Marlin 1894 sticky extraction with factory ammo

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Jason_W

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I had my Marlin out at the range yesterday. Shooting reduced power " Cowboy" loads there were no problems, but with standard power loads (Winchester 240 grain jhp and Remington 180 grain jsp) I had a number of empty cases extract really hard.

I've never heard of this happening with factory ammo.
 
If you were using the MagTech (headstamp 'CTC') Cowboy ammo, no wonder! That stuff makes TulAmmo look like it burns clean.
 
It was hsm 200 grain lead flat nose. Pretty mild stuff.

I've never heard of switching between lead and jacketed ammo causing problems. It took considerable effort to open the bolt after some shots.
 
Mild stuff means that these loads are fairly "dirty". They don't slam the case mouth against the chamber walls providing a good deal against blow-by, so you get a pretty gritty chamber. Then, when full power stuff is shot, the brass does slam against now gritty chamber walls and is hard to extract. It's plausible.

To confirm, give the rifle a good clean and shoot the full power stuff first. If there are still extraction issues, it's something else. Examine the chamber closely. Are there any tooling marks that might hang onto the brass? Are there any pressure signs on primers. You know, the next usual suspects. If instead, all goes well, only shoot the good stuff after the Cowboy stuff after you've run a bore snake through it a few times.
 
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