Thread: .444 Marlin - anyone casting / loading for this?

make sure they are .001" to .002" over groove diameter and don't try to run them too fast go for accuracy not velocity my 151grn HP will expand at 900fps
to about .400"

Im running a 420gn lyman .459 bore is .458 and lee 405gn hollow base .459
In my microgrove
Both bullets made from pure lead
55gn by volume of 2f swiss black powder for playing 65by volume for long range

Would suggest the same with 444 pure lead, and keep it slow under 1100fps preferably in my opinion
Go for accuracy not speed you don’t need speed when you’re chucking enough lead down range

You are correct One of my customers is getting pass throughs on pigs at 100 metres with the .430" 280grn FP loaded to 900fps
the herds a American Bison were wiped out with soft lead bullets with a velocity under 1500fps, at bush hunting distances cast lead bullets
are all any one needs.

@Coelacanth can you give a few details . . .

whats the max range you want to shoot to
what you intend to shoot
what kind of scope you will use
are you going to use a suppressor

R

Hope to use it as a gp 0-200 lightweight everything gun. Further out I will stick with the 7mm08 barrel, but I will probably suppress it and load subs as well as full-house stuff for the roar. Scope will be a small Leupy.

For the roar just use the heavst bullet you can find
Cast from pure lead if you feel inclined you could drill a hole into the Center of the nose of each bullet to make a hollow point
Load to somewhere under 1200 fps and go hunting you don’t need to worry too much about accuracy as roar hunting is normally close

For lobbing rounds out to distance you really need to get into weighing your projectiles for consistency
But id still stick to pure lead unless you’re really wanting to push the speed up but I wouldn’t suggest it I have found cast bullets way more accurate if kept slower

Originally Posted by Coelacanth

Hope to use it as a gp 0-200 lightweight everything gun. Further out I will stick with the 7mm08 barrel, but I will probably suppress it and load subs as well as full-house stuff for the roar. Scope will be a small Leupy.

will your scope have something like mildots or be able to be dailed up ?

the trajectory of these relatively slow bullets is . . . challenging at 200
i use a Mk4 3.5-10 mildot with my heavy hitter .45/70 with enough elevation to go +200yrds, have my doubts you would have success in the field without something similar

Originally Posted by rossi.45

will your scope have something like mildots or be able to be dailed up ?

the trajectory of these relatively slow bullets is . . . challenging at 200
i use a Mk4 3.5-10 mildot with my heavy hitter .45/70 with enough elevation to go +200yrds, have my doubts you would have success in the field without something similar

I would disagree, I just think shooting these older calibres is a bit of a lost art. Many old guns have graduated sights, and the likes of the 45-70 was the long range cartridge of the day.
See the sandy hook test:
The .45-70 at Two Miles

I can't see myself using subs in hunting settings. They would be for shits and giggle only - close range probably. Thinking I might go for 300gr hard-cast for hunting. At close to 2000fps, I can't see me needing much more than a bit of holdover, but I take your points. I have other scopes with dots etc. Cheers.

Originally Posted by Coelacanth

I can't see myself using subs in hunting settings. They would be for shits and giggle only - close range probably. Thinking I might go for 300gr hard-cast for hunting. At close to 2000fps, I can't see me needing much more than a bit of holdover, but I take your points. I have other scopes with dots etc. Cheers.

sounds good . . . most of my hunting with cast is in the subsonic range with a backup load at 1600fps when some real knockdown power is needed.

Cast Boolits

these guys are a mine of information for the beginner cast bullet/boolit user

look forward to seeing how you get on when you get setup.

R.

Originally Posted by tanqueray

I would disagree, I just think shooting these older calibres is a bit of a lost art. Many old guns have graduated sights, and the likes of the 45-70 was the long range cartridge of the day.
See the sandy hook test:
The .45-70 at Two Miles

we have a different point of view but i hear what your saying . . . my interest is not to resurrect a lost art or relive a point in the past, mine is to hunt with as much accuracy as i can get to the longest practical range i can ethically get out to, mildots scopes, phone ballistic apps, laser rangefinders are all in the mix.
Those exceptional men and Riflemen in the past while i do appreciate there great skills have very little that is transferrable to my needs now . . . i will never shoot thousands of Buffalo or Indains or Zulu or be a civil war sniper knocking off people at 1000+ yards, i wouldnt want to.
Not much romance there . . . i shoot animals with cast out to 200yrds usually a lot closer using the likes of the .30/30 & .45/70 lever actions.

3 shots 405grn .45/70 taken at 180yds recently, 2.25inch red circle . . . i can't shoot like that with iron sights with my 60+ year old eyes. thats the kind of accuracy i want to drill an animal cleanly

Originally Posted by shooternz

Soft cast bullets will shoot ok no need for real hard lead even straight wheel weights are too hard for hunting bullets if you want expansion
bullet fit to barrel is the most important the fatter the better if the loaded round will chamber with a little clearance for the neck to expand
when fired you are good to go the soft lead will swage to the barrel dimensions sealing the bore, with gas checks and a good bullet lube fouling
won't be a problem work the load up until you get pressure signs or lead fouling then back off a little accuracy will drop off before that

Can't see any real need for expansion with a .430 cal. projectile. I have stacks of wheel weight lead so I suspect I will go heavy / hard / large meplat. All that said, I can't see too many animals in NZ walking away from whatever a .444 spits out 0-200. Thanks for the input mate.