Miroku 1873 Grade I In .45 Colt

[PJ Hardtack]

All I shoot in my B-92's is hard cast 240 gr SWC/RNFP bullets using .44 Spl. brass. You really have to operate the lever smartly with the SWC's to avoid a gibble.

I've heard that the Browning '86 carbines can be brutal with a load that wouldn't jar you in a rifle. I like my '86 rifle for that reason. Took it to the range today and plinked happily away off hand on the 12" x 10" 100m gong. Hard to miss. Loads were the Lyman 457125 500 gr with 36 grs of Varget and the Lyman 457193 420 gr with the same charge. I load the 500 gr rds singly.

No rebounding hammers on the two B-92's in my gun locker or my '86.

A lot of so called "actions jobs" I've seen have simply been accelerated wear on critical parts through over polishing. The only 'JM' Marlins I've seen malfunction were so butchered.

[OD#3]

Yeah, my maximum heavy load in my '86 SRC is indeed brutal.  420 grain bullet at 1800 f.p.s. cripples on both ends.  If I remember correctly (I'm away from the house right now), this used 50 grains of 3031.  I had to make a leather recoil pad with stacked felt inside for it just to stand shooting those loads.  While punishing, it was a consistently accurate load in my '86.  I don't hunt anything that requires such a heavy loading, but I did enjoy watching it hammer the steel plates.  Purely gratuitous fun.

I haven't tried loading for my B92 yet.

[Coffinmaker]

Oh good lord.  PLEASE don't get me started on what "some" call an "action job."  Then they almost faint when I shook all the moving parts out into the trash can.  In the hope I could save the receiver.  I came to the conclusion, if you spent enough time at a buffing wheel
you can actually make a part disappear.

Some day ask me about the brand new Rossi '92 that needed the sights "fix'd" cause he couldn't get it on paper at 20 Paces.

Coffinmaker

[Coffinmaker]

Have we somehow strayed from the original topic??  Drifting away, as it twer??  Shameful.   

Coffinmaker

[OD#3]

So we have.  Congratulations again Steve, on your new acquisition.  I'm eager to hear of your results with annealing.

[PJ Hardtack]

Some cannot resist the urge to top load a 45-70 to sub-.458 Win mag potential. I started out loading the charges recommended by the late Paul Matthews. Damn near put me off the cartridge altogether. A pal with a Ruger #3 carbine in 45-70 did the same until I re-educated him.

I enjoy 36 grs of 3031 or Varget under 420/520 gr bullets. I've taken two moose with such a load and they couldn't have been deader had I used a .458 Win mag.

As for annealing - people tend to make too much of it. You don't need an elaborate set up and experience will be the best teacher. I've read that guys like MLV anneal their cases EVERY time they reload. He also full length resizes all his brass so as to chamber fit all of his rifles.

[OD#3]

Yup, I couldn't resist the urge either.  Complete waste of powder.  Complete waste of money on a sorry rubber buttpad from Walmart and the duct tape I had to use to make it stay on.  Complete waste of leather for the more attractive replacement buttpad I had to make to restore the rifle's dignitiy.  Complete waste of mounting bolts that my steel plates hung from (they bent and failed).  Complete waste of "man cards" (a few of my friends turned them in after shooting these loads without a buttpad). 

But I don't consider it a complete waste of time.  I thoroughly enjoyed the experience, learned a lot, and was impressed with what the 45-70 can be pushed to in a Miroku/Browning 1886.  I'll probably always have a few of these heavy loads in stock "just 'cause".  But I'll wholeheartedly agree that loads that hot aren't necessary to get the job done.  Their biggest practical advantage would be in extending the EFFECTIVE maximum range, and the limited practical range with iron sights pretty much makes that a moot advantage anyway.  Still, it is a hoot.



I made this video 4 years ago, very soon after I got the rifle.  You'll probably want to skip past the intro, unless you like being bored.

[PJ Hardtack]

1794 fps!!! You're a better man than I, Gunga Dhin!

Dave Gullo of BACO told me he shot an elk with a Browning '86 carbine - once! Never again.

I watched a pal put 5 silhouette loads through his '86 carbine and after the last shot, he put his head down on the bench and was still. We tapped him on the shoulder and asked if he was OK. Answer - "I'm just trying really hard not to cry."

I'd still like to have an '86 carbine, but I'll load it sensibly. I don't like being assaulted by my own rifles.