Mossberg 464 on the way

[FergusonTO35]

Yesterday the fun store had a like new Mossberg 464 .30-30 on the rack with the standard blue finish and straight grip wood stock for $300. The 464 is a Winchester 94 derivative. The mechanical design is nearly the same with some improvements such as a solid rear receiver bridge and through bolt mounted stock. It is a humble Mossberg but looks and feels like it was made with pride, like my 20 gauge Mossberg 500 shotgun. You aren't going to find a Marlin or Winchester in this condition at that price around here so I layawayed it.

I had a 464 awhile back. Nice rifle that liked boolits and I think an actual improvement over the late model Winchester 94. I really love the 94 design but not with Winchester's horrid quality control. I ended up selling it to pay off some bills. When I bail this one out I am going to have it properly drilled and tapped for a receiver sight, probably a Lyman 66.

[Dave_H]

Been looking at those myself. It has been a long time since
I had a lever action. Sold my Marlin ages ago, because of
money issues at the time. Regretted it if course, but have
never gotten around to replacing it with something.
The 464 looks like a good deal to me.

They even have a tacticool version. Which looks like it ought
to be a movie prop, but they have them.

[84minieldo]

Very nice...got a new soft spot for the cowboy guns,been watching too much Laramie, gonna keep my eye out,find one of these at that price I'll be layawaying it too

[FergusonTO35]

Bailed out the 464 today. I put the Lyman 66 on the receiver and it looks like the rear contour of the receiver interferes with mounting it as far back as I would prefer. I could just have it mounted more forward so the sight is over the rear bridge but that is not what I want. So, I'm going to get a Williams 12/37, which has a fairly long mounting block that will put the elevation slide back where I want it.

The rifle appears to be unfired or fired very little. I notice it also has a Williams rear sight and a fairly tall (around .550) front sight. Not sure why that is the case, unless that is what Mossberg is installing nowadays. Hopefully I can try out the rifle with my favorite load of 28 grains IMR 4895/Lee C309-150-RF.here soon.

[84minieldo]

Pics!!!

[FergusonTO35]

Forthcoming, don't worry. Apparently the Williams sights are factory as the online owners manual mentions some rifles having either them or a different style.

[FergusonTO35]

I've always wanted to try out the Marble's Bullseye rear sight, so I went ahead and ordered one from Midway along with a .450 and .500 front sight. The Bullseye is a barrel mounted rear sight with large and small concentric apertures. It is only $20.00 and mounts in a standard 3/8' dovetail so I figger I'll give it a try before I drill and tap the receiver. If it has good accuracy out to 75 yards or so I'll be happy.

[FergusonTO35]

Here is a long overdue update on the 464. I had a talented local smith install a Williams 5D 12/37 receiver sight, this is a sight which fits most rifles and shotguns with flat sided receivers. I also installed the .450 Marble's front sight. Due to moving and bad weather I have only gotten to shoot the 464 within the last week. First up I tried 30 grains Varget under a 150 grain Sierra Pro Hunter, one of my standard deer loads. To my delight the 464 shoots this one just as well as my Marlins, at least at 50 yards. I also tried 28 grains IMR 4895 under a Lee C309-150-RF lead bullet. It shoots those well also but the leade of the rifling is catching the somewhat fat ogive of this slug. I may revisit this one after shooting some more jacketed bullets to see if it smooths out some.

Yesterday I tried out some Lee C309-113-RF slugs with 10 and 10.5 grains Unique. These are short ogive slugs intended for the fine old .32-20 WCF. My goal is to duplicate a healthy Marlin 1894 level .32-20 load, maybe 1800-2000 fps. If it shoots to the same point of impact as my heavier slugs that is a huge bonus. I couldn't get out into the field until the evening and the fading light made it hard to tell the relationship of the bullseye to the front sight. Still, these slugs were well within minute of coyote at 50 yards and did seem pretty close to the POI of the 150 grain load.

[FergusonTO35]

Fired the 464 after work some today. I shot up some old 170 grain jacketed loads just to use them up for brass and hopefully help the leade open up a bit. Wow, these things impact like ten inches above my usual 28 grains IMR 4895/150 grain Lee boolit load. Recoil is a lot stronger too, the action will open a bit on firing if you don't keep the lever squeezed tight. Don't know if that is from the lever hitting my fingers as the rifle recoils or if the rearward thrust of the bolt encourages the action to unlock like an automatic pistol does.

Anywho, I think this rifle is going to be winner once I get used to it. It seems that the leade needs to open up just a wee bit for the perfect fit with lead bullets, which have a fatter ogive than jacketed. If you work the lever quickly you don't really notice but if you work it slowly some rounds require a fair amount of effort to chamber. Once all the jacketed are used up I'll give it a good cleaning and reevaluate.

[FergusonTO35]

I did a bit of work to the 464 last night to correct some minor defects. Like the 94, the 464 tends to suffer a loose forend. I found that the forend band is somewhat oversize and allows play even when the screw is tightened as much as I dare to. You can actually move the band and forend back and forth a little. I applied a small strip of rubbery automotive molding tape to the inside of the top of the band where it goes over the barrel. This fills the yawning gap in this area and snugs the band into the forend more, now the forend and band seems to be as solid as my Marlins. The trigger block lever safety was pretty stout, as it was on my 94. This means that if you don't have a firm grip on the lever the safety can protrude a little bit and partially block the trigger, making a much harder pull. I removed the stock and bent the trigger safety spring up a bit to relieve the pressure. Now I can keep the lever completely closed with my normal grip and not have to consciously squeeze the lever, which is much better for accuracy.

Overall I think Mossy did a good job rethinking the 94 design. I really like how the rear tangs of the receiver are solid and use a horizontal wrist bolt to secure the stock. The bolt even has a 1/2" hex so you can use a socket and extension instead of a screwdriver. The tang safety also positively blocks the hammer when engaged, but moves well clear of the hammer when disengaged. I know the late model tang safety 94's had trouble with the safety catching the hammer even when disengaged, this design appears to preclude that possibility. I'm planning to shoot the 464 alot this summer, and make it my main go to/ready to roll long gun.