444 Marlin success !

[6pt-sika]

We've had sunday hunting for two seasons now . Last sunday and today were the first times I did it in VA . Hunted sunday in a couple other states years ago . Anyway I got out in a new stand site at about 6:15AM this morning . Carried along my refinished circa 1967 Marlin 444 with a nice old Leupold Vari XII 3-9 on top . The gun had 4 rounds of RCBS 44-240GC SWC pushed with 52 grains of H322 in the magazine . Also had my circa 1899 Parker EH 10 gauge #3 frame with 32" IM/IM barrels loaded with #3 buck in the right barrel and 00 Buck in the left barrel .


Had a doe come by at about 07:30 closely followed by a spike and for some strange reason I didn't try to kill either of them . Watched and listened awhile and ate a snack then I "accidently" dozed off for about 20-30 minutes . Woke up about 09:45 and started thinking about getting my stuff together and coming down . I pulled up my scent candle and had it put away when I heard something about 60-75 yards behind me and saw a rather fat doe . I was thinking I might blast her when I saw movement behind her a second doe , then rather quickly I saw another deer with antlers .


They were directly behind me , but the Trophy Whitetail stands I've been using for about 25 years are good for standing turning around etc . Got the gun up and cranked the scope up the buck was better then I anticipated so I waited about 30 seconds for him to step out from behind some brush . When he did I let fly with a home cast RCBS 44-240GC SWC pushed with 52 grains of H322 and set off with a CCI200 primer . At the crack of the rifle he dropped on his chin and headed straight down the hill in my direction and stopped about 20 yards from me . Blood was pouring out the side , so I didn't think he was gonna get away from me , but I have this thing about not wanting them to suffer even though I like shooting them and I put a second in his neck . He flipped over and ended up 10 yards from the base of the tree I was perched in !


http://i50.photobucket.com/albums/f316/6pt-sika/Deer/IMG_8944_zpswixzd65a.jpg (http://s50.photobucket.com/user/6pt-sika/media/Deer/IMG_8944_zpswixzd65a.jpg.html)


That pic was taken from my treestand .


http://i50.photobucket.com/albums/f316/6pt-sika/Deer/IMG_8945_zps1zckczww.jpg (http://s50.photobucket.com/user/6pt-sika/media/Deer/IMG_8945_zps1zckczww.jpg.html)


http://i50.photobucket.com/albums/f316/6pt-sika/Deer/IMG_8946_zpsmbnsqw4h.jpg (http://s50.photobucket.com/user/6pt-sika/media/Deer/IMG_8946_zpsmbnsqw4h.jpg.html)


http://i50.photobucket.com/albums/f316/6pt-sika/Deer/IMG_8947_zpsvzwg945h.jpg (http://s50.photobucket.com/user/6pt-sika/media/Deer/IMG_8947_zpsvzwg945h.jpg.html)


He's a 3 1/2 possibly 4 1/2 year old deer . A friend that hunts the adjacent piece of property told me about this deer three weeks ago . If the left beam wasn't broken in front of the G3 tine I might have gotten him mounted he has a 20"+ outside spread . That's the widest whitetail I've taken to date . Also the first deer I've taken on a sunday !


http://i50.photobucket.com/albums/f316/6pt-sika/Deer/IMG_8951_zpsqzhplqp7.jpg (http://s50.photobucket.com/user/6pt-sika/media/Deer/IMG_8951_zpsqzhplqp7.jpg.html)

Unless I'm mistaken this deer makes it something like 25-30 deer for me taken with home cast bullets in the last 12 or so years . And of what I've taken I would say 2/3's to 3/4's were done in with the 444 .

[Blammer]

Very nice!

[Screwbolts]

Congratulations, well done.

