[Pike]

I'M CONTEMPLATING THE PURCHASE OF A MARLIN 1894P OR A 1894CP.  THE 1894P MIGHT BE A NICE COMPLEMENT TO MY S&W 3 INCH 44 MAG.  I WONDER WHETHER THE 1894P CAN SHOOT THE HEAVIES: 300 GRAIN BULLETS AND UP.  I'VE READ THAT TWIST RATES (1 IN 38) ARE TOO SLOW. ANY TRUTH TO THIS?  I'M PARTIAL TO THE 44 MAG, BUT I'M HEARING THAT THE 357 IS NO SLOUCH OUT OF A      
CARBINE LENGTH BARREL.  ANY THOUGHTS ARE MUCH      
APPRECIATED.                    

Thanks much,

  Dick H                  

 

[Stranger]

Don't believe it.

My Marlin 1894 .44 mag shoots best with 300g cast and jacketed bullets driven to max velocities (1600+ fps) in a 1:38 twist, 16" Micro-Groove barrel. My favorites are the 300g XTP Hornady and the 300g WFNGC cast bullet. With cast bullets it's very important that they be sized to .432 for a proper fit with the Marlin barrel otherwise accuracy will suffer a bit.

For more info on these loads click on LoadSwap.

 

[LeoCal]

In my .357 I get 1640 fps with a 180 grain WFNGC. This is an accurate load, and this bullet feeds better than semi-wadcutters because there is no shoulder.

 

[Alk8944]

Pike

There is only one way to tell if a gun can shoot heavy -for-caliber bullets is to shoot them and see what happens.  The current Ballard rifling is much more forgiving than the previous Micro-groove rifling Marlin used to use.

I had a Micro-groove .44 years ago that would shoot 1" at 100 yds. with cast bullets, but they had to be VERY hard.  (Yes, I sold it.  No, I can't give a good reason.  Yes, I regret it!)

My Cowboy Limited .45 Colt also has a 38" twist barrel and will shoot quite well with the heaviest (longest)bullets I have tried which are LBT 45-325 WLNGC.  The thing to remember when asking a question like this is that the thing which matters is bullet length, not weight.

All of the new Marlin 1894 series now have 16" twist Ballard rifling, except the .44 Mag. See Marlin @ www.marlinfirearms.com.