Got a new Marlin 1894 44Mag. Shot some 300 grainers that I cast from the LEE Mold and size them to .430. After about 10 rounds I checked the bore and found some light to moderate fouling, only in the first couple inches of rifling. Have not slugged this bore yet, but would assume that it must be a bit oversize. Why would they not foul the entire length of the bore? Pressure bumping them up to seal eventually? Thoughts?...........

Leading near the chamber is usually due to an undersized bullet that isn't being bumped up enough. Try a bit more powder or a faster powder, if you can't size it larger. Try them unsized if you can.

Leading only near the muzzle usually means the bullet is running out of lube.

Bye
Jack

Agree with Jack...try the same load again without sizing those bullets, use them at the dieameter thy fall from the mold.

Usually leading only at the breech end is from too small a bullet...it's gas blow-by leading. This is a kind of lumpy/plated leading, sticks to the barrel very well.

Leading only at the muzzle is usually from lube that gives up too early. This is usaully a harder dry leading, more of a grainular appearance than anything else.

Leading throughout the barrel at the same time is either (1) really bad lube (2) too soft alloy for the pressure of that load. this kind is usually kind of "streaky", and I'v pulled what looked like thin lead threads from a barrel while cleaning it form this kind of leading.

ALL leadin is your guns way of saying, "I'm really not happy with what you are feeding me."...think of it as a symptom...a sign of what you need to change to get better results.

It is a gas check bullet, so I would need some way to crimp on the gas check other than the sizer die. I am loading them at the max, so I really don't want to bump that up any either. I did heat treat them in the oven, so I am wondering if I left them softer that would help them bump up and seal. I might try a lighter load and just leave the gas check off and lube by hand and shoot them as cast diameter.

It is a gas check bullet, so I would need some way to crimp on the gas check other than the sizer die. I am loading them at the max, so I really don't want to bump that up any either. I did heat treat them in the oven, so I am wondering if I left them softer that would help them bump up and seal. I might try a lighter load and just leave the gas check off and lube by hand and shoot them as cast diameter.

You mean to say your shooting them without a gascheck?? Thats probably your problem right there...a gaschecked design doesn not work well usually when you leave the gas check out. I use that mold quite a bit for my 444...accuracy is nothing short of terrable if i shoot them without the gaschecks and they foul somethin feirce!!

I read it that you have been using the G.C... This being the case one of the things I would try is to NOT heat treat. Heck w/ a G.C. I have put on soft (swaged) bullets My .44 mag shows very little lead. If a slightly softer bullet is any better but not enough I personally suspect the lubricant. I recommend an NRA alox formula or the Lee liquid... $0.02 .... Marty

I read it that you have been using the G.C... This being the case one of the things I would try is to NOT heat treat. Heck w/ a G.C. I have put on soft (swaged) bullets My .44 mag shows very little lead. If a slightly softer bullet is any better but not enough I personally suspect the lubricant. I recommend an NRA alox formula or the Lee liquid... $0.02 .... Marty

IF it were the lubricant, why would the leading be at the breech (where bullet velcoity is lowest and the lube most abundant) and not at the muzzle (where velcity is highest)? Won't hurt anything to try a better lube, but don't think that's the casue of breech leading.

On my bench is a little 115gr. .311" bullet that got stuck in a .303Brit 2-groove barrel. Was fired over 1.5gr. of Red Dot. In place of gooves, there are two eroded channels in that bullet. Got stuck 22" down a 25" barrel, and the problem was simple: a .311" bullet in a .313" bore. PRessure not high enough to "slug up" the bullet to fit the oversized bore..gas leadked past..as gas goes from a big diameter (the .313" bore) to a smaller area (the two .002" "gaps") it speed up (that's how your garden hose nozzle works). Speed of gas is the same thing as temperature for the micro-second that a powder burn takes...so basically I created two mico- blow torches along the sides of that bullet. Nice "plated" layer of leading in the breech end of the barrel

You mean to say your shooting them without a gascheck?? Thats probably your problem right there...a gaschecked design doesn not work well usually when you leave the gas check out. I use that mold quite a bit for my 444...accuracy is nothing short of terrable if i shoot them without the gaschecks and they foul somethin feirce!!
No, I am not shooting them without the gas check. I was just thinking of trying a real light load with the bullet unsized and lubed by hand. However I sat down tonight and slugged the bore of this rifle. I started at the chamber end and slugged the first three or four inches of rifling, where the fouling was. I was suprised to see a diameter of .431" on the slug. Looks like the undersize diameter of the bullet is the likely cause of this leading.