Ken

[smoked turkey]

Very Nice! Both the rifle and the buck I mean. I have an old 444 that I have owned several decades and foolishly had the barrel shortened to 18" right after I got it because I thought it would make it a perfect brush gun. It does that alright but wish I'd left it alone. I have found it to be just the ticket for woods hunting. I have killed just a few with it, but nothing compared to your experience. Didn't mean to ramble but really just wanted to say nice going with the old Marlin.

[6pt-sika]

Very Nice! Both the rifle and the buck I mean. I have an old 444 that I have owned several decades and foolishly had the barrel shortened to 18" right after I got it because I thought it would make it a perfect brush gun. It does that alright but wish I'd left it alone. I have found it to be just the ticket for woods hunting. I have killed just a few with it, but nothing compared to your experience. Didn't mean to ramble but really just wanted to say nice going with the old Marlin.

I "had" a collection of old barrel band 444's . At one point I had something like two dozen of them . Now I'm down to a pair . The 1967 rifle pictured above as well as a 1966 rifle I had cut to 19" and have refinished both the metal and the wood . Have a regular 2001 rifle for the big beastie bullets as well but I digress .

~http://i50.photobucket.com/albums/f316/6pt-sika/444%20Marlins/RebluedRetro444Pandthe1967rifle_zps45deb0f8.jpg (http://s50.photobucket.com/user/6pt-sika/media/444%20Marlins/RebluedRetro444Pandthe1967rifle_zps45deb0f8.jpg.ht ml)

My Retro 444P with a S&W 629 I used to own .

~http://i50.photobucket.com/albums/f316/6pt-sika/444%20Marlins/Retro444PandSW629002.jpg (http://s50.photobucket.com/user/6pt-sika/media/444%20Marlins/Retro444PandSW629002.jpg.html)

And just for the heck of it my 2001 rifle after I restocked it .

~http://i50.photobucket.com/albums/f316/6pt-sika/444%20Marlins/Newdesafetyon2001444003.jpg (http://s50.photobucket.com/user/6pt-sika/media/444%20Marlins/Newdesafetyon2001444003.jpg.html)

Incidently I had Mountain Molds cut me a pair of molds expressly for that 19" barrel gun . Both are loosely based on the Ranch Dog design but with standard lube grooves . I first had them cut me a 432-325GC which I used a couple years ago .And a couple months ago I had them make me a 432-365GC perhaps I'll get a chance to kill a deer with that one before the seasons over !

Killed these two deer with the Retro 444P and the MM/RD 432-325GC .

~[URL=http://s50.photobucket.com/user/6pt-sika/media/Deer/Deer11-10-12003_zps37ed861c.jpg.html]http://i50.photobucket.com/albums/f316/6pt-sika/Deer/Deer11-10-12003_zps37ed861c.jpg[/URL

[Wasalmonslayer]

Nice buck!!!
Congrates!

[rlb]

That's a way cool buck. Congratulations on a job well done.

[DW475]

Nice buck, congrats!

[RugerFan]

Good buck! I've had success with that same boolit.

[freebullet]

Fantastic story & harvest!!!

Thanks much for sharing.

[tdoyka]

nice shootin'!!!!

[6pt-sika]

Got another this evening about 17:15 which was about 10 minutes before legal shooting time was over .


Thought it was a doe but it turned out to be a decent sized button . He was at 35 yards and I shot him with my circa 1967 Marlin 444 with a Leupold 3-9 on top shooting the Lyman 429244 GC SWC pushed with 53 grains of H322 and lit with a CCI200 .


At the crack of the rifle the deer hit the ground enough said !


Next up in this rifle the Saeco #431 250 gr RNFP GC bullet with H322 !


Two pics of the button !
That was when I got back to the house as of now he's all cut up and his heart in is a bowl of salt water in the frig !


http://i50.photobucket.com/albums/f316/6pt-sika/Deer/IMG_8958_zpstljkcm63.jpg (http://s50.photobucket.com/user/6pt-sika/media/Deer/IMG_8958_zpstljkcm63.jpg.html)


http://i50.photobucket.com/albums/f316/6pt-sika/Deer/IMG_8957_zpsbldodb36.jpg (http://s50.photobucket.com/user/6pt-sika/media/Deer/IMG_8957_zpsbldodb36.jpg.html)

[freebullet]

Wow color me jealous. Our high power seasons open & I'm stuck messing with drywall & tile.

