I liked good buddy Jose’s blog about his Marlin Glenfield .22 rifle, and we thought it would be a good idea to include a Rimfire Series category here on ExNotes. When the idea first surfaced, I thought we might have done a blog or two on .22 rimfire firearms. When I searched through our blogs, I found that we’ve already posted six .22 blogs. For your quick reference, here they are:
We’ll be including a category for these on our Tales of the Gun page, too.
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Watch for upcoming rimfire stories in this series, including a blog or two on the GSG .22 1911, the Ruger Single Six, the Smith and Wesson Model 41, a Mannlicher CZ Model 455, a Trainer CZ Model 452 , a Winchester Model, a Remington Custom Shop Model 504, a Ruger Mannlicher 10/22, a 200th year Ruger 10/22, a target grade Ruger Mark III, a vintage Winchester Model 62, and more. Yep, we like our rimfires. Big time. Stay tuned, Amigos!
Good buddy Jose, who has written for us before (I’ll give you a link to his other articles at the end of this blog), sent this story to us a day or two ago. I enjoyed reading it and I think you will, too.
By Jose Armenta
Hi Joe!
I have one you might like….
“Minute of Golf Ball”
I was at the range two weeks ago on a very busy day fooling around with the first 22 semi auto rifle my parents bought me for Christmas when I was 12 years old (um, I mean Santa Claus did). It’s a Marlin Glenfield Model 60 and it came with a 4x scope.
Anyhow some years ago I mounted an inexpensive BSA “Sweet 22” 4×9 scope on it, I mean really inexpensive like 60 or 70 beans. I put four golf balls out on the ground by my targets at 100 yards while some kids and the range hands looked on. Using bulk “rot gut” Federal ammo, I picked off all four balls with four shots. Golf balls fly about 10 to 15 feet when hit with a 22, sort of like when you hit them with a chipper iron. Two kids with a Ruger 10/22 tried bouncing them to no avail. So next range break I set them back up and did it all over again, and the results were 4 for 4!
I told the kids my 50+ year old department store rifle was “minute of golf ball.”
Oh, and yes, it does have the famous Glenfield squirrel stock. I learned to hunt with this rifle so it will always be my favorite.
Who still shoots their first 22 rifle?
Jose
Jose, that’s awesome.
To answer your question (Who still shoots their first 22 rifle?): I know I do, good buddy Greg does, and I suspect quite a few of us do. My first .22 was handed down from my Dad, who bought it when he was 8 years old for $8 in New Jersey of all places (a state with what are probably the most stringent gun laws in the country). I like your story a lot, Jose. It’s a good story, it hits on a topic that many of us can relate to, and it suggests a new blog line: The Rimfire Series. Thanks for submitting this to us, and if you have more stories, please send them in!
About a dozen years ago I bought an impressive Marlin 336 Octagonal in 30 30, but that’s not the rifle you see in the photo up top. I didn’t realize it at the time, but that 30 30 Marlin was a collectible rifle and I got a hell of a deal on it. I’ll give you a link to that story at the end of this one.
When I started the Peoples Republik of Kalifornia paperwork on the 336 Octagonal, I saw a brand new 1895 Cowboy Marlin at the same gunstore with the John Marlin proof and exceptional walnut. And that, my friends, is the rifle you see in the photos here. I’m not in the habit of buying two rifles at the same time (in fact, you can’t even do that here in Nuttyland any more), but wow, that 1895 was pretty and I bought both the 336 and the 1895. That Marlin rang all the bells for me…an octagonal 26-inch barrel, the .45 70 chambering, and killer wood. The time to buy a lever gun with superior wood is when you see it, and that’s what I did.
Wowee! A Marlin Cowboy in .45 70 with super walnut and a John Marlin proof mark!
