Marlin 1894 44 magnum

[Maddog 521]

I picked up a Marlin 1894 44 magnum rifle in excellent condition the other day. I've been looking for one at a reasonable price for quite a while. Got this one at a great price. I've loaded 44 mag for handguns before but never for a rifle. There is a lot of info on the WWW about loading for this rifle.
Have any of you loaded for the 1894 with success? I have many different powders and cast and jacketed bullets for the 44. I know experimentation is necessary to prefect a quality round that shoots the best in any gun. I'm just looking for ideas and any results you've had. I'm still researching so anything you have will be useful. BTW it has a 20" barrel.

 

[bigedp51]

My friend had a Marlin 1894 44 magnum and had a problem with the shape of some Sierra bullets reloads and not feeding properly.

The sharp straight taper like the 3rd bullet from the left would hang up on the flat taper of this Sierra bullet. And when he switched to bullet shapes like the last two bullets on the right the feeding problem no longer happened.

The feeding problem drove my buddy half nuts until I gave him some of my Hornady bullets to try. The more rounded shape of the bullet nose allowed the bullet to feed smoothly without any hangups.

Bottom line, it was the feed ramp angle and the flat shape of the Sierra bullets nose that jammed the rifle. This was in the late 1970s and Marlin may have changed the angle of the feed ramp. So just be forewarned about bullet shape and feeding problems.

 

[old&slow]

I have a Rossi 92 .38/357 that I have worked on a bit. If you talk nice to it,, it will feed SWC bullets. But, doesn't like them much.

Round Nose Flat Point or Tuncated Cone bullets in both 38 & .357 cases work fine.
I use a 158 gr RNFP bullet & 2400 powder which runs about 1250 fps out of my 4" revolver and about 1675 fps. out of my 16" barrel Rossi.

I have shot a Marlin 44 a few times with 240 gr. JHP factory ammo which worked fine. But, I don't remember the brand, sorry.

 

[oldbrownhat]

These have worked for me in my 1894 20":

- 240 gr. XTP over 23 gr. of H-110
- 265 gn. Hornady FP (intended for the 444 Marlin, I think) over 21.9 gr. of H-110.
- 240 gr. RNFP hard cast over 20 gr. of 2400.

I don't seem to have the velocities recorded. I think the 265 gr was around 1525 fps. I did some tests a few years ago, shooting @ 25 yds. into 10 1/2" of wet phonebooks, with 2 pieces of 1/2" ply placed about 1/3 & 2/3 of the way through. The 265 gn. penetrated the 2nd board and stopped on the other side; the 240 gn. stopped after it dented the 2nd board.

The RNFP sailed through everything plus a piece of 2 x 12 and for all I know may still be going...

 

[GregG]

I have one. The groove diameter tends to be a little on the big side on theses guns and I got my best accuracy with the Hornady 240 grain XTP which measures .430" versus .429" for other brands.

I tested with AA #9 powder and with 19 grains I get my best groups. I'm sure many other powders will work as well.

 

[epj]

Had one years back. When switching to 180 gr bullets, the POI shifted about 6” Left at 25-30 yds. Going back to 240 gr, POI shifted right back on target. Never did figure that one out.

 

[Dieseltech56]

I use 23 grains of H110/W296 behind a 240 or 250 grain projectile for my go to jacketed rifle load. I have played with 2400, AA #9 and Unique for cast loads but I always go to H110 for jacketed.

 

[muddocktor]

Had one years back. When switching to 180 gr bullets, the POI shifted about 6” Left at 25-30 yds. Going back to 240 gr, POI shifted right back on target. Never did figure that one out.

I had much the same thing happen with another gun the other day. My 264 Mag is sighted in with 140 grain bullets and I ran across a box of 85 grain Sierra hollow point bullets I had loaded up some years ago. And they shot high, just like I figured they would, but also shot 3 1/2" to the right at 100 yards. The right shift I didn't expect at all.