Double congratulations!!!

[white eagle]

color me anxious
my season open this coming Sat.
very nice deer some of the best deer are the ones
that are unexpected and come in later
very good for you

[Beerd]

Bang, flop is the way to do it at 10 minutes until dark.
..

[6pt-sika]

Had a twofer today !


In the morning I got one with my circa 1889 Parker EH 10 gauge loaded with handloaded 000 Buck in both barrels . Shot this young lady at 15 yards and as one might expect DRT !


http://i50.photobucket.com/albums/f316/6pt-sika/Deer/IMG_8552_zpsacpxlpq4.jpg (http://s50.photobucket.com/user/6pt-sika/media/Deer/IMG_8552_zpsacpxlpq4.jpg.html)


Then this evening early on I had my circa 1966 Retro 444P loaded with the RCBS 44-300GC SWC pushed with 50 grain of H322 and set off with a CCI200 primer and a nice old Leupold Vari XII 1-4x on top . Shot her at 18 yards maybe an hour after I went up the tree .


http://i50.photobucket.com/albums/f316/6pt-sika/Deer/IMG_8613_zpsswvutbfu.jpg (http://s50.photobucket.com/user/6pt-sika/media/Deer/IMG_8613_zpsswvutbfu.jpg.html)

[nagantguy]

Very nice, thank you for sharing your awsome hunt with us!!!!!!!!

[taco650]

How many does the last couple does make for the year? Looks like you have a freezer full already.

[Ramjet-SS]

Hey hasn't anyone told you the SWC do not kill effectively? :bigsmyl2:

Nice shooting ing and what nice rifle the double 10 interests the heck outta me can you tell us kore like how it patterns with 00 at 25-50 yards?

[6pt-sika]

How many does the last couple does make for the year? Looks like you have a freezer full already.

Two per day each day of the season !

So far two slicks and a button to answer your question . I generally go wide open until I kill ten then I back off .

[6pt-sika]

Hey hasn't anyone told you the SWC do not kill effectively? :bigsmyl2:

Nice shooting ing and what nice rifle the double 10 interests the heck outta me can you tell us kore like how it patterns with 00 at 25-50 yards?


I use the same load in all my Short 10's and have killed deer with 000 , 000, o and #1 buck to date in the 10's all my handloads . I pattern at 25 yards only as I won't shoot with them past about 30-35 yards , you might say I use these old guns almost as I would a bow .

My loads are not stout at all 30 grains of SR7625 with 8 #000 or 12 #00 or 12 #0 or 16 #1 in a SP-10 wad with some WIN Grex buffer and an overshot card just to make the crimp level . I have loads with #2 and #3 buck as well for the 10 .

Bear in mind ALL of my buckshot guns are old doubles be it 10, 12 , 16 or 20 gauge .

As to the SWC bullets I generally don't pay attention to the majority of what people say . Most anything will work if a person is a bit flexible . A good many of the folks that would tell you these bullets don't work are those who think they MUST crimp in the crimp groove . Seat them a little deeper and feeding problems are a thing of the past . Another common problem with lever action shooters is the thought that they need to work the lever at mach speed which again is generally a crock . I've had several occasions when damage control hunting where I would shoot two or three deer quickly and I always caught the brass in my left while I worked the lever with my right hand in a not super duper fast way . Same goes for bolt guns . I've killed way more deer then a lot of folks and not as many as a good many folks . However when you do this stuff for years and years from July to January most years it gets kinda natural shall we say . Thank God this year we didn't have damage control permits , usually by this time I'm already well past 12-15 deer and a bear or two for the year .

