.444 marlin

[chaos]

I relatively new to casting. Have had good luck with my .44 cal bullets out of my 44 mag 1894 and Super blackhawks. Got me to thinking about another levergun.

Anyone play with teh .444 marlin? Will it like the same bullets that I cast for my other .44's 240 gr gc semi wadcutter and 250 gr keith?

[Ranch Dog]

Dude... "anyone play with the 444"... a bunch of us. It is "THE" cast bullet gun!

[chaos]

Do they like 240 gr cast bullets?

Should be plenty enough on Texas whitetails and Feral Hogs.

Where the hell is Cuero? I've hunted all over this state and not seen that name...

[Newtire]

Do they like 240 gr cast bullets?



Hi chaos,

These are some loads I worked out with the Lyman "240" grain boolit-weighed 250 for me but that's not unusual. If you put your eye out, it's not my fault.

18.8gr.(Modified 1.9cc) Blue Dot 250gr. 429244 Bullet g.c. #2 Alloy (Lyman Mould)2.545 OAL
1"@50yds.

20.5gr.(1.9cc) Blue Dot 250gr. 429244 Bullet g.c. #2 Alloy (Lyman Mould)2.545 OAL-7/8"@50yds.(5shots)

28.8GR.(2.2cc) XMR2015 250gr. 429244 Bullet g.c. #2 alloy (Lyman Mould)2.545 OAL 1"@ 50yds.

This is the weight thrown by the Lee Dipper I was using.

[Ramslammer]

G'Day All
I reckon the Lyman 44 Devastator would be the ducks guts for the 444. They are close to the original bullet weight and have a hole in them like a milking bucket. I've used them in the 44 shooting possum and wallaby and they live up to their name.
Juddy

[IcerUSA]

Yep , the Ol'444 will do nicly with about any weight over 200gns upto the 300-310gn weight but I would suggest a GC design as the twist rate is a little slow in the Marlin and you will need to push them a little. Now if you had one of the first Winchesters in 444 with the faster twist rate you could go upto a 350-380ish gn boolit. Read the load data and go shooting , I think you will like it , I know I do . :)

Keith

[Ranch Dog]

Cuero, is in God's country brother! DeWitt County, the Wildflower Flower Capitol of Texas! About 30 miles northwest of Victoria on the Guadalupe River.

You will hear the thump of the 444 Marlin across the hills here! I've seen to that as I preach its value far and wide in this deer and hog wonderland!

[Four Fingers of Death]

I saw a good article on reloading the 444 on buffalo bullets or somewhere like that. It is buried on my computer somewhere. that's the trouble with big hard drives. you can put too much on them. Do a search for 'reloading the 444' or something like that. Let me know if you get stuck, but I'm flat out for the next week or so.

[Dutch4122]

Beartooth Bullets is the site that has several articles and lots of load data on the .444 Marlin. A quick Google search will turn up their site easily.

Hope this helps,

[Ranch Dog]

Here is Marshall Stanton's three part series on the 444 with Beartooth Bullets

http://www.beartoothbullets.com/tech_notes/archive_tech_notes.htm/17

http://www.beartoothbullets.com/tech_notes/archive_tech_notes.htm/19

http://beartoothbullets.com/tech_notes/archive_tech_notes.htm/28

[Boomer Mikey]

IMO 265 - 285 grain bullets are the best weight range in the 444 for us "Dirty Harry" types that like to reach out and touch something with authority but VTDW is doing some work with 200 grain boolits that move the 444 into another dimension.

http://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?t=26677

The 444 Marlin is one of the most versatile rifles around, the current production Marlins use 1:20 twist.

BTW, the 444 is a very load friendly cartridge... easy to load for but like many 44 mag rifles, it's bore is typically on the "oversize" side ~ 0.432"- 0.433".

Boomer :Fire:

[Lloyd Smale]

heres another good article. Im a little predudice as it was written by my best friend http://www.leverguns.com/articles/anderson/444Outfitter.htm

[VTDW]

"...Wildflower Flower Capitol of Texas..." but only when it rains down there.:mrgreen:

I have a .444S and a .444T and will always love those two rifles. I shoot from 265-270-280 gr boolits dropped from Ranch Dog molds and there just isn't anything better than that. Use the same boolits in my RH .44Mag also.

Like Boomer said, I am having fun pushing a 200 gr hardcast really hard with my .444T. It will certainly reach out and touch.:mrgreen:

Dave

[Glen]

VTDW -- How hard are those 200 grainers cast up? What size do you size them? And what lube are you using?

[Newtire]

VTDW is doing some work with 200 grain boolits that move the 444 into another dimension.

http://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?t=26677



Boomer,

I am using the Lee 200 gr. plainbase over 12 grains of Unique or 14 grains BlueDot & getting outstanding accuracy at 50 yds.

Mine is an oldie with 1-38" twist.

[GSPKurt]

Ranch Dog is about as knowledgeable as anyone about the .444 and cast bullets. When he types, I read.

[VTDW]

VTDW -- How hard are those 200 grainers cast up? What size do you size them? And what lube are you using?

28Bnh. I size them in a Lyman 4500 to .432 (my barrels slug at .429) and lube with Felix Lube. All is well.

Dave

[Glen]

Thanks for the info.

[Boomer Mikey]

I've really enjoyed working with my 444 Marlin and I've experienced similar results to the data that Michael Reamy (Ranch Dog) has published:

"I've used the 265-grain bullet to take my 444 out of the dense thorn thickets of South Texas and into the open country of the Trans-Pecos region of West Texas in pursuit of pronghorn and desert mule deer. With H4198 I've been able to push this bullet up to 2400 FPS and with a 5" bullet rise, produce a point blank range of 264 yards that is still producing 1360 Foot Pounds of Energy at that distance. It is "the" bullet for my Marlin 336-44. My feral hogs have come to hate it and remain clear of my food plots on account of it. At 1600 FPS, it is a very effective 125-yard whitetail and hog killer!"

I've also experienced similar results to Glen's comments about using H322 and H4198 with 265 - 300 grain Lyman and Saeco bullets.

When you consider that the 444 can do:

3000 fps with 200 grain boolits
2500 fps with 240 grain boolits
2400 fps with 265 grain boolits
2000 fps with 300 grain boolits
1800 fps with 330 grain boolits

Marshall Stanton listed loads with boolits up to 355 grains in his rifles at over 2000 fps. I haven't tested these... 300 grain full power loads are at my maximum comfort level for a six pound rifle, but I have no doubts that his data is accurate.

The 444 Marlin is indeed... versatile.

Boomer :Fire: