Marlin Lever Guns

[stevemb]

Last call, Ballard vs Micro-groove rifling. Your thoughts, hands on stuff please. Have a rifle within reach, but its a micro-groove. Wanna know before I pull the trigger. stevemb

[TERRY MURBACH]

Every one I've ever owned, or seen shot, has worked just fine in direct proportion to how well it was handled by it's owner. BOTH styles of rifling can shoot excellently with either jackted or cast bullets IF...IF...IF you take the time to find out what it likes. IF you are a gimme-a-load-and-I'll- toss-it-all-together-and-hope-for-the-best-reloader you will probably be wasting your time and the components.

[stevemb]

Thank you Terry. Tips then for the micro-groove ? My thoughts are to run a few hundred XTP's thru it, then look for a cast load for SASS and either a LFN or 300gr XTP, maybe the 265 gr Hornady, for deer. I'd like to make it work. I have been kinda spoiled, as 9/10's of my reloading has been for Ruger SA's that have been quite forgiving. What ever the rifling type, Marlin had to understand that the factory available bullets fall into the .429-.430 range ? As a handgunner, I understand that if we're adding @ 300 fps to the velo, a harder cast bullet and or a gas check are to be considered ? If the micro-groove requires the buying of a box of every known bullet and 2 yrs of trial and error, I'd like to know now. stevemb

[bud]

Among the many aspects of CB shooting, two pieces of advice stand out that have been the basis of much of my success. #1...when in doubt slug your bore to get the exact groove diameter. #2 get all the jacket fouling out of that bore. When in doubt use Hoppes #9 (or something better) and keep running patches through it until it comes out clean not green. Many times it takes several days to get all that crap out of your bore. On a new gun it is a good idea to run 50 rds or so of store boughts thru it, but then get that stuff out and maybe even some JB paste will get your bore mirror bright. In extreme cases you may even have to do some fire lapping. I've seen some new bores that looked like they were bored with a grubbing hoe !!

[jsh]

All good sound advice above.
You didn't mention caliber so I will run with the 30-30 as that is what I have played with micro and Ballard with. I got luck and had no issues with either as I read a BUNCH on the topic before I stepped forward. I played with sizes but ended up with .310+ in my micro if memory serves me right. FYI I cast my own. If you are buying store bought you may have a long road to go down.
Look at articles by ranch dog at cast boolits as that is what his design was intended for I believe.
I am lucky on my 357 and 44 marlins both are Ballard. The 357 will shoot most anything good to excellent. Feeding is a other issue with certain designs. The 44 on the other hand will eat anything but is very picky on what design and weight it will shoot.
As mentioned above this clean the bore and get the carbon and jacket material out. This is just me but once I shoot cast in a gun and get a good load it me era sees a other jacketed bullet. Why? Because the micro groove caused me a great deal of grief when I switched from one to the other. Way more than the Ballard. After going to cast only in certain guns a large part of my flyers went away.
As always your mileage may vary.
Oops one more thing. If a rifle caliber I would suggest trying a load of standard rifle powder using a starting load or -%10 and see what it does. I got good speed and better accuracy in the micro. Way better than a unique or 2400 typecast.
Jeff

[stevemb]

Thank you guys. Am now tempted to get the micro-groove and make it work. It WILL have to be a two load gun. A SASS loading and a deer loading. Any and all advice appreciated, as always. This a new path for me. Oh, it will be a .44..per the replies I've made above. stevemb

[jsh]

Are you using store bought or casting your own?
If store bought I would suggest at least one coat of alox. It may save you some grief. And I am not a big fan of alox. However It has made store bought usable.
As to a deer load. All I can say is 429421 and a dose of 2400.
Jeff

[bud]

By 'store bought' I meant jacketed bullets. It never occurred to me that folks actually BUY CB's. Hmmmmmm

[stevemb]

Well, I do buy my cast. Since National Bullet went under, been using Penn's and Matt's. Still have 400 or so 265gr SWC Copper-Clads left, from Nat'l, that may make a decent rifle 44mag bullet. Also some 275gr TC's. All here are .430 and .431 as per my Ruger SA's favorite diets. stevemb

[jgt]

My rifle is microgroove. It does not cycle 429421's well. I use jacketed at the moment, but there are cast bullets that were designed for the Marlin throat on the market. Beartooth Bullets come to mind, and their 290 grn would be a good soup to nuts bullet to design a good hunting load around. I have some SSK designed bullet molds that drop bullets that would work in the Marlin. The trick to loading for this rifle is slugging the bore and using gas checked bullets for hot loads. Keep the weight in the 215 to 300 range and remember velocity is your friend. The lighter bullets leave more room for powder to get the velocity you want. These rifles are light weight and too stout a load will result in recoil that may not be so pleasant. Watch you cartridge OAL, use a bullet design that is compatible with the throat, size your bullet to fit the bore, and you will wonder what all the fuss is about. Good luck.

[stevemb]

Jgt, thank you, was hoping for response that would ease my concerns. I'm thinking my 265gr SWC too long, but the 275 TC's should be OK. stevemb

[Frank V]

I have the RCBS 44-200-FN, it's designed for the .44-40. It's a round nose flat point & comes out at .429 & 208-211grs with wheel weights. A bullet similar to that one might work wll in a lever rifle. It has a crimp groove & is very accurate in a good Six-Gun. Might be worth a try in a lever?

[keyston44]

I shoot only cast bullets in my Marlin 44 mag Rifle. The most important part is making sure they fit your bore. I size mine to .433 I also have never had good luck with bullets 300gr or more. The bullet I use is the Ranch Dog 265gr in gas check and plain base versions. Both those bullets work great out of my Ruger Super Blackhawk also.

Key

[stevemb]

Keyston44, thank you for the tips. I see slugging the bore is in order before ordering any more cast bullets. stevemb

[Seasons44]

Steveb, been loading .433-.434 300 grain WFN over a healthy dose of 296 and have had fantastic accuracy, I am normally feeding my rifle Beartooth's but after seeing Lee's 444 thread with undersized bullets and the groups he has attained, your rifle may like just about any thing.

Congrats on a great find,