can someone tell me why pistol caliber rifles are inherently inaccurate?

Firstly, people still make 41 magnum ammo and weapons?

Secondly, I think that PCC's are intended for 50M and in. 200M is definitely not in the intended shooting range. 100M is about as far as pistol bullets are meant to go accurately.

I have a fair amount of experience with the Marlins in pistol calibers & in my opinion it boils down to this...with cast bullets the controlling factor is bullet diameter. The fatter the better.

They will shoot and shoot well with a bullet they like, but it can be a long and involved process finding that bullet. I came close to giving up on my 1894 in .44 Magnum...did not think it was possible for a rifle to shoot that poorly. Once I found a bullet it liked, all was well.

I have 44mag handi rifle, it would not group with anything (factory or my reloads)several different weights from 200g to 315g, I tried .429cast,.430 jacketed265g,240g ftx, fp and finally 258g.434 gas checked, it grouped about 1.5 to 2inch with them at 50yds. wasn't satisfied sent the gun back to Rem factory. they installed new barrel. shoots 1/2 to 2in at 50yds still with jacketed bullets. However the .434 cast shoot 1.5 to 2inch at 100yds!

I spent a small fortune trying different loads and bullets with this 44mag handi . I did enjoy the quest and learned a lot. I used 2400 powder, I tried blue dot , unique but no luck with them.

from what I have researched the 44mag handi rifle is a hit and miss platform some shoot very accurately some don't, Mine is just adequate. I hope to upgrade to a 35 Whelen Thompson center pro hunter soon(at nearly triple the $ investment!!)

I have heard that these "handi rifles are like lightning they never strike in the same place twice"!! I know some of them are supposedly very accurate at 100yds in 44mag with WW whitebox 240g jsp bullets but mine was not with either barrel.

Bull

Now I have good excuse to take my Rossi Puma .357 out to the range with a variety of .38/.357 ammos to see if there are any it will shoot badly.

I did find with a semi-auto Thompson T1 carbine that 100yd accuracy varies between 5" and 8" groups depending on ammo. Some .45ACP appears to be loaded for "acceptable" at 10 to 15 yds from a pistol. (The "tommy gun" is a curio tho' not a serious use gun.)

To address the OP;
consider the increased velocity when firing the cartridge in a rifle. You do not have gases escaping, and you have much more barrel for the bullet to accelerate. The bullets used for 41 magnum may not be stable flyers at that velocity, thus for giving better accuracy from your pistol. If your a hand loader, I might suggest toning down your charge weight to get an acceptable velocity for the projectile out of your rifle. Your biggest problem , easily remedied, will be keeping the rifle rounds separate from your pistol rounds.

That's not an issue at all. If it were true, then ZERO revolver cartridge rifles would shoot well and I would not have a Marlin 1894S that shoots MOA with 270gr Speer Gold Dots.

You don't have to take my word for it. Most bullet manufacturers will list the acceptable velocities and inform you at what point they become unstable. Some are rated for faster velocity than others. I don't know what your shooting or the velocity acceptable for that bullet and I don't doubt your claim. That in itself doesn't mean that all rifles should shoot a moa of 1 or 2 inches once corrected,but it is a factor.

It is not a factor, at all. Manufacturers give velocity ranges at which the bullets expand, it has nothing to do with stability in flight.

It is a valid point. Bullet manufacturers' velocity ranges are given with regard to terminal ballistic performance - expansion etc., not external ballistics, stability etc.

Having said that, while barrel inches with a pistol powder are unlikely to deliver more than 300 or so fps vs pistol barrel length, there are several issues related to your velocity and performance point. If the OP were shooting non-GC lead in both, that extra barrel length velocity @ anything over 1600MV might cause melting, gas leaks, and instability. Similarly, a short jacket RN that was fine in the pistol might get accelerated in the rifle barrel to the point where it was separating from or shedding jacket. But the likes of say a Hornady XTP should be in no way effected by the additional velocity arising from a rifle vs pistol barrel.For example, I get excellent results with the Hornady 45 cal XTP Magnum in 454 Casull out of a 20" bbl at 2285 MV, a good 950 fps faster than I would expect from a 5.5" barrel 45LC.

V0, ie. muzzle velocity is a very valid point.

All reloaders know very well how powder charge and velocity can affect the accuracy of a load, while all other factors remain identical. Same gun, same brass, same bullet, same primer, same powder, the only variable being the powder charge, and accuracy can vary considerably. Personally I reload for accuracy for a particular gun + ammo combo, and I rarely aim to maximize V0 unless the fastest, most powerful load actually is the most accurate, too.

There are too many variables to speculate this online, but the sheer existence of accurate, pistol caliber rifles effectively debunks the myth of 'inherent' inaccuracy.

Who said that pistol caliber rifles are inherently inaccurate? There's no reason for it, with the exception of unsuitable rifling twist rates which may be somewhat common. Also, don't confuse "pistol caliber rifles" with rifle action types commonly used for pistol calibers, such as leverguns.

hovercat said:

The marlin has 'micro groove' rifling. Try jacketed bullets, heavy as you can get, lower velocities. The light bullet magnums for hyper velocity are not the best choices for Marlin rifles.

Click to expand...

Actually I believe this is only some version of the 336. My 1894 has has the standard ballard type and not the microgrooves type.

If you're talking long range, probably cuz the bullets. Ever wonder why a tiny 35 gr rifle bullet costs the same as a 150 gr pistol bullet? They're probably made to a higher standard. And pistol bullets have terrible BC's.

If you can drop a .430 Hornady bullet through the bore then I think you have a 45 Colt barrel that is miss marked. It would be difficult to hammer a jacketed .430 bullet through a true 44 bore. I did one with a cast lead bullet and wont do it again. Took to much pounding. I have found that lever carbines will have oversized bores but not much more than .434.

I would slug that bore.

I put a 6x24 power scope on my Marlin Cowboy 1894 in 44 Magnum. It would shoot into almost the same hole at 50 yards with the right load. I would expect the average PCC to shoot into 4 inches at 100 yards and a good one 2 inches or so. You will generally have to do a bit of experimenting to find the right load.