444 Marlin loads and projectiles for hunting deer and wild boar please.

[Neo]

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.

[Clay M]

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.

[Bo1]

Nice rifle.
I have one, and currently have 240 grain sp jwords that I shoot. Great thumper...

Bo

[Dan444]

Go to www.MarlinOwners.com and their 444 forum.......also, their reference section provides a magnitude of 444 loads.

Dan

[dualsport]

If you can find one Ranch Dog designed a boolit mold exactly for that gun.

[dkf]

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.

[6pt-sika]

If you can find one Ranch Dog designed a boolit mold exactly for that gun.

Yes sir !

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 !

[6pt-sika]

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 !