The Firearms Forum banner

Loads for 45 Marlin

3K views 0 replies 0 participants last post by  Guest 
G
#1 ·
weemsf
Member
Posts: 1
(12/12/02 4:11:50 pm)
Reply | Edit | Del All Loads for 45 Marlin
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Anybody load for the 45 Marlin Rifle? I just bought one and am looking forward to shooting it. Normally I shoot a 200 gr. LSWC in my 1911, but not sure if lead is a good idea for the Marlin. Any help appreciated.
Baptist Pastor, Lover of God and Country

kdub01
*TFF Senior Staff*
Posts: 1576
(12/12/02 9:34:30 pm)
Reply | Edit | Del Re: Loads for 45 Marlin
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Welcome to the board, Weemsf -

Glad to have you here and hope you'll join in on the other forums as well.

Naturally, with the Marlin you can load your 45LC a little stronger than for revolver, and yes, you can shoot lead in the Marlin as long as you use a hard cast bullet that's well lubed. You might want to look at the Marlin board where there are lots of forums pertaining to the Marlins and the big bores.

Try www.Marlinfirearms.com
"Keep Off The Ridgeline"

skinnypig8
Member
Posts: 6
(12/13/02 12:32:11 am)
Reply | Edit | Del Re: Loads for 45 Marlin
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
you should have no problem with it; there are thousands who shoot lead bullets in marlin rifles. if it is new, the gun should have the standard 6-groove ballard rifling. if it is used, there is a chance it has the marlin micro-groove with twelve grooves. micro-groove barrels have trouble with leading, so common wisdom is to use a hard cast bullet with a lot of lube. however, with ballard rifling, you shouldn't have any trouble. the problem with semi-wadcutters is that the shoulder often catches on the edge of the chamber and requires jigging the gun.

Xracer
*TFF Senior Staff*
Posts: 3201
(12/13/02 9:19:42 am)
Reply | Edit | Del Re: Loads for 45 Marlin
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Hi weemsf......and Welcome to TFF!

I'll join the chorus here and agree with the above.

General rule of thumb to avoid leading is to use a good hard lead (Lyman #2 alloy, linotype metal, or straight wheelweights) and keep the velocities below 1200 fps.

If you want to go faster than that, say 12-1500 fps, you can use gascheck bullets, but above that, best to use jacketed bullets.

teddydogg
Member
Posts: 15
(12/13/02 1:34:39 pm)
Reply | Edit | Del Marlin semi-autos
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I have a 9mm Camp Carbine, not a .45. I haven't tried any special loads for it yet, but... What I learned while researching them is that because of the blow-back action, you really shouldn't load for them any hotter than pistol ammo. You don't gain anything, really, except more wear and tear on your firearm (the action starts opening early and you get a bunch of un-burned powder for your hot-rodding effort). Also these guns tend to get very dirty in about 200 rounds and reliability suffers thereafter. So, you should try to keep your loads in the normal range (hot end of the spectrum OK), using a clean-burning powder.

Barrels are micro-groove rifled, not Ballard, so well-lubed, very hard bullets are a must for decent accuracy with lead bullets.

Or so I am told. : )

Rob

AGunguy
*TFF Staff*
Posts: 2887
(12/14/02 12:40:19 pm)
Reply | Edit | Del Re: Marlin semi-autos
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I'm not positive, but I think the poster is talking about a Marlin lever gun.

GG

teddydogg
Member
Posts: 16
(12/15/02 1:17:01 pm)
Reply | Edit | Del Lever or semi-auto?
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Hmm...I assumed from the mention of the 1911 that he was talking about a .45 ACP Camp Carbine.

OK...so are we talking about a .45 Colt lever rifle or a semi-auto Camp Carbine?

I'll stick by what I said about the Camp Carbine. For the lever guns, I understand that the newest ones are shipping with Ballard cut rifling to handle lead and even black powder better (yes...I just checked their online catalog). However, for many, many years (until just recently) Marlin used the Micro-groove rifling on their pistol-caliber lever rifles. The lever rifles are plenty strong, so any load in a reputable loading manual should be fine...most manuals even have separate loads for stronger guns like the Marlin 1894's.

Rob

AGunguy
*TFF Staff*
Posts: 2898
(12/16/02 4:35:43 pm)
Reply | Edit | Del Re: Lever or semi-auto?
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
These kind of post are like waiting for the individual to drop the other shoe.

I think he is talking about two guns, one being a 1911 and the other a Marlin rifle...but what kind of rifle...won't be able to sleep tonight.

Woe is me.

Gunguy
 
See less See more
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top