Not a lever gun, but ------------------------------

[Crusty Deary Ol'Coot]

Using a cast bullet made for the Marlin .444 which my son owns, I have been developing or attempting to develop accurate loads for a .44mag which I'm firing from a RUGER 77/44 rifle.

So, what am I doing posting here? Well, there are a lot of .444 lovers, the Marlin Forum having a whole section devoted to this cartridge.

So, on to my results with the .444 bullet.

I have yet to achieve the accuracy I desire with this cast 280gr Wide Flat Nose bullet in the .44mag, while this bullet shoots well in my son's triple 4. The best groups I am seeing are right at 3" at 100yds, so figured this little rifle was a 100yd deer rifle at best.

Have a new 240gr WFN mold waiting for it's first casting session and hope to get groups in the 2" or less range without the amount of testing I've already done with the range of powders used.

But anyway, With the results seen on my two 2017 white tails using this bullet, the .444 with an expected higher velocity would be a real thumper.

My first deer which filled my antlerless tag was taken at 95 - 100yds and the doe dropped at the shot with the bullet making a complete pass through behind the shoulders.

The nice 4X5 buck taken this past Friday afternoon/evening filling my remaining 2017 tag was at about 50 +/- yards and dropped at the shot.

The buck was facing me so I placed the shot into the neck and the bullet exited through a shoulder.

Impressed, YES! The cast bullet plowed through a lot of neck bone and the shoulder blade before exiting and this when fired from a .44mag rifle.

There was more devastation then I expected and can only think that a similar shot taken with the triple 4 would be MUCH more so, but there would have been a lot of secondary projectiles due to the bone fragments.

But, with this experience using the .44 mag handgun cartridge with the cast triple 4 bullet, the .444 in the typical rifle configuration would be a real get er done hunting rifle with a good cast bullet!!!!

Anyway, set out to do what I wanted to do, taking my 2017 deer with this little rifle and a cast bullet and should my groups improve with the bullets from the new Accurate Mold, my 45/70 and the 465gr WFN cast just may see more rack time during future deer seasons.

Crusty Deary Ol'Coot

[John Boy]

Crusty - Thanks for Your Story.

[Geezer in NH]

needs to be moved from lever gun

[MyFlatline]

Hey "D", I've got a 250 ish one I can send ya to try..I still owe ya from way back. Let me know and they are one me. They do very well in the 444 at 100, might do well in the Ruger also

[Crusty Deary Ol'Coot]

Sorry Geezer, but because of it's content and it's intended relationship to the lever gun .444 it was intentionally placed under this topic.

The intent is to show a .444 cast bullet used in another platform with the success indicating how much greater the possible success level might be with the Marlin .444 used as a platform.

So, sorry to disagree with you, but if you'll read the post you can see the intended relationship and how it relates to the .444 lever gun.

Crusty Deary Ol'Coot

[725]

Puts meat on the table humanely, what more do you need? Keep up the quest.

[GhostHawk]

Whats the twist rate on the .44mag?

I suspect that is where your accuracy problem lies.

.444marlin have a little faster twist, in some cases, a lot faster.

If you have a slow twist rifle go to shorter bullets. Or trade it for a .444 lever gun and load .44 mag loads in .444 brass like I do in my Handi rifle.

[Crusty Deary Ol'Coot]

I believe it is 1 in 20".

The new mold is the same Wide Flat Nose profile, but the weight is 240 rather then the 280gr.

CDOC

[OlDeuce]

The 310grGC from a Lee mold works very well in these long cased .44s It's Just Right! the .444 loves it !!

Ol Deuce

[Jack Stanley]

I'm with ya Crusty , I like the relationship to the .444 that you used . It gives an idea of what alloy to use or stay away from depending on the target .

Jack