I'm picking up my new 444 Marlin tomorrow and I am wandering If anyone has any suggestions on loads and the best weight projectiles to use for hunting medium to large deer and wild boar.
I'm picking up my new 444 Marlin tomorrow and I am wandering If anyone has any suggestions on loads and the best weight projectiles to use for hunting medium to large deer and wild boar.
For J Bullets,I use the the Hornady 265 and 43 grains of IMR 4198.I haven't worked up and cast bullet loads yet,but that is my next project as soon as I get a .431 sizer die.
Nice rifle.
I have one, and currently have 240 grain sp jwords that I shoot. Great thumper...
Bo
Go to www.MarlinOwners.com and their 444 forum.......also, their reference section provides a magnitude of 444 loads.
Dan
If you can find one Ranch Dog designed a boolit mold exactly for that gun.
I used the plain old Remington Express 240gr Soft Points when I had my Marlin. Wish I still had it. I would most likely go heavier if using a cast bullet.
Yes sir !Quote:
Originally Posted by dualsport
The Ranch Dog molds in 432-240GC , 432-265GC , 432-300GC and 432-350GC are ALL winners !
Kinda on a spin off of those molds I had some with the same basic nose design cut in 432-325GC , 432-375GC and 432-400GC !
And I have used them all in slow twist Micro Groove barrels EXCEPT the 400 grainer with excellent results !
Matter of fact I was the first person to kill anything with the Ranch Dog 432-350GC . Used it in an old Micro Groove 444 to kill a rather dumb VA whitetail buck at about 30 yards ! I was fortunate in that I had one of the test molds for the bullet before he ever made them available to the public !
As you may well expect my versions in 375 and 400 grains knock deer over like the hammer of Thor !
The 325 grainer didn't get blooded until this past season and that one was boom flop boom flop .
I started messing with 444's in earnest about 12 years ago and originally with the Nosler 250 grain Partition bullet . It did a nice enough job but they've since quit making them . Later used the Hornady 265 and Speer 270 as well as a couple 300 grainers . While they all killed well enough I wasn't totally satisfied .
Over the past 8 years I've used cast exclusively in the herd of 444's I have and have had . And with cast bullets from 207 to 425 grains they have all literally knocked the fire out of the deer and black bear I've pointed them at !
I still keep Swift 44 cal 280 grain A Frame bullets on the shelf just in case . But I doubt seriousely if they'll ever get used !
Probably the best All Around cast bullet for a 444 with Micro Groove or Ballard is the Ranch Dog 432-265GC pushed with a pretty decent charge of H322 , IMR8208 , XMR2015 or VV N-130 .
Some folks are big on H4198 with that bullet , I don't happen to be one of them !