GP load for Marlin 1894S .357?

[Kid Cossack]

Howdy, gents!

I've been gone for a while, but now (I think) I'm back. I've rekindled my interest in old guns. Yeah, mock me for that, since for me "old guns" can at times mean some fairly recent (last fifty years or so) production items, but there you go.

I'm writing, as the title of the post may indicate, about a general purpose load for a Marlin .357. It's your basic, standard 1894S .357 Magnum carbine, and wears a Williams peep sight. In the past, I have indiscriminately shot every variety of .38 Special and .357 Magnum out of it. I haven't been able to develop a good feeling for which loads it prefers, entirely due to the loose nut behind the trigger. (It seems that most of my guns have a loose nut behind the trigger, huh, I'm not sure why.)

My thought was that rather than just feeding it what came to hand, I ought to "pick a load" and then refine that load to get it to the point where it shoots up to the carbine's accuracy, and that that load ought to be "good enough for most things that need shooting."

I'm still in Texas, at least for now, so game would include Dachshund-level whitetail and possibly hogs, in addition to the more numerous paper plates and tin cans.

I realize that every firearm is a rule unto itself, but if I can get some expert, or at least experienced, guidance, I can begin to narrow down the possibilities through testing and primer popping. Which way should I go? I'm predisposed to home-rolled loads using cast bullets . . . but in a .357, that doesn't really narrow things down too much.

158? 180? SWC? Any advice, guidance or counseling is greatly appreciated.

[Doc Hudson]

Welcome back Cossack!

oes your Marlin have Ballard style rifling, which I'm sure you'd be prejudiced towar, or micro-groove rifling?

If it has cut rifling, anything goes. You will of course need to experiment to see what your rifle likes, but in my .357 Mag carbine, I generally use 158 gr. SWC's and a healthy dose of unique.

If it has the micro-groove rifling, I believe you will have fewer headaches if you stick with jacketed bullets.

i don't use a lot of jacketed bullets so my advice is a bit on the skimpy side here. All I can say for certain is that my S&W M-686 simply loves Sierera 125 gr JHP's propelled by 19.2 grains of Win 296. Accuracy is acceptable if not stellar from my Rossi M-92 SRC, and I don't remember the velocity readings but it was pretty durned impressive. I believe that with a bit of load development it could become on heck of a carbine defensive cartridge and mighty effective on skinny Southern Whitetails. i doubt it would be as effective on hogs of any real size though due to the bullet weight and construction.

Stick around my brother and talk guns, shooting and life with us.

[Hobie]

It is good to see you again. Welcome back!

Currently I'm using the 180 gr. Rem SJHP over 15 gr. Lil'Gun in my 1894C. I intend to switch to the Hornady 158 gr. XTP-FP over 18 gr. Lil'Gun when I've used up the SJHPs. Velocity of that last load is 2000 fps from my 1894C.

[Kid Cossack]

Thanks, gents!

I've been given to understand by some folks that the .357 out of a carbine is just a jumped up, jumped up .38 Special and will bounce off of squirrels, but I suspect that I have been misinformed.

I will add some JHPs to my burgeoning Midway order, and proceed from there.

[Doc Hudson]

Thanks, gents!

I've been given to understand by some folks that the .357 out of a carbine is just a jumped up, jumped up .38 Special and will bounce off of squirrels, but I suspect that I have been misinformed.

You suspect right amigo!

REad paco's article on the .357 magnum (http://leverguns.com/articles/paco/357_ ... rature.htm) and quote it to those ignorant experts.

i will try to find a copy of Paco's article "The .357 magnum in a Levergun" and e-mail it to you,

[edwardyoung]

I'm pretty sure I stole my sig line from one of your posts years ago on the Sixgunner Board. Thanks

[El Chivo]

I'm liking 12.5 gr IMR 4227 with 158's in my Marlin.

I've been using those copper-coated lead bullets, so far so good.