Over the last dozen years, I only had the Cowboy on the range a couple of times, and that was enough for me to know the sights were way off. A couple of weeks ago, I decided to find out exactly where it was printing with my favorite .45 70 load (more on that in a bit). The Cowboy grouped superbly well (it coverleafed rounds at 50 yards), but I had to go to the very top of the adjustment range on the rear sight to finally get the bullets to hit at the point of aim at 50 yards. In the rear sight’s middle elevation setting, the point of impact was 10 inches low at 50 yards. I couldn’t adjust the rear sight any higher, so I knew I needed a lower front sight.
I tried to call Marlin to ask for a shorter front sight, but all I got was a message telling me to go to their website. I struck out there, too. The website said that Ruger (Marlin’s latest and current owner) isn’t in a position to service Marlins or provide parts yet and they don’t know when they will be. Hey, at least they were honest, and that counts for something.
The lollipop front sight as the rifle was delivered from Marlin. It was way too high, which caused the bullets to hit way too low.I gently tapped the front sight out with a brass drift and a hammer.The front sight that came with the rifle was 0.505 inches tall. That’s too tall for my loads.
Okay, I reasoned, this should be no problem. I called Williams, the experts on iron sights, and I hit paydirt. The Williams guy told me that in recent years Marlin put whatever front sights they had in stock on their rifles with no thought given to where the guns would print. That’s what happened on my rifle.
Getting the correct front sight once you know where the rifle is printing is simple. The height of the front sight that came with the rifle was about 0.500 inches, and it was printing 10 inches too low with the rear sight as high as it would go. It’s an a/b=c/d calculation. If you know the sight radius, the front sight height, the distance to the target, and how low or high the point of impact is, you can calculate the required change in front sight height to move the point of impact the amount you want. I’d like to say it’s advanced engineering, but the truth is it’s a 7th grade algebra problem (and I made it through the 7th grade successfully, aside from a ton of time in detention). The calculation goes like this:
Required change in front sight height =
(desired shift on target/(50*36))(sight radius)
where
50*36 is the distance to the target in inches (50 yards * 36 inches/yard)
The sight radius is 23 inches
The desired point of impact on the target is 10 inches up (the rifle was grouping 10 inches below point of aim).
I did the math, and the required change in front sight height was a drop of (10/(50*36))(23) = 0.128 inches. That meant I needed a front sight about 0.372 inches tall.
What you see above is what Marlin should have done when they selected the correct front sight for this rifle, but they didn’t and I did. I bought two new front sights. One would raise the point of impact about 13 inches at 50 yards, and the other that would raise it about 5 inches at 50 yards. I knew that one of the two should work. The cost for both was only $35, and in the grand scheme of things, I always figured I can’t have too many gun parts to play with.
Williams had .341 and a .410 front sight. You can’t get the exact height you want but that’s okay…that’s why the rear sight is adjustable. So I bought both rear sights. The rear sight height adjustment would give me the room to dial either in. The .341 front sight would give me more than I needed; the .410 would give me a little less than I needed, but either one should get me into the adjustment range.
The two Williams replacement front sights on the left, and the original Marlin front sight on the right.
The front sight mounts in a dovetail on the barrel, and it has to be fitted. It’s an interference fit, but it has too much interference as delivered. You have to gently sand material off the bottom of the replacement sight so it goes into the dovetail with just a little interference. Easy does it is the mantra here (you can take material off, but you can’t put it back on). You want enough interference so the front sight has to be tapped in with a brass drift and it won’t move around due to recoil or normal hunting knocking about.
Sanding the front sight base down, a thousandth or two at a time.The Williams 0.341 inch front sight ready for installation.A white dot (which I greatly prefer over the brass dot) front sight, on station and ready for duty.
So how’s it all going to work? I’ll let you know after I get to the range. Oh, and my favorite .45 70 load? It’s the 405-grain Missouri Bullet Company cast bullet, crimped in the cannelure, with 35.0 grains of IMR 4198.
One more thing…that 336 Marlin Octagonal I told you about? It’s right here, along with a bunch of other cool lever gun stuff! You’ll want to go there…the 336 Octagonal is an interesting firearm.
