Recommended commercial ammo for a Marlin 1894c

[rwrjr]

Hello, new guy here.

I just agreed to terms to buy a 1894c from a guy on another board. I love my 39A and have been wanting a 1894c for a while now.

Since this is my first centerfire lever gun I admit my complete ignorance regarding the best ammo for this model. I like to shoot Federal JSP, 158gr .357 mag out of my S&W 686 and I was wondering if this is a good (and safe) round out of a 1894c. This round has a flat, lead nose that is wider than the primer that would be sitting in front of it.

I am not a reloader, although my friends are still working on me. What commercial .357mag and .38sp ammo is recommended for the 1894c. Is there any ammo that I should stay away from?

Thanks

[O.S.O.K.]

Congrats and welcome to the board!

That load that you are currently using with your Smith is just fine for your Marlin too. In fact, you will find it hard to locate commercially loaded ammo that's a danger in your carbine. The only exception that I can think of would be a "ball" load - round nosed fmj but that's not a common .357 Mag load and even those would most likely be just fine. The .357 Mag in this carbine doesn't kick much.

You will probably find that the heavier bullets with longer bearing surfaces will be more accurate than the lighter bullets but not necessarily so. Each rifle is different.

Oh, and if you didn't know it already, with a well constructed 158 or 180 grain bullet (such as a Hornady XTP or Speer Gold Dot) your carbine is a handy 100 yard whitetail hunting rifle.

You've made a great purchase! Enjoy your new rifle!

[Old Savage]

PMC 158 gr JSP has shot the best for me.

[AJMD429]

I use three kinds of 'store bought' stuff...

1. .38 or .357 lead reloads the local gun shop sells - Cheap, good practice rounds and for showing 'newbies' the fun of just shooting a gun.

2. Sellier & Belliot bulk ammo - Reuseable brass, truncated bullets are 158 grain and feed/function fine in my levers; I think the bullets are actually PLATED rather than 'jacketed' but they are fine. Friend dropped a whitetail with a lung/heart shot with those rounds last season, even though they aren't the fancy ones we're supposed to need.

3. Speer 180 grain factory JSP loads. I got 100 rounds of them a couple years ago, and only shoot them at deer, or when needed, to do final sight-in for deer hunting. I think a couple other companies put out 180 grain jacketed soft point loads, but they're not common.

Personally, I'm not that sure that a whitetail will really CARE whether it is a 180 grain 'premium' bullet, or a 158 grain 'generic' bullet, that makes a hole in the heart, but for my kids, who might embarass me by 'only' getting a lung shot rather than a heart shot, that extra margin may be worthwhile.

[rwrjr]

Thanks for the info gentlemen.

[Coldfingers]

RWRJR....

My 94C shot the Fed 158's so well that I laid up a thousand of them "just in case" Shoots plenty of other stuff just fine. Sure likes the 180 BuffBores also (or homemade versions with similar boolit)

By far the most usefull rifle I ever laid hands on. Enjoy.

[ceb]

I too really like those Federal 158JSP in my Marlin Cowboy, so much so, I also bought a thousand just so I'd have em.

[Warhawk]

My old pre-safety 1894c shoots American Eagle .357 158 JSP so well that I've got it zeroed for that load, and have laid in a supply of it.

[El Chivo]

Magtech was the most accurate for me, I used the nickel plated brass (158 gr). That load is a copy of the Remington which shot nearly as well.

I found the American Eagles to be a little hot, they occaisionally popped open my lever with the recoil.

125 grain bullets did not do well in mine.

You should test several brands to see what works best.