Paco Kelly's Leverguns.com

JFE

I have two B-92’s, one in 44mag and another in 357 Mag. The actions are identical and are as close to the originals as you can get. In case you’re not aware SAAMI has different 44 mag specs for pistols and rifles. If you cast your own you can get around the larger groove diameter. If you handload yo...

JFE

I also have a B-92 in 357 that I was lucky enough to pick up a few years ago. Browning never made many in 357, so they’re a bit harder to find. SAAMI only have one spec for the 357. My rifle’s barrel slugs dead on 0.357 and has a fast twist, similar to revolvers. Like the other B-92 in 44 mag that I...

JFE

I have a B-92 in 44 mag. Rifles made to SAAMI spec have larger diameter barrels, a slow twist (1 in 38”) and quite a long throat (0.22”). My B-92 has all these features. SAAMI has a different spec for pistols, so you might struggle to find a cast load that works in both rifle and pistol. I’ve found ...

JFE

That bullet mould has quite a wide meplat, but if it makes it through the loading gate it should be fine. In case you’re not aware, Barnes Originals are available that are suitable for the 50/110. They make two bullet weights, a 300gr and a 450gr pill. They have a smaller meplat designed for trouble...

JFE

Lots of input and confirmation the Browning 348's shipped w short throats. Now the only remedy to ream up is..... • Remove bolt and run a piloted reamer, but risk chatter? • Or is it off w the barrel, and into the lathe, when this service is performed. I doubt I will be modifying my rifle, but it s...

JFE

I did a lead throat impression of my Browning 71. It has no throat at all. What appears as a slight throat is actually a slightly long neck. Most 348 bullets are bore diameter ahead of the crimp groove. Cast bullets with a front drive band will likely foul at the end of the chamber. I use a Lee FCD ...

JFE

Hammer copper mono bullets list quite a few bullets for leverguns, incl 348.

There’s a small Aussie bullet maker who’s been making copper pills for leverguns, though I’m not sure whether he exports. You can find him on Facebook under ‘Atomic 29’.

JFE

In case you’re not aware Barnes at one time made a copper mono for the 348. They still make some pills they no longer list on their site. It would probably be a question of making a large enough order to get their attention.

JFE

Something I forgot to ask fellas. Whats the verdict on small rifle versus small rifle magnum primers. As mentioned Im using N110 so not as heavy as H110. Should a small rifle primer set that off? I have a lot from 223 use, would be good. But will buy magnum if I have to SR Magnum primers have a thi...

JFE

Years ago I intended to buy a Rossi in 454 but just never got around to it. At the time I wanted a heavyweight mould for my FA83 pistol and wanted to use it in the levergun. I contacted Veral Smith and he talked me into having two heavyweights moulds made, a WFN style for the pistol and a LFN style ...

JFE

in my levers a truncated cone feeds better than a rounded ogive, a 460 rounded ogive .458 bullet is more difficult to feed into a Miroku Browning 1886. But Marshall's TC heavies feed fine in all the rifles i'v shot them from. . . the chamber-filling handgun bullets might not feed as well, idk. I ha...

JFE

Congrats on your new purchase. I have a Freedom Arms 454 and really had to use a Redding profile crimp die as a roll crimped shell wouldn’t chamber in the revolver’s cylinder. Tolerances are very tight in FA revolvers. You may not have an issue in a rifle. A bullet that has a hard core and is very a...

JFE

fordwannabe wrote: ↑Mon Jan 27, 2025 1:06 pm Call me silly but isnt that just a hotrodded 33WCF? 200 grain .338 bullet based on the 45-70????

Good idea. As mentioned, check CH4D’s list of dies they make. There might be something suitable like an improved 33 WCF in their extensive list.

JFE

The 338 Marlin express is essentially a shortened and improved 45/70 case, but with a smaller rim. If you are using an 1886 action you have a much longer LOA (2.8” vs 2.55”) you can use and simply form 338 ME using 45/70 brass. As mentioned the big problem is ensuring the availability of suitable 33...

JFE

Winchester developed several versions of their experimental 46 WCF which only made it to prototype stage. One version used the full length 50/110 case necked down to 458. https://cartridgecollector.net/cartridge/46-winchester-center-fire/ The long neck would be handy for containing lube grooves of h...

JFE

[/quote] this is exactly why i switched to 45/70, there was no way to get the carbines to feed longer bullets, much less stabilize them. a carbine that could deliver a 405 gr 44 bullet would duplicate the original 45/70/405 ballistics that slow twist barrel is still being built today, is it some kin...

