Thread: Lever Action Back From The Dead

Originally Posted by southernman

Hello ground control, I am in the same boat as you, just picked up a very old marlin 1894 in 25-20, bore is completely shot (pitted all to hell), but after a tidy up the rest is working fine, was part of a package deal with an old timer, i wanted his 1894 CBL in 32-20, had to take the old 25-20, fitted new iron sights, the front blade was broken and rear leaf bent, bolt rusted and tight,
Girlfriend and I are having lots of fun shooting cans and clays, with the old 25-20, ammo is hard to find and $80-99 a box of 50, so this has lead me into the word of casting, a purchases of a layman 65gr gas check mold, and a lube sizer, the bullets cast are my very first,
awaiting a top punch to size now,
the 32-20 has a poor trigger, new Wild west guns trigger dosnt fit, so the little carbine 25-20 is getting all the attention at the moment, beauty balanced rifle,
I am going to order a drill and a 25-20 liner from Brownells next days off, and find a machinist and a lathe and repair the bore,
Fun we round, pitty ammo is so costly, My 22 mag hasn't fired a shot since i got these two we rifles,
so far shot a crow and a magpie, with 25-20, when this run of extreem cold finishes up (-30-40 last 4 weeks,) i am going out for a rabbit,
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Like you haven't been able to get back to NZ for over two years, soon i hope.

Nice find on the Marlin
Mate we are at the other Extreme of temperature at the moment with over 40 degree for the last 3 days .
I’d be interested to know how you get on with the cast bullets , I don’t think I’ll ever go down that path but the cartridge was originally designed with a lead projectile.
Bullet weight is an interesting topic.
The barrel twist rate was designed around lead projectiles and factory modern ammo is only available in 85 / 86 gn jacketed.
Reports I’ve read while researching the cartridge say lead 85gn bullets stabilise OK but something about the jacketed ones being slightly longer can cause problems
My rifle is right on the limit of stabilising those jacketed 85gn bullets and shows signs of keyholing at ranges over 75 yrds . It shoots surprisingly accurate up to 75 yrds then accuracy goes to shit from there .
I’ve got a box of Hornady 60gn bullets on the shelf which are designed for the 25-20 and I think they will eliminate any stability problems and the higher velocity will flatten the trajectory a bit .
Im not to worried about the factory ammo’s stability for now because anything I shoot is usually under 80 yrds anyway either from the Tractor of walking at night with the Olight flashlight .
Whats the plans for the 32-20 ?