Hollow Points

[6pt-sika]

I have one of the present manufacture Lyman 429640HP moulds .

Anybody used one of these in a 444 Marlin ?

I've had this mould for about 6 years and only shot the bullets in my 1894CB 44 MAG .

I am wondering if the nose will deform under 444 recoil and if that bullet will pentrate well in a whitetail ?

They'll be cast straight from WW's like all my others [smilie=1:

[Glen]

They shoot just fine in the .444. You might have problems feeding, given the fragile lip around the mouth of that HP cavity. I haven't shot any critters with one, so I can't comment on how well they penetrate, but I suspect that at .444 velocities they probably will expand violently and not penetrate all that deeply. Ought to flat hammer a whitetail...

[beagle]

It's a great bullet in the .444. I reduced the pin diameter on mine to .140" and it works better. At the same time, we made a plug so that it makes "solids". MY favorite in the .444. Like Glen, I haven't shot any critters with it so I can't comment on its performance.

Mine's the ballard rifling version and the accuracy's there./beagle

[6pt-sika]

I have a "First Model 444" coming ! This one was made in 1970 and I thought I might try this mould in that one !

I am using more "normal" design's in my other 444's . But since I do not own a regular 429640 or 429649 yet I figured I'd give this one a try [smilie=1:

[6pt-sika]

Well I cast about 120 of them this evening and about 20 of them looked not so hot in the thin nose !

So with 100 left to work with I should be able to load up a bunch for the bench and then still have maybe 25 left for hunting loads !

I load the Ranch Dog 265 with 35 grains of XMP5744 . So I'm thinking I'll try this bullet with 35 , 36 and 37 grains of XMP5744 .

[beagle]

That's the reason that I reduced the diameter of the hollow point pin. I couldn't live with that thin nose wall. Might make for awesome expansion but was really delicate to handle./beagle


Well I cast about 120 of them this evening and about 20 of them looked not so hot in the thin nose !

So with 100 left to work with I should be able to load up a bunch for the bench and then still have maybe 25 left for hunting loads !

I load the Ranch Dog 265 with 35 grains of XMP5744 . So I'm thinking I'll try this bullet with 35 , 36 and 37 grains of XMP5744 .

[shotman]

ok iam new to the 444 I just bought one[old one] was thinking about the lyman 640 . What about a babbit or zinc boolit? Did reduceing the pin size help? rick

[Lloyd Smale]

Ive shot the devestator in my 44 mag rifles and it feeds fine if the seating dept is correct for the gun. In some cases you cant use the crimp grove but a lee factory crimp die will take care of that. We did some experimenting with hollow points on bigger game last year and werent to impressed. They just dont give consistantly deep enough penetration. Personaly i wouldnt trust them on anything bigger then a small whitetail when shot a rifle velocitys with a rifle. Even at handgun velocitys they didnt work well on 300lb plus animals. Even 500 linebaughs shooting them failed miserably on 300lb game. Now before i get flamed by all the guys that have READ and not shot them. Im sure you could ajust hp size and alloy and get them to work on a bit larger animal but for the most part on something like a buffalo that dies hard anyway your not going to see a quicker kill anyway. We thought we were on to something but got bit in the ass. Personaly i wouldnt do it again. A good hardcast flat nosed bullet kills well and penetrates every time.

[beagle]

It gave me better accuracy and the thin HP walls aren't near so prone to damage with the reduced pin. From the factory, that HP cav pin is just too big. I've done that on all the Devestator HP mounds I have. That's 9mm and .45 as well as the .44./beagle


ok iam new to the 444 I just bought one[old one] was thinking about the lyman 640 . What about a babbit or zinc boolit? Did reduceing the pin size help? rick

[6pt-sika]

Here's a couple pics of the bullets I plan on using in my two recently acquired 444's.

http://i50.photobucket.com/albums/f316/6pt-sika/DSCN0290-1.jpg

The one on the left is the group buy 434-207GC and is cast 50/50 Lino & WW's .
I was given about 120 of these by someone that has one of these moulds from the first buy since mine won't be here before january or february !

The bullet on the right is the present manufacture mould 429640 with the "Devestater HP". This one was cast from 100% WW's .

http://i50.photobucket.com/albums/f316/6pt-sika/DSCN0292-1.jpg

Check out the size of the HP in the 429640 !

[Beau Cassidy]

The front will rapidly shear off and give great secondary projectiles, leaving the base to do the bulk of the penetration. That is out of a 5 1/2 inch S&W at 28 yards on a bullet cast out of 90% ww and 10% lino. There are better choices for deer.

[6pt-sika]

There are better choices for deer.

I agree however I want to try a different bullet in each 444 Marlin I have and this one popped up in my cabinet after laying dormant for about 5 years !

I have 5 older 444 Marlin's and I plan on using a different cast bullet in each one .


Have my 1965 model setup with the Ranch Dog 432-265 .
When my 1966 model gets here it will be set up with the 434-207 group buy bullet.
My 1968 model is set up with the Ranch Dog 432-285.
My 1971 first model is setup with the Ranch Dog 432-300 .
My 1970 model will be set up with this Lyman 429640HP bullet .
And my 1971 Second Model is set up with a 434-330 group buy bullet .

Now I just recently acquired a Lyman 429640 double cavity solid nose mould and have ordered a NEI mould with two cavites for a 432-310 and three cavities for a 432-325 . And am also looking for a nice old Lyman 429649 double cavity thats also supposed to be about 325 grains !

Suppose I need to find a couple more early Marlin's for the new moulds now ! Still missing two years of the First Model and 4 years of the Second Model !

[6pt-sika]

Beau ,Ii expect if I shoot no further then 75 yards and shoot for the lungs and ribs this thing should go in just fine and blow a hole about the size of a softball out the off side !
My thinking is it should most likely leave an excellent blood trail for all of the 10 feet the deer moves after being hit with one of these :drinks:

[shotman]

6pt sent you a PM if you are still up rick

[6pt-sika]

6pt sent you a PM if you are still up rick

Thanks !

Got it and replied !

[6pt-sika]

Went out this morning and cast a bunch of the Lyman 429640 solid nose to try in my 444's ! Hoefully I will get some loaded tonight !

Also cast a bunch of the Lyman 257325 for my 1893 Marlin in 25-36 !
And last but not least I cast about 250 of the new Ranch Dog 323-170GC bullets from a test mould ! Plan to load a bunch of these for tommorrow as I expect to have a pair od Marlin 32 Specials , a Winchester 32 Special and a Marlin in 32-40 at the range tommorrow !

http://i50.photobucket.com/albums/f316/6pt-sika/DSCN0297-1.jpg