I just purchased a Marlin 1894 Cowboy in 44Mag/44S&W. Iv loaded both rounds now for over a year for my S&W 629. Iv load a 240gr LSWC all this time, using powders: BlueDot, AutoComp,2400... Iv tried adjusting seating depth(OAL), Crimping the hell outta them and cant get any rounds to chamber? I know going to a round nose bullet will probably solve all my problems. Anything i can do? Also what is your favorite loads for a rifle such as this? .430 or .431 diameter? Thanks

Some of them will not feed a SWC, some will.

How does it feed factory ammo?

Marlinowners 1894 forum has some good discussions on feeding 1894s.

I had a Marlin 1894 Cowboy in 45Colt back in the cowboy days and it had a terrible time feeding anything, resulting in a take down to clear the round. I ended up sending it back to Marlin, which I would recommend to you, and when it came back it would feed ......some of the time. I ended up selling it and moving on.

I have a 1895 Marlin Cowboy in 45-70 that feeds everything and functions perfectly....go figure.

try the RNFP bullets for CAS, they give no problems feeding usually.
I use 200 grain rnfp's for cowboy shooting (.429) and xtp's for hunting.

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any rounds to chamber?

Hey Brennan,

Sorry to hear about your problem w/Marlin 1894. Mine has digested ANY .44 Mag. round I've slid into the tube, no problems.

I still use cast 240 gr. LSWC's (Lyman 240's/.429") and H&N (German) copper-plated lead bullets and not only do they work fine; despite the common Doom & Gloom concerning the Microgroove rifling, they're accurate, too. It shoots everything without a hickup.

While advice above is offered concerning "feeding" issues (from the tube to the chamber) the way I read your post above is that you're talking about "chambering"; (getting a round to fit into the chamber)?

If, you've gone through all the Hoopla stated above I'd check to see just exactly how much crimp you're giving your rounds. Perhaps you're "crimping extreme" and creating a bulge in the upper part of the case at the crimp?

Back the Crimp Die off a tad or try a Lee Factory Crimp Die? They're only @ $8.00.

Good Luck w/your Marlin - I love mine.

Try also not to expand the case too much. Expand only enough to allow the bullet to enter the case mouth with ease. I also agree do not over-crimp. I use a Lee taper crimp dies for crimping in my Marlin 357 mag. Also had problems feeding before, but solved though the methods above.

Thanks guys for the info. To better illustrate what is happening, I load a few rounds in the tube, bring lever down, when i bring the lever back up the bullet "hits". I loaded again last night, Starting with hardly any crimp and very slowy crimping each consecutive round a little more. still no luck.

Also all factory loaded ammo feeds fine. Most however are round nose/hollow points. Iv heard with this rifles ballard style rifling and twist rate some people have a hard time with .430dia cast bullets. Said .430 bullets were tumbling. ever heard of this ?

Is the bullet nose even entering the chamber or is the bullet jamming against the chamber mouth.

Compare all the ctg. dimensions of a functioning factory cartridge to one of the jamming handloads. Can one of these handloads go in the chamber with finger pressure.

The rifles mechanism that holds the ctg. head and alines the ctg. nose with the chamber mouth, is this out of adjustment and allowing the ctg. to sag so the bullet nose is not centered in the chamber mouth?

Maybe action and chamber need a good cleaning?

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Originally posted by Brennanc9093:
Thanks guys for the info. To better illustrate what is happening, I load a few rounds in the tube, bring lever down, when i bring the lever back up the bullet "hits". I loaded again last night, Starting with hardly any crimp and very slowy crimping each consecutive round a little more. still no luck.

If it is not the crimping and axpander dies setup, try to use different AOL. It could also be that this is the problem. In my Marlin 357Mag I had similar problems with loaded catridges where the bullet usually get stuck at the top of the chamber (at 12'0 clock) when you try to chamber the cartridge. When inserted by hand there was no problem, but the moment you try to chamber it with the lever, it got stuck in the chamber. I solved this by making the AOL smaller - the cartridge is therefor shorter and does not bump against the top wall of the chamber. If this does not solve your problem, I belief the only option is to use other brands of bullets. Let us know if this solved your problem.

Alright guys, this morning the gunsmith and I figured out the problem at my shop. The rifle will chamber over 15 different factory loads smooth as butter! Cast cowboy loads to jacketed hollowpoints. We marked all the way around the bullet with a sharpie marker and purposely jammed a round in , whic showed us that the bullet was catching on the top band. I also had the same results with the rounds i loaded with a smaller OAL. Lyman order was placed this morning, going to make up some round nose bullets and get to shooting this thing! Thanks for all the info.

The only time I've had trouble feeding on my 1894 44 mag is when the overalllength is too short. If it is less than 1.580 and as a cartridge comes down the tube into the cartridge carrier the next cartridge comes down into the carrier so as the carrier lifts it hits the next cartridge.
I found this out when I got a Lee 200 gr rfn Cowboy style bullet mold. Loaded to the crimp groove and it would catch in the carrier. Loaded out so I crimped in the first lube groove and it feeds slick.
The bullets don't shoot well. My barrel slug to .4305. The Lee is to small in diameter. When I cast my Lyman 429421's they come out about .433 to .434 and sized to .432 shoot great. The Lee's come out .428 to .430. I think I need to Leement them a bit and get the diameter up over .432. They should shoot better.