Since buying my Marlin 1895 in .45-70 caliber, new in 1977, I've limited overall cartridge length to 2.55 inch.
I've tried cheating on this a bit, by lengthening cartridges a bit, but it's resulted in the occasional round being balky or failing to feed without assistance.
I went back to 2.55 inch years ago and never tinkered again.
I've limited my bullets pretty much to the Lyman 457193 (420 grs.) and 457191 (300 grs) cast bullets and the Speer 400-grain jacketed bullet.
All work very well and I've never seen the need to change.
If the cast bullet specs call for 2.56 inch, try it with a dummy round first. If it works through your action slicker than a California celebrity attorney, go with that.
Each rifle is an individual and yours may have more tolerance than mine.
I've tried cheating on this a bit, by lengthening cartridges a bit, but it's resulted in the occasional round being balky or failing to feed without assistance.
I went back to 2.55 inch years ago and never tinkered again.
I've limited my bullets pretty much to the Lyman 457193 (420 grs.) and 457191 (300 grs) cast bullets and the Speer 400-grain jacketed bullet.
All work very well and I've never seen the need to change.
If the cast bullet specs call for 2.56 inch, try it with a dummy round first. If it works through your action slicker than a California celebrity attorney, go with that.
Each rifle is an individual and yours may have more tolerance than mine.
