Trey Veston
Member
Marlin/Ruger 1894 carbine in .357 Magnum. Finally got the weather to agree enough to get back to the range and try out some new loads. I tried three different loads, each loaded warm with a different powder and all using the 158gr Hornady XTP.
For this session, I tried to eliminate my eyes as the limiting factor by installing (temporarily!) an old Simmons 4-12 scope that I've had for decades and used on my first varmint AR in 1998.
Results were much improved! Tightest 5-shot group was barely over an inch using15.2gr of H110 and Federal SP magnum primers. The worst group, coincidentally, was the same H110 load, with a 2.5" group. Second tightest group was 1 1/4" using 11.2gr of Accurate #9. All loads used the Hornady XTPs in 158gr. For comparison, the exact same .38 Special Sig Sauer loads with open sights got a 4 7/8" group with buckhorn sights and 1 3/4" group with the scope.
I'm now officially happy with the accuracy potential of the rifle. I still have some more loads to try with the 180gr XTPs, just to see how it likes those, then will start working on some plinking loads using lead bullets. The rifle functioned flawlessly and fed everything reliably. My only beef was the trigger. It seemed to vary by as much as a pound and a half from shot to shot, and developed some grittiness. I'm sure that is due to new gun break-in and once I give it a good cleaning and a couple of more range sessions, it will improve.
The whole purpose of the rifle is for introducing my grandkids and new shooters to firearms. It is less scary than an AR, looks like a cowboy gun, light, easy to operate, almost no recoil, and now, accurate. I do plan on mounting a decent red dot on it as I have found those are the easiest for new shooters to use.
I created a video of today's session if interested:
For this session, I tried to eliminate my eyes as the limiting factor by installing (temporarily!) an old Simmons 4-12 scope that I've had for decades and used on my first varmint AR in 1998.
Results were much improved! Tightest 5-shot group was barely over an inch using15.2gr of H110 and Federal SP magnum primers. The worst group, coincidentally, was the same H110 load, with a 2.5" group. Second tightest group was 1 1/4" using 11.2gr of Accurate #9. All loads used the Hornady XTPs in 158gr. For comparison, the exact same .38 Special Sig Sauer loads with open sights got a 4 7/8" group with buckhorn sights and 1 3/4" group with the scope.
I'm now officially happy with the accuracy potential of the rifle. I still have some more loads to try with the 180gr XTPs, just to see how it likes those, then will start working on some plinking loads using lead bullets. The rifle functioned flawlessly and fed everything reliably. My only beef was the trigger. It seemed to vary by as much as a pound and a half from shot to shot, and developed some grittiness. I'm sure that is due to new gun break-in and once I give it a good cleaning and a couple of more range sessions, it will improve.
The whole purpose of the rifle is for introducing my grandkids and new shooters to firearms. It is less scary than an AR, looks like a cowboy gun, light, easy to operate, almost no recoil, and now, accurate. I do plan on mounting a decent red dot on it as I have found those are the easiest for new shooters to use.
I created a video of today's session if interested:
