Tell; Have you slugged your bore? To get decent cast bullet accuracy, and obturation, a cast bullet should be sized at .002 or more (some go .003 or 4) over the bore diameter.

Talking about a terrible judge of distance.....My eyes are bad as well. I can judge the distance, but just cant see what I am shooting at!!! Old age has its pitfalls! We just need to work around those things!

I used to cast my own...still have all the stuff, and a good supply of 250 Keiths for my magnums. Now, I really dont have the time. I have found that buying the upper end cast bullets from Beartooth Bullets or Montana Bullet Works, is the best way to go for me. They make outstanding bullets, and it amazes me how the technology has changed. You can even order bullets that are specifically made for hunting, or target shooting, and they will size the bullets to your needs....and the dimensions and weights are dead on the money.

One thing about Marlins. The bores are not uniform. There are restrictions in the bores, and when you clean the barrel you can actually feel them, if you run a tight oiled patch down the bore (try it). The first restriction from the muzzle end might be where the front sight is mounted, the next restriction might be where the magazine and fore end are hung, the next at the roll mark (warning label), at the rear sight dovetail, and lastly where the barrel is threaded into the reciever. Any restriction in the bore will cause inaccuracy with cast bullets. These restrictions can be anywhere from .001 to .005,6,7!!!! Mine had restrictions as much as .005, and that was at the roll mark...at the reciever, it was about .0025. Marlins can be tack drivers! My Marlin...16 1/2" barrel, Kevlar stock, opened up the cycling spaces, and retimed the action to accept a 2.650 OAL cartridge (maximum OAL for that caliber in the Marlin is 2.580)...I also lapped the barrel to eliminate those restrictions, and remove the machine marks. What I have now at maximum loading is a levergun that with same weight bullets will mimic the 400 Nitro Express in performance, and shoot one hole groups.....and, the action cyles smooth as glass...no "hang ups", and no chunk and clunk!!! My Marlin will accept and cycle "cleanly" any shape or weight 44 bullet up to 355 grains. With a little work, that 44 mag levergun could astound the troops down at range! There are also other tricks that can be added to the above...floating the barrel, uniforming the torque of the fore end screws, etc.

I passed on a little six point buck this morning...there is a big boy in the neighborhood, and I am bound and determined to give him my all. I dont meat hunt anymore...just go for the trophy bucks, and if I land one the meat is a welcome side benefit.