.416 JDJ in a Rifle?

[1950Target]

Comments anyone, experiences? I had an opportunity to buy a very early Marlin .444 with the straight stock, it has some really FINE wood on it and a VERY good price ($300 out the door).

I have Never been impressed or motivated by the cartridge, so I bought the rifle and now I musing and since I'm buying barrels for other projects and all I'd have to change is the barrel.............

The .416JDJ is just the .444 necked down to .416.

The .416 JDJ looks like it has some serious potential with 375 to 400 gr BIG NASTY CAST BOOLITS especially in a 22" barrel length, .45-70 oomph probably a little flatter shooting and a little higher SD on the smaller diameter BOOLITS so better penetration.

I'd be interested in hearing any thoughts you good guys have from your experiences or musings, GOD save me I do love those lever guns with BIG NASTY CAST BOOLITS!

[Lead melter]

Question is, will the rifle take the pressure? I believe the JDJ series operates at a much higher level than the 444. But I could be wrong.

If it will work, it should do for mastedon, mammoth and the like.

[frank505]

I had an older 444 for awhile, shot 300 grain Saeco gas checks at 2230 fps. Very accurate and hard hitting. Was set up with a barrel band sourdough front sight and an XS rear ghost ring. You will find, with a Marlin 336 , that any pressures over about 48000 will deform the locking bolt. Find a Browning 71 or 1886, you will be very happy, or wait for a 500 S&W lever gun thats kinds like an 1892 that grew up.

[Glen]

The JDJ wildcats based on the .444 Marlin case operate at, or below, the pressures of the standard .444 Marlin. They have to for long service life of the Contender frame. Now some of JD's more recent wildcat cartidges that he's designed for the Encore do indeed operate at much higher pressures, but they cannot be safely used in the Contender. The .416 JDJ was desigend expressly for use in the Contender.

The Marlin lever-gun will handle the pressure/backthrust of the .416 JDJ, but I seriously doubt that it would handle the overall cartridge length. JD tends to design cartidges with the bullets seated pretty far out of the case to maximize powder capacity and hold pressures down. The .416 400 grainers are long bullets, and the example rounds of .416 JDJ that I've seen loaded with them are clearly much too long to cycle through the Marlin's action.

[Don McDowell]

The jdj's are way to long to work thru the short wasted Marlins. Getting an oal over 2.6 to not tie the gun up can be super problematic in the 336 action. Plus having to run some sort of round/blunt nose thru the magazine , and the velocities that won't split the rifle apart , the downrange numbers will be negligible.
Best to either use the rifle as is, or go get something better suited for what you're wanting to do.

[1950Target]

Thanks to each of you good advice all. Ive seen some nice CAST BOOLIT designs in the 300gr range for the 444 I'll have to be satisfied with working up some loads for those big nasty flat meplat bullets and be happy with that. I had not thought about the length issue and of sourse that is the limiting factoe.

I agree the way to go with a .416 is with a *^ or 71 and something based on the .348 case there is the .416 GNR (GARY REEDER) That does the kind of thing I want to.

Its okay, I love those Marlins, of course I'm partial to the older ones with Ballard Rifling because I prefer shooting the BIG NASTY LEAD BOOLITS out of my lever guns and for that the Ballard is more versatile and more forgiving of softer lead and higher pressures although I've never had any trouble with lrad boolits in micro-goove when I do the responsible thing and cast them hard, gas xheck them and go BIG and stick with moderate velocities and pressures.

Thanks agin guys! Good shooting to all!


:redneck:

[lar45]

You could always have a custom mould made with the nose length short enough to fuction in the action. You'd probably end up with the base of the bullet below the neck, but...