Marlin 1894 accuracy woes

[Hookeye]

Again, what the factory deems "acceptable" may be from a general range load.
Customers might experiment with other factory ammo or handloading and get much better.
I don't know.

Just because you got what they (factory) got doesn't mean that their test proves fault.
Maybe guns with handloads that get sub 2" at 100 shoot their factory test ammo as badly as yours.

The general function stuff.........is reloaded over and over and over. Maybe that's what they used?

Saw one .38 spl case head separate on a Charter Arms (new). Must have function fired from the factory just fine, but the new owner took it to the range and couldn't load all chambers.

Yup, test round brass body still in chamber. Sooted from factory test, was not obvious what was left behind

Factory didn't catch it. Owner didn't. Not easy to see...............but I did. Knocked it out and worked as it should.

Who knows what load they ran to function test, or how many times it had been reloaded.

 

[Hookeye]

Sometimes a gun checks out and still shoots like crap.
Tweaks/reloads don't offer any help.
It does happen.

Hopefully yours has a lesser issue that's easily remedied.

 

[Malamute]

My 1894 with microgroove barrel does not like cast bullets one little bit. It does like jacketed bullets. I accept this, figuring that the microgroove do not grip the bullets well enough to get them spinning.

I don't like de-leading barrels anyway. It is a lot of work.

What diameter were the cast bullets?

Microgroove works with cast, but the bullets need to be sized for the individual gun. What is the groove diameter in your gun?

 

[jimmyraythomason]

My experience

I got a Marlin Model 1894, .44 mag rifle in 1972. It was manufactured in 1971 and had the microgroove barrel. I had traded a Ruger Mk 1 pistol that I had $50 in for it. It did not like semi-wadcutter bullets or any cast bullet for that matter BUT 180-240 grain jacketed ammo of any manufacture was 1 hole accurate within 100 yards. I have decided that my gun collection must be charmed as none of the guns I own or have owned experienced any of the failures that the internet seems to have with them. I have had some problem guns but those were isolated problems with those particular guns and not indicative of design/inherent flaws of the product line.

 

[dpowers311]

I tried several different brands and finally found American Eagle was they ammo for my gun.

Dave

 

[0to60]

Update

Ok. I was able to find someone (www.dardascastbullets.com) that offers a good deal of custom sizing options, and it turns out my Marlin seems to like .433. I am now getting good accuracy out of it and I now consider the gun to be a permanent member of the collection.

Glad that's all been sorted out.

 

[NeuseRvrRat]

Ok. I was able to find someone (www.dardascastbullets.com) that offers a good deal of custom sizing options, and it turns out my Marlin seems to like .433. I am now getting good accuracy out of it and I now consider the gun to be a permanent member of the collection.

Glad that's all been sorted out.

That's good to hear. Experiences like this can be a little frustrating, but it really feels good when you finally get it right.

 

[CraigC]

I have owned two Marlin 1894's a 44 and a 357 magnum.

If either of them EVER fired an acceptable grouping I don't remember it.

To me they're one of those rifles everyone loves but for no good reason.

These rifles are just fundamentally inaccurate

BS. I have two, one Ballard Cowboy model, one Microgroove "S" model. The "S" model shoots under MOA with the 270gr Gold Dot and close to that with 300gr XTP's and 240gr Gold Dots. The Cowboy shoots under an inch at 50yds with just a generic .430" SWC over 10.0gr Unique.

 

[R.W.Dale]

Yes because we all know on the Internet EVERY rifle shoots under MOA "all day long" with the cheapest ammo you can find.

Since my original posts above I've bought another Marlin 336 in 35 Remington. Unlike the scattergun 1894's it shoots great just like every other 336 I've owned.

 

[CraigC]

Yes because we all know on the Internet EVERY rifle shoots under MOA "all day long" with the cheapest ammo you can find.

No sir but MINE shoots under MOA with Speer factory 270gr Gold Dots. Never have been able to get a handload to match it. More like 1.25"-1.5".

So perhaps what we can surmise is that some shoot poorly, some shoot very well and the rest are somewhere in the middle.

 

[denton]

deleted

 

[Dr.Rob]

My best 100 yard group with irons suffered from rushing it. Those Marlins can shoot with the right bullets, jacketed or lead.

http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?t=627775&highlight=marlin+1894+44