As to SWC bullets in the 444 I only use GC bullets as I tend to push them a bit . Anyway I've killed deer with the Lyman 429215 , 429244 ,429244 HP , RCBS 44-225 , RCBS 44-240 and RCBS 44-300 . The only one I've not killed with thats in my accumulation is the Lyman 429650 and thats on deck in my short barreld 444 .

[tdoyka]

a couple of congrats!!!!

i use a 275gr(280gr actually) ranch dog with 41.0gr of rel7 in a tc encore(23" MGM barrel). i guessitmate its going 1900-2000fps. this year i'd like to try my ruger super redhawk in 44 mag with a 220gr wadcutter(its actually a wad not a semi wad) with 7.0gr of trail boss. it also get a guessitimate of 800-900fps and it probably won't be used for a deer that is beyond my 30 yard limit.

i really like the fact that you aren't afraid of the semi wadcutters on deer.:bigsmyl2:

[6pt-sika]

a couple of congrats!!!!

i use a 275gr(280gr actually) ranch dog with 41.0gr of rel7 in a tc encore(23" MGM barrel). i guessitmate its going 1900-2000fps. this year i'd like to try my ruger super redhawk in 44 mag with a 220gr wadcutter(its actually a wad not a semi wad) with 7.0gr of trail boss. it also get a guessitimate of 800-900fps and it probably won't be used for a deer that is beyond my 30 yard limit.

i really like the fact that you aren't afraid of the semi wadcutters on deer.:bigsmyl2: I've got theRanch Dog molds for the 432-240GC , 432-265GC , 432-280GC (actually pretty much the same thing as the 265 but before he changed the designation) , 432-300GC and the 432-350GC and have killed deer with them all as well as NOE's version of the 432-350GC in HP . Matter of fact I think I was the first to get a kill with the RD 432-350GC as I had one of the test molds for that before it was made available to the public . I've also had BRP cut me a kinda similar thing in 432-375GC and 432-400GC as well as HP versions of both and I've killed deer with both the solid nose versions already . I had Mountain Molds cut me two more Ranch Dog style molds in 432-325GC and 432-365GC and have killed deer with the 325 grainer but haven't hunted using the 365 yet . OBTW all four of the molds I had cut do not have tumble lube grooves but rather the more common standard lube grooves . I suspect when I've finally killed with each of the molds I have for the 444 I'll more then likely just use the RD style bullets exclusively in my three 444's and maybe even come up with a 432-210ish in that style ��

[richhodg66]

Two per day each day of the season !

So far two slicks and a button to answer your question . I generally go wide open until I kill ten then I back off .

Sounds like the way S.C. used to be, and may still be. I wondered why they ever bothered to close the season sometimes.

Thanks for posting about the shotgun kills. Buckshot isn't legal for deer here, but it interests me. 00 buck in 12 gauges was the weapon of choice for deer by a lot of guys where I grew up. There's a big ten gauge double in a local shop that's been there a long time and I've been thinking about it, sure would make a fun thing to go out and shoot on special occasions.

Nice deer with the .444 by the way. Always has seemed like a neat cartridge.

[6pt-sika]

Sounds like the way S.C. used to be, and may still be. I wondered why they ever bothered to close the season sometimes.

Thanks for posting about the shotgun kills. Buckshot isn't legal for deer here, but it interests me. 00 buck in 12 gauges was the weapon of choice for deer by a lot of guys where I grew up. There's a big ten gauge double in a local shop that's been there a long time and I've been thinking about it, sure would make a fun thing to go out and shoot on special occasions.

Nice deer with the .444 by the way. Always has seemed like a neat cartridge.

Unless I'm mistaken SC is the southeastern portion is UNLIMITED bucks and 2-4 does a year . The piedmont mountain region of SC is something to the effect of 2-4 bucks I think and a doe or two .