Now back to the point of this thread, my 80's vintage Browning B92 isn't too picky about what it will feed, but you can't rush chambering a SWC round or it will give some problems. The Hornady XTP bullets feed exceptionally well in it and with hard cast, the RNFP bullets also feed very smoothly. The only problem I have with the Browning is caliber related. After around 20 hot rounds, your shoulder starts hating the gun. That Browning knows it can put the hurt on your shoulder when launching some 240 grain or heavier bullets packed with H110.

 

[Drm50]

I have been shooting Hornady 240g JHPs over 22.5g of 2400
in my Ruger SBH for over 40 yrs. I got a mint Marlin JM 1894
a couple years ago and it does fine with this bullet. I did pick
up some H-110 that I'm going to try in the Marlin. It's suppose
to be better than 2400 in rifles???

Marlin Lever guns do not like SWC shaped bullets. Even the 39
22 rifle wants to jam with some of the ammo like Rem Yellow
Jackets. On the range they can be cycled with a "Doble clutch"
When raising the the lever you can feel the point the lifter hits
Top, if you drop the lever just a fraction of a inch then close
the round will chamber. It is hard to explain with out doing it
but I found it works for me. It drops the nose of the cartridge.

 

[Vulcan Bob]

I have a 1894 Cowboy Special in .44 Mag, on the barrel it says "for .44 Magnum & .44 Special. Don't know if they fiddled with it or not but with .44 Specials with 250gr Lyman #429421 Kieth SWC it feeds em smooth as butter. Also works well with the Special with the Hornady 240gr XTP's. Haven't tried .44 Magnums yet.

 

[Ivan the Butcher]

In the late 60's Marlin decided to make a 44 mag lever action rifle, the first year or three, they were on 336 rifle actions. I had one of these. t Then they started making the modern 1894 action and started with 44 mag. I had one of the first or second year production, both at the same time. Both of these guns were "Gold Trigger" models. They were perhaps the smoothest Marlins I have ever owned (this is around 25) Both of these guns were of the pre micro rifling design, of the type by Harry Pope! The newer Cowboy guns use a Ballard style rifling for cast bullets. (I never had problems with any of the 3 types of rifling and cast bullets, but I used .430" cast bullets.)

I shot mostly factory ammo in them, but the small amount of reloads I made for these rifles, were 240 grain Soft Hollow Point design with the slightly rounded nose area. Feeding with these was never once a problem! The Marlin action is stronger than the S&W 29/629 action so any Smith safe loads are good in your rifle. Avoid any loads that are Contender, Encore or Mossberg only loads!

Ivan

 

[stykshooter]

About ten years ago Midway had a huge sale on Blemished bullets. I bought an insane amount of 350 grain soft points for my 45/70 and 180 grain HP for my .44's. I have no idea the brand as they came bulk packaged in plastic bags. They were stupid cheap.... seems like I paid 5 or 7 bucks for a bag of 100. I have loaded 500 plus of the 180 grainers over H-110 for my .44 1894 and they feed great and shoot well.

I had had two of the .38/357 1894's and two of the .44's. In my opinion it is a lot easier to get the .44's to feed. With the .357's if I had any lead exposed on the nose of the bullet at all it would hang up.

 

[rg1]

My Win Trapper 44 Magnum gets the same reloads as my Ruger Blackhawk. Surprising to me that the same load that shoots good in my 7 1/2" pistol shoots even better in my lever action Trapper. Same thing for my .357 Magnum Marlin. Loads I worked up in my pistol shoot great in the rifle. My favorite load for 44 Magnum is Hornady's 240 gr. XTP with CCI 350 Mag primers and 23 grains of Win 296/H110 powder. Don't recommend working up specific loads for rifle and pistol and trying to keep them separate.

 

[Engineer1911]

Reloading is simple

Does your barrel have: "Micro Groove Rifling" stamped on the surface?

Yes>> You will have excellent results with jacketed bullets. If you try cast lead bullets, you have a 'Buffalo Rifle" because if you aren't shooting at a buffalo under 75 yards --YOU WILL MISS ! !.

