I am less than impressed with the accuracy of my 1:38" twist with 250gr Partitions (factory loads). Does anyone have any starting points for a decent load? It's the camp's spare gun for elk, deer, and boar. Mike McNett from Dbl Tap says his 250gr solids work great in the 1894s because of the shorter length:weight ratio (I'd rather work up my own load though). Marshall Stanton says the same regarding his 250gr WFN Solid Beartooth Bullets. My rifle is three years old and has had roughly 100 rds put through it. A Smith has polished the trigger and action so it's very smooth and there's a 3x9x40 VX2 on top of it.

Powder is another issue. Have H110 onhand which works great with my SuperBlackhawk's 5 1/2" barrel. The 1894's barrel is 20" so should it use a slower burning powder?

I'll be purchasing some of the 250gr WFN Beartooths soon and using what's left of my H110. Supplies are hard to come by so this is as good a start as any, I guess.

It's pointless for me to keep scratching my head as to why Marlin put such a slow twist in the 1894's. I love the gun, even with the challenging twist.
Any help or pointers in this area would be greatly appreciated.

M

moonshot go to http://www.marlinowners.com/ there is a ton of info there and you should find what you need.

I use a 240 grain xtp over 21 grains of 2400 using a large pistol primer. I also get good groups with the 300 XTP under max loads of 2400 (can't remember the charge off the top of my head). Pushing the heavys fast is the key to accuracy in a microgroove barrel.

Moonshot

I have had 3 different 44 Mag rifles.
First a Ruger, then a Marlin, now a Winchester Trapper. All that have the 1 in 38 twist barrels.

Back when I had the Ruger and the Marlin 240 gr bullets were the only ones around.

All 3 rifles showed the same tendencies.

They were very accurate, near one holers at 50 yards, still accurate at 75 yards, but groups opened up at 100. I did kill several deer at 100 to 125 yards with the ruger, no problems.

My Winchester shows the same with 240/250gr bullets. My niece killed a pig with the Winchester 250 Nosler factory load, it worked great. Shot was under 20 yards.

However my Winchester shoots best at 100 yards with the Speer factory 270gr SP and the Federal 300gr Cast Core shoots best of all.
Which is suprising as it is a cast bullet.
I have shot the Hornaday 225 FTX and it shoots like the 240's at 100.

I killed a pig with it at @40 yards and it hammered him hard.

So my recomendation would be to try 270 to 300gr bullets.

Let us know what happens.

With 270 to 300 gr bullets I would use H 110.

Moonshot

I can also say that the 44 Mag Rifle, even with 240gr bullets, kills deer and wild pigs as good as ANY gun I have shot them with, which includes the 308,300 Mag, 375 H&H and several African Double Rifle Eelphant guns.

Thanks all for the info. When I tried the 300gr XTPs they were loaded by Double Tap and had around 1700 fps at muzzle...close group at 50 yds and erratic at 100yds. I'll keep in mind the powder suggestions. Time is the enemy now. I'm working on two 243 rifles with 85gr TSX for deer season. Then on to a 270 with a 130gr TSX, if time allows. I hope to get to the 1894 asap. My Marlin came with Ballard Rifling how does that compare to Microgroove?

M

The Ballard should handle cast bullets better than the Microgroove.

Is your twist still 1 in 38?

I got my Ruger 44 Mag Rifle when I was 12 years old, I am 57 now.

quote:

Originally posted by N E 450 No2:
Moonshot

I can also say that the 44 Mag Rifle, even with 240gr bullets, kills deer and wild pigs as good as ANY gun I have shot them with, which includes the 308,300 Mag, 375 H&H and several African Double Rifle Eelphant guns.

My best friend uses a Win 94 100yr commemorative with a 16" barrel (True Grit runs through my mind every time I see it). He handloads 250gr Nosler Partition HG with H110 and has taken three Rocky Mt. Elk here in Oregon with it. Okay, so they were two cows and a spike and all three under 100 yds. But still, open sights with a 44 Mag Rifle brought the mythical Wapiti down.

My hope is that I can do Elmer proud and get the 250gr WFN cast bullets to work.

