Ranch Dog .44 boolit

[44man]

All of you know I have not had any luck with it in the Marlin .44 so I have been shooting it from my SBH. I loaded a bunch with 22 gr's of 296 and the Fed 150 primer. I use Felix lube.
I shot a very nice 50 yd group and since we were just playing around I shot 5 at my painted steel target at 100 yd's. At every shot the splash on the paint just got a little larger. When we went to look both of us were amazed. As near as I could tell picking out where the nose of the boolits hit, I had between 3/4" and 1" for the five shots. I was sorry I didn't take the camera.
With the few shells left, we painted some small rocks and set them on the rail. We smoked them all. Huge dust clouds and a lot of laughing made it a fun day.
I painted a .223 case and set it at 25 yd's for the last shot. It vanished and I never found any of it.
Don't overlook this boolit for your revolver!

[Irascible]

Good shooting, but I question your choice of primers. Through a lot of experimantation, both for velocity and accuracy, my friends and I concluded that the Federal 155 was the premier primer for 296/H110. Better accuracy, higher velocity, lower std. deviation. Try them!
CCI LP magnums were second best.

[44man]

I have done primer tests in the .44 since 1956 and the mag primer has never given me better accuracy unless it is bitter cold out. Then it gives better ignition but not really much better accuracy, just more reliability.
My hunting revolvers must do 1" or less at 50 yd's and when I shot IHMSA I was not happy with over 1/2".
Velocity and low SD's mean nothing to my shooting, only accuracy.
It is how a person defines accuracy and his needs from a revolver and the mag primer has never done it for me unless it is the .357 or .475 and up.
I have had many groups of 1" or slightly more with cast boolits from the .44 at 100 yd's and was shooting pop cans at 200 yd's with jacketed bullets from my SRH. None was done with a mag primer. No load was capable with the mag primer. The .44 and .45 Colt has never benefited from them, they seem to be just fine with the standard primer.
I also won Ohio State IHMSA with 79 out of 80 with my SBH and Fed 150's. I will NOT change.

[leftiye]

44man - Well if you can settle for that, then I guess it's okay... (wish I could do that well at 25 off of a rest)

[44man]

Well, it is getting harder with age and my eyes but I figure 90% is the loads and the rest is no fear of recoil, a good hold and trigger squeeze.
I put my 4 X scope on the .44 to test the RD boolit, that makes it SOOOO easy.
I have shot the .475 and 45-70 BFR's so much that when I shot the .44 again, I laughed at how light the recoil is.
Back in 1956 when I got my first Ruger, factory loads were HOT. Brass wasn't out yet. When I touched off the first one, I had to look the gun over. I swore it exploded! From then on, it was all grins. I was shooting at stuff at 200 yd's and over back then for fun. I will forever love the .44! I lost count but have had 8 or 9 of them.
I have to cast more and will see what they do at 200 yd's before I put the red dot back on the gun. I will post pictures.

[runfiverun]

44 man
been wondering how that rifle was doin.
i got a 375 thats beating me down. i am sizing it to 379 and usin 38-55 brass
somewhat of an improvement.
i am thinking about the paper patch route. might work in your m-groove rifle?

[44man]

I gave up on the Marlin for target. It shoots good enough to about 75 yd's for deer. I have tried 7 boolits of all weights and sizes to .434" and loads from light to way over max with all kinds of powder. The boolits just don't spin fast enough.

[Bigscot]

.44,

What size are you shooting in the SBH. I am playing with .431 and .432 in my SRH and Win '94.
They seem to shoot about the same. I love the .44 mag, especially in the '94. Next is going to be a SBH. I also shoot my cousins 4.5 in Vaquero. Stout loads in it hurt. And handgun recoil does not bother me.


Bigscot

[44man]

It will shoot the .430 XTP or any Hornady bullet that I used for silhouette. I only shoot cast now and have tried .431 to .433 and don't see any difference. Boolit design is better for me then size. I cast fairly hard and water drop. I sized the RD boolits to .432 but I size the Lee 310 to .431 just to remove excess lube, doesn't touch the lead much.
The Ruger is not picky and will shoot anything from 240 gr's to 330 gr's. In order of accuracy for cast, the RD, my 330 LBT style, the Lee 310 and then the LBT 320 gr WLNGC. There is not a lot of difference and one will outshoot the other at different times so I can't say one is better then the other. How the brass matches for 5 shots makes the biggest difference and can give me a flier or two. My brass is old and some has been shot a lot more then others. I feel that when I get a super group, the brass was even.
When I had my SRH, it loved the same bullets/boolits. Also 296 for everything. For fun can shooting I use the RCBS 245 semi-wadcutter and Unique.
I just don't pay much attention to boolit size. I think it is a little overblown and can be used for an excuse.
Same as my .475 BFR, .475 or .476 makes no difference.
The only thing to avoid is throats smaller then the bore.
I am a VERY lazy loader and never do more work then it takes! Never get your panties in a bunch over the little stuff!

[Ranch Dog]

44man, I'm glad that little bullet is working out for you in the pistole'. Are you to the point with the "P" that you want to get rid of it? May be if I throw it into my gun room with the "sharks" it will start swiming! Another tactic that has always worked is taking them out and showing them what a fence post looks like and letting them know they can be one too!

[runfiverun]

that might work cause i know whispering sweetly in the loading gate dont work.

[leftiye]

Sticka dungomyte (stool softener) works to. Funny thing that all of these years Marlin has (until lately) insisted on using that twist. Folks been ******** about it all that time. Probly some old anal retentive megalomaniac retired? H&R had the same problem. Couldn't change their ways even after the whole world went over to industry standard bore/groove specs., and quality control.

[44man]

The Marlin is my grandsons hunting rifle. I was going to borrow it for the running deer shoots. He would flip if I sold it because he loves it.

[Ranch Dog]

I can see why he would like it. It ought to fit him real nice.