Marlin 1895 Chamber Flaw

[coop923]

rwhichel's recent post on 38-56 barrel relining reminded me of a similar situation that I have. I have a 1895 Marlin in .45-70 that I believe was built in 1896 and has been in the family for five generations. About 20 years ago my dad and I pulled it it out and shot it for the first time since the Great Depression, (when Grandpa loaned it along with a box of shells to a buddy of his who used it to take 19 deer and fed his family through the winter). Anyway, I loaded some light loads with 3031 and 300 gr. bullets. Seems to me it shot about a 16" high at 100 yards and grouped into about 5 inches. We had fun and were pleased with that and put it away again until last year. I loaded some rounds with American Pioneer Powder and we took it out again. It didn't shoot nearly as well as it did with the smokeless loads, but there were no signs of excessive pressure. after a few rounds one case ejected more difficultly than normal and I noticed a small bump protruding maybe 3/4" down the case wall from the mouth. When I looked closely in the chamber, I noticed a small chip in the chamber that I figured corresponded to the bump on the case. The chip appears to be about .1-.125" in length and maybe .010-.015" deep. If I remember correctly the chip was narrower at one end and the wide end was approximately .025" wide. I was wondering if there was any way to sleeve the chamber, or if the chip could be filled with anything. Do I have any options? Thanks for any input.
-Mark

 

[Norsecat]

Relining the barrel is the best fix for what you describe.
It will give you gun a new rifling setup that will handle copper jackets.
Some older barrels will shoot lead but not copper very well.
sometime a lead bullet that's 2 or 3 thou oversize will shoot better.
I don't know any one that makes a 458 liner.

Hope this helps

 

[coop923]

Thanks,
So when you reline the bore, the insert includes the new chamber, right?

 

[Jim K]

Well, for reasons I went into on the .38-56, you can't line a .45-70 barrel.

I would not shoot that gun until you have it checked out by a gunsmith with a bore scope to see exactly what the situation is.

One thought is that Marlin is now making a reproduction of that gun in .45-70. I have no idea if barrels or any other parts will interchange with the older guns, but you might write to Marlin and find out if they would be willing to look at the gun.

Since you like the gun, an alternative might be to retire the antique and buy a new Model 1895 in the same caliber. Same fun and you don't take a chance of destroying an heirloom.

Jim