Cartridge Collectors Show

[marlinman93]

I attended the annual Cartridge Collectors Show in Castle Rock, Wa. this morning, and stopped to talk to my friend Ralph who came down from Canada to set up a table. He has some very cool stuff, and I'd have bought almost everything he had if I wasn't watching my pennies.
He had a very interesting box of .38-55 UMC bullets that were "254 grain" marked on the box! Never seen any in this oddball weight? He also had a box of JM Marlin marked .38-55 255 gr., but I have the same box in nicer shape. Then I spotted two boxes that caught my eye! Both .40 caliber, paper patched, with one being 285 gr. and the other 330 gr.! So we worked a deal and I brought both home.
These would have been for either Marlin Ballard single shots in a few different cartridge chamberings, like .40-63B, .40-85B, or .40-65B chamberings, or even the 1881 lever action model in .40-60M cartridge. I always look for Marlin marked ammo, or bullets, but rarely see any in recent years. Didn't see a lot decades ago either, but they've really dried up now.
Of course these wont ever be loaded up!



These paper patched bullets are marked Marlin Firearms Co., so will date to 1881 or later when the name changed from JM Marlin.

[Griff]

Very cool. That .40 330 grain paper patched bullet is also what the .40-90SBN called for in it's "Express" loading. I shoot either a grease groove version or a 350 grain grease bullet in my .40-90 as I didn't get the longer cut chamber for PP bullets.

[Ysabel Kid]

I wish they had a cartridges collectors show somewhere near me!

[marlinman93]

Very cool. That .40 330 grain paper patched bullet is also what the .40-90SBN called for in it's "Express" loading. I shoot either a grease groove version or a 350 grain grease bullet in my .40-90 as I didn't get the longer cut chamber for PP bullets.

I'm fairly confident these same bullets were also sold under the UMC label, and that UMC made any ammo or bullets that were sold with Marlin's name on the boxes. So likely the same bullets would be purchased for a large variety of non Marlin ammo, and used on many .40 calibers. I think the .40-50SBN, and .40-50SS both used the lighter 285 gr. bullets. I load the heavier bullets in my .40-50SS Rolling Block with smokeless powder, and using smokeless they perform well in this short case.