Which Cowboy action rifle?

[Dougan]

Dougan, the FTX bullets work really well in .444, the old man has a Marlin 444 that he uses for hunting hogs in Florida and a Remington .35 for deer which also loves those bullets. I've also ready some good reports in the Cowboy calibers as well. Hey give them a try just for the hell of it if you don't mind paying.

Blu

You're not helping mate...I'm looking for reasons 'not' to buy the .444, as I really can't afford another rifle right now...

[Blu]

I've had a Winchester in .35 Remington and a pre Remington 30-30 Marlin in my time, damn fine rifles but I just never got on with under levers. I sold the Winchester and my middle son now has the Marlin which he uses to hunt deer with.

Blu

[Blu]

Dougan, the FTX bullets work really well in .444, the old man has a Marlin 444 that he uses for hunting hogs in Florida and a Remington .35 for deer which also loves those bullets. I've also ready some good reports in the Cowboy calibers as well. Hey give them a try just for the hell of it if you don't mind paying.

Blu

You're not helping mate...I'm looking for reasons 'not' to buy the .444, as I really can't afford another rifle right now...

Ooops sorry, I'll stay stum on it then. All the same hopefully the above might be useful to you in the future and you could always give the FTX bullets a go in what you have now if you wanted to.

Blu

[Dougan]

The problem is that I don't wan't to put copper bullets down my Marlin...I know it sounds daft but it would mean having to clean the barrel too often...so to try jacketed bullets would mean a different rifle...

I'm only joking about you not helping...I appreciate the info...I don't think many folk in the UK look at lever action rifles in the same way (calibers and functionality) as folk living in the US.

[Blu]

Dougan, whatever floats your boat mate. Personally I've never worried about putting jacketed bullets down a barrel and then having to clean afterwards.

Blu

[Sim G]

The problem is that I don't wan't to put copper bullets down my Marlin...I know it sounds daft but it would mean having to clean the barrel too often....

There would be no issues at all using jacketed bullets. But if it really does bother you that much, RCBS do "Silouhette" moulds in pistol calibres. They are designed fir metallic plate silhouette comps and have a more spire point profile. I have one in .358 that I use in my .35 Remington. I will give it a to in the .357 when I get round to it.

[dromia]

Plenty of good boolit designs for the 38/357 here:

http://noebulletmolds.com/NV/index.php? ... n78ohtnsv5

[Dougan]

Just to clarify (as it may sound odd) why I don't want to use my Marlin (1894C) for long range - It was bought specifically for Gallery rifle competition shooting, which it's well suited for...it's light (short barrel), cycles quickly and reliably, and the microgrooved barrel stays accurate for hundreds of rounds (low velocity lead boolit loads) without cleaning - Cleaning the barrel can effect the accuracy for a while until more rounds have been put down it - when you go to a GR meeting you typically shoot 200/300 rounds without the interruption of cleaning...unfortunately you can't always pick the order you shoot your comps in, so could end up shooting long range (therefore needing to clean it after putting copper bullets down it) before doing your short range stuff - Also, personally I would shoot 100-300m with open sights, so it would also mean the inconvenience of taking the scope on and off...

...and while there is no reason why you 'can't' use a 1894C for longer range shooting, there are much more suitable (longer barrels for a start) lever actions for the job - Personally I like to find the right rifle for the right discipline...for example, at the Trafalgar I use my SMLE (due to the action) for snaps and rapid, where as I use my M96 for precision (due to the accuracy)...

'Which Cowboy action rifle?' is a good question - If you ask the Yanks (or even Ameri-Jocks razz ) then the choice is often decided by the type of game you're after, and there is a huge variety of calibers and rifle types to choose from , where as in the UK, where we are mainly punching paper with them, the choice if often narrowed down to pistol calibers in .38/.357 or .44/.45.

The choice of bullet type for UK Gallery rifle shooting is also fairly limited - For example; wadcutters are very accurate at GR distances (and cut a nice clean hole), but many of the courses of fire require fast reloading through the gate, which is why most folk use either RNFP of TC bullets.

[Dougan]

Blu, I spent a few minutes pondering over modifying the existing one however I suspect it will be easier to just buy an after market one at some point.

David, I read your piece in the SHED journal about this (a bit more detail there) - You say that you want it for 'GR racegun', in which case you picked the right one...

...if you want to cycle it fast, then keeping the current lever would be better; as the longer the lever/draw the slower the cycling rate...the current short one might be a bit uncomfortable at first, but as the rifle gets slicker you don't notice it...that's not to say that smoothing the defined edges (as you have the tools and talent to do so) wouldn't improve it...

Btw: I've got a good stock of Rog's RNFPs, and some Hannams RNFPs...you're welcome to 50 of each to give them a try...?

[ovenpaa]

Dougan, many thanks for the offer of the bullets, JD is going to pop some samples in the post for me to try however I am not sure what they are yet.

As far as the rifle goes I need to 'bite the bullet' so to speak and make a start on it, the down side is it so shiny and new right now I am struggling to bring myself to attack it. The lever is certainly going to be blended so it is a bit friendlier on my fingers and there some other external areas to be rounded before I look at the internals.

Whoowhoop of this parish very kindly dropped off some dies and brass/bullets this morning so I will build some dummy round to work with.