.32-20 Marlin
by Slow Hand 
, Indiana, Friday, June 13, 2025, 13:41 (14 days ago)
Well, it took a little bit of work but I have my new (old) 1894 Marlin pretty close to sighted in. Still need to head a touch left but I’m happy as of now!
[img][/img]![[image]](images/uploaded/20250613184043684c70ab506f1.jpg)
Looks good.
by Hoot , Diversityville, Liberal-sota, Friday, June 13, 2025, 18:28 (13 days ago) @ Slow Hand
How do you do windage with that sight?
Looks good.
by Slow Hand , Indiana, Friday, June 13, 2025, 20:01 (13 days ago) @ Hoot
The rear has slots so you loosen the screw(s) and slip it one way or another. Not an exact science but it works.
.32-20 Marlin
by Dave B , Alamogordo New Mexico, Friday, June 13, 2025, 22:31 (13 days ago) @ Slow Hand
Love mine with the 115gr from my Arsenal mould! AA9 has been the most accurate powder so far. Going to try 1680 at some point.
.32-20 Marlin
by Slow Hand , Indiana, Saturday, June 14, 2025, 10:29 (13 days ago) @ Dave B
My old standard load has always been 4.5 of unique. I’ve got a big jug of W231 so I tried it. 4.5 of 231 gives me about 90 fps more and shot nearly identical groups as the Unique, which o have less of. I have some 1680 for .300 blk and have seen it mentioned for .32-20 recently. I might have to give it a try.
Is your arsenal mold plain based or gas checked? This old Marlin has a frosty bore and definitely prefers a gas check. I prefer not to use gas checks but this rifle is so much fun to shoot, I’m willing to get a new mold (rough; I know!) and use the gas checks! This will be my fifth arsenal mold, I think. I really like them!
.32-20 Marlin
by Dave B , Alamogordo New Mexico, Sunday, June 15, 2025, 17:04 (11 days ago) @ Slow Hand
It is not checked, it's known as a Ranch Dog mould, I powder coat and lube, even though this one is supposed to be tumble lube, I use the standard sizing die at .313 I believe. I picked a load for coyotes, so I'm running them at just under 1700fps.
Dave
.32-20 Marlin
by Slow Hand , Indiana, Monday, June 16, 2025, 04:09 (11 days ago) @ Dave B
Gotcha. I saw that one in their listings. It looked like. A good one too! You’ve got that one scooting along pretty quick!
.32-20 Marlin
by Dave B , Alamogordo New Mexico, Thursday, June 19, 2025, 18:26 (7 days ago) @ Slow Hand
Yeah with powder coating, proper sizing, and good lube, I get zero leading even without a gas check. I can hit basketball sized rocks well past 150 yards with the factory sights, and it has accounted for a couple of coyotes at nearly 100 yards, although I will say the 100gr XTPs at 1840 fps are a bit more dramatic in that regard.
Dave
.32-20 Marlin
by Slow Hand , Indiana, Friday, June 20, 2025, 08:19 (7 days ago) @ Dave B
I am going to try these both lined and powder coated. The bore is slightly rough on this old rifle and it definitely preferred the gas checked bullet over my standard cast that I had on hand. It did shoot my two different 98gr bullets but neither one was super smooth as far as feeding.
I found a partial box of the 100gr XTP’s and am going to load some up tonight and try them out tomorrow. Probably only running around 1400 fps but that will still do the job, whatever job that is!