Yes, the twist is 1:38"

With 240 cast or jacketed bullets I loaded either 22.5gr of {old} 2400, or 24 gr of H 110.

quote:

Originally posted by N E 450 No2:
With 240 cast or jacketed bullets I loaded either 22.5gr of {old} 2400, or 24 gr of H 110.

Thanks

quote:

Originally posted by Moonshot:
I am less than impressed with the accuracy of my 1:38" twist with 250gr Partitions (factory loads).

What sort of accuracy are you getting at 100? Have you tried other factory loads? The 1:38 shouldn't be a problem with the 240-250 grain bullets (though it has vexed some folks trying the 300s).

quote:

Have H110 onhand which works great with my SuperBlackhawk's 5 1/2" barrel. The 1894's barrel is 20" so should it use a slower burning powder?

H110/WW296 is about the perfect powder for the straight case magnum pistol cartridges whether in a pistol or carbine barrel.

quote:

Originally posted by nordrseta:

quote:

Originally posted by Moonshot:
I am less than impressed with the accuracy of my 1:38" twist with 250gr Partitions (factory loads).

What sort of accuracy are you getting at 100? Have you tried other factory loads? The 1:38 shouldn't be a problem with the 240-250 grain bullets (though it has vexed some folks trying the 300s).

quote:

Have H110 onhand which works great with my SuperBlackhawk's 5 1/2" barrel. The 1894's barrel is 20" so should it use a slower burning powder?

H110/WW296 is about the perfect powder for the straight case magnum pistol cartridges whether in a pistol or carbine barrel.

3" at 100 yds with flyers. My rifle has a 3x9x40 on top and I'm trying to keep my shots within a 18" circle at 200 yds.

250gr WFN casts from Beartooth are calling me pretty hard. This leads to another question of bullet diameter.

I've read that casts should be .002 larger that the bore to prevent slippage and excessive fouling...what's up with that?

Well, I am using the same load both in my Marlin and my Super Blackhawk (barrel shortened to 6-1/2"). 26gr of Accurate#9 behind a 160gr Impala conical flat point solid. Velocity is 2500 and 1850 fps, respectively. Great wild boar medicine in the Marlin. I will take the revolver to South Africa next spring and use the load for some plains game up to Zebra.

P.S. Forgot to comment tha accuracy. The handgun shoots clover leafes at 25 yards if I do my part and the scoped Marlin does so at 50.
I've tried WW296 too but found it to be less accurate.

quote:

Originally posted by scarabeus:
160gr Impala conical flat point solid. Velocity is 2500 and 1850 fps, respectively.

Please tell us more about this bullet.

quote:

I will take the revolver to South Africa next spring and use the load for some plains game up to Zebra.

That should be interesting. Keep us posted.

Try backing off those heavy cast loads. I have shot 2.0 inch groups with factory Remington mid power 240 cast loads !

Something discovered to add to the mix: The throat of my 1894 and SuperBlackhawk is .432, so upping the diameter of bullet to .432 should be an improvement. Had a prolonged discussion with Marshall Stanton yesterday (Beartooth Bullets)...very informative. There aren't too many people that are bent on great customer service, Stanton is one and McNett at Double Tap is another. Getting closer to putting money down on supplies.

So far it'll be Beartooth 250gr WFN and H110.

It was mentioned that since this particular gas checked solid does not seat down as far a a jacketed bullet would, you need to start higher in the powder grain range as a min to get similar pressures. Any feedback on this issue? and what would be a good starting grain. I've heard 24gr min to start.

Thanks,

M

As above, is the throat of the 1894 44 Mag .431 or .432 to support said cast bullets?

But also, will I need a special sizing die to accommodate .431 or .432 bullets?

M

If you are getting @3" groups at 100 yards with a 44 Mag rifle that is pretty good.

Maybe I'm chasing my White Whale in the terms of accuracy here.

The throat issues, however, are interesting if they pan out to improve my setup.


M

I'm using the same load for my Marlin and my Super Black Hawk. 160gr Impala conical flat nose solid, 26gr AA#9. It makes 1800fps in the Ruger and 2450 in the Marlin. WW 296 works also fine but is less accurate. Primers are S&B large rifle. Will take the wheelgun on my next hunt in RSA, spring 2010.