want to buy new lever rifle

[ANTHONY G]

Hi Guys hope all is well. I been shooting pistol cartridge lever action silhouette for more than A few years.I use A marlin 1894 in 44 mag. I would like to purchase A new rifle with A longer barrel . I saw A few winchester 9422 mag legacys with 22 1/2 barrels. My question is have anyone of you had experience with this type rifle are they accurate enough and hows the trigger. thanks Anthony G rambuster staten island ny

[ppkny]

Anthony, I just purchased a Legacy in 357 caliber from shooter in PA that's been using it for some time. I saw him shoot in a regional and get great scores with it. He was only selling it because he wanted to shoot 25-20. I would recommend getting the longest barrell possible. (mine is a octagon) That extra sight radius makes all the diffeence.
ppkny

[RBriscoe]

I believe Rossi lists a 24" barrel (octagon or round) for their current production '92 rifles. No 25/20 though.

[Evelio Mc Donald]

I own two 94/22 legacys, they both have the full pistol grip, one in 22LR and one in 22Mag. they both shoot great, and both have a pretty nice trigger. Damm good rifles, but they double in price in the last two years.
I also have Legacys in 357 & 44 mag. and one in 45LC all with the 24" barrels, I would not take anything for any of them.
Evelio.

[RBriscoe]

Are you looking for a Marlin 1894 .44 Mag with a longer octagon barrel?

[jnyork]

Hey, Anthony, did you contact Marlin and ask if they can just rebarrel your present rifle. I know two guys here in Yuma who have done that with their 30-30's.

[ANTHONY G]

Fellow silhouette shooters thanks for your replys. I would like to answer some of your questions. I did ask marlin if they could replace my barrel and yes they could .my barrel is A micro grove they will rplace with A ballard barrel however they only have 20 inch length. my rifle shoots well I use 240 truncated cone penn bullets sized to .432 dia with 8.1 grains of unique. after 30 to 40 rounds the barrel is fouled. I would like A longer barrel and the winchester 22 mag legacy with the 22 1/2 barrel would be nice. I have seen the 22mag knock down rams with no problems. I cant find any 357 or 44 mags with long barrels except the rossi thanks again for your input Anthony G Rambuster

[Jason]

I use a 22mag with a long barrel and can tell you from experience that it will often leave the pistol cartridge rams standing with factory ammo. I pull bullets and replace powder in the 50gr Federal loads to be able to reliably knock down rams and that process might not be for everyone. If it's not for you, then I would not advise buying a 22mag specifically for pistol cartridge cowboy matches. It sounds like you may be pushing those bullets too fast or that the alloy is not hard enough if your barrel gets fouled to the point that accuracy drops off that quickly. I know quite a few shooters who shoot lead bullets out of Micro-groove barrels that don't have such issues.

[cslcAl]

Anthony, I also have a 9422 Legacy and use Jason's method for the rams. I have had a lot of success with that rifle and ammo combo. I have however just picked up a Win 92 in 25-20 I am going to try this year. It is a 24 in. bbl. and there is no substitute for barrel length. Also by the current rules you may not rebarrel a rifle for cowboy silhouette. Al

[kemo sabe]

Take a close look at Rossi's new ss 24" octagon .44 mag. I have one and am using a Marbles tang peep and a Marbles front glow sight. It has good balance for me. Have not yet shot a match with it. It has knocked down every 200 m ram I have hit with it here at home using 20 grs. 2400 behind a Laser Cast 240 gr. rnfp (mv 1650 per Chrony). But, the beautiful ss crescent butt plate is painful with this load. A lace up leather pad from Brownells eliminated the pain. Will only use the 20 grs. 2400 on the 200 m rams as I just barely get out to the turkeys with Marbles all the way up using 7 grs. Titegroup which I also plan to use for pc.

[ppkny]

Anthony, Interesting replys, but why kill yourself with a 44 mag or be boardline with a 22 mag. Al (cslc) must be on to something (as he always is) with using the 25-20. I have the Legacy 357 with the long octagon barrell, not much recoil and it shoots well as I've seen it perform for the previous owner who also went to a 25-20.
ppkny

[kemo sabe]

Also, the trigger on my Rossi M92 breaks pretty clean @ 4.5 Lbs. But, if you are only going to shoot pc why not use a smaller cal. ?

[Another Dang 9]

I see a few references to the 25/20. has anyone looked in the used market for one. there is a few here and there at gun shows.

[coppertop]

Funny Ya'll should bring up the 25-20. Myself and a few others have started using them here in AR. We all seem to like them pretty well. They will take all of the animals over easily even when loaded slow with a 60 grainer. I use a 1906 vintage 1892 with a 24 inch barrel, another uses a very old 1894 Marlin with a 28, yes a 28 inch barrel, another just got a modern 1894cl with a 24. If anyone is interested, I just saw a 1894cl in 25-20 on Auctionarms. I think the going price was 6 something. I think that is fairly reasonable, and the cl's in 25-20 are not very common. Whoever said get a longer barrel is correct, it is an advantage. The old guns have a great feel to them and they generally shoot very good, but watch out for bad bores. The pre 1915 or so guns may have had some corrosive primed or black powder ammo used in them. I highly recommend the 25-20, and the 32-20 is not a bad choice either.

[Another Dang 9]

One if the guys I shoot with has a very old 25/20. the bore is junk, the sights were brased on (poorly too), and the stock looks like it should be used for fire wood, Dang thing shoots like a lazer beam!
I have a 32/20 and the only draw back is the thin brass. The 25/20 has it over the 32/20 for that as well. Mine also does not like lead bullets.