Picked up a 1895 standard length barrel w/ pistol grip stock at the gun show , today .

$ 475 out the door .

I hope it shoots cast bullets better ( at higher velocity ) than my MicroGroove 1895 ( from the 1970's ) .

Slugged the barrel & it seems to measire .451" to .456" .

My old Marlin likes large bullets . Probably need to slug it , if for no other reason than just for grins .

Plan to hold off scoping the new Marlin & trying it out on the steel rams .

God bless
Wyr

After five years of trying I have finally found THE load for my Marlin 1895g. Does everything I want done and is still shootable. I started with new Remington brass, annealed the first ¾ inch using the melted lead method, belled with a Lee expander and primed with CCI 200. The powder charge is 52gr AA 2495. I started with 48 and worked up with no signs of pressure. This is a compressed load, even using a 16 inch drop tube. The magic bullet is cast in a Lyman 451114 mould. The alloy is 17 parts pure lead, 2 ½ parts linotype, and ½ part tin. The bullet drops from the mould .451, 430gr and is ready for patching. I make my patches from 16lb green bar computer paper, cut 2.750 long on a 60* angle 1.500 high. I dip in water and wrap twice around the bullet. They are left to dry overnight, then lubed with LLA. The next day the tails are clipped and the bullet is run through a .459 Lee sizing die. I seat them to an OCL of 2.580. These shoot clover leaf groups at 25 yards and into 1.75 at 100. This is with a Lyman 66 rear sight and factory front sight. Not bad for 55 year old eyes. Bullet performance on game is all one could ask for. I’ll not quit experimenting, but how does one improve on perfection?

After five years of trying I have finally found THE load for my Marlin 1895g. Does everything I want done and is still shootable. I started with new Remington brass, annealed the first ¾ inch using the melted lead method, belled with a Lee expander and primed with CCI 200. The powder charge is 52gr AA 2495. I started with 48 and worked up with no signs of pressure. This is a compressed load, even using a 16 inch drop tube. The magic bullet is cast in a Lyman 451114 mould. The alloy is 17 parts pure lead, 2 ½ parts linotype, and ½ part tin. The bullet drops from the mould .451, 430gr and is ready for patching. I make my patches from 16lb green bar computer paper, cut 2.750 long on a 60* angle 1.500 high. I dip in water and wrap twice around the bullet. They are left to dry overnight, then lubed with LLA. The next day the tails are clipped and the bullet is run through a .459 Lee sizing die. I seat them to an OCL of 2.580. These shoot clover leaf groups at 25 yards and into 1.75 at 100. This is with a Lyman 66 rear sight and factory front sight. Not bad for 55 year old eyes. Bullet performance on game is all one could ask for. I’ll not quit experimenting, but how does one improve on perfection?





Is your rifle MicroGroove or Ballard rifleings ?

What is the catalog number for the Lee .459" sizer ? I bought what I thought was Lee's largest sizer , a few years ago . .457" , I think ?

This proved to be too small for my Micro Groove .

Since then , I have used Lee liquid lube and unsized bullets .

Thanks
God bless
Wyr

My rifleing is Ballard, and my Lee .459 started out .457, I lapped it out.

My rifleing is Ballard, and my Lee .459 started out .457, I lapped it out.


I was wondering about opening up the die .

What is the best method ?

Thanks ,
Wyr

God bless

Lapping is pretty easy - split the end of a dowel such that it will hold a folded piece of emery cloth, fairly fine grit. Chuck the piece of dowel in a drill, run the end of the dowel with emery cloth into the die to hone it out. Make quick, smooth passes and measure frequently. It won't take long to hone it to the correct diameter. I did this with my 30 and 44 caliber Lee sizing dies and it worked beautifully.

I use a piece of 1/4" steel rod, split with a hacksaw. I wrap 320 grit emery around it till it is somewhat tight in the die. run it with solvent fairly slow and keep checking till I get the size I want. Careful...its real hard to put the metal back. I have opened a .285 up to .301 this way and it works fine.

Shot the new .45-70 yesterday , no scoppe , iron sights .

405 lead grain bullets , 19.5 , 24.5 and 30 grains 2400 .

Results were good at closer ranged , but opened up at 100 yards .

Do not know if it is the rifle or the ammo .

Or I may have to face up to the fact that I can no longer see well enough to shoot iron sights at 100 yards . :-(

Considering a peep sight as a compromise , to keep from putting a scope on the rifle ?

God bless
Wyr

Paul Matthews book, FORTY YEARS WITH THE .45-70 gives good info for loading for the Micro Groove Marlins.

Paul Matthews book, FORTY YEARS WITH THE .45-70

Thank you for the tip, I ordered the book.

Thank you for the tip, I ordered the book.
It's a GREAT book, very informative and not expensive. I think you'll be glad you did.

Wyrtwister,

Ranch Dog has a .460 Lee sizer kit available on his site:
ranchdogmolds.com

I ordered his 350gr tumble-lube mold also.
Both work great in my 1895 Ballard-type rifling.

Good luck & good shootin'
johnny