Christmas -- Range Day coming up!

After years of books, shirts, etc., all useful and appreciated, this morning my wife presented me with a box of Hornady 325 gr .450 Marlin shells and M1895 to match. Wow. Felt like I was twelve. I'm going to the range sometime in the next week. I'm taking the extra heavy PAST shoulder pad and some new ear muffs along.

I always told her I'd get one as a backup if one of the boys won a bear hunt in the state lottery. I hear the terminal ballistics are good enough for anything on the continent within range, maybe 150 yds. It's the initial ballistics I'm worried about.

I'm thinking of getting the little beast magnaported. Anyone here with an opinion on porting? Thanks.

Pete Keillor

Reply to
Pete Keillor
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Hard on your hearing. I doubt you wear ear plugs while hunting. Hearing loss is cumultive.

I have the 1895GG in .45/70. I've only taken it to middle capability loading which given this is a fairly light rifle makes an impression on you. I'm sure the .450 loading leaves a real impression.

That PAST shield is going to be a good idea.

Cleaning this is great, pull the screw out of the lever and you can pull the bolt to clean from the rear, the best way to use a cleaning rod imho.

Make sure the ejector doesn't fall out. DAMHIKT. Browells sells that piece rather cheap.

Wes

Reply to
Wes

Congratulations Pete! You've got a great gun there. I'm not familiar with it but . . . if it is a ballistic cousin to the .45/70 I know I would love it. All the loading tables I've seen say it can be loaded equivalently to the .45/70. There may be Marlin .45/70 in my future.

BTW - Do some serious thinking on the magnaporting issue. I'm not sure I would want that. A friend recently got a .50 BFG (Serbu). He says the recoil is tamed by the muzzle brake to about that of a magnum 12 ga. but the muzzle blast back in your face is a whole 'nother issue! Let's face it. With big bore firearms one kind of punishment is traded off for another.

Hard on your hearing. I doubt you wear ear plugs while hunting. Hearing loss is cumultive.

I have the 1895GG in .45/70. I've only taken it to middle capability loading which given this is a fairly light rifle makes an impression on you. I'm sure the .450 loading leaves a real impression.

That PAST shield is going to be a good idea.

Cleaning this is great, pull the screw out of the lever and you can pull the bolt to clean from the rear, the best way to use a cleaning rod imho.

Make sure the ejector doesn't fall out. DAMHIKT. Browells sells that piece rather cheap.

Wes

Reply to
Robert Swinney

On Thu, 25 Dec 2008 20:05:24 -0500, the infamous Pete Keillor scrawled the following:

Congrats, Pete. Now, who does she want you to kill?

Wear foam plugs under 'em if it's too loud. (ported) My little KelTec P-11 is louder than hell with the short barrel. Even if the 9mm slug doesn't stop them, the noise might. ;)

Are you worried about slower velocity due to porting? Load your own and adjust powder to suit.

Not I, but it's available online googling "marlin .450 magnaport"

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I'm not much of a fan of recoil, either.

-- Women and cats will do as they please,

and men and dogs should relax and get used to the idea.

--Robert A. Heinlein

Reply to
Larry Jaques

Thanks to all who responded. My son Ben and I went to the range today in Bay City (Michigan). It is an interesting place. The "indoor" ranges of 50, 100, and 200 yds. consist of 6'concrete culverts buried below the frost line. Bench only. The little beast (I think I'll name her "Thumper") shot very well, a couple inches high. I can fix that by just using a pistol sight picture instead of covering the bull with the bead. Or I'll need a taller front sight. I think my birthday present will have to be a red dot sight with a 2 MOA dot or smaller. Looking through the top of progressives just sucks.

I think I may agree with Bob Swinney. After reading on the internet, I was afraid the forearm would jump out of my hand and the front sight hood would get crushed against the top of the culvert, hence the need for porting. It was nowhere near as dramatic as that in practice. Just a good solid thump back, and maybe 4-6" muzzle rise. Very controllable. And fun.

