. I would contact them and dsee what they will do for you.

 

[nanuk]

yeah it is a newer rifle
not sure the date of manufacture

I doubt it was how it was cycled, as both of us usually cycle it hard for all the ammo we have run through it. but maybe....

the reason I asked was the 'smith said this is an ammo issue with Hornady, and they know about it. The smith told my buddy he personally has called them on it, and Hornady appears to not care.

but seeings as how this smith in a small town has seen numerous occasions of this, it becomes a concern.

that ammo will no longer be used in the lever, and until we find another rifle to shoot it up, it will sit. Or I may pull the bullets and stuff them in my ML with a sabot.

Just wanted to know how common this was.

 

[38'55]

I have a 336 in .35 and did have some trouble. My problem was a bit different than yours. My rifle seemed stiff just before going into battery. Tried it with some Rem ammo and no problems. Tried a different batch of Evolution ammo and no problem. We measured the two different Hornady rounds and the problematic one seems to have the bullet seated a bit further in. We measured the neck with a micrometer and it was indeed a bit bigger. Returned rounds to Hornady no problem and the were replaced.

 

[blasted_saber]

Have you contacted Hornady?