The new Henry Single Shot. Mine has exceptionally fancy walnut. I am a soft touch when fancy walnut is involved.
I’m about a week away from having sufficiently cooled (at least in the Peoples Republik of Kalifornia’s eyes), which is another way of saying I have 7 days left until my 10-day waiting period is over, and then I’ll be able to pick up my new Henry .45 70 Single Shot. (“Single Shot” is capitalized because it’s a proper noun; it’s Henry’s official name for this rifle.)
Another view showing the entire Henry Single Shot rifle. I’ll get better photos when I get to the range; I shot these photos at the dealer.
I am loading a series of cartridges to test for accuracy in the new Henry and I’m going to tell you about the loads, but before I get into that I want to tell you about the three levels of reloads you find in the .45 70 reloading manuals. I’ll post about the different loads (and reloading those rounds) in the next blog.
A Sense of Scale: A .22 Long Rifle cartridge, a 405-grain Missouri cast .45 70 bullet (just the bullet is bigger in both length and diameter than an entire .22 cartridge), and a reloaded .45 70 cartridge.
.45 70 History
I’ve been a student of the .45 70 for close to 50 years, and the cartridge is nearly 150 years old. One of the best sources of information on the early .45 70 rifles is Jack Behn’s touchstone reference shown below.
One of the best references on early .45 70 rifles is Jack Behn’s excellent 1956 book. It was published by the Gun Room Press, an imprint owned by the now defunct Rutgers Gun Store. When I picked up my 1973 Colin D. MacManus 1911 .45 auto, it was from the Rutgers Gun Store in Highland Park, New Jersey.
At the end of the Civil War, the Army knew it needed a breechloading rifle (one that loaded from the rear with metallic cartridges). This resulted in development of the 1873 Springfield rifle and the .45 70 500 cartridge, so designated because it fired a 500-grain, .458-inch diameter lead cartridge propelled by 70 grains of black powder. That was later changed to a 405-grain lead cartridge because soldiers complained that recoil with the 500-grain projectile was excessive.
An 1873 Trapdoor Springfield rifle.
That .45 70 Trapdoor Springfield remained in service from 1873 through the Spanish American War and our wars against the Plains Indians. It was also the rifle most frequently used by buffalo hunters to nearly exterminate the American bison, which was really little more than an extension of the war against the Indians (it’s not widely known, but the dominant reason the U.S. Government encouraged eradication of the American bison was because it was the principal source of food, shelter, and clothing for the Indians).
The Trapdoor action. New in its day, it is antiquated today. It is a weaker action than are those used in modern single shot and lever action rifles, and it therefore is loaded to lower chamber pressures.
Trapdoor Springfield .45 70 Loads
The “Trapdoor” designation for the 1873 Springfield refers to the action design. The Springfield’s action had a hinged element that rotated forward to allow loading a cartridge, which was then closed and locked in place prior to firing a round. It was state of the art in 1873, but it was inherently weak and limited the pressures to which ammunition could be loaded. But it was enough. The Springfield action could withstand pressures up to around 17,000 psi, sufficient to launch a 405-grain projectile at velocities a little north of 1400 feet per second. It was more than enough to kill a man, and in fact, it was enough to kill a buffalo.
Winchester and Marlin .45 70 Loads
The .45 70 cartridge had a lot going for it, and in 1886, Winchester introduced a .45 70 lever action repeater (their Model 1886). Marlin had previously introduced a .45 70 lever action repeater in 1881. The Winchester and Marlin rifles had two advantages: They could fire repeatedly by operating the lever action and squeezing the trigger, and the lever gun actions were stronger (so they could be loaded to higher pressures with resulting higher velocities). I don’t know that any of the ammo companies loaded the cartridge to the higher pressures the Winchester and Marlin rifles could handle back in those days (probably out of a fear that the ammo might be used in the weaker Springfield action), but folks who reload today and who have either a Marlin or a Winchester can load their ammunition to the higher levels allowed by the lever gun receivers.