VA is three bucks the entire year and in my county two doe per day from start to finish . Now the bucks are not in addition to the daily bag limit as it is still two per day but all the doe you wanna shoot provided you buy bonus tags . Big game license here comes with three either deer tags and three antlerless , bonus stamps are six antlerless tags for $23 I think .

[6pt-sika]

I've plunked six so far this season with my own cast bullets !

The first with a RCBS 44-240SWC , the next with a RCBS 44-300SWC , then a Lyman 429244 , followed by a Saeco #431 250 gr RNFP GC , followed that with the NOE/RD 432-265GC HP and most recently a LBT 431-250GC . All but the RCBS 44-300SWC were fired from the same gun and as strange as it may seem used the same sight in for all FIVE bullets !

Next year I have a LBT 431-280GC mold I wanna try in the 1967 24" rifle . In my Retro 444P I killed with that RCBS 44-300SWC and I still wanna kill with the Lyman 429650 , Saeco #433 300 gr RNFP GC as well as a LBT 431-300GC . Then after that I wanna use the Retro 444P with my MM/RD 432-365GC . I also have a Lyman 429649 mold I wanna finally try that's about a 325 grain RNFP GC mold Lyman made for the silhouette guys a few years back . Thing shoots pretty well but the contour of the bullet makes me have to seat a touch deeper so it'll cycle and that cuts down on my powder capacity , but so far none of the deer I've killed have complained about 100-200 FPS less in velocity !!!!!

[6pt-sika]

I almost forgot I still have a mold of my sort of design . My BRP/RD 432-375GC HP mold , I'll most likely eventually use it in my 1967 24" Micro gun as well . I've already killed with the non HP version in a Micro gun and this one shot pretty well for me in load development .

Once I get some loose ends taken care of with these standard factory molds I might get back to it with my 2001 Ballard rifled 444 and some of the over 400 grain molds . I've not carried that rifle out once this year . Might do that this week just to shake things up a bit and maybe enhance my luck !

[TheGrimReaper]

Very nice, and very nice lever rifle!!!

[Pereira]

6pt, I like the 429650.
Lately mine are weighin around 317gr.
And has worked once for me this year.
It and 42.0 grs. H4198.
Love my t-4.

[6pt-sika]

6pt, I like the 429650.
Lately mine are weighin around 317gr.
And has worked once for me this year.
It and 42.0 grs. H4198.
Love my t-4.
The 429650 will be first up in the Retro 444P next year with a couple more 300 grainers and my own design 365 . I also have a Lyman 429649 325 grain RNFP GC mold I think I'll use first or second in my 1967 rifle , also wanna use an LBT 431-280GC I have .

[Swede44mag]

6pt-sika, do you process your own deer or have it done?
I have always processed mine and I thought 6 between the 3 of us was a lot.

[6pt-sika]

6pt-sika, do you process your own deer or have it done?
I have always processed mine and I thought 6 between the 3 of us was a lot.

I've been doing my own now for about 25 years . And over the years I do it for maybe 5 or 6 others . One year I did 20 for myself and about 10 for 3 or 4 others . I gotta admit that year I was sick of seeing deer hanging by the end of the season !

When I say process that generally means I bring them in un gutted . Hang them by the hocks at my house or my friends place . Then I skin them totally , next core and gut or make enough incision to get the fish out . Then if the shoulders are not blood shot I cut the meat from the bone and bag it . And generally do the same on the hind quarters and the neck . After bagging I freeze it and all at once at the end of the season we make burger out of what was bagged .

Sometimes I cube all the meat in the hind quarters and this year I left a few hindquarters and shoulders whole to be smoked .

My buddy has a pretty decent butchering room . Nice large meat grinder , a meat slicer and a sausage mixer and stuffer .

Before I started processing with him (he does all the meat grinding now) , I used to take all the deboned except for the backstraps and fish , and grind it into burger then donate it all to the local food pantry .