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Ranger Precision Marlin conversion?


Currahee

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This conversion on the 1894 model is nothing new.

 

The great news is that Ranger Precision (it might be named Ranger Point Precision) is working on some good mods (conversions) with the Marlin 1894 model.

 

The Marlin can be modified to function with MANY cartridges.

 

 

..........Widder

Edited by Widowmaker Hill SASS #59054
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At present, that is the only 'company' I am aware of who is doing such mods.

 

BUT, there are a handful of individuals in SASS/CAS who work on their own Marlins and are presently making the conversions.

 

More than that, there are also quite a few who have modified their Marlins to shoot the Cowboy 45 Special, which is basically a rimmed .45 ACP size cartridge that works very well in the 1894 with PROPER modifications.

 

Marauder's website shows this type modification.

 

There has also been a few 1894's modified by SPUR a few years back that were short stroked and handled the C45S cartridge.

 

 

..........Widder

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Howdy,

my Ranger still hasn't got the package I sent the Monday before Thanksgiving.....

So is it a Halloween package? A thanksgiving package?

a Christmas package? a new years package?

I hope not a Superbowl package...hope.

Best

CR

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More info:

 

There are few (VERY few) post on this forum that discuss this type mod, which is understandable.

 

But, as some of our Marlin owners are aware, there are some good topics on this type mod (and the company) on the Marlinowners website.

And the company owner (or rep) also visits the Marlinowners website to discuss his company and help answer a lot of questions from forum members.

 

Hope this helps.

 

 

..........Widder

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I have this mod. It is a shade more in depth than the 45CS conversion due to headspacing off the case and being rimless. Well, it is a hell of a lot more in depth actually. I bit off a lot more than I realized when I got things started. After shaving off the back of the barrel to shorten the chamber you start to get into the dovetails being out of alignment, the inside of the receiver needs machined to bring the ejector further forward to function with the short case, the bolt face is larger to handle the rimmed 45 and needs to be addressed to actually hold on to the smaller acp case etc. Basically it is a pretty involved conversion from my small experience. Is it worth it? Well I will tell you that when all of the kinks are worked out and I trust it to make it through a 10 stage match without hiccups. Oh and did I mention that I am shooting it in Frontier Cartridge? So you have the black fouling to consider on a cartridge that spaces off the case rim. Why do it? I am lazy. I wanted one cartridge I can shoot in my vaqueros, my rifle and my 1911 for wild bunch. Brass is cheap and abundant compared to 45 CS. And the case is the perfect size for the SASS min 1cc of black. I absolutely loved the 45 acp in my revolvers for blackpowder, so gave it a shot in the rifle. All in all it is an ongoing project, and yet to be determined how successful it will be.

 

In hindsight? I think converting a 73 to run Schofields would probably have been far easier, less time consuming and cheaper. Schofields are a great BP cartridge that you can run with zero mods in vaqueros and gives you the smaller case volume. But then I was still staring at the 1911........

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It is a bit more involved than a set screw. You actually have to make it a gate that stops the shorter cartridge, but still allows the bolt to slide through from the back side. Pictures explain it much better than I can. But essentially this is the route I was considering to make the 73 run .45 Schofield.

 

http://www.thesmithshop.com/cbs45.html

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It shoots, it runs, it is insanely picky on OAL length. The action still needs to be slicked, bolt bridged, but...I would call her about 90%.

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Sounds like you deserve a 'Congratulations'.

 

As you probably already know, sometimes its only 1 or 2 little Gremlins that need to be smoothed out to give you that 'real nice' rifle you've worked so hard on.

 

Good job.

 

p.s. - is the OAL length giving you a 'Marlin jam' problem or a feeding problem?

If its the Marlin Jam problem, give me a call and I can probably help you eliminate that little gremlin. No, it won't be sending me the rifle but rather something you can do to fix it.

 

h: 865 / 336-2339

c: 865 / 696-1996

 

 

..........Widder

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Just a thought about converting a Marlin 1894 to 45 ACP.

 

Would it be better to start with a 44 Magnum rifle - reline and chamber barrel rather than set it back? By relining, you can probably get better suited rifling and better chamber. The 44 Magnum bolt face should be close 45 ACP.

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I would be extremely suprised if they could get a 9mm to keep up with sub 2 second runs. Interesting concept but revolvers chambered in rimless cartridges can be challenging enough.

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I shouldn't post this info because it might stir up a hornets nest with some folks scampering to modify the Marlin 1894.

But Deuce brings up a very interesting topic.

 

Lets look at an 1894 conversion into a 9mm chambering.

 

Personally, I would start with either an 1894 in .32 H&R mag or a .32-20

 

The rim diameter of the 9mm is .394 *

The rim diameter of the .32 H&R is .375 *

The rim diameter of the .32-20 is .408 *

*ref Speer reloading manual

 

The timing on the .32 H&R mag is already 'close' to accommodate the OAL of your standard 9mm length ammo. Actually, the timing on one of my .32's will accommodate my 9mm ammo.

 

Fitting a proper barrel with correct bore dimensions and chamber size/length would be an easy task for a machinist/gunsmith who knows his business. I'm sure it wouldn't be to difficult for a good barrel maker to have a proper barrel for the .9mm

 

The .32 H&R Mag 1894 platform is already short stroked somewhat from the factory, and using the same carrier and bolt would probably work very well with little (if any) modifications required to the carrier..... unless the initial timing needs to be advanced just a little.

 

The extractor 'might' need a slight mod, but the 9mm casing fits pretty nice on the bolt face of my .32 H&R.

 

The 'Portal' will need to be opened up slightly to allow the case to move smoothly between the mag tube onto the carrier. BUT, the existing mag tube system on the .32 H&R will work with no modifications required to the mag tube itself.

 

With correct timing and proper smoothing of the action, along with those items mentioned above to make an 1894 9mm, I honestly believe someone like Deuce can run 10 shots in sub 2 time.

 

NO, I'm not gonna take one of my .32's and have a new barrel installed. And with my busy workload, I have no plans to work on one.

 

A NOTE OF WARNING: PSI for the .32 H&R is around 20,000.

PSI for the 9mm is around 32,000.

This is something to consider before going to all the trouble to possibly blow up a rifle..... :o

 

If anyone is considering this mod, I hope this info helps.

 

 

..........Widder

Edited by Widowmaker Hill SASS #59054
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What would be the attention for a 9mm lever gun for CAS? I can see the use of 45ACP for a Wild Bunch shooter.

 

Why not one of the short 38s? 38 Short Colt, for example. Looks like the same case size as 9mm.

 

Can you run 32 short or long through 32 H&R?

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Cody has been doing the conversion to the 45ACP.

 

http://codyscowboyshop.com/

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I know nothing about Ranger Point's Marlin conversions. I have talked to them. At that time they hadn't done any conversions for a Cowboy shooter. When I asked them about how fast their short stroked conversions would run they had no idea. I wasn't willing to be the beta test at the tune of $2100 plus a rifle. There is a gunsmith in Washington state and another in Texas who will convert a '94. Google Marlin converted to shoot 45 ACP and the names will come up.

 

My disenchantment with converting a 45 Colt to a 45 ACP is that I don't think it is chambered correctly. Most smiths will just shorten the 45 Colt chamber down to the 45 ACP length. The problem is that 45 colt chamber doesn't have the same dimensions as a ACP chamber. The colt is larger and has a taper from the chamber to the throat. Thus the ACP round doesn't really have a ridge for the case mouth to chamber on.

JFN

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