NO>> You have Ballard rifling in your barrel that gives excellent accuracy with jacketed or cast bullets.

My Marlin 1894 44 magnum had microgroove rifling. I wasted several boxes of cast bullets attempting to hit a target beyond 25 feet. Another interesting attempt at accuracy is load the magazine tube full, chamber a round, and now carefully shoot a 10 round, 100 yard group with 240 grain jacketed ammo. Left-right will be under 2", vertical stringing will be under 2 FEET as the rounds are removed from that long magazine tube.

I wish you the best, it is a fun beautiful rifle. I'm just reporting my experience with my 1979 manufactured Marlin 44. Traded for a Remington XP-100 2 weeks after deer season opened. XP had set on the shelf for 9 months. My Marlin was gone in less than a week. We were both happy!

 

[Maddog 521]

Thanks for all your posts. The rifle has a Micro-Groove barrel and is a 1978 model.
I have Hornady and Speer jacketed bullets, so I'll start with them. I have some H110/W296, HP38 and 2400. I also have cast bullets from 180gr to 300gr. I will load up some of each and see which works the best. I'm really hoping this works out. I've been thinking about one of these Marlin's for many years.
Thanks again

 

[cowboy4evr]

Marlin micro groove rifles can be as accurate as std rifling " IF " you do your homework . I have a marlin 30-30 , micro groove , my sister has one as well . Std 30-30 cast bullets are usually .308-.309 . I measured the neck diameter of rounds before they were fired and after . I added the difference to my cast bullets and found that I needed bullets sized .311 . They both are tack drivers , now . I would venture to say that a Marlin in 44 mag w/micro groove rifling will need over size bullets cast as well , probably around .432-.433 I would imagine . It's not a problem as some commercial casters will size to your request . You can always slug the barrel to get a groove size measurement , or , like I mentioned a moment ago , measure the case neck before it's fired and then again after the round is fired to see how much difference there is . That's what I did on my Marlin 30-30 , worked well . That's right out of Veral Smith's book @ LBT Molds , " Jacketed performance with Cast Bullets " . My Marlin is an early 70's model and I will always have that one. My sister has same feelings for hers . I cast and reload for both . Regards , Paul

 

[Drm50]

Everyone fimilar with Marlin 44mgs knows cast bullets need to
be oversize. I don't use them but I have shot some. I cast my
own bullets for handguns and have several 44 molds. Mine will
shot at .432" with pure wheel weights. I have found the original
Marlin 1894s are the opposite, they don't shoot jacketed bullets
very well.

 

[Maddog 521]

Yes I did know about the cast bullets needed to be oversized. I haven't measured what I have. Hopefully some of them will be in the .431 to .433 range. I have some old Hustler cast bullets that I have had good success with in the past. I have to find them and mic them.

 

[HarpHack]

I'm very partial to my 1894 / .44. It is like a grown-up version of my Red Ryder I learned to shoot with at age 9 - probably explains why I have never wanted to mount a scope. Mine digests most loads I've tried as long as I stay with relatively round noses (LSWC's are no-go). Lots of spot-on info at marlinowners.com/forum/1894.

 

[The Norseman]

Marlin 1894 Lever bolt release action 44Mag

You bought a fine handy little Rifle there.
I use to have a circa mid 90's model.

As for reloading for it, I had to go look at
my Reloading Pages.

My go to Reload is 240gr Hornady XTP
22.5 - 23grs Winchester 296
CCI LP Mag #350 primer
Cases: Win or R-P
Crimp: Medium, is what I think is Medium
FPS: chronographed 22.5grs 1300fps
with 23grs approaching 1400 stout with
revolver in my avatar.

Was very accurate in my Marlin and S&W.

For the 180gr Hornady XTP I just followed
the Hornady Reloading Guide Book. Thoughes
are fast movers and stout.

As for Lead the 240gr SWC with 8.5 grs Unique
works just fine. The Unique is a little dirty but
I didn't mine.

Hope you find that Marlin fun to shoot as I did.
Good luck in your Reloading endeavors.