canoeguy
US Veteran
Finally picked up my Marlin 1894 Cowboy Special yesterday, .357 lever rifle. Figured it would make a nice combination to go with my 4" Model 66-4. I put it on layaway several months ago at Gander Mountain, when I went to pick it up late last month, the said they had suspended gun sales until July 6 for inventory! Disappointed!
To keep me happy, they threw in several discounts that brought my total cost for the rifle down by $150, so it wasn't too bad. After picking it up yesterday, I made a quick trip to the range to zero the rifle, then spent a liesurely, pleasant morning this A.M. trying out different loads for accuracy. Found it likes 158 grain .357 Magnum ammo the best, it will shoot .38 Specials no problem, but the best accuracy is with .357 Magnum 158 grain jacketed soft points, closely followed by 158 grain lead round nose. Best group at 50 yards was about 1 1/2 inches. Loads were hand loaded mid range .357 Magnum (Unique powder), about 900 FPS for the 158 grain lead round nose, and 1100 FPS for the 158 grain JSP. .38 Special 158 grain LRN shoot good, but I'll probably use them for 25 yard shooting. They do shoot to the same point of impact as the .357 Magnum 158 grain bullets.
This rifle is fun! Sights are a gold bead front, and a large rear that doesn't look like it is capable of a good sight picture, but it works! Easy to hit clay birds at 50 yards, tried it on an IPSC silhouette at 100 yards, easy to hit man sized targets at 100 yards as well. Bullet drop was about 7" at 100 yards, so I aimed at the neck/head area and bullets dropped into the chest zone.
I had a Winchester .44 Magnum lever rifle a few years ago, but was disappointed that it wouldn't shoot cast lead bullets well. It had to have jacketed bullets at strong velocity to get any kind of good accuracy. Not so with this Marlin, it has Ballard cut rifling to shoot cast lead bullets well, and that it does!
I am going to have fun re-loading for this rifle, and hope to try it out on woodchucks on a trip to the mountains later this summer. Here's some pics, silver dollar shown to compare group size:
To keep me happy, they threw in several discounts that brought my total cost for the rifle down by $150, so it wasn't too bad. After picking it up yesterday, I made a quick trip to the range to zero the rifle, then spent a liesurely, pleasant morning this A.M. trying out different loads for accuracy. Found it likes 158 grain .357 Magnum ammo the best, it will shoot .38 Specials no problem, but the best accuracy is with .357 Magnum 158 grain jacketed soft points, closely followed by 158 grain lead round nose. Best group at 50 yards was about 1 1/2 inches. Loads were hand loaded mid range .357 Magnum (Unique powder), about 900 FPS for the 158 grain lead round nose, and 1100 FPS for the 158 grain JSP. .38 Special 158 grain LRN shoot good, but I'll probably use them for 25 yard shooting. They do shoot to the same point of impact as the .357 Magnum 158 grain bullets.
This rifle is fun! Sights are a gold bead front, and a large rear that doesn't look like it is capable of a good sight picture, but it works! Easy to hit clay birds at 50 yards, tried it on an IPSC silhouette at 100 yards, easy to hit man sized targets at 100 yards as well. Bullet drop was about 7" at 100 yards, so I aimed at the neck/head area and bullets dropped into the chest zone.
I had a Winchester .44 Magnum lever rifle a few years ago, but was disappointed that it wouldn't shoot cast lead bullets well. It had to have jacketed bullets at strong velocity to get any kind of good accuracy. Not so with this Marlin, it has Ballard cut rifling to shoot cast lead bullets well, and that it does!
I am going to have fun re-loading for this rifle, and hope to try it out on woodchucks on a trip to the mountains later this summer. Here's some pics, silver dollar shown to compare group size:
