.44 Mag Marlin 1894

[50caliber123]

what are some of the hottest loads available? I'm looking for the highest velocity loads I can find. Anyone know how many fps of a gain there is out of the Marlin's 20" barrel?

 

[byf43]

Hottest????

I'd say either the Garrett or Buffalo Bore stuff would be the hottest.

With that said, I worked up some loads for my 1894S (for boar) that were really potent.
I'll leave with a couple of thoughts.

1. Two of my loads were so hot (still within loading data limits and accurate as heck) that were to the point of starting to move the lever, under recoil.
NOT GOOD. That load was abandoned.

2. Work up a load slowly, looking for any signs of over-pressure.
My 1894S loved this load. 19.5 gr. of 2400 in Winchester brass, Win LP primer and Hornady 240 gr. JHP.
I will advise starting at the manual(s) starting point and work up slowly.

 

[mohican]

unless the gun is modified, 265 grain bullets may be the max because heavier bullets will be too long unless they are seated really deep.

My 1894 is sensative to trim length and shoots well with 240 grain JHPs and LSWC/GCs.

 

[highlander 5]

I have a friend who I gave some cast 300 gr fp they are too long
to feed reliably in his mariln

 

[roscoe]

I believe that the twist is insufficient in a .44 Marlin to stabilize heavier loads. Check the Buffalo Bore site for details.

 

[50caliber123]

what is the highest practical velocity I could get out of my marlin? I'm thinking a 180gr sp load.

 

[ETXhiker]

Did you already buy the Marlin? Is it to be a companion to a .44 Magnum handgun? If you just want to move a .44 bullet at maximum velocity, you might consider the .444 instead. Don't think there is all that much price difference.

 

[50caliber123]

yeah, I already bought the .44mag marlin 1894. found it for $75 at a garage sale

 

[Merc41]

$75? Wow, what a deal!!! Very nice.

 

[yooper_sjd]

try a .357 sabot for a .45 (it will fit, sabot is plastic) I use this in .45/70 gov. Hot round, i am getting 3200 +fps, and only a 2" drop at 300yds. hot round, for my gun, smooth shooting also, but need to make sure of your chamber pressure before you try something like this.

 

[treeprof]

I have 3 diff Marlin 1894s chambered in .44 mag. I've not had any feeding problems with 300 gr loads from Federal (Castcore), Hornady or Georgia Arms. IME, the Marlin twist rate is too slow to reliably stabilize 300 gr lead bullets like the Federals, but the jacketed loads do better. I believe that only 1 Garrett load, at most, is short enough to cycle in the Marlin. Re accuracy and reasonably full-power, the 270 gr Speer soft point Gold Dots shoot the best among the heavier bullets. Any of the many 240 gr loads I've tried shoot well. I have a stash of older Fiocchi 240 gr soft points that are about the hottest factory loads of which I am aware. Not sure if they have slowed them a bit these days.

If you want an idea of revolver vs. carbine diffs in velocity, Buff Bore's website has that info.

 

[Mannlicher]

The round I handload is the 270 grain Speer Gold Dot SP. It is about the heaviest bullet the twist rate in my Marlin will handle accurately.
I load over H110 powder, and get a fairly consistant 1575 fps. Accuracy is 1.5 inches at 100 yards. I use a Weaver V4.5 scope.
If you just want velocity, you can use the 200 grain Speer and H110 for over 2100 fps. I did not find this an accurate round though.