Lee TL-430-240-SWC in .444 Marlin

[mac60]

I have a Marlin .444ss that I used to hunt with, but I haven't shot it in years.

57092

I have some of the boolits in question cast up to shoot in my CA Bulldog. They are dropping at .4315 from acww. I haven't slugged the bore so this is kind of a leap of faith. I loaded up just a few rounds to see what I can see.

57093

What kind of results can I expect here? The load is 11.0 gr blue dot with a cci 200 primer in a R-P nickel plated case. This will be more or less just a plinking load. All I want to do is to be able to shoot the rifle.

[HangFireW8]

I have the same rifle, I had Marlin rebarrel it to Ballard soon after they came out with that style. With either barrel I found true what one commentor said, "Marlins are not shy about showing their preferences". You'll know soon enough whether your load is loved or hated.

If you do get a chance to slug the bore, and your SWC's are undersized, you could try bumping them up, for example by putting the gas check adapter in a 450/4500 and squishing them with a flat nose punch.

HF

[Shuz]

I have a similar Marlin 444SS and just yesterday I finally found a load (read powder)that grouped well at 50 Meters. The boolits were either a Ranch Dog 265 or a Mihec 433-300HP and 45g of Reloader 7. The velocity was in the 2100fps area with both boolits and the accuracy was 2" for 5 shot groups. Previously, I have tried mil surp 4759 and H-4198 and got 5 to 6" groups at 50 meters with the Ranch Dog 265 and Lyman 429244 and 429215 boolits. Boolit diameter is .432+.

[Larry Gibson]

With the TL44-240-SWC I suggest you keep it under 1200 fps and use a faster burning powder. Suggest you start at 5 gr Bullseye and work up until 1150 - 1200 fps is reachedor accuracy goes south. You will probably find an excellent "plinking load" in there.

Larry Gibson

[mac60]

HFW8 - I've heard the same rumor - I'm fixin' to find out. I won't be too disappointed if it isn't accurate, but if I end with a bore full o'lead I'm gonna be heartbroken :(. SHUZ - I guess I missed the boat on Ranchdog moulds (I would like to have a 265 gr. mould though). 265 gr. at 2100 fps. sounds like a sure enough hunting load to me - I'm just looking for a plinking load here though.
Larry Gibson - From the little bit of research I did that load of BD ought to be slightly faster than 1100 fps. I do have a little BE and If things don't work out - I'll give it a try.
Thanks very much for the guidance fellas. I believe I'm gonna throw all the stuff in the truck and go find out if the rumor is true. I'll post the results later.

[Larry Gibson]

BD is a fairly slow burning powder and in the larger 444 Marlin it may not ignite or burn efficiently. Remains to be seen though, awaiting your results.

Larry Gibson

[mac60]

Well - Good news and bad news. The good news - no leading whatsoever, 1 wet patch and a few dry left the bore shining like a mirror. The bad news - accuracy. I have to call it 2 1/2 at 50 yds. with this being the best of 5 3 shot groups.

57112

Larry Gibson it looks like you might be right. There was a tiny bit of unburned powder in the bore. I do have a little BE - what do think of Red dot (I've got plenty of it). It's fairly fast burning. I wonder what would be a good charge to start out with. Then again, I could continue to dabble with BD hoping to find a happy place.

[HangFireW8]

Larry Gibson it looks like you might be right. There was a tiny bit of unburned powder in the bore. I do have a little BE - what do think of Red dot (I've got plenty of it). It's fairly fast burning. I wonder what would be a good charge to start out with.

I've barely started with CB in my Marlin, but Red Dot was one of the first things I tried. With a 1.5gr Dacron fill, Rem 9.5 and a Lee 310 GC Flat Point, 11.8gr was rather miserable (6MOA in two 5-shot groups at 25 & 50Y), but 12.6gr put 10 shots into 5MOA at 50Y, which was mostly due to the vertical stringing.

I think RD shows some promise if I lose the Dacron and/or continue up the load ladder. (Wyy 11.8 and 12.6gr? It was what my old Lyman Accu-Measure rotors #14 and 15 happen to throw.) What's more they were a pleasure to shoot- enough recoil to let you know you were shooting, but not unpleasant at all.

At some point I will continue to look into RD loads, but I also have to work on feeding issues with this boolit.

HF

[Shuz]

mac60--2100 fps with a 265g or 300g boolit is definately a hunting load and not for bench rest or plinking fun! My shoulder reminds me of this! I've only recently started experimenting with the .444Marlin with the aquisition from a gun show in September, so my experience is somewhat limited. So far I've determined that my rifle likes fat RNFP style .432 diameter boolits and Reloder 7 powder. The only other powders I've tried have been 4759 and H-4198. Results with them were lousy groups and plenty of recoil with the H-4198 loads. I also tried 429244 and 429215 gas checked boolits and they did not feed well. I realize you are trying to develop a plinking load with the .444, but my early experience shows me that "velocity seems to be my friend" with this caliber and gun. Perhaps it's due to the 1:38" twist? Good luck in your quest.