Marlin 336

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  • Last Post 16 November 2018
beagle6 posted this 08 November 2018

I recently acquired a Marlin 336 in 44 Magnum. When I slugged the bore, the groove diameter was .433. I had some jacketed 240 grain bullets at .430 so I loaded a few just to see. Haven't shot them yet but don't have high hopes. My 44 molds throw bullets at .433 so I'm not thinking it's going to work well  with any cast bullets I have

Any one have any advice?

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onondaga posted this 09 November 2018

If you are interested in a great mold at 240 gr with a flat nose, tumble lube grooves and a GC shank, this mold is available and you can specify your diameter and bullet alloy:

http://www.accuratemolds.com/bullet_detail.php?bullet=43-240C-D.png

It is also available in a plain base version.

personally, I had the best results in 44 Mag Lever and Ruger Carbine by taking no measurements, I used the Lee TL430-240-SWC cast in #2, un-sized and tumble lubed. Under 1.2" @ 50 yards loads were easy to find in Lyman recommended lever rifle loads for cast bullets that weight.

If the bullet really fits your rifle well, you should need 1 to 2 pounds more lever squeeze than chambering jacketed bullet loads. The Lee fit both my rifles like that and shot well. Cycled by hand the Ruger showed that fit chambering too with the un-sized bullet and fire-cycled fine.

Gary

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Ken Campbell Iowa posted this 09 November 2018

with high pressure loads your mj bullets will probably bump up at shooting to be reasonably accurate.  

normal cast bullets don't bump up quite so successfully for some strange reason ... so they should be at least as big as the grooves in the barrel, and even better if they are as big as the THROAT ...  so sound as though your 0.433 mold is actually likely to do well .   pay attention to gas check fit if you use them.

get back to us with your results, .... we can't let cast bullets win the war ... cool

ken

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beagle6 posted this 09 November 2018

When I was typing this in I had a senior moment; the groove diameter on the rifle was .435, not .433. Sorry for the confusion.

beagle6

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onondaga posted this 09 November 2018

 

beagle6,   .435 poses no problem, If that is the way it was cut, then the throat is even bigger. The most valid and accurate solution is still to use the size cast bullet that slide fits the chamber. If you personally require a measurement then take a chamber casting and order your mold.0005" larger than the throat area indicated in the casting and that should bear on the bullet driving bands. The bullet mold I recommended from Accurate can be cut precisely to your measurement to cast in the alloy of your specification. A lifetime supply of re-usable chamber casting alloy that comes with good instructions. On sale NOW for $9.99:

 

  https://www.rotometals.com/chamber-casting-alloy-ingot/  

 

Important Note: if the throat casting turns out smaller than the bore measurement, then you have junk that will never shoot cast bullets well as they don't get bigger passing through the throat, then they will wobble down the bore and will shoot all over the place while leading up your bore mercilessly. That is just basics and old news. The truth is still the same. If you want the rifle to shoot cast well then fit the bullet size to the throat. If the throat is smaller than the bore, then you have poorly made or trashed junk that will never shoot cast well at all.

 

Gary

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M3 Mitch posted this 12 November 2018

If the throat is smaller than the bore, can't you just get a gunsmith to open up the throat to maybe a half-thousandth or maybe a little more than that, to get the gun shooting well with cast anyway? 

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onondaga posted this 12 November 2018

Mitch,

A good smith can help, but it is NOT a matter of guessing .001 or whatever. The throat for cast bullets has to be larger than rifling G to G  by an amount that the bore will size the bullets to a solid fit. Some throats have a tapered ball seat, some throats have a steep transition. At their smallest diameter measurement they need to be at least .001 larger than bore G to G. That is the standard for jacketed bullets and works OK for cast but .002 to .003 is better for cast and will shoot better with a throat slide fitting cast bullet. 

Gary

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M3 Mitch posted this 12 November 2018

Gary,

I expressed myself badly in my last post.  What I was thinking (but I didn't write that!) is .001 or so over measured bore diameter.   Not to just take it .001 over whatever it is right now.  Could waste some serious time and money doing that.  Something the OP needs to think about is if and how much they intend to use jacketed bullets in this rifle, that will determine how much to open up the throat, if that is actually the problem.

"Measure twice cut once!"

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DBW posted this 12 November 2018

Mitch,

I think some of the posts here are confusing revolver and rifle chamber to bore relationships. In a revolver the chamber and throat are in the cylinder and separate from  bbl and bore and it is possible to have a throat smaller than bore. In a rifle the chamber reamer is turned into the bore, if the reamer is under sized the throat may not completely cut out the rifling in throat area, but it is impossible to ream a hole smaller than it is originally. Many rifles chambered for revolver cartridges have straight chambers that are slightly long with a 45 degree transition into the rifling, this is fine  with most jacketed bullets but may or may not be optimum for the profile of a certain cast bullet. If you want hunting or plinking loads and your bullets are bore dia. or a little larger and chamber ok try them if their accuracy is acceptable for your purpose fine. If you want to see how accurate you can get you need to optimize everything and Onondaga has told you in posts above where to start. Good Luck Bro. keep us up with how you are doing.

DBW

Lefties rule!!

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M3 Mitch posted this 15 November 2018

OP, if you have a *336* in .44 Magnum, as opposed to an 1894, the 336 was only made in .44RM in 1963 and 1964, according to Wikipedia (I know) they had problems with loading and feeding, so the 1894 was put back into production in 1964, initially for .44 RM.

My point being, if you do have a 336, it may be rare enough and valuable enough to a collector that you might be better off selling it unaltered to a collector and then skulk around gun shows till you find one of the 1894 rifles made with Ballard rifling, these were intended for cast from the get-go.

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beagle6 posted this 16 November 2018

I think M3 Mitch has the right idea. The serial number has an AA prefix which I think indicates a 1965 manufacture. This is a saddle ring carbine with a gold colored stud and ring (not to my taste) and straight stock. It definitely is a 336 and feeds well. Think I'll trade it off and get something else. Been thinking about one of the Henry single shots in 44 if I can ever find one.

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