GUNS Magazine Levergun Loads: The .41 Magnum

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John’s jacketed bullet loads in the .41 Magnum Marlin.

I spotted what looked to be a pre-Remington Marlin levergun on the used gun rack in a local shop. It looked to be in excellent condition with a 20″ barrel, checkered forearm and checkered pistol grip. I figured it was a .44 Magnum and since I already had my original Marlin 336 .44 Magnum from the 1960s as well as one of the very rare Trapper Model 1894 .44 Magnums, I almost didn’t bother to look at it. But something within me stirred and said, “Pick it up!” so I did.

I noticed the virtually brand-new condition with no handling marks whatsoever and it even appeared to be unfired. I looked at the barrel marking, saw, “.41 Magnum” and wasted no time writing a check and filling out the paperwork. This was the only Marlin .41 Magnum I had ever seen — they are as rare as honest politicians!

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John’s bullets of choice (L-R) — 170-gr. and 210-gr. Sierra JHCs, 210-gr. Hornady
XTP-JHC, Speer 220-gr. SWC, 212-gr. PCHPGC and the Oregon Trail 215-gr. SWC.

Compound Problems

Loading up a batch of .41 Magnum loads especially for use in the Marlin, I prepared to enjoy myself while sighting-in. That’s when the problems started. I could not sight it at 25 yards as the bullets were all over the target. I said to my friend Denis: “Maybe this is why it was on the used gun rack. Looks like someone tried to shoot it and it wouldn’t group so they traded it in.” However, I learned long ago not to give up too quickly. I continued shooting and before I had fired 50 rounds, the groups started to tighten up and it got better and better until I was getting groups well under 1" for three shots at 45 yards.

Like most Marlin leverguns, this one has a problematic compound word on the side of the barrel, especially when shooting cast bullets — “Micro-Groove.” Perhaps whoever had this Marlin had tried to fire cast bullets without knowing how picky these barrels can be. It just took a little time for this barrel to be shot-in or conditioned or whatever you want to call it. Once the process was done, the gun was ready to perform.

This Was The Only Marlin .41 Magnum I Had Ever Seen — They Are As Rare As Honest Politicians!

Three of John’s favorite powders for the .41 Magnum as well as other
Magnums are Alliant #2400, Hodgdon’s H110 and 4227.

Developmental Deal

All sixgun-caliber carbines, especially if it is to be sided with a sixgun, call for load development first. Sixguns will fire just about anything which will drop into the chamber but leverguns are much more particular about what they will feed, chamber and shoot, especially those with Micro-Groove barrels. My .41 sixguns have no problem with 250-gr. Keith-style bullets nor 260-gr. WFN (Wide Flat Nosed) bullets, however the first one will not feed in the levergun as the wadcutter shoulder hangs up while the latter is too long to feed through the action.

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Very pleasant light shooting loads can be assembled with W231 and
Red Dot under the Oregon Trail 215 SWC.

Bullet Choices

My bullets of choice for loading the .41 Magnum Marlin are the Sierra 170-gr. and 210-gr. Jacketed Hollow Cavity and the Hornady 210-gr. XTP-JHP. These are pretty well standard bullets for use in .41 Magnum sixguns and work just fine in the Marlin levergun. I also have a diminishing supply of the old-style Speer 220-gr. SWC with the copper cup and lead core. I wish these were still made; however they aren’t so I use them sparingly.

My final choice was a bullet I had not yet tried. With all of these I first loaded dummy rounds to make sure they would feed through the action and chamber. I expected trouble with this final choice, however there was none. It is a 212-gr. cast hollow point gas check design supplied to me by my friend and fellow shootist Dick Thompson who powder coated them before sending. Those five bullets are used for Magnum loads and I have one more for assembling easy-shooting loads, the Oregon Trail 215-gr. cast semi-wadcutter bullet. I did not expect great results from this bullet through the Micro-Groove barrel, but there is only one way to find out — actually shooting them.

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Accurate #9 gives excellent results in a .41 Magnum Marlin.

Powder It Up

For normal .41 Magnum loads my powders of choice for full-house loads are Alliant’s #2400, Hodgdon’s H110 and Western Powder’s Accurate #9. For slightly milder loads I opt for Hodgdon’s IMR 4227. With the Oregon Trail bullet I want very pleasant shooting loads so the powders of choice are Alliant’s Red Dot and Winchester 231. My loading dies are the RCBS 3-Die Carbide Set and my brass of choice is Starline.

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Results

I found the 170-gr. Sierra to be picky in this particular Marlin, however with 22.0 grains of #4227, muzzle velocity was just under 1,600 fps with a 1″ group for three shots at 45 yards. The heavier 210-gr. Sierra JHC proved to be a stellar performer in the gun with 18.0 grains of Accurate #9, 18.0 grains of #2400, 22.0 grains of H110 and 20.0 grains of #4227 all giving very small groups well under 1″. The H110 produced a 5/8″ group at 45 yards. Muzzle velocities were 1,598 fps, 1,678 fps, 1,679 fps and 1,440 fps respectively. Similar results were obtained with the Hornady 210-gr. XTP-JHC, giving me the tightest group of any jacketed bullet, 3/8″, over 18.0 grains of #2400 and a muzzle velocity of 1,636 fps. This same load under the Speer 220-gr. SWC gave 50 fps more muzzle velocity and grouped into 3/4″ for three shots at 45 yards.

I did not have a clue as to how the 212-gr. PCHPGC would perform as I had never tried this bullet before in a sixgun. Actually, I didn’t expect it to perform very well in a rifle barrel either but I was very pleasantly surprised. With four different loads I average 3/4″ with 18.0 grains of #2400 coming in just under 1,700 fps. This should be a very potent hunting load. I got another very pleasant surprise when I tried the Oregon Trail Hard Cast 215-gr. SWC. Both 6.0 grains of Red Dot and 6.5 grains of W231 gave muzzle velocities around 1,100–1,150 fps with 1″ groups, however I really hit the easy-shooting jackpot with 8.0 grains of Unique coming in over 1,300 fps and giving an amazing 3/8″ for three shots at 45 yards.

It is a little easier these days to find .41 Magnum leverguns as Henry Repeating Arms chambers their Big Boy thusly. Now Marlin is once again producing quality leverguns, perhaps they will bring back the .41 Magnum also.

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Levergun Loads: The .41 Magnum

Loading the uncommon classic

Compound Problems

This Was The Only Marlin .41 Magnum I Had Ever Seen — They Are As Rare As Honest Politicians!

Developmental Deal

Bullet Choices

Powder It Up

Results

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