I've got a little Marlin 1894S 16" in .44 Mag that I'd like to shoot heavy cast out of. I've tried loading 300gr WFN's but they don't feed reliably. Any thoughts on how I might make these work? Could an action job help?
Who can do a Marlin 1894 action job?
- Thread starter mark k
- Start date
There is a fellow on CGN RUSTY he does action work. I believe he is in BC. if still there " CACTUS JACK" at shooters choice. The other one I've heard is General Gun in Windsor. Cactus did a wheel gun for me, in 44 ,single action . WOW is it smooth.
Really depends on just how they aren't "feeding reliably" is the gun jamming or are they just not "feeding" into the chamber smoothly etc. ?
What profile bullet do you mean by WFP ?
FWIW 94 Marlins can also be fussy about OAL........94 action jobs are generally done to tune or smoothen things up...most likely it won't correct any feeding issues.
If it cycles the lighter weight bullets okay then this won't apply to you......if it still jams with other bullet weights the 94 does suffer from a lifter jam on occasion.....plenty of links to find for fixes to this, Most consist of building up the lifter surface that wears down, this is typically a "high mileage" problem though.
" Just search Marlin Jam"
I'd check the OAL length on those 300 grain rounds.....my 94-Cowboy in 45 was very unforgiving if the bullets were seated out too far.
X2, that may just be the ticket. the biggest concern when dealing with cast bullets in marlin leverguns is bullet shape... hands down!
Marlins have a fairly small action and get their strength from the fact that they're milled from a solid block of steel. I dont think it would be a good idea to remove material from the action body to facilitate the loading of a larger bullet.
I had the same questions when i was trying to load heavy in a .444 one time, but the conclusion I got from every smith i talked to was; "You have to keep the firearm in an appropriate condition to properly function the appropriate weight bullets that it was designed for. If you want bigger and heavier... get a 45/70."
Try castboolits.com, there are a lot of guys over there who will know exactly the bullet shape you want.
h ttp://gunloads.com/castboolits/showthread.php?t=7750
Depending on your aptitude you might give the mod in the above link a try.
I modified my shell carrier as described and was able to feed longer OAL rounds in my 1894C. The same principle will apply to an 1894 in .44mag
Depending on your aptitude you might give the mod in the above link a try.
I modified my shell carrier as described and was able to feed longer OAL rounds in my 1894C. The same principle will apply to an 1894 in .44mag
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