how do wadcutters feed in lever action?

The correct answer to the original question is, "it depends." Original guns like the Winchester Models 1873 and 1892 depend on a specific cartridge length for proper feeding, since the carrier rising acts as the cutoff. If a round is too short, the next cartridge coming out of the magazine can move back until it contacts the cartridge on the carrier and the carrier cannot move upward. Some modern actions have a cartridge cutoff which acts on the cartridge rim and will work with varying cartridge lengths.

The issue of pointed bullets in a tubular magazine is sometimes misunderstood by those who do not realize what really happens. If the magazine is full, or down to one round, there is no problem. But if the magazine has several rounds in it, and the recoil is heavy, the cartridges will move forward in the magazine under recoil, compressing the magazine spring. When the recoil stops, the cartridges will slam backward, driven by the magazine spring. If, at the same time, recoil has caused a rear cartridge to jump so that the bullet point is in the center of the magazine tube, the primer of the front cartridge can be fired by the bullet point.

Jim
 
Marlin 1894 .357, no safety

Quite a few years back, I bought the above described carbine, and have shot the little lever quite a bit over the years.

I've been all over the board with ammo types, and the one cartridge/slug that would NOT feed from the magazine, was .38 wadcutter. It was a single load proposition. But once loaded, the little keg like slugs shot quite well, and interestingly, had the same POI as .357/125 jhp.
 
i have a new manufacture(sub 2 years) rossi .357. it will feed full WC's if fed slowly, even .38's. it's not ideal, but they are accurate little things when kept under 50 yards. obviously the smoothest feeding rounds are the flat-nosed, but the semi-WC feed just fine as well. I have many different .38 molds from HP's to TC's and they all feed pretty great, some smoother feeling than others, but all reliable feeds except the full WC which needs a soft touch a decent crimp over a flush seated round to feed well.

you won't regret adding a lever to your collection, even if you end up having to pick a different profile, they are a great companion to a wheelgun and the accuracy is extremely impressive, and the chambers are built like tanks, so it gives you a lot more versatility than your average 38/357. my lever is my #2 favorite rifle to shoot at the range, and would be the first I grabbed if I needed to put dinner on the table.
 
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