Home Forums Lever Action Central Lever Actions - General Marlin 1894 .41 Rem Mag ?

Anybody fooled with one ? I killed a few deer with a Ruger 77/44 Mag and it worked great. Figured the .41 would make a little less fuss.

I picked one up a few months ago. Haven't done much with it yet, just a dozen or so rounds through it so far but I am looking forward to getting it out later this year. It does seem a bit picky about the ammo its feed. It didn't like the factory Remington fodder as it does not have much of a crimp on the bullet. The brass was catching on the way into the chamber. I'm going to whip up some handloads for it with a good crimp and see if that helps with the feeding.

What do you mean by "fooled with it?"

I bought a new Marlin 1894S in .41 Magnum, in 1987, so have had a fair amount of experience with it, both with factory ammo and my reloads.

I've only killed a couple of medium sized Mule deer with it (I don't count coyotes, rock chucks, jackrabbits, etc.) Worked just fine on deer. Both were shot at about 95/100 yards. No problems. Those 210, 215, 220 grains bullets hit hard.

Make sure you always have the screws tight in the receiver.

That Marlin is a very nice "partner" to my S&W 57.

L.W.

I just picked up a Ruger Blackhawk revolver in 41 Rem Mag, and am looking for a 1894S or FG to pair it with.

Leanwolf,
What loads with the 210 gr bullets seem to work best in your rifle?
The data that I've found that looks promising with the various bullets is 20.0 and 20.1 gr of W 296.
And have you tried the Barnes XPB yet?

Blkram, I used a Rem. factory 210 grains j.h.p. on one deer. He took about three steps and fell. The second I used a 220 grains Keith style SWC hardcast bullet from Joe Penny, In Topanga, Calif. That was a through and through shot and he went down very quickly, too. That was with 21.0 grains H110. (I've had good accuracy from the 210, 215, and 220 grains cast SWC bullets, using that same 21.0 grains of H110. Same thing with WW296.

I've also used a Speer 200 grains JHP with 15 grains of Blue Dot. That's a bomb on coyotes and jackrabbits. Might be too hot for your Ruger, but don't think so. Blue Dot is a very good powder for he .41 Magnum. Work up to that 15.0 grains, of course.

For a great "plinking load," that will still do in a pinch, I load a 210 grains Keith style SWC bullet in front of 8.5 grains of Unique. Lots of fun to shoot and you still have plenty of power.

The Federal factory 210 grains JHP is a very accurate round in my rifle and S&W 57, although I've not killed anything with it. I believe it would do well, however, on various animals up to medium sized Mule deer, within the range limits of a pistol caliber.

Hope you find the Marlin .41 carbine. They're hard to come by, but look around enough and you'll find one.



I haven't tried the Barnes bullets as I like what I have been using. I also use a 210 grains Sierra JHP with success, H110 & WW296.

Good luck.

L.W.

Thanks Leanwolf.

I have picked up a box of the Federal 210 gr JHP, and a box of Winchester's 170 gr SilverTip HP, to try.

So far the only bullets I've managed to find locally are Hornady's 210 gr XTP.
A friend used to have a 41 Rem Mag, and he had good luck with the XTP and Bullseye (cannot remember load).

Where did you find your 210 gr Keith style SWC bullet or mold?

Quote

BLKRAM - "Where did you find your 210 gr Keith style SWC bullet or mold?"

I don't cast, so I buy my bullets, both cast and factory. The 210 grains SWCs were bought several years ago from a small caster in California. I bought 2,000 of them. I no longer have an address for him, and he's probably not in business anymore, anyway.

Cast Performance makes good bullets, as does Beartooth Bullets. Laser Cast also makes good bullets, and I've had very good accuracy with their .45 bullets in my Ruger B. H. and Colt S.A. New Frontier.

I think you'll like those Federal 210 grains JHPs.

Good luck.

L.W.

Have been reloading for the .41 Magnum since the mid-1970s and have had a 1894S since about 1991.

Chronographed loads from the S:

Federal 210..................................1705
Remington 210 SP.............................1780
13 grains/SR4756/210 Hornady HP..............1540
7.0 grains/WW231/210 Hornady TC Silhouette...935
23 grains/H110/210 Hornady HP................1850
13.0/Blue Dot/210 Hornady HP.................1416
26.5 grains/H110/170 Sierra HC...............2100
22 grain/H110/255 CPBC WFNGC.................1700

Accuracy wise the rifles seem to like full loads of H110 over target velocity loads. As to cast bullets, all Marlin .41s are MicroGroove rifled and work much better with gaschecked bullets vs. plain base. There is an excellent chapter in Verl Smith's cast bullet book on how to make Mariln's shoot well with cast bullets...and it works. I also have a 1894 CCL that just loves the 255 CP bullet.

CCL, S and LTD



Nothing stops a 255 CP bullet...1350 fps from a handgun...6 gallon jugs of water, one piece of 3/4" marine plywood and the burried itself in a 4x4" post. This bullet from a handgun has taken Cape Buffalo.



The 200 Speer JSWC-HP...nose melts off and the the ashcan keep on going...1500 fps from a handgun...6 gallon jugs of water, through one piece of 3/4" marine plywood and the it stuck 1/2 way through the second piece. If used in a rifle make sure you fill the case with powder like you can with H110/WW296 and use a Lee Carbide Factory Crimp Die to keep the bullet from telescoping into the case when in the tubular magazine of a Marlin..



Last week I found a mint 1894S in a shop in Conn. for $500.00 OTD. It is now on it's way to another CF Member who also is a .41 Addict...

Bob

RJM52,

That LTD is nice! Love the laminated stock. Never seen or heard of it before. 16" barrel?
Details?

Is the barrel on the CCL octagonal?

Nice collection.

16.5" barrel on the LTD. Without the LeverScout mount and scope on the barrel it is a little muzzle light...the gun was a Davidson's Distributing excluse run of 251 guns. I have one friend who has a .41, one a .357 and another with a .44....there was also a run of .45 Colt.

Yes, the CCL is an octagon...was going to put a scope on it but since that pic was taken a Williams peepsight was put on. Shoots 1.5" groups at 50 yards from the sitting position with the 255 CP load above...did it three times in a row. Going to replace the large white bead front sight with a XS ramp front sight with white line. I have one on the LTD and it is gives a more precise aiming point.

Bob

ps...what Ruger did you get...4 5/8" or 6.5"...

Got the Blackhawk with the 4 5/8" barrel.
Only one I could find in western Canada, with the rosewood grips.
Was looking for the shorter barrel length anyways. Liked the balance of the same revolver in 45.

What year was the CCL manufactured?

My apologies to chrome for kind of hijacking this thread. For what it's worth...read an article on the 41 recently that stated that the 41 Rem Mag was probably the ideal deer handgun cartridge.

Shot my 41 today...
I'm new to handguns, but managed half decent groups with both the Winchester 170 gr and Federal 210 gr ammo at 26 yards. 4 out of 6 into 2" groups, with some touching.

Will play again soon, when the sun and glare off the snow isn't straight into my eyes!

Has anyone tried Hodgdon's Lil'Gun in the .41 ?

Here's my 1894

Got an FG that I've been tinkering with for a while. I've found that it really doesn't like the Winchester 175 grain Silvertips. Somewhat disappointing as Silvertips are usually my favorite bullet. It likes Rem 210 quite well and Hornaday 210 also. Horny used to load a factory round with their 210 bullet but I guess that they dropped it a year or so back. Can't seem to find it any more.