What's in your Marlin.

[GambJoe]

I recently bought a 357 lever gun mostly because I thought it would be fun. I took for granted that if needed it would a pretty good SD gun in the home but after looking at some charts I'm not so sure.

357 magnum out of an 18" barrel will generally get you 1000ft/lbs energy. Maybe I'm wrong, but it seems a tad to much for the indoors. 38 special looks like a better choice giving you around 400ft/lbs bringing the rifle down to handgun levels.

To paraphrase a credit card commercial "What's in your Marlin."

 

[ECVMatt]

I like 158 grain XTP's. You could always use 125's if you were worried about over penetration. I like to hunt with mine, so I use HP's for home and FP's for hogs and such.

I love the .357 Levergun for an HD gun. It hammers hard and is accurate and easy to shoot. What not to like?

 

[wgaynor]

I've got one of the older ones in .30-.30 and am about to pick up a .44 mag one to complement my .44 mag revolver.

Gotta love the lever actions.

 

[Reloadron]

I have a 22" Marlin Model 444 that I like. Wouldn't mind picking up a 44 Magnum flavor.

Ron

 

[slicksleeve]

In my 444S, a 265 grain Hornady jacketed flat point, in front of Alliant Reloder 7. In my 1907 model 1893 in 32-40, a 165 grain cast over Trail Boss, in the .357, well its just a 158 grain cast over unique for now, until I work up something hotter. In the 39A, well just whatever 22 bulk pack I can find that cost what 22 ammo should. By the way Ron, in my .444, a 240 grain cast over 13.7 grains of Trail Boss will shoot at 1200 fps, which makes my .444 a .44 magnum, far as I can tell, and recoil is non-existent.

 

[Dr.Rob]

Prvi 300 gr jacketed soft points. Mine's a 44 mag.

 

[baz]

I like 158 grain XTP's. You could always use 125's if you were worried about over penetration. I like to hunt with mine, so I use HP's for home and FP's for hogs and such.

I love the .357 Levergun for an HD gun. It hammers hard and is accurate and easy to shoot. What not to like?

I'm in the .357 camp, and I've been shooting 158 gr. I have both Hornady XTP and Federal JHP, but use other 158 gr brands for range time. I do reload .357 125 gr for my revolvers, but if I were concerned about over penetration, I might go to 125 gr .38 spl +P. But I don't really consider the Marlin my main choice for HD; for that, I'd first grab a Springfield XDM 9mm, and if I need more than that, a 12 gauge. But I do think it is a worthy choice for HD, for those who like it for that.

If I ever get around to reloading for the lever gun, I've got some 170 gr Gold Dots, and 180 gr XTP bullets I'd like to work up loads with for the levergun. I should imagine those would have some good stopping power coming out of an 18.5" barrel, for critters of both the four legged, and two legged, kinds.

 

[MCMXI]

To paraphrase a credit card commercial "What's in your Marlin."

I shoot quite a lot of Remington 125gr JSP in my 1894CSS and at close to 2,000 fps and 1,150 lb-ft it's no slouch. I can't shoot my steel target at 75 yards with that load because it'll punch a hole in it!! I should try 100 yards perhaps. I prefer a pistol and shotgun for home defense and don't shoot .38 Spl ammunition , but a slick Marlin with a mag tube full of .38 Spl is a formidable firearm. I've done quite a bit to my Marlin and it's a keeper.

 

[rugerman]

In my 357 I use speer gold dot 158 gr bullets over a max load of H110 with a mag primmer, in the 39 a I ususlly shoot federal bulk, my 44 mag likes speer 240 gr jsp over a max load of h110 and a mag primmer and my 45-70 gets 350 gr jhp over a Ruger/marlin load of IMR 3031 with a lrp ( usually a cci). If you are worried about over penitration use 38 loads, i prefer 2 holes in my perps.

 

[Dr.Rob]

I prefer a JSP to get positive feeding.

Even 'cowboy' lead bullets are plenty lethal from a rifle and tend to be soft lead so they will deform.

 

[splattergun]

What's in my Marlin? .22 Hi Velocity. It's a Model 60

 

[beatledog7]

Nothing. They're in the safe, and nothing goes in there loaded.

When I do shoot my 1894 in .357Mag, I feed it a variety of bullets, but what it likes best are 158-grain JHPs at mid-range pressure levels. It also feeds and shoots .38SPLs with 158-grain SWCs very well, even though common wisdom argues that it won't.