450Bushmaster.net

Hi Slash
Before you whack the end of the barrel off, check to see if making it a fraction of an inch longer will allow for one more cartridge.
How to do this easily? Cut the mag tube about one inch too long first and try the actual cartridges you will use in the rifle.
The first cartridge you push into the mag should be made longer than all the others to give you a little safety factor. Maybe .25 inch. Cut the tube in .125 inch increments. It will probably take several cut-n-tries.
After the mag tube is cut, you can cut the barrel, just be sure to leave enough extra metal for crowning as well as remaining legal.

If you crown in the lathe, be sure the crown is centered on the bore, not the barrel outside.
A light internal chamfer cut after facing the barrel will let you see if the chamfer is centered on the bore and the crown will be true. If not, you will have to make a plug for the bore and indicate off of that to find the bore center. Then recut the crown.

Quite frankly, you can face the barrel on a table saw with a sanding disk and make the chamfer with a round head screw and valve grinding compound. The difference in accuracy between the two methods will never show up with open sights.

halfslow wrote:Hi Slash
Before you whack the end of the barrel off, check to see if making it a fraction of an inch longer will allow for one more cartridge.
How to do this easily? Cut the mag tube about one inch too long first and try the actual cartridges you will use in the rifle.
The first cartridge you push into the mag should be made longer than all the others to give you a little safety factor. Maybe .25 inch. Cut the tube in .125 inch increments. It will probably take several cut-n-tries.
After the mag tube is cut, you can cut the barrel, just be sure to leave enough extra metal for crowning as well as remaining legal.

If you crown in the lathe, be sure the crown is centered on the bore, not the barrel outside.
A light internal chamfer cut after facing the barrel will let you see if the chamfer is centered on the bore and the crown will be true. If not, you will have to make a plug for the bore and indicate off of that to find the bore center. Then recut the crown.

Quite frankly, you can face the barrel on a table saw with a sanding disk and make the chamfer with a round head screw and valve grinding compound. The difference in accuracy between the two methods will never show up with open sights.

Great advice halfslow! I'd of never thought about the magazine length until it was too late! Thanks!
Sounds like you've done this before.....

gunnut wrote:I think I would just get a "Peace Maker" to go along with it!

I'm not too smart... but I'm always thinking! so about 20yrs ago I got to lookin' at one of my SuperBlackhawks and realized that I could fit the "steel" grip frame w/grips, low wide spur hammer, transfer bar and wide trigger to my .41mag & .45 colt Blackhawks Hence; with the exception of the fluted cylinders... create a SuperBlackhawk .41 (4 5/8"bbl) & .45 (7 1/2"bbl). The low wider hammer spur and wide trigger cycle & feel much better in the hand with SuperBlackhawk Pachmyers than the std Blkhawk models. No finger pinching behind the trigger guard either. Especially with the "souped up" .45 lg colt handloads! ............and twirling the 4 5/8" .41mag is made much easier with the SuperBlackhawk's wider trigger!!!

Hand one to a friend at the range and see if he notices the difference without you tellin' him!

slash2 wrote:

gunnut wrote:Load them both with these!

Yikes! What the hell is that!

It's a Heavy jacketed Soft Point. .452 260gr. Boat tail!!. Customprojectile.com Take a look at the SHTF thread.

This is the first incarnation of the 20" Marlin 1894 .45 Colt that I picked up at Big5 for $400.

XS Scout scope mount with a BSA Edge pistol scope. It was okay, but just not what I had in mind. So....

I shorten the barrel to 16.25 inches and cut the magazine tube to where it would still hold 8 rounds. Moved the barrel band back and drilled and tapped the barrel for the new sight location. I sanded off the bland cheap finish on the wood, stained it, gave it an oil finish and then waxed it.



I didn't like the front sight so I replaced it with a Brockman. I ground down the wings to reduce their height and gave them a flat profile rather than the stock round.



Next I put a Skinner peep sight on the receiver but I didn't like how it just stood up there ready to snag whatever came along,

so I made a sight hood from the 3/4 square tubing.






It shoots a 2" group at 100 yrds. 240 gr XTP/MAG, 27.3 grs of LIl'gun at 1800 fps! More on that to follow...

So I've been shooting these hot 45 Colt loads (240 gr XTP?MAG @ 1800 fps) out of my hill billy assault rifle for a while now with no signs or symptoms of ill effects, but I've wanted to run my process and thinking by you guys to see if I've missed something that is going to bite me sooner than later.

My assumption is that the Marlin 1894 also comes chambered in .44 magnum, so the gun can handle whatever pressure a .44 Mag generates. The max pressure for that round is 36,000 psi from what I could learn. I've also gotten a handful of hot .45 Colt recipes for the '94 from various articles/experts (believe at your own risk) from the Internet, all saying that a modern '94 in .45 Colt can be loaded to out perform a .44 Magnum because the case capacity is greater thus the pressures will be lower.

So I've been slowly working my way up from published Rugar Blackhawk/Thompson Contender loads to some of the hotter loads given in the articles I mentioned. I've been doing this in conjunction with my Quickloads program, checking it's predictions of loads/velocity with what I was seeing at the range and on my chrony.

Quickloads predicted pressure of 27,828 with a velocity of 1808 from 27.3 grs of Lil'gun and a 240 gr Hornady XTP?MAG, this was within around 10 to 20 fps of what I was seeing from my chrony.

At a theoretical 27,828 psi, no signs of excessive pressure on the brass and a kick comparable to a friends .44 mag '94, I'm thinking I'm in the safe zone, or am I nuts?

Nobody wants to chime in? Does that mean I'm probably safe and won't blow myself up?

Slash, Can't say yes or no to your loads but I do want to say that thing is AWESOME!!! I gotta build one!

If your ever shooting up in my neck of the woods (Sacramento) Look me up, PM me for my info.

oldmanjeffers wrote:Slash, Can't say yes or no to your loads but I do want to say that thing is AWESOME!!! I gotta build one!

If your ever shooting up in my neck of the woods (Sacramento) Look me up, PM me for my info.

It is way cool! And your views about not scaring the street fauna is excellent. I want one too..t

oldmanjeffers wrote:Slash, Can't say yes or no to your loads but I do want to say that thing is AWESOME!!! I gotta build one!

If your ever shooting up in my neck of the woods (Sacramento) Look me up, PM me for my info.

Thanks for the compliment!

Usually when I'm near Sacramento it's while I'm on my way to someplace else, like Idaho, however if you happen to be in possession of a California Holly Grail, free and unlimited access to good hunting on private land, I could be there this afternoon!
Either way, let me know if you need anything if you decide to build one.