444 marlin tube magazine bullet profile safety?

[Soundguy]

Getting a 444 marlin.. Going to reload for it.
On hand I have 240gr round nose as well as 240gr swc hp and 240gr swc. I believe I have 210gr swc hp as well. ( all cast lead )

Are any of these safe for primer detonation?

I think I can find a 210gr round nose flat point mold if I have to.

Opinions requested.

Thanks

[quilbilly]

Get that 210 RNFP plain base! Mine absolutely loves it and a Red Dot load for 1320 FPS. Economical plus fun to shoot all day long. I sized the boolit to nominal and double lubed with the Lee "mule snot". At that velocity, it would work fine on any deer I have ever seen out to 100 yards. It also shot just fine with the 240 SWC-GC at 1700, a 265 gr. SWC plain base at 1370, and the 310 gr. RFGC at 1700 (my successful elk load).

[Soundguy]

Where did you find red dot data? Is it on the alliant site? I don't see it in my Lyman cast data manual.

I will for sure get the fp if it's that good.. I like that reduced velocity too.. 13xx is way better than the 16xx to 17xx I am seeing listed for Imr 3031 and 4198

[Soundguy]

Is the swc safe in the tube mag?

[BamaNapper]

I use a 240gr SWC in my 444 from time to time. I haven't blown it up yet. The problem with the SWC bullet is that it doesn't feed as smoothly as I'd like. For that reason alone I switched to a RN. I haven't tried a RNFP

Someone would have a hard tome convincing me that a round nose would set off a primer. I wonder if there's even a mold out there in this caliber that would have enough of a point to be a concern.

[Soundguy]

I mentioned using a 240gr RN on another forum and people fell all over themselves saying I was going to blow it up??? Is the 240gr RN safe then?

[quilbilly]

Any semi-wadcutter is safe in a tube magazine as is any RF style boolit. IMHO any meplat over 1/10" should be just fine. I agree with Bamaknapper about round noses especially for lighter loads. Most of my Red Dot Loads come from the old Lyman manual for CB's which is why I have both the old and new.

[BLAHUT]

Flat nose. As long as the flat nose is larger than the primer, you are good to go. And your primers are set flush or lower than the shell base.

[trails4u]

"Someone would have a hard time convincing me that a round nose would set off a primer. I wonder if there's even a mold out there in this caliber that would have enough of a point to be a concern".

I'm in this camp....I can't imagine a RNSP lead bullet being enough to ever engage a primer in a way that it would crush enough to engage the anvil in a way to cause ignition. Your call....your gun....your potential outcome. But I wouldn't think twice about it...

[Soundguy]

Im getting a 210gr rnfp anyway..its a good excuse to use it..besides..this won't be a hunting gun..just a range toy..thus the lighter bullet and slower load will be fine for me.

[Rapier]

My 444 Rifle, first year production, micro groove, is deadly with a hard cast 210 GC SWC Lyman with LBT Blue lube, sized to actual slugged groove diameter and 12 grains of Unique. Do not ovr crimp, just enough to straighten the case mouth and give enough tension to just hold the bullet. I have a 2x scope on it and it shoots 1" at 200 yards. Amounts to a long 44 mag and does not require any expansion on impact.

[BamaNapper]

Just another thought on RN boolits in a tubular magazine:

If I'm remembering correctly, for decades most 30-30 ammo on the shelf has been RN. The tips may be a softer lead, but they look far more questionable than a RN for a 444. Tons of reloading data for 330-30 RN also. It's the same primer, and round Nose in a 30-30 has been the norm for an awfully long time.

Of course the recoil is less on the 30-30. But you could probably get more of a shock to the magazine by dropping the rifle than shooting it. If there was a real probability of detonating the magazine by dropping your gun, the ammo manufacturers would have pulled the RN ammo off the shelves long ago.

[Soundguy]

That's kind of what I was thinking the round nose ammo I used to buy before I was casting seemed like it was a pretty small contact patch on that large primer and no one questioned that at all

[HangFireW8]

Getting a 444 marlin.. Going to reload for it.
On hand I have 240gr round nose as well as 240gr swc hp and 240gr swc. I believe I have 210gr swc hp as well. ( all cast lead )

Are any of these safe for primer detonation?

I think I can find a 210gr round nose flat point mold if I have to.

Opinions requested.

Thanks

If the meplat is significantly larger than the primer, then it's OK.

For the largest meplats, you may need a different magazine follower to get them to feed OK. I upgraded my 444SS with a red colored follower, that allowed Lee 310's to feed easily, before they were jam-o-matics.

I have the Ballard barrel, which Marlin offered as a low-cost upgrades for existing owners, for a while. MicroGroove will shoot cast just fine, as long as you size properly for it, and don't go too long on the boolit / too slow velocity to stabilize with the slow twist. Ballards have a tighter twist.