444 Marlin - reduced loads

[pmeisel]

I don't know why I can't find my notes off of this and other sites....

I am looking to load some up for my 444 Marlin. I want to do some plinking, and full house loads with that gun are a little much for plinking.

Anybody have some recommendations?

[Beerd]

Trail Boss
..

[x101airborne]

I shoot a contender barrel in 444 and I like a 240 grain boolit and 13 grains unique. It is pretty close to a light 44 mag. I do not use a filler of any kind. No idea of velocity, but they all come out the end, so it is good to go!

[quilbilly]

5744 also works well for reduced loads in my 444. I load my plain base 240 gr SWC boolits to about 1150 fps and it is very pleasant to shoot.

[pmeisel]

Thanks guys. I have some Unique. I don't have 5744, so I'll try the Unique first...

[Skipper]

http://www.gmdr.com/lever/lowveldata.htm

Scroll down on the left to the 444 section

[dnepr]

Depending how much you want to tame the 444 you may want to stick to lighter boolits, I am working with the lee 310 and have found it doesn't really seem to settle down till about 1300 fps , I have a little more work to do with this load but I am guessing it will 1450 fps range where I will get my accuracy, definitely less than full power loads but not super light either

[pmeisel]

Thanks, skipper, sounds like something like 15 to 16 grains of Unique would get me in the neighborhood of a hot 44 Magnum -- plenty for game if I run into some, but a lot easier on the shoulder than full 444 Marlin rounds. About 10 or 15 of those is all I want to shoot at paper, and I'd like a load I can handle 50 of for some practice.

[longbow]

The Lyman Cast Bullet handbook has typical fast pistol powder moderate velocity loads listed. They may be what you are looking for.

Longbow

[pmeisel]

Just an update. Settled on 15 grains of Unique. Nicely accurate at 50 yards. Haven't worked out the trajectory for 100 yet, but will be back at the range soon.

Also, 33 grains of 4198.. Both with 240 grain bullets.

[helice]

Paul,
It might help us to know what powders you have. The 444 Marlin is so versatile. It can be loaded down to light 44 Special velocities and jacked up to be real thumpers. I have used 231W, RedDot, and 700X with a 170 grain Ogival Wadcutter, 200 gr. Lee RF, Ray Thompson's 429244, and 2 LBT moulds of 280 and 300 grains. The 170 OWC won't stabilize for much distance but it is a blast as a plinker. C.E.Harris recommended a load of 13 gr. RedDot. It has proven to be a lot of fun. 700x is sort of a duplicate to Red Dot. My 444 manual is at a friend's house so I can't give exact velocities but I believe the 250 grain SWCs were going about 1300'/s. Just way too much fun.

[UncleSarge58]

Trail Boss
..

Agree 100%,
Try a 240gr LSWC over 12gr Trail Boss w/ a Mag Primer.
Got an 8 Point w/ One Last Season @ 50yds. GREAT LOAD!
Shoots +/- 3/4in @ 54yds in my 444S.
Nice Mild Load, Really Fun to Shoot in the T4 & Super Accurate Too!
:guntootsmiley:
UncleSarge58