The reloading manuals show that the Model 1895 Marlin and Model 1886 Winchester lever actions can handle chamber pressures in the 27,000 psi range. That’s enough to drive a 405-grain bullet out at about 1700 feet per second. That’s a smoking hot load.
This is a Chiappa reproduction of the 1886 Winchester rifle, chambered in .45 70. This is a lever action rifle.The 1886 Chiappa reproduction. The curved metal buttplate is a faithful reproduction of the original Winchester design, and it is punishing when the hammer drops. Nice wood, huh?A modern Marlin 1895. When I saw this one on the rack, I knew I had to have it. I’ve owned the rifle about 25 years now. It’s very accurate, and it regularly shoots into an inch with open sights at 50 yards.
Ruger No. 1 and No. 3 .45 70 Loads
The next step in the .45 70 evolutionary chain? That would be the single shot rifles offered by Ruger starting in the 1970s. Ruger had two: Their No. 1 rifle and the No. 3. Both use the same action, and it’s strong. In the Ruger rifles, you can load .45 70 ammunition to nearly the same velocities and the same pressures as a .458 Winchester Magnum, which is to say, crazy levels (at least in terms of recoil). Ruger rifles chambered in .45 70 can handle pressures approaching 40,000 psi, with 405-grain bullet velocities north of 2,000 feet per second. I’ve done this. It’s no fun.
A Ruger No. 1 falling block rifle. This is the rare 26-inch barreled version with figured Circassian walnut. Ruger only made a limited number of these variants and most of them have very plain wood. It’s pretty, but the Marlin shown above is more accurate.
.45 70 Loads: The Bottom Line
The upshot of all this? There are three levels to which you can reload .45 70 ammunition: The Trapdoor Springfield level, the 1886 Winchester/Marlin level, and the Ruger level. When you see this in a reloading manual, you’ll see three sets of reloading data, designated separately as explained in this blog.
What does all this mean in the real world? Your mileage may vary, but for me, I never venture into the Marlin/Winchester and Ruger .45 70 reloading levels. There’s just too much recoil, and you don’t need to go there for accuracy. I would argue further that you don’t need to go there for lethality (the .45 70 in 1873 Trapdoor Springfields killed a lot of buffalo). I stick to the Springfield levels for all of my rifles (even though I could go higher), and that’s how I’m going to load for the new Henry rifle, too.
More Tales of the Gun here, including detailed info on each of the rifles shown above!
I’ve been a huge fan of the .30-30 since the mid-1970s, which is when I first owned a Marlin 336. I think I paid something like $50 for it, and it was an incredible rifle. We hunted jackrabbits in west Texas in those days and that rifle seemed to be laser guided. I just couldn’t miss, even when Bugs Bunny was on the run. The old Marlin had a front sight shroud, and it served as a good aiming device when Mr. Bunny was vigorously hopping down the bunny trail. I just held on the rabbit between the front sight post and the inner edge of that shroud, and whump! Yep, I did my duty as a soldier in the Great Bunny Trail Traffic Reduction Wars of the mid-1970s. As I recall, one of my friends offered me $70 for that first Marlin back in those days, and that ended my .30-30 career for the next several years. But I remembered the .30-30’s light recoil (it’s only about half that of a .30 06), its tremendous accuracy, and the off-the-charts fun factor.
Fast forward to about 10 years ago when I told the above story about that old Marlin to my good buddy Chris. I mentioned to Chris that I would like to own a .30-30 Marlin again. A week later, Chris emailed a link to a California sporting goods store’s online used gun listing, and there was a Marlin 336 for sale. The store was in Redondo Beach (about 60 miles away). I called and asked them to hold the rifle for me, but they wouldn’t do it. “You need to get in here if you want it,” the kid on the phone said.
