Hi there

[nkornmeyer]

Good evening, my Name is Nick I just joined this group, but I may have been lurking for years by accidently finding you guys several times through my weird ballistic google searches.
After 8-10 years of procrastinating I finally started loading/casting for myself. I used to have my friend load for me but he past a few years ago.
I love big bores and weird stuff. I just got a new marlin dark series in 444 today but I mostly want to find a good community to join and from reading a few threads on the 350 legend I decided to join.
My grammar is terrible but I try to make what I type understandable. I may have jumped the gun and bought some powders that arn't the most load development friendly so I will try my best to listen and not blow myself up.
I just bought 8 pounds of lilgun and 8 pounds of cfe pistol because I saw them as some of the best high power loads, but now that i want to experiment with loads that don't have much if any data I need a starting spot. I live in Elgin Texas "Austin area" I'm not one of those anti gun wierdos in austin lol. I run a roofing company and get a lot of free lead from the old boots. I live in a metal box and have 2 dogs. I train Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and have an obsession with needlessly large calibers. That should be enough to get started lol.

[Pressman]

Welcome.
Youse grammer ain't no worser than usens. You will fit right in.

[nkornmeyer]

��
I'm super excited
I forgot to say that I'm a lefty
So my choice in guns is wierd sometimes
I love pump actions and lever guns.

[Winger Ed.]

Welcome aboard.
As you may have noticed, some of our spelling and grammar is right on par with ebonics.

I came here to hone my casting skills since casting was the only way I could afford to feed a 1911 and .45-70.
Now, besides that, I cast .30 cal. to keep the wear and tear off my rifles.
Plus, I try to save a buck where I can.

Don't worry about the powders.
The worst that can happen is they'll give you the perfect reason why you 'need' a new gun that it works well in.

[Cargo]

Howdy from the South Eastern side of Texas.

[GregLaROCHE]

No grammar police here. Welcome. Don’t hesitate to ask any questions you want. You’re sure to get plenty of answers.

[smoked turkey]

Welcome nkornmeyer. Good to meet you and look forward to hearing from you once you get up and running. You are off to a good start. I enjoy shooting some of the large caliber rifles myself. Not too big on liking the recoil and taming the beast with cast boolits is something I like to do. I guess that makes me a little weird too! If you have questions about this hobby, I'm pretty sure you will find some answers from the good folks on this site. The data base from these people is absolutely amazing.

[GhostHawk]

General rule, Fast powders to go slow.

Slow powders to go fast.


So you can shoot that .444marlin with 6 to 13 grains of Red Dot, and get maybe up to 16-1800 fps.

If you want to go faster I'd start with 4895 and branch out to other slower powders like 4350. IF what you want is speed.

For accuracy IMO hard to beat 6.5 grains of Red Dot below a 200-240 gr cast bullet, with or without gas check.
Mine shot very very well at 13 grains of Red Dot below a 310 gr gas checked bullet. Cloverleafs at 25,50, and almost at 100. Operator error, pulled the 3rd shot half an inch up and left.

But at 13 grains I was limited to about 10 shots, I would feel a flinch coming on. So I started down sizing charges.

[Johnch]

Hello From NW Ohio here in the USA

Just do your best
And IMO you will do just as well as all the rest of us

John

[ioon44]

Welcome , the .444 is one of my favorite guns I shoot and load for.

[gbrown]

Welcome to the family. This place is so diverse, anyone that loves guns, powders and lead will fit in somewhere. I don't have a desire to shoot big calibers, but tons of others here do. Need help? Just ask--the knowledge here is nothing short of mind boggling.

[BamaNapper]

Welcome. As others are saying, lots of good help here and very little bogus outside the humor and politics folders.

The 444 is a good choice for casting and reloading. I asked a while back whether I should trade off my 444 for a 44mag rifle and these folks pointed out the silliness in such a move. The 444 can be loaded, as they put it, "from mild to wild", and cover all the bases. I haven't tried Red Dot yet, but Unique provides an amazing power range. I admit I'm usually staying in the bottom half of the range and having fun with the caliber. Shooting mostly 240-250gr boolits from wheel weights. I PC and don't feel like messing with gas checks so my velocities are somewhat limited.

I always wanted to ask a left handed lever shooter, what does empty rifle brass taste like? ;-)

[nkornmeyer]

Thanks guys
I have plenty of 4350 and 4895
I bought the lilgun for my 350 legend and 450 bushmaster but I don't have much to go off on .360 not 252 grain cast mold for the 350
I plan to size them down to 356 and cast them hard
And I have a 340 grain. 458 bullet that I sized to .452 that I plan to use in my 450 bushmaster
Can I use lilgun to make start loads or am I asking for trouble

[quilbilly]

Welcome from the great Olympic Peninsula and the rainforest. You are no weirder than the rest of us so make yourself comfortable. I have been shooting my 444 for almost 30 years and it loves cast. It is especially fun to shoot with plain base 260 gr semi-wadcutters at about 1200 fps using either Red Dot or 5744 especially since the recoil is barely noticeable. Obviously, a hotter load with a gas check boolit is better for elk but that isn't nearly as fun to shoot all day.

[nkornmeyer]

I really like how friendly everyone is
I have a 45-70 too
But due to most of my brass being small primer I'm not loading it atm
I have lots of large rifle primers and only 200 small rifle primers and no small rifle magnums
Oh well I will keep waiting until people stop trying to get 150 bucks for a 1000 pack

[William Yanda]

welcome from rural New York state.

[Der Gebirgsjager]

Welcome to the forum, nkornmeyer. Wow! Another Texan! We may have to have a Texan quota! :wink: Seems like if all you Texans got together for a barbeque it would be a major event! :grin:

[Texas by God]

Howdy, neighbor! Welcome home.

