1895 40-65

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pquenemo
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Joined: Thu Aug 15, 2024 3:36 pm

1895 40-65

Post by pquenemo »

New member here. Purchased a Marlin 1895 in 40-65, looks like it was made in 1899. What is the bore supposed to measure? I am shooting .408 gc bullets( purchased for my Win 40-82) in it and the accuracy is pretty good. I'm wanting to buy some Hawk bullets for it, but am not sure of the bore size. No, have not slugged it, but will buy the kit if necessary. Thanks in advance for your help.
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marlinman93
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Location: Portland, Oregon

Re: 1895 40-65

Post by marlinman93 »

No reason to buy a "kit" to slug a bore. Simply go to a sporting goods store and buy a box of muzzleloader balls in a size larger than the bore. I've used both .40 and .45 caliber soft lead balls to slug the bores. A ball too large will simply flatten the excess off as you tap it into the muzzle.
I use a brass hammer, and brass punch to slug bores. Set the ball on the muzzle and tap it until it's flush. You'll see the outline of the bore in the flattened lead ball. Then use a brass punch to tap it into the bore about an inch, and then a good cleaning rod from the chamber end to tap the lead back out.
Once it's out use a micrometer (not a dial caliper!) to measure across the slug to see what your groove diameter of your bore is. Then get bullets that are .001"-.002" larger than your measurement.
There's no way anyone can tell you the exact bore dimensions as these rifles were not so precise as to know exactly what the sizes are.
Marlin lever actions 1870's-WWI, Ballards, and single shot rifles!
pquenemo
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Re: 1895 40-65

Post by pquenemo »

Thanks for the reply, I'll try it.
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