Anyone shooting one of these? If so has anyone tried the Federal Cast Core Ammo. I have tried it in my S&W 657 7 1/2 inch, it seems to be rather consistent in the handgun. I am thinking of purchasing the 1894FG and was hoping to get some reviews on it. I can get the Ammo REAL CHEAP, (like cost) had 10 boxes, now about 8 left. Many more available, so if anyone knows anything about the Marlin it would be greatly appreciated.

Any one out there shooting a 1894?

Anyone shooting one of these? If so has anyone tried the Federal Cast Core Ammo. I have tried it in my S&W 657 7 1/2 inch, it seems to be rather consistent in the handgun. I am thinking of purchasing the 1894FG and was hoping to get some reviews on it. I can get the Ammo REAL CHEAP, (like cost) had 10 boxes, now about 8 left. Many more available, so if anyone knows anything about the Marlin it would be greatly appreciated.

I have one, though I don't shoot the ammo you're asking about through it.
I'm pretty pleased with mine and will soon be determining if I'm going to use it for deer hunting, since it should be able to get .30-30 velocities with the rifle-length barrel.

That's what I'm talking about. I would like to be able to carry a load that is the same cartridge for my sidearm as well. Have you shot any Cast bullets with it? If so how did it perform?

That's what I'm talking about. I would like to be able to carry a load that is the same cartridge for my sidearm as well. Have you shot any Cast bullets with it? If so how did it perform?

So far I've been a little hesitant to fire non-jacketted bullets through any of my guns.

So far I've been a little hesitant to fire non-jacketted bullets through any of my guns.

Why? Plenty of folks on this forum swear by them, although some may also swear at them.

Why? Plenty of folks on this forum swear by them, although some may also swear at them.

Mostly just that I've heard it's a pain to get the lead out of the barrel afterward.

Plus, I'm not really sure why people would prefer lead over jacketted for any role. Are there really any situations that no jacketted load can excell at?

I am surprised someone has not answered your question, but I will try.

1. Hard cast bullets have outstanding penatration and make large holes in game animals. When you first to this website, look to the right. There is a column of articules. The third articule down is about hand gun loads. It has a wealth of information about hard cast bullets.

2. Hard cast bullets with a gas check do not present a leading problem and would be my personal choice for hand gun cartridge rifles, such as a Marlin 41 mag rifle.

3. The difficult part is to get the right diameter hard cast bullet for your rifle. If you reload, here is where Marshall comes in handy. He individually sizes hard cast bullets. Talk with him. He will guide you in the right direction and he can give you some good reloading recipes.

4. My 41 mag Marlin shoot hard cast bullets fine, but I never did find a jacketed bullet that it liked. I am saying that 41 mag Marlins are picky when it comes to cartridges and to find out if yours likes Federal Cast Core ammo, you will just have to buy a box and try them.

I hope this helps.

Thank You Taylor,
I got some good feedback from another forum also. Guys that shoot the 1894FG with cast core bullets, and reload with cast. They all pretty much say the same thing. I will definitely will have to get the FG now that I have had ample feedback for the Marlin.

I am surprised someone has not answered your question, but I will try.

1. Hard cast bullets have outstanding penatration and make large holes in game animals. When you first to this website, look to the right. There is a column of articules. The third articule down is about hand gun loads. It has a wealth of information about hard cast bullets.

2. Hard cast bullets with a gas check do not present a leading problem and would be my personal choice for hand gun cartridge rifles, such as a Marlin 41 mag rifle.

I hope this helps.

1.) Better than a Jacketted Soft Point? Would this mean they'd fall between JSP and FMJ in terms of penetration and expansion?

2.) No leading problem at all? So, my regular cleaning chemicals would get out any lead left in the barrel? I was under the impression that gas checks were just there to allow you to load a lead bullet to the same pressure you'd load a jacketted bullet to.

I don't have the FG model but I bought a new Marlin 1894S .41 Magnum in 1987. Since, I've shot at least a couple thousand non-gas checked Keith style lead bullets through it ( along with a lot of jacketed bullets too), and I've not had any particular leading problems. Haven't really been able to tell any troublesome difference between the non-gas checked bullets and the gas checked ones I have shot.

They all shoot just fine, and kill deer and coyotes without any problem.

L.W.

I also have shoot a Marlin 1894S since 88'. I have no leading problems with my hard cast 215gr LSWC. Leading will acuire if the bullet is cast soft or swaged. Have not tried the Federal Hard Cast yet.

CD

I am sorry I did not reply sooner. Beartooth gas check hard cast bullets will not lead your barrel. I have purchased bulk cast bullets that were soft and had leading problems. The easiest and quickest way to remove lead from the barrel is to shoot several jacketed bullets. Marshall has a quick and easy method of removing lead without chemicals or shooting jacketed bullets described in his Beartooth tech guide. I would encourge you to purchase a tech guide and read it cover to cover. It really does have a lot of information about cast bullets, including penetration and wound channel diameter as it relates to bullet impact speed and metplate diameter. Also, it talks about firelapping (rifles and pistols) and cyclinder throat diameter (pistols) and ways to correct tight cyclinder throats. If you are going to shot pistol cartridge Marlin rifles, you really need his tech guide. I hope this did not sound too much like an advertisement.

Back to the question. Leading is not a problem, you just have to know how to handle it. Plus, good quality hard cast bullets will not lead your barrel. As general rule, hard cast bullets with a wide metplate make bigger wound channels that jacketed bullets and penetrate much better than jacketed bullets.

Plus there is one more benefit of shooting non-jacketed bullets that has not been mentioned. A hard cast bullet reqires less powder and less pressure to achieve the same speed as a jacketed bullet of equal weight.

There are a couple of potential problems with hard cast bullets. Some rifles have a hard time loading them into the chamber and some rifles do not like cast bullets (accuracy). The only way to find out is to try them. Good luck.