Sent from my SM-A716U using Tapatalk

[nkornmeyer]

Im from rural New York too
Town called boonville

[Winger Ed.]

Seems like if all you Texans got together for a barbeque it would be a major event! :grin:

Oh yeah, great barbeques here involve a lot of fireworks, music, guns, and fire trucks.

[454PB]

Welcome to the forum from another lefty and big bore enthusiast. I had a .444 Marlin years ago, and developed very good maximum loads using slower powders and gas checked boolits. More recently, I acquired a Marlin Guide gun in 45/70 and have been experimenting with it. I don't hunt anymore, but when I did, I killed some Deer using my cast boolits in 45/70 and .44 magnum handguns.

There is a wealth of experience here, hope you enjoy.

[memtb]

nkornmeyer, Welcome to this forum. A great place and some great guys. Heck, they’ve even accepted me....! :grin:

Big bores.....I started with a .357 Mag. @ 17, squirrel hunted with a .308 Win. using cast bullets in my early 20’s, now “wringing-out” a Marlin GG, and my go to handgun is a 460 S&W. So.....we might get along! Welcome Aboard! memtb

[jonp]

Forget your grammar, how's your shooting? When you buy powder by mistake there is only one thing to do and that's buy a gun you can use it in. Welcome aboard

[jonp]

Oh yeah, great barbeques here involve a lot of fireworks, music, guns, and fire trucks.

I got you on 2 of the 4, probably steal one and can't carry a tune in a bucket.

[lightman]

Welcome Aboard! Feel free to join right in.

[.429&H110]

Welcome from a fellow lurker!
Don't worry about Grammar.
She's taking a nap.

[Der Gebirgsjager]

Oh yeah, great barbeques here involve a lot of fireworks, music, guns, and fire trucks.

I've never been to one of those famous Texas barbeques where everyone wears a fancy handgun--but I've got one just in case!

DG

[trapper9260]

Welcome from northeast Iowa , you will learn alot here . I have been and still learning. Do not worry about your grammar.

[smithnframe]

Welcome from Shiner!

[foesgth]

Just remember that everyone is born right handed. Only a select few superior folks overcome that handicap and become leftys. Like the OP I have a bunch of lever and pump guns.
And to Mr. BamaNapper, we don't taste rifle brass. It sits on the brim of our sombrero so we don't have to pick it up like you handicapped right handed shooters.

[nkornmeyer]

That's great, I need to borrow some of those lines for when someone gives a hard time for being a lefty
I am gonna play tomorrow and see what velocities factory ammo gives me and then play with my loads

[memtb]

Isn’t there some sort of “government assistance “ for you handicapped folks? :bigsmyl2: memtb

[nkornmeyer]

has anyone made a hot load for a 370 grain hardcast bullit for the 444? I picked up a 370 grain rscbs 44 mold at my gun shop for like 40 bucks. who am i to let it stay there all alone!

[obssd1958]

If your Marlin is anything like mine, your big challenge is going to be getting the cartridge length just right so that you can feed them in through the loading gate! For that 370 grain boolit (you sure that's not a 270gr boolit?), that will mean seating it VERY deep.
Either way, finding load data is likely to be problematic, too.

[nkornmeyer]

It looks huge have yet to cast and weigh one

[Three44s]

Big welcome from Central WA!

Those rimmed large bores will sit well in cast!

Three44s

[nkornmeyer]

So I got a deal on this mold "link below"
Any idea if I will have any issues sizing this down to. 430 and if so is there anything I can use thats a better option then my .430 lee bullet sizer?
https://www.midwayusa.com/product/1010236363

[David2011]

Welcome aboard from yet another fellow Texan!

[firefly1957]

Welcome to the site from Michigan i joined here to answer a question in the .351 Winchester self load some 2000+ posts ago I have got a lot of great help here too!

[tankgunner59]

Welcome from the Peoples Republic of Illinois. You came to the right place. I belong to several communities and I think this is the best place for the information we loader/casters seek.
Ask your questions and someone will come along with the knowledge you need.

[Rightbrained]

Hi Nick,
I’m a lefty and right there with you on the levers and pumps!

[Txcowboy52]

Welcome meyer ! Glad your here amongst some of the most knowledgeable and friendly people I have ever crossed paths with!!

[gnappi]

Im from rural New York too
Town called boonville

One here too... Phoenicia, well actually not a town at all Woodland Valley, several miles outside of town. My last time there they still did not have a traffic light, but they did have four stop signs in a few blocks :-)

nkornmeyer welcome, new member here also. You'll find that being a member is more rewarding than lurking.

[gbrown]

Well, welcome from a fellow Texican. Not necessarily a fan of big calibers, but love Elgin "hot gut". Ate at Crosstown Barbecue many times. Was in the TXNG for a while, spent many days and nights at Camp Swift.

[nkornmeyer]

Thanks for all the friendly comments lol
Its nice to be around nice people for a change.
I have started going down this slippery slope of casting
Now I'm realizing that the lead I have is pure or almost
So I'm trying to see if I can mix it for cheaper then what I can buy wheel weights for
I bought some wheel weights "clip on" and some monotype/linotype and 5 pounds of super hard. My plan is to get around the hardness of the old clip on WW and then quench
I'm also maybe considering doing hard ones without quenching? But I also am researching heat treating as well. So much to learn lol
I just want to develop cast bullets that I can replace a majority of jacketed bullets with. I want to explore it all
Hollow points
Powder coated
Gas check and coated or hard and coated
Really hoping to do minimum lube since most guns I want to load for are semi or pumps/levers