Ted,

If you'll go to a .432" sizing diameter for that Marlin 1894 in .44 magnum, I think most, if not all your headaches with leading will simply go away!

We sell volumes of .44 caliber bullets destined for use in Marlin 1894's and as long as they are sized to .432" they shoot where they ought to, and don't leave any nasty presents behind in the bore!

Hope this helps!

God bless,

Ted,

If you'll go to a .432" sizing diameter for that Marlin 1894 in .44 magnum, I think most, if not all your headaches with leading will simply go away!

We sell volumes of .44 caliber bullets destined for use in Marlin 1894's and as long as they are sized to .432" they shoot where they ought to, and don't leave any nasty presents behind in the bore!

Hope this helps!

God bless,
Marshall,
That is what I decided to do, but have not been able to locate a .432" sizing die for a lyman lubesizer. .431" is the largest I have found. Do you know where I can buy one? I measured some bullets as they fell from the mold and found they are .4315"-.432", depending on where you measured.

I've got a 1894S in 44 and I had to shoot a bunch of jkt bullets through it to smooth out the bore some before it straightened out with hard cast bullets. I cast a Lyman #429421-245grn Keith type plain base bullet for mine and lube it with a .430" Lubisizer. I use a 17 1/2 bhn melt and get no leading to speak of. I'm using 23.5-24.5grns of LilGun (regular primers) and getting a velocity of 1800fps. Only thing I was worried about was the loaded round OAL of 1.685" to catch the crimp groove but it will cycle through mine ('97 model).

Bill

PS: What I forgot to mention about the LilGun load is that this is the most accurate load that I've found for mine at the 100yd target.

Lee will custom make a .432" die and sizing kit for $25. It will work with any reloading press.

Got a new Marlin 1894 44Mag. Shot some 300 grainers that I cast from the LEE Mold and size them to .430. After about 10 rounds I checked the bore and found some light to moderate fouling, only in the first couple inches of rifling. Have not slugged this bore yet, but would assume that it must be a bit oversize. Why would they not foul the entire length of the bore? Pressure bumping them up to seal eventually? Thoughts?........... The leading is due to the powder melting the lead at the back of the bullet when it is fired, try using Lee bullet lub, liquid ALOX. It is very easy to use, place 100 or so bullets in an old plastic bowl, heat a large cup of water in the microwave oven, place the bottle in until the ALOX thins to the consisancy of water, drizzle a little of the ALOX over the bullets and shake to get a thin even coat, place on piece of wax paper and let dry over night. I use it in pistol shooting and have never had any leading since I started using it. Good shooting!

No, I am not shooting them without the gas check. I was just thinking of trying a real light load with the bullet unsized and lubed by hand. However I sat down tonight and slugged the bore of this rifle. I started at the chamber end and slugged the first three or four inches of rifling, where the fouling was. I was suprised to see a diameter of .431" on the slug. Looks like the undersize diameter of the bullet is the likely cause of this leading.

Ted,

I'm not sure that a 300grn bullet would stabilize with a 1 in 38" twist unless you fired it with max loads. Mine does fine without a gas check bullet if you use a hard alloy melt and kick it out fast enough to obturate and fill the bore. But if the bullet is designed for a gas check you sure need one. The Lyman 429421 that I use is a Keith design and is plain base.

Bill

Ted,

I'm not sure that a 300grn bullet would stabilize with a 1 in 38" twist unless you fired it with max loads. Mine does fine without a gas check bullet if you use a hard alloy melt and kick it out fast enough to obturate and fill the bore. But if the bullet is designed for a gas check you sure need one. The Lyman 429421 that I use is a Keith design and is plain base.

Bill

Speer calls out specifically in their current loading manual that the 1-38" twist will stablize their 300gr. Uni-Core bullets in the 44 mag Marlins. However, they don't mention any sort of lower speed limit or if they had problems anywhere along the lines. I'd imagine if it was loaded at .44 Special velocities, it might not pass muster. Would love to hear if anyone has loaded down and found the lower limit.

There can be 'long' and 'short' 300gr. bullets, as well, so you might find an example of a very long cast bullet that might not do so well. However, it sounds like it should work, generally speaking, and Marshall's .444 Tech Notes seem to bear this out, since he had to get upwards of 400gr. bullets before he had stablization problems in the 1-38" twist of the .444 Marlin.

Good luck with that project. By the way, if you are getting leading, and still have a very accurate load - well, don't look a gift horse in the mouth! It doesn't seem like such a big chore to get a bit of lead out of the barrel, after you finish wrapping up the last deer steak or pork chop for the freezer.... :D