Anyone know what the twist rate is on current production 1894 Cowboy 45LC ? The Marlin website lists it as 16 but their printed 2007 catalogue says 38. Same as the 44 Mag ! Can't decide whether the 44 Mag or 45 LC would be better for light loads with cast bullets. Help!!

The 1 in 38 twist is a carryover from the 44/40. It works well with up to 265 grain bullets. With 200 gr cast bullets my 44 mag CB shot almost in the same hole at 50 yards. this was at 1400 fps, the 44/40 velocity. Either cal would be OK as you should be able to work up a good cast bullet load.

The 1 in 38 twist is a carryover from the 44/40. It works well with up to 265 grain bullets. With 200 gr cast bullets my 44 mag CB shot almost in the same hole at 50 yards. this was at 1400 fps, the 44/40 velocity. Either cal would be OK as you should be able to work up a good cast bullet load.

Thanks ironhead7544. So are you saying that current production of Marlin 1894 Cowboy in 45 LC have a twist rate of 38? Their printed catalogue says 38 but the Marlin website says 16. Still a little confused as to which it really is.

Most likely they have been made in both. Don't sweat it. Either twist rate will be fine for light bullets, and 1-38" should be good for over 300gr. bullets as well.

Most likely they have been made in both. Don't sweat it. Either twist rate will be fine for light bullets, and 1-38" should be good for over 300gr. bullets as well.
Called Marlin this morning. Current twist rate for 45 LC is 1-16. Hopefully this will be good for lightly loaded 200 gr cast bullets and heavier loads on up to over 300 gr.

1:16 will is where you want to be for the heavy bullets, it all has to do with bullet length and velocity. If the RPM's on a light/short bullet are too high, flaws will become amplified rather than being canceled out. If you reduce the velocity of the light bullets to get them down to a more acceptable RPM for the their length, accuracy will usually return. The higher the quality of the bullet, the more over-spin it'll take before loosing accuracy but there is going to be a point where the RPM's become too high.

It's far better to have the faster twist barrel that will allow you to load the heavy (long) hunting bullets accurately. Most people don't mind turning down the plinking loads but do mind having to push hunting loads at redline just to get half decent accuracy.

One thing to keep in mind, if you plan on using light smokeless charges for the plinkers, most .45 colt cases are made with internally tapered walls. I do not like using loose fillers because with time and handling they can become mixed with the powder making for extremely dangerous pressure conditions. I prefer a solid filler like a wad but on the .45 colt and other similar internal tapered cases, you need to use a soft wad that is not oversized. I use fiber filler wads myself, easily split to get the exact length required for the load (I primarily run black powder loads, no air space allowed). This too requires a caution to check with the powder mfg for the given load to ensure that you do not reduce the air space too much or add too much payload weight for the given charge. Fillers of any type add payload weight, this must be taken into account when loading.