Which I did. I told my boss I wasn’t feeling well, and his response was “Another gun?” Yep, you got it, Boss, and it was Subie WRX wheels-in-the-wells time. I was Redondo-Beach-bound.
I arrived at the store and explained to the kid the behind the counter that I was there for the Marlin. The gun department manager overheard me and told the sales kid, “Good! Take that damned thing off the Internet. The phone’s been ringing off the hook.”
I didn’t know it at the time (even though I considered myself to be a knowledgeable gun guy) but this particular Marlin was highly collectible. It wasn’t just a Marlin 336. It was a 336 Octagon. The story goes something like this: In 1970, Marlin produced a run of commemorative 336 rifles with fancy walnut, real cut engraving (not the rolled-in cheapo engraving you see on most commemorative guns), and octagonal barrels. The commemorative rifles were offered to celebrate Marlin’s 100th year in business. The Marlin wizards in North Haven had purchased a run of octagonal barrel blanks and after producing the commemorative rifles, they had a few octagonal blanks left over. The Marlin guys decided to use up the extra octagonal blanks, which they did with an uncatalogued run of standard Model 336 rifles. And that’s what this rifle was…one of the overrun 336 Octagon models that never made it into any Marlin sales literature. They’re scarce. The sporting goods store guys, not being experts (it was a chain store) didn’t understand what they had. Nor did I, at the time. I paid what they were asking for the rifle (which was $300, a fair price for a used Marlin .30-30). Then I found out what I had. Wowee! I’ve since turned down offers of $1000 for this rifle. My 336 Octagon was a real score, not that I’d ever be interested in selling it.
Yep. There are only about 300 of these in the world, all made in 1970. The Marlin 336 Octagon was a real score for me. Nope, it’s not for sale. Never will be.The 336’s standard post front sight. The 336 I owned in the mid-1970s had a front-sight shroud. A shroud would look out of place on an octagonal barrel.Caliber .30-30 Winchester. In the 1890s, Marlin didn’t use the Winchester designation for the chambering; Winchester and Marlin were competitors.I added a Williams receiver aperture rear sight with oversized eyepiece, undersized aperture, and click adjustments. Even though it’s 50 years old, this is a very accurate rifle.
The .30-30 is as cartridge with a history. It was introduced in the mid-1890s as the .30 Winchester Smokeless for the Model 1894 Winchester. I’ve played with the 1894 Winchester and I don’t much care for it. The Winchester is a lever gun (like the Marlin), but it’s not as accurate (in my opinion) and it is a much more difficult gun to disassemble for cleaning and reassemble after cleaning (in everybody’s opinion). Nope, I’m a Marlin guy when it comes to lever action rifles. It’s a Ford versus Chevy, Republican versus Democrat kind of thing. I like Marlin.
My reloaded .30-30 ammo. This particular load used 22 grains of IMR 4198 powder and a 150 grain Speer flat point bullet. I have other reduced loads using Trail Boss and Unique powder with Extreme plated bullets. This is one of those rifles that seems to shoot everything well.
You might wonder about the .30-30 cartridge designation. It goes like this: The first .30 refers to the bullet diameter (it’s 0.308 inches in diameter), and the second 30 refers to the grains of smokeless propellant behind the bullet in the original factory loading. That’s another thing…this was the first cartridge to use smokeless powder (instead of the smoke-belching, corrosive black powder in use up to that point). It has a muzzle velocity of about 2400 feet per second. The experts say it is a good for deer up to 200 yards. I would pass on a shot at that range. I can tell you that in the 50-to-100 yard range, the .30-30 is awesome. I once shot a 5-shot, 1.25-inch group at 100 yards with this rifle (using open sights). I only did that once, but I’ve been bragging about it ever since.
In its day, the .30-30 was a real breakthrough cartridge, and even today, it is wildly popular as a deer cartridge (it’s estimated that more deer have been taken with the .30-30 than all other cartridges combined). It’s a hoot to shoot (especially in a rifle as classy as the one you see here), and it’s one of my favorites.