Now I'm just going to find out if I can carry it to Texas on the company shuttle. One of my cousins owns and lives on 250 acres of Brazos River woods overrun by feral hogs. This thing is a hog gun if ever I saw one.

Pete Keillor

Reply to
Pete Keillor

Well this is my solution and has metal working content, I had to drill and tap the reciever.

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Pictured is a Merit Corporation adjustable iris sight. Hunting disc 4SS.

I dumped the hood immediately. One more thing obstructing vision.

My employer is scared of guns. We had a trip that stopped at Cabella's big store in Dundee. No guns or ammo was allowed on the company chartered bus. Why bother stopping.

Wes

Reply to
Wes

On Fri, 26 Dec 2008 19:43:00 -0500, the infamous Pete Keillor scrawled the following:

Progressive lenses are their own punishment. I decided that I needed (and _definitely_ wanted) lenses which were built 100% at their prescription. Progressives had just 20% of it working for me and I cursed them for over a week until the doc gave in and put me back in bifocals. I couldn't see the rear view mirror or my feet on steps, I had no peripheral vision, and I had to -physically- turn my head to see whatever I needed to look at, even during conversations with a couple or more people. That royally sucked.

So are you going ahead with porting or not?

Ah, so that's what they meant by "hogleg", eh? ;)

-- We should take care not to make the intellect our god; it has, of course, powerful muscles, but no personality. -- Albert Einstein

Reply to
Larry Jaques

No, I won't get it ported now. Maybe later. I need some time at an outdoor range, which ain't happening here this time of year. This rifle wasn't made for bench shooting, but if I can control it off the bench, it should be no problem offhand, kneeling, leaning (side) against a post, tree limb, whatever. The muzzle jump just isn't that bad, although the kick is brisk. I don't have a history of needing to shoot things twice anyway, although I might change my mind if it's a boar that appears to be the size of a small pickup.

Frank (the one with the acreage) told me about one of the cousins getting worked over pretty good by a big boar he'd wounded. It jumped into a thicket after he shot. He dismounted from his horse, went over and parted the brush only to look it right in the eyes. It knocked him down and raked him up one side and down the other with its tusks. He was saved by his heavy coat and the dogs. When they distracted it, his brother shot it again. He was pretty bruised up, but otherwise o.k. And maybe a little more cautious.

I'll leave the handguns, Bowie knives, and boar spears to the young folks, although if I can get my .44 Dan Wesson VH-8" down there I might carry it along just in case.

Pete

Reply to
Pete Keillor

Looks just like the Williams sight on my Marlin 336SC. What's that camo fabric on the tang?

David

Reply to
David R.Birch

I like a peep, too. I think I'd look for one to use the existing tapped holes on top the receiver. Either way would require a taller front sight. The original buckhorn sits pretty low.

Pete Keillor

Reply to
Pete Keillor

First season I took it out, I'm sitting by my favorite hollowed out stump and the biggest damn deer I ever saw popped up 25 yards away and WASN'T looking at me. I got the rifle up, pulled back the hammer and as the hammer and springs came near minimum mechanical advantage, the hammer CLANKED into the tang. The deer vanished instantly. I still mourn that day. Thus the layers of cammo tape.

Wes

Reply to
Wes

I have that same Williams Peep on a 336, nice sight. As Gunner mentioned, I leave the insert out of the peep area.

Had to change out the front blade to a slightly taller version. Couldn't set the rear low enough otherwise. The new blade was too high for the removable hood. Just took it off, got used to it quick enough. The new blade is plain. Just a small bit of gold set on maybe a 45 deg angle towards the shooter side if I recall correctly.

Using a peep on the rear helps improve sight alignment/accuracy, adds several more inches between the front and rear sights.

Reply to
Leon Fisk

I kind of like this guy's.

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The 1895 sight is down the page a ways. Click on the Information link, and he also makes front sights, whatever height you need. I haven't called yet. He probably can recommend a front sight to go with his peep.

Pete Keillor

Reply to
Pete Keillor

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