Hi,

since a few days, I have a new "idea" for a project.
My dad have a old Marlin M1895 rifle. The rifle was originaly chambered for the .40-65WCF. But in the past, there must be a "expert" who rebored the rifle to .45-70. The problem is, the chamber and the bore dimensions are not correct. The chamber is too big, and the rifle bore to small, not CIP conform. The munich proof house blocked the rifle for further use.
Now there´re a few opportunities. Rebore the rifle to the correct dimensions for the .45-70. A new barrel for the original.40-65. Or my idea, a new barrel, chambered for the powerfull .348WCF. I was also thinking about the .33WCF, the Marlin rifles were chambered at the bginning 20th century for this round, but I mean the .348WCF would be a better choice.
Is this possible? Or is the action not strong enaugh....
Here´s a pic of the rifle.


Thanks for help!

Martin

You might contact Turnbull or Brockmans, both build custom lever rifles. They should be able to tell you the right answer.

With an old rifle like that I'd try and not deviate outside of calibres it was originally chambered in. If you can somehow utilise the original barrel to preserve the markings and have it relined to the factory original calibre or maybe 45/70 or 45/90 that would be what I would consider doing.

A barrel in the original octagonal form but in 348 would probably quite heavy.

As suggested Turnbull would be the source for good answers to your questions on conversion of your Marlin. The 348Win. is quite a potent round and based on the 50-110 case and rim diameter is somewhat larger than the 45/70 round and may not be enough bolt face to accommodate the round?? Note that your bolt is of square design and reason Marlin went to cylinder design was for more strength for more modern chambers/rounds. Best of luck on your project.

Re chamber it to a 375 JDJ.Way more power than a 348 with low pressure.

Thanks for replay´s.
Yes, I will contact Mr. Turnbull and ask about the feasibility of my project.
The .348WCF rim diameter is the same, as the rim diameter of the .45-70, .610".
Today I tested the function with an empty .348WCF case. We screwed the barrel out of the action. The rim fits into the bolt face and the empty case will be loaded from Magazin. So, this wouldn´t be a problem.

Look over a david clements web site.

what pressures are we talking about for the 348?

CIP max. pressure is about 3200bar/~46000psi.
Doug Turnbull told me, this is to much for such an old Marlin rifle and the "soft" steel receifer...

yes you would need a newer model

I did not know that David Clements did rifles. He built me a Keith #5 several years ago + I was + am very pleased.

Stick with the 45-70, you can't go wrong there and it would be more cost efficient, and ammo and components are easier to come by than .348 Win...The .348 works at considerably higher pressure than the 45-70, especially with factory stuff. I would not load the 1895 very hot btw. Bottom line is the mod. 95 is a better killer and a better rifle in 30-40 or 30-06, most of the old timers thought so. I think the 06 in a 95 is damn hard to beat, and the best killer in old lever actions..

My guess is the .348 case is too long and too fat for a Marlin 1895????