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How does this old Marlin compare to a modern one? Hey, check out this Marlin Texan!
The 45 70 is a cartridge that’s been around since 1873, and it’s a whopper. Its designation was originally the 45 70 500 (a .45 caliber, 500 grain bullet, packed with 70 grains of powder). It was an Army cartridge used in the 1873 Springfield rifle, and the recoil was fierce enough that Uncle Sam soon cut the bullet weight to 405 grains. The cartridge was also used in Sharps and other rifles, and the early Gatling guns.
Reloaded 45 70 cartridges, with the 300-grain Hornady bullet. This is a big cartridge. It’s what buffalo hunters and Gatling guns used.
After the Army went to the 30 06 cartridge (in, of course, 1906), the 45 70 just about went belly up. But then Ruger re-introduced the 45 70 in their No. 1 single shot rifle in the early 1970s, and Marlin reintroduced their 1895 rifle shortly after that. The fun started all over again. That’s when I got in the game (back in the 1970s), and I’ve been happily sending those big .45 slugs downrange ever since.
I’m a big fan of the 45 70 and I’ve been told I’m a bad influence, as I’ve had several friends buy 45 70 rifles after hanging around me. It’s been fun, especially reloading the 45 70 and comparing recipes (more on that in a second).
As mentioned above, the Ruger No. 1 was the first of the modern rifles chambered in 45 70, and it’s a beautiful firearm. The Ruger No. 3 was an economy version of the No. 1 that Ruger only made for a few years. The No. 3 rifles were substantially less than a No. 1 when new, but because they’ve been discontinued, No. 3 rifles often sell for as much as a No. 1 (and sometimes more). The Marlin is less than either Ruger, but don’t confuse price with quality (or fun). The Marlin is a hoot to shoot, too.
A 45 70 Ruger No. 1, with Circassian walnut furniture and a 26-inch barrel.The Ruger No. 3, also in 45 70. These rifles sold for about $139 when new. Today they can sell for as much as $1000 in pristine condition.A Marlin 1895 45 70 Guide Gun. I bought this rifle because of its wood. It’s a good shooter, too.
I mentioned that my several of my friends now have 45 70 rifles, and we all reload 45 70 ammo. The idea is that we want to find the most accurate load for our rifles, and every rifle (even the same model) has its preferences. No two guns shoot the same.
Here’s where all this going. One of my buddies tested a load that looked promising in his 45 70 (a load using Trail Boss gunpowder with a 300 grain jacketed hollow point bullet), so I tried his load along with one other, all in the above three rifles, to see how they would do.
I shot at two targets for this test (a standard silhouette target and a 5-bullseye target). I shot each rifle at the silhouette’s orange center first (my aim point) because I didn’t know where the rounds would hit and I wanted to make sure I was on paper. Then I shot a second group from each rifle at the bullseye targets. I shot 3-shot groups except for one, as noted in my results in the table below. Note that all targets were fired at a distance of 50 yards.
First, the targets…
There are five different groups on this target. My point of aim was the bottom of the orange rectangle.The bullseye targets. I wasn’t worried about each group’s location; at this point, only group size was of interest. After picking the best load, I’ll adjust the rifle’s sights.
And finally, my tabulated results….
The first load tested would not chamber in the Ruger No. 1 because the bullets were seated too far forward in the brass cartridge case; better to find this out at the range than on a hunting trip!
The Ruger No. 1 really liked that 16.2 grain Trail Boss load (it was my buddie’s favored load). It delivered a 1-inch group. This load was also good in the Marlin, but not nearly as good as others I have shot in that rifle (the Marlin shoots into 0.6-inch with the right load). The No. 3 Ruger seemed to like the 3031 powder load with the 300 grain jacketed hollow point bullets.
As I mentioned above, every rifle responds differently to a given load, and that’s what we try to find…the best load for the best rifle.
A Tale of Two .22s (a CZ Model 452 and a Remington Model 504)
