lever action question

[T-Rex]

I've never reloaded for any lever actions before and had some questions. A friend of mine wastes money and brass on factory ammo for his 44 mag lever. So I told him id look into reloading it for him. How much crimp should I put on it so loading doesn't cause problems? Is the bullet lube gonna cause any internal problems such as jams or stuck rounds? I use alox. Any other tips would be nice as I've been looking into the same rifle or 30-30 for myself. Thanks.

[GaCop]

Right up front, you won't be able to shoot very hot loads in the Marlin due to the spring of the action with the rear lockup. That said, using lead loads with a medium crimp should work well. Until you actually try lead loads in the "micro groove" barrel you won't know if your barrel will tolerate them. I was lucky loading for a .444 a few years ago using 300 grain LFN pills, it shot them well out to 100 yards with minimal leading. A very hard cast bullet should shoot as well as any jacketed bullet in that barrel. Your lube shoudn't cause any problems.

Tom

[RKG]

Consider whether loading ammo for someone else for a fee makes you a "manufacturer" of ammunition, which requires a federal license (and possibly also something from your state).

[laportecharlie]

I would be more concerned about the liability issues involved with loading for someone else. I had a bad experience when I gave a friend of mine several boxes of 12 Ga pheasant handloads for a South Dakota hunt. He gave some of the ammo to some friends of his and one of the guys ended up blowing up his Browning O/U. They shot close to 250 rounds of my handloads through four or five guns with no other problems yet were quick to blame the handloads when it was proved that a muzzle obstruction was the cause. Muzzle stuck in the snow. Guess who will never shoot one of my handloads again.
Charlie

[Eric in NC]

Right up front, you won't be able to shoot very hot loads in the Marlin due to the spring of the action with the rear lockup. That said, using lead loads with a medium crimp should work well. Until you actually try lead loads in the "micro groove" barrel you won't know if your barrel will tolerate them. I was lucky loading for a .444 a few years ago using 300 grain LFN pills, it shot them well out to 100 yards with minimal leading. A very hard cast bullet should shoot as well as any jacketed bullet in that barrel. Your lube shoudn't cause any problems.

Tom


Liability / legal issues aside - I don't agree with the Marlin being unable to shoot hot loads. It will handle any load a S&W M-29 will - maybe hotter. A lot of modern Marlin's don't have the micro groove either - they went back to Ballard style on the "cowboy" type rifles a while back.