I'm looking a Marlin Model 455 in 30-'06 built in 1957. For those who might not know, the M-455 was Marlin's first attempt at a bolt action rifle. It was built on a Belgium FN commercial action, mated to a Bishop stock and barreled with one of Marlin's micro-groove .308 caliber barrels.

Now, I know nothing about the micro-groove barrel process, how it is made, what it will (or won't) shoot, how accurate it is, or how durable this style of rifling is over time.

But finding out answers to questions like this is what this forum is for!

Sorry I have no experience. Might need to check the 336 my wife inherited from her dad. If it has the micro then I have about 20rds of history.

Did find this interesting.
http://www.leverguns.com/artic...crogrove-barrels.htm

Look into your barre and count the grooves, then get back to us. Micro groove barrels will have about 16 very fine "grooves" in them. About .0025 inch deep. They will shoot any jacketed bullet as well as anything else; cast bullets might need to be slowed down a bit. They will out last your shooting and hunting career of most people. I have seen a lot of 336s with them and never saw one worn out. I have not seen the Marlin 455.

I talked to Wade Hull, Owner of Shilen, today about the micro groove. They have and still offer an 8 groove in some calibers. Their opinion is a good barrel is a good barrel regardless of the amount of lands and grooves.

Eight grooves is not what Marlin calls "micro groove". It was/is about 16 very shallow grooves, and yes, they shoot fine.

My point was, they never made a barrel,Shilen, with more than 8. I had a L46 with a 12 groove barrel. I'm sure it was a Marlin barrel.

There are no real pros but on the other hand, no real cons either. Some say the microgroove is less effective with cast bullets but my experiences don't back this up.
I have one of the rifles you describe except mine was sold by Eatons of Canada and marketed as the Eatons Model 100. The original Bishop stock was ugly so I re-shaped and re-checkered it and added an Old English pad. Made it a semi-attractive rifle and one which shoots very well.
They use a Sako trigger which works fine.
I actually bought mine just for the action but kind of like it. Regards, Bill

Ok, I understand.
Yes, those Marlins are excellent rifles made on FN actions and are rare, only about 1000 were made. You have an excellent rifle that will perform well; do not worry about what rifling pattern it has.

The groove depth of a "micro-groove " barrel is about half the depth of a standard groove. The claims of poor accuracy are from those who don't understand how things work with cast bullets. Cast bullets need to be hard enough to withstand the velocity and large enough to fill the grooves properly .This often is not available from off the shelf cast bullets ! With the right bullets micro-groove can be very accurate ! Jacketed bullets usually don't present that problem.

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I had a L46 with a 12 groove barrel. I'm sure it was a Marlin barrel.

If you mean SAKO L46 they made their own barrels, some of them have micro groove.

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Originally posted by igorrock:

quote:

I had a L46 with a 12 groove barrel. I'm sure it was a Marlin barrel.

If you mean SAKO L46 they made their own barrels, some of them have micro groove.

Could be.

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Originally posted by butchlambert:

quote:

Originally posted by igorrock:

quote:

I had a L46 with a 12 groove barrel. I'm sure it was a Marlin barrel.

If you mean SAKO L46 they made their own barrels, some of them have micro groove.

Could be.

The Marlin 322/422 was the Sako L46 action with Marlin barrels. JC Higgins and Harrington and Richardson also built rifles on the L46/L461 actions.

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The Marlin 322/422 was the Sako L46 action with Marlin barrels. JC Higgins and Harrington and Richardson also built rifles on the L46/L461 actions.

Are you 100% sure ? SAKO sold exact similar outfit rifles here in Finland with their own barrels. Wood for stocks came from USA but rifles has been made here in SAKO´s Riihimäki factory.