JFE

Most of the cast designs that are greater than 300gr tend to be designed for revolver use. Revolvers have faster twist barrels. Ruger’s SBH has quite a long cylinder and can utilise long heavy pills that utilise the entire cylinder length. If you’re using a levergun you’ll likely have a slower twist...

JFE

A Marlin in 32 mag is quite rare and an expensive way to 327 Fed performance. If it were me I’d check the throating of your rifle as I suspect it will have a long throat (being a pistol cartridge). If so, I’d load the 32 mag to a longer OAL using a suitable bullet that fits your throat and cycles in...

JFE

I have a number of moulds that work in my revolver, but most are SWC style. Those sharp edges on SWC bullets can be difficult to feed in a levergun. For trouble free feeding in leverguns, most suggest either a RNFP or TC design that has the crimp groove located to produce the correct OAL. Rossi’s ha...

JFE

The 45LC chamber is quite generous - I guess this is mostly because it was originally designed to use larger diameter bullets (0.454”). SAAMI specs for the 45LC use the same generous specs. If you compare the SAAMI specs of the 45LC specs to those of the 454 Casull, it will be obvious that the 454 C...

JFE

I have a couple of B92’s and neither exhibit the feeding behaviour you mention. It’s worth noting that the original 92 was chambered for mildly ‘bottlenecked’ cartridges, which would help with the feeding. It’s only the later models that were chambered for straight wall cases. One modification often...

JFE

It would probably make more sense in a compact bolt action rifle.

JFE

Scott Tschirhart wrote: ↑Fri Sep 06, 2024 8:28 pm Is anyone still working with 22 gr?

Elmer’s original load was using 2400 made by Hercules. When Alliant bought them out the powder formulations were not quite the same as the older ones made by Hercules. 2400 was a touch faster, that’s why top loads were trimmed back.

JFE

We don’t have 5744 available here but for reduced loads it’s probably an ideal candidate. For really light loads Trailboss is ideal. I’ve worked up useful sub-sonic loads for my 50/90 which actually has a larger case capacity. For full power loads I would suggest a slower powder, something like H-48...

JFE

Well done. That’s a bargain. They’re a decent copy of the original. The 44’s are fitted with a barrel that has shallow multi groove rifling, somewhat like a Marlin microgroove barrel. They shoot jacketed fine and can also shoot cast well too. Just load your cast bullets as you would for a Marlin mic...

JFE

I have a spreadsheet that someone put together with load data for the 348 gleaned from a number of sources.

If anyone is interested, PM your email address and I’ll send you a copy.

FWIW I use H4350 behind a 250gr Barnes. It’s accurate, pretty much fills the case and works well.

JFE

I’m not sure what sort of throat the original Winchesters have, but my Miroku 1886’s 45/70’s essentially have no throat, in fact like most modern levergun rifle chambers. With few exceptions most levergun rifle cartridges (not the pistol cals) have no throat at all. However a lot of cast designs wor...

JFE

It beats me why Winchester are making 92’s and 86’s with steel crescent buttplates. While they have some admirers, most seem to dislike them. The Win 94 was in production the longest and over the years was available in a number of buttplate styles, however the most popular was the shotgun butt style.

JFE

Back when we were allowed to own them, I had a Rem 870 modified to be what I thought would be the perfect shotgun for everything from quail to wild pigs. I started with a 20” barrel with a cylinder bore. I had a Lyman polychoke fitted and a Williams shorty ramp soldered to the barrel (these are abou...

JFE

Interesting old firearm. I believe that model is the main reason 35 Rem factory ballistics are kept at low pressure.

JFE

Pretty sure that the Lyman 48’s have a round mounting base designed for mounting on bolt actions. The flat sided Lyman’s designed for leverguns (and other firearms with flat sided receivers) are generally the 66 models. The main issue is the aperture arm width but the most common width suits the Win...

JFE

You can’t compare load data from the 458WM with the 45/90, even though case capacity wise there’s not much difference. The 458WM has an enormous wide and long throat that was designed to blow off pressure quickly and is the reason why the 458 can achieve the velocities that it does from such a relat...

JFE

In the data I emailed you, you have data published by Lyman that produces quite decent velocities for 300 and 400 gr pills (2200 and 2000fps, respectively). You can start there and work up carefully. Bear in mind that straight wall cartridges do not display the normal pressure signs that bottleneck ...

