44 mag marlin lever rifle grouping

salty · 11-22-2006, 05:46 AM

Hey guys, I was shooting the 44 mag again yesterday and I cannot seem to get it to get nice groups at 50 yards. I tried Winchester 210 grain HP's and Wolf 200 grain HP's. Best I can get was about a 6" group. I actually think the 44 special ammo shoots 10x better from this rifle. Does hornady make the leverolution ammo for the 44 mag? I am starting to think this gun is just not very consistent.

James B · 11-22-2006, 07:30 AM

Thats unusual. My 1894 will shoot three shots all touching at 100 yards just about every day. That with 200 grain Hornady XTP's. I reload all of my ammo for it.

salty · 11-22-2006, 08:24 AM

reloading may be the answer for this gun. Does hornady make store bought ammo for this rifle? I hate to keep ripping through 20 dollar boxes of ammo just to try.

HEAD0001 · 11-22-2006, 09:31 AM

Try the 240's. Which rifling do you have? My 94 shoots 2 inch groups at 100 yards with open sights, I am very happy with it. Especially with my eyes. I do not think Hornady has the 44 mag. ammo out yet, but they are coming out with alot of new caliber's. Are you shooting pure lead or jacketed? Did you shoot jacketed after you shot lead bullets? Your barrel could be leaded, or there could be copper fouling. Lead and jacketed bulletsdo not mix well in some rifles.

James B · 11-22-2006, 11:25 AM

Sorry I missed that part of your question. I have two boxes of Hornady loaded 44 Mag cartridges so theey must load them or at least did at one time.

pinseeker · 11-22-2006, 02:46 PM

Has anyone tried the remington core lokt yet? or can they be used safely in a tube mag gun.

Hairtrigger · 11-22-2006, 05:47 PM

micro groove and cast bullets?

Slo-bo · 11-22-2006, 07:11 PM

I use the 240 gr XTP's in mine with 23.5 grs. of H110, it shoots decent groups (around 2") at 100 yards. Lever actionsare not always noted for their accuracy, butI tend to disagree with many people with the "can't hit the broad side of a barn with them" philosophy. You should certainly be able to get better groups than you aregetting now, don't give up on the gun untill you have cleaned it well (if need be) and shot a number of different loads with it. Good luck!

nyorange · 11-22-2006, 07:29 PM

Another variable to consider is the type of sights you are using. Are you using a scope, the iron sights , an aperture sight? I have alot of problems using a standard mounted scope on an 1894. I find a scout scope or aperture sight or my red dot scopes to work best with it. I have had similar accuracy problems to you when using a regular scope on an 1894. It seems to be that the stock simply doesn't fit me when trying to use a scope. (not enough comb? it puts my groups all over the place)The straight stock works perfectly withother sights I mentioned but for me I can never get a good repeatable cheek weld with the straight stock and a scope, especially when shooting from the bench.(No longer have any standardscopes on any of my levers, they just don't fit me right)Hope it helps.

salty · 11-27-2006, 07:24 AM

I have tried lead bullets (44 special) as well as copper jacketed 44 magnum rounds. The rifle has a bushnell 3-9x scope which worked excellent on my 300 mag rifle. When I shoot the 44 specials I always make sure to clean the bore well and use the wire brush to get the lead out before shooting the magnum rounds. I will keep trying different shells until I find the right fit for this gun.