So I just got a big messed up order from palmetto state armory... They were out of jacketed flat nose 38 special so they sent me federal lead round nose instead... Now is this safe to shoot in a marlin 1894c? I'm thinking not since the bullets are rounded and lye against the primer of the bullet infront of it.. Also I heard that lead bullets in rifles kinda suck cuz of the lead fouling that can happen down the barrel.... Personally they just look dirty to me... What do u guys think?
Don't slam the butt stock on the ground and you should be fine. Stay away from more pointed tip bullets though. I use ballistic tips in my marlin. Less chance of the plastic tip setting off rounds in the tube.
If htey are round nose and lead they should be fine. It's pointed bullets with hard jackets that you really need to be concerned about. It may cause some leading, btu a moderate diet of these will not cause problems. Many a cowboy action shooter runs cast lead bullets in Marlin and Winchester leverguns on a regular basis. Some jacketed ammo at teh end of a session will help remove some of the lead.
The other thing is its 4 boxes of ammo... Should I really put 200 rds through my gun? I only bought 3 boxes and cuz of the mix up they gave me one for free.. Also I ordered pink ear muffs for my gf and they sent me black ones... They don't even have black ones on their site!!! And they ran out of stripper clips so they had to cancel that part of the order... Maybe if I complain they will give me a few more boxes for free
First of all, you should not get ammo for a Marlin -- they are aggresive and well armed enough with those long spears up front. Second, I guess your girlfriend turned out not to be worth a pair of pink ear muffs -- I think you lucked out though so just keep the black ones and be glad she's gone.
Sounds like the place you ordered from has some serious issues. I wouldn't worry about 4 boxes of ammo. Again cowboy action shooters run a hundred rounds a weekend through their Marlins. Those Marlins are pretty tough. Figure jacketed ammo wasn't as common when these leverguns were designed. Most ran on steady diets of lead for ages. I run round nose soft points in my .30-30 pretty regularly, and recoil is a lot more stout than a .38 special round. Friends run a lot of cast lead bullets as light range loads in their .30-30s as well. Lead is not a big issue it just may take some extra time cleaning. Jacketed ammo will leave copper deposits over time that require slightly more aggressive solvents to remove.
So CLP should do the trick in getting the lead out of there I'm guessing? Let it soak and a little elbow grease on a wire brush and it will be back to new again?
Should work fine. If you have very heavy leading, a small piece of choreboy wrapped around a small dowel is great to dig out the heavy stuff.
I wrote back to palmetto... Made my point across and hope they will fix it... They have magtech 38 SJSP in stock now for 2 bucks more a box I asked to switch them out for... If they say no then oh well.. They seem good about fixing things.. Sadly this isn't the first problem with them tho... I put in a ammo order that should have been 45 lbs... The ups guy walked to my house with it under his arm so I said that doesn't look like 45 lbs and he said no its only 20 or so... They managed to forget my 1k rds of American eagle 556 somehow... They sent out the rest of it the next day for me..
You may want to put those lead RNs in the reserve for a rainy day, OP. Ammo lasts 25 years plus. Spire points are more of an issue in a tube mag. I look at it like this- I'm either going to have to deal with copper or lead fouling, and lead is softer.
Just heard back from palmetto... They are sending me new ammo and the pink ear muffs.. Hope they get it right this time..