JFE

There’s 45/90 data out there but there isn’t a lot of high pressure, pressure tested data available like there is for the 45/70. Real Guns is about the hottest data available and that’s about 45/70 levergun performance. The Ken Waters article contains fairly low pressure load data. Having said that ...

JFE

The OP asked about a 44 vs 45 LC. The 45/70 is no doubt a much bigger hammer. In rifles of the same strength, you can put the greater capacity of the 45LC case to good use. It has about 20% more capacity and the same weight pills are much shorter. A 45LC loaded to the same pressure is probably good ...

JFE

I have loaded 250gr cast pills in my 35 Rem. I developed a load that clips along at 2000 fps and is very accurate (and safe in my rifle). As you probably are aware the 35 Rem has a twist rate of 1 in 16”, which is actually the same as Remingtons in 35 Whelen. The bullets stabilised well in that twis...

JFE

Mic McPherson built a few but he’s retired.

In Oz I have heard of a couple of conversions made on a Marlin 1894.

JFE

I have a B-92 project gun that had a badly bulged barrel and shot 240s just fine before I sawed the barrel off . . . Assuming you rebuild your B-92 in 44 mag I’d be tempted to use a pistol spec barrel with a tighter bore and faster twist. Rifle chamber reamers in 44 mag also include a long throat, ...

JFE

If you review the SAAMI spec for the 44 mag in a rifle and compare them to the SAAMI spec for the 44 mag in pistol you will find they are virtually two different cartridges. Different barrel and chamber dimensions. The pistols have a tighter barrel diameter and twist whereas the rifles have signific...

JFE

For 250gr pills in the 348, H4350 is the powder that is often recommended. It’s the one I used for loads using Barnes 250 gr originals. I achieved 2300fps and very decent accuracy.

JFE

I’d recommend a Browning 1886. They were released as a 22” barrel SRC or a 26” Oct barrel rifle. These models had no rebounding hammers or tang safeties. They are very popular and you’ll have no trouble selling it at a later stage.

JFE

Alaska is a wonderful place. Even Aussies lust after hunting there. I got my chance back in 2012 when a cancelled moose hunt came up at a reknowned camp on the Alaskan Penninsula. I booked and hunted that September. My biggest decision was what firearms to take. I wanted to take a levergun and my FA...

JFE

The lever on mine was quite floppy - it would drop about 1/2” to 3/4” with the action closed. Anyhow, some of the remedies I read about suggested a spring was broken and needed replacement. I was dreading this as finding and importing that sort of stuff is a nightmare these days. I partially dismant...

JFE

GunnyMack wrote: ↑Sun Oct 01, 2023 5:56 pm [quote=JFE post_id=979245 time=<a href="tel:1696200295">1696200295</a> user_id=782]
Have you tried slugging the barrel ?

Maybe the slugs you’re using are undersized.

No, I don't have any round balls large enough to slug a 20 gauge!
[/quote]

Perhaps try a barrel sinker?

JFE

Good find. They are great rimfire leverguns. About a year ago I picked up one, a Mountie, that was made around 1960. I bought it sight unseen at auction and unbeknown to me it had the floppy lever syndrome. Anyhow, after a bit of google investigation it needed a bit of tightening and adjustment. For...

JFE

Have you tried slugging the barrel ?

Maybe the slugs you’re using are undersized.

JFE

Congrats on the 25/20. They’re a cute little cartridge. Since you’re in Oz, I’d suggest considering a 94BB in 375 Win. Quite a number were sold in Oz when they didn’t sell in the US. When the 94BB was revised to become AE version, Winchester fitted a heavier barrel (as well as making a few other cha...

JFE

wvfarrier wrote: ↑Thu Sep 14, 2023 5:27 am It would be amazing to see Henry or Winchester do a limited run of them

It would more likely be a manufacturer like Pedersoli. They make a large range of older long discontinued firearms.

JFE

Well boys I finally got the Reamer for this about three months ago from Manson Reamers, great quality as usual. Hornady requires a fire formed cartridge to make the dies, so I need to somehow load a couple rounds the hard way. I haven’t reamed the 1886 yet, just haven’t had time, working on a coupl...

JFE

This question gets asked every few months. There’s a lot of internal work required to make the larger cartridge fit and cycle in an 1886 or 71.

Here’s some info from a different site that you might useful:

https://www.24hourcampfire.com/ubbthrea ... st17996497

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