# Marlin 1894



## Plainsman (Jul 30, 2003)

An ad by The Norseman prompted me to start a thread on these rifles. I had a Winchester which was a very good rifle, but I sold it to get the Marlin. Nothing wrong with either, but I wanted the octagon barrel which I thought was very pretty.
For those who are concerned about what the prices of ammunition may be in years to come, since Obama supported a 500% tax on ammunition, there are some fun alternatives. 
I know many are running out now and buying AR's. You might want to give some consideration to other calibers. Specifically the old large bore type. Recently I gave my oldest son my old Lyman bullet sizer. I purchased all new equipment including Saeco bullet moulds. Over the past four or five years I have found that cast bullets in large slow cartridges are as affective as jacketed bullets.
My point is for those of you who like to hunt, but fear that price may push you out of your favorite sport consider getting into casting. Stock up on powder and primers and you have it made. Straight wall cases reload many times. Once you have primers, powder, and a few hundred pounds of lead on hand your hunting future is much safer.


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## Sasha and Abby (May 11, 2004)

Interesting thought plainsman. Not trying to hijack, but can you briefly tell me how to cast bullets?


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## Plainsman (Jul 30, 2003)

I have to go to my mother-in-laws 95th birthday, but I will get back to you on this.


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## Sasha and Abby (May 11, 2004)

Tell me what I would need for a .357 Mag, .44 Mag and .45 auto...


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## The Norseman (Jan 8, 2005)

First off, thank you Plainsman for the plug on my For Sale ad;
Marlin 1894 44Mag in the Classifieds.

The Marlin 1894 is a very nice rifle. It is well built and accurate.

The December Issue of Handloader has a very good article
on Casting bullets, FYI.

Another good reference is the newest edition of Lee Reloading Guide.


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## Plainsman (Jul 30, 2003)

I have a tang sight like that on mine also Norseman. It's good to 200 yards with cast bullets. Actually it will dial out to 300 yards, but energy isn't sufficient for anything that I can hit at that range with it.

Sasha and Abby
For bullets you first will need a mould. That can run from $20 to $120 for common moulds. Then you need a melting pot. I would recommend one that pours from the bottom rather than a dipper, because it will be easier to cast good bullets. Next and most expensive you will need a lubrisizer. That will cost you $150 unless you use the Lee tumble lube and run your bullets through one of their sizers which uses your reloading press. 
Once you have the lubrisizer and melting pot you simply switch from one caliber to another depending on the mould you choose. For example RCBS has a dozen different moulds you can buy for the 44 mag. My current favorite is a Lyman round nose flat point cowboy action type bullet. It's a little long and sometimes hangs up in my Marlin Lever action. I am thinking about getting a different brand that puts more down into the brass case, and less bullet protruding. It sure shoots good in my Smith 629 though. 
In the old 45/70 it's tough to beat a good cast bullet. Time out for a minute, I'm off to take a pic for you. 








That's a loaded 45/70 with a 300 gr bullet sitting in front of it, and a 240 gr 44 bullet sitting to the right.

You can pick up old wheel weights from the tire store for $.20 per pound. You can just melt that down for bullets that can be driven up to 1400 fps. Once you go faster you will want to add 5% tin to the mix. These I drive up to 2000 fps with good results. I have pushed them to 2400 fps, but then asked myself why.

Oh, ps - Bullet moulds are oversized and once you cast your bullet you use a cheap $6 insert in your lubrisizer to size the bullet to your spec. You can size your 44 to 428, 429, 430, 4305, 431 etc. Nothing shoots better in my Kimber 1911 45 ACP than a 200 gr cast sized to .452 and driven at 1050 fps with Unique.


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