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10rds of 357 in a 18.5" Marlin?


July Smith

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I currently load my 38 specials with a long 175gr bullet to have an over all length that is the same as a 357 (1.590").  I do this because I mainly load 38s for a Rossi and Browning 92 that will only reliably feed 357 mag length ammo. 

 

Recently a Marlin 94 with an 18.5" barrel has been added into the mix and it won't quite hold 10 rounds of the longer 357 length 38 specials I load.  The magazine spring has already been trimmed, but I don't think that is the issue.  There is a screw that goes through the barrel band (about 2" from the end of the muzzle) that will not allow the follower to travel any further and limits the rifle to 9 rounds.  The obvious solution is to load lighter shorter bullets. However, before buying new bullets and adjusting dies I thought I'd ask if there was any way to modify the Marlin to work with my existing ammo?  

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I was thinking a 38 Long Colt first.

 

10 rounds would be 16". That leaves a bit over 2 inches to work with. I load 10 38s in my '66 with a 16" barrel. My ammo is 1.50"

 

Hints: the spring has to telescope into the follower. In your case the follower and spring have to be about 2" for it to work. 

 

I had some issues with the spring binding and not fitting into the follower. You may have to shorten the skirt on the follower as well.

 

It is sometimes counterproductive to try and make the rifle fit the ammo. The easy button would be to load 38s. Instead of always adjusting the dies, I bought another set of dies and installed them in their own toolhead. 

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JULY,

before you decide to change your ammo and its OAL,  you could get into trouble with some 'slow' timing on that Marlin and cause

the Marlin Jam when you try to shoot shorter ammo.

 

And of course, there is always the possibility that you could get inconsistent feeding from your mag tube onto the carrier

if your timing is 'too fast' for longer OAL ammo.

 

That's one of the reasons you might want to call me.

 

..........Widder

 

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I had that same issue with my 94c. even after trimming the spring down.  What I found to be the issue with mine was that the screw slot on the mag tube was all the way through the tube and the spring would bind on the screw.  I pulled the mag tube off, filled that slot with jb weld. used a round file to smooth the inside out so the spring could travel that little extra distance. then used a smaller diamond file to make the indent for the screw to pass through (but not enough to go into the mag tube)  and connect up by the barrel band.  it now holds 10 full length .357 rounds.   ymmv 

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I don't think its a BIG problem for the owner to get 10 rounds of .357 in the rifle, but rather getting 10 rounds that have an

OAL of 1.590".   That is one of the issues causing his dilemma.

 

..........Widder

 

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1 hour ago, Widder, SASS #59054 said:

I don't think its a BIG problem for the owner to get 10 rounds of .357 in the rifle, but rather getting 10 rounds that have an

OAL of 1.590".   That is one of the issues causing his dilemma.

 

..........Widder

 

Maybe I wasn't precise in my previous explanation. My remlin won't reliably cycle anything shorter than 1.580 so I run 357 mag brass at 1.59+/- 

The issue I explained was the mag tube had been cut clear through instead of just profiled for the barrel band screw. Causing the spring to bind up on the screw. I filled that hole in, cleaned the inside, profiled the outside for the screw. After that I could get 10 factory oal 357 rounds in it. Prior to doing that I could only get 9 ⅔ rounds in. Round 10 was left sticking about ⅓ of the way out of the loading gate. Of course that was after trimming the mag tube spring. 

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Yes, the end cap can be shortened from the inside.

 

Also,  Warden Calloways video above gives good info.   No need to elaborate on that.

 

One important thing that many overlook is that the spring ONLY needs to be long enough and strong enough to push out ONE round.

If it can push out the last round, then all preceding rounds will push out.

Normally, this would be about  2 cartridge lengths.   I've actually used a spring (for testing purposes only) that was only about 1.5" longer

than the mag tube.   It worked perfect during my testing period, which was about 6 months.

BUT..... I would normally recommend the spring be about 3 cartridge lengths longer than the mag tube, and at minimum, 2 cartridge lengths

longer than the mag tube AFTER it has established its 'set'.     A new spring needs to be a little longer.

 

EDIT:  Thats a very good job, Turkey Flats Jack.   And good pictures also.

If you ever want to cycle shorter OAL ammo, you'll need to send your carrier to Gunner Gatlin and ask him to insert his

carbide steel piece into your carrier ramp and give you a little height..... normally about .005

 

..........Widder

 

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