41mag?

[dougx]

I have a 1894fg,am I correct in assuming it has a micro groove barrel.I want to shoot lead out of it and was wondering what the accuracy would be like.

[speed]

I have the 1894s in .41 and it's MicroGrooved--says it on the barrel.  Should say on yours if it is, I suppose.

[jdh]

I shoot Fed 250 gr castcores in mine and get about 1.5 in groups.

[lesismore]

Yes, 1894fg has microgroove barrel.

 Mine shoots lead cast very well without lead fouling. It is important to use bullets that fit tight in the bore to prevent leading no matter what rifling it has.  Also gas checked bullets help to prevent leading. Leading comes from hot gas blowing past a poor fitting bullet. So a tite fit and it will seal.

That old story still goes around about microgroove but it was most likely from someone using factory loads that were the wrong size for their gun. Bore size can range in size from 1-2 thousands and some even more. I read somewhere that there were some over bored barrels that got out in 44 mag. That caused a good stir.

[dougx]

Thanks.It doesn't say on the barrel and I read that the newer 357 and 44 had Ballard rifling.

[Timmer]

one quick way to determine which rifling you have is to unload the rifle, open the action and shine a flashlight into the receiver, look down the bore from the muzzle. lots of little groves - microgrove rifling. several spiral groves - ballard style rifling. hope this helps.

[Combat Diver]

I've got an older 1894S in .41 mag also.  Also had good accuracy with the MicroGrove barrel and lead bullets.  I do not believe Marlin ever made Ballard barrels for the .41.

CD

[CHG]

Can't speak for the .41 as I've never owned one but I have shot may cast bullets in microgroove barrels with not problems.  Accuracy was just as good as the ballard rifles guns.  Lean towards a bhn of 16 or harder and gas checks for best results with the least experimenting. 

[Roadzilla]

Combat Diver,

I have an 1894FG with Ballard rifling. I shoot 215gr LSWC sized at .411 with an 18 hardness and NO gas check. I get a hair over 1800fps with my hand load and after 50 rounds there is very little leading, if any at all. I use iron sights out to 75 yards, which is about as far as I can see clearly. I get 1-2 inch groups if I am on my A game. I spent considerable time finding the right powder, bullet and load to get what I have. No factory load shoots this well.

Mark

[Whitedog]

I'm shooting 158gr lasercast over 16gr of lil gun. Of the 50 rounds fired so far I see little to no leading. I have no chrony but based on other data from people with chronys I running 1800+fps.

[georgeky]

 The catalog says the 1894FG has a 12 groove MG barrel. I have never had one in 41 so I don't know. I am fairly sure the earlier 1894S is MG.

[Combat Diver]

Mark,

Thanks for the up date, I don't mind being corrected.

CD

[Roadzilla]

CD,

I did not mean to correct you. My FG does have Ballard rifling and I have a friend where his is Micro Groove. There is a noticeable difference. I looked hard for one with the Ballard Style and found it. I wanted this style, because I shoot hard cast. BHN makes a difference in cast loads. Too soft and it leads and too hard with light loads will lead as well. The harder the BHN the higher I load. I used eleven different powders to arrive at what works best for. I am a hand loading nut and I ALWAYS start with light loads and work my way up to what performs best. It's not about velocity, it's about performance for me. Ballard works better for in this application.

Mark

[Combat Diver]

None taken, Well that's good that Marlin is making/made some .41 with the Ballard rifling.  I'll have to keep my eyes open.

CD

[lesismore]

My 1894fg has MG and I shoot hard cast in it with no problems at all, the type of rifling has nothing to do with lead fouling or performance. What dose matter is bullet fit in the bore, tight fit = tight seal, tight seal means no hot gas blowing past the bullet. Hot gas blowing past the bullet is similar to what a cutting torch dose, it vaporizes metal and leaves a lead vapor deposit behind in the bore. Gas checks help greatly to seal and stop lead fouling but for best performance and accuracy a tight fitting bullet works best with or without gas checks. You are correct about bnh hardness, the harder it is the faster it can be pushed. Softer lead can be shot without leading if you use paper patch bullets and they can be pushed to a fair velocity.

I don't mean to get my nose out of joint about it but, MG has taken some unfair criticism and some misleading information spread mostly from misinformed users. When the misinformed used improper size bullet for their bore and each bore can vary in size, they experienced poor performance and lead fouling. So MG got a bad rap for something that someone used incorrectly.

Ballard rifling was thought to be better than MG because of a "better grip" and deeper grooves but that is a flawed and misleading concept. MG rifling has 12 grooves compared to 6 in ballard rifling. The total area of contact is about the same. Each type of rifling has its own merits, depending on what you are using it for and what type of bullet you are using in it. It just means you need to know more about what works best for each type and what you can expect from that type of setup.

Cowboy shooters want a slow moving bullet that will spatter when it hits an iron target at a closer range so that it doesn't ricochet and hit bystanders. Ballard rifling works well in that setting and so would MG if used properly.  Hunters want a fast moving,heavy, hard bullet that will penetrate and smash bone and at a greater distance, MG works well in this type setting and so would ballard when used properly.

The point I hope to make is,size dose matter, you wouldn't want to walk a lot in a poor fitting boot and you wouldn't expect to move as effectively or as comfortably as a good fitting boot. Just as you would expect to move faster and with less effort with a small snug fitting shoe compared to a big heavy boot. However big heavy boots are handy when you are in a tough environment, it depends on what you are doing and what you expect to achieve but both has its purpose and both can be misused.