444 for varmints

m1978

m1978

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i just read in another newsgroup where a guy was using 180 gr bullets for varminting with his 444, has anyone here tried this? i have to say i find the idea of such incredible overkill intriguing.
 
I haven't tried it but I have heard that guys are getting 2900 fps . that is a long way from the pistol velocity it was designed for I do believe that it will act just like a varmit bullet . that is gonna get messy . I don't varmit hunt myself but I would love to try those on some 2l pop jugs full of water.
 
I was out a few weeks ago shooting gophers with my Marlin 1895GS 45-70 & 300gr Hornady HP's & 405gr FP GC Bullet Barn hard cast bullets.

Worked extremely well...... :eek:
 
ratherbefishin said:
some people call bears ''varmints'' so....
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Omigawd... A dangerous post. Could start another bear defence thread. (NO! PLEASE, NO!!!!!)

Camp Cook said:
I was out a few weeks ago shooting gophers with my Marlin 1895GS 45-70 & 300gr Hornady HP's & 405gr FP GC Bullet Barn hard cast bullets.
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Now that sounds like fun (unless you're a gopher). I have the same hardware. Where were you shooting, or is that a trade secret?

:) Stuart
 
No it's not but.....

I just found out this morning that I wasn't really supposed to be shooting them where I was. :redface: I had talked to a CO in the area that I was in and he said that it was ok but my CO buddy informed me that it was closed where I was.

I have this same CO buddy checking into region 3 for private property owners that need assistance in ridding themselves of these pests and can pm you the info when I find out or maybe we can organize a CGNZ gopher shoot weekend if he comes back with positive intel......
 
dnepr said:
I haven't tried it but I have heard that guys are getting 2900 fps . that is a long way from the pistol velocity it was designed for I do believe that it will act just like a varmit bullet . that is gonna get messy . I don't varmit hunt myself but I would love to try those on some 2l pop jugs full of water.
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A long way from pistol velocity, good point. Before using a pistol bullet at that speed, you may want to contact the manufacturer first. I have some Speer 325gr .500 HP bullets that I had a cannelure added to so I could load them for my 500 S&W. I tried a few and I would guess the velocity to be about 1750 f/sec using a powder charge the same as listed for the Hornady 350gr XTP-Mag. I called Speer and they said the cannelure set up I have was fine but keep the velocity below 1500 f/sec as thats the maximum velocity they were designed to use in the 50 Action Express. There could be 'serious' problems at velocities higher than that.
 
I have heard of these type of problems with .45 colt bullets in a 454 casull . If I remeber right the lighter bullets where deforming in the barrel. This might be due to the B/C gap or the very high pressures the casull works at but it is definetly something to consider. I have shot 240 gr pistol bullets with no problem . If one could find published data for a particular180gr bullet it should be safe.
 
dnepr said:
I have heard of these type of problems with .45 colt bullets in a 454 casull . If I remeber right the lighter bullets where deforming in the barrel. This might be due to the B/C gap or the very high pressures the casull works at but it is definetly something to consider. I have shot 240 gr pistol bullets with no problem . If one could find published data for a particular180gr bullet it should be safe.
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Are you refering to the deformation to jacketed bullets that happens in a revolver when pushed to higher 454 Casull velocities?

If so what is happening is that the bullets like a Hornady XTP for example do not have a thick/strong enough jacket and it will deform as it passes throught the forcing cone of the barrel due to the slight misalignment of the cylinder and barrel resulting in the bullets deforming and unnecesary wear to the forcing cone.

I do not believe this is a problem in a rifle though.

As an example I used to shoot 45 Colt 300gr XTP's in my Marlin 1894CB to about 1600fps with absolutely no deformation or negative effect of any kind. In my Ruger Super Redhawk 454 Casull revolver I will not shoot that bullet to those velocities but instead load the thicker jacketed Hornady XTP-Mag's to 1600fps to with stand the pressures and the jump through the forcing cone.

The problem with jacketed .429 bullets that are designed for 44 mag velocities when they are shot at 444 rifle velocities the bullets where not strong enough to stay together when hitting the target/animal.

They should be excellent varmint loads though.....
 
You may be correct Camp Cook, but just for an added margin of safety, I would contact the manufacturer for their opinion and/or recommendation. Most of them have a 1-800 number or contact them through their website. Thats what I did with my questions on using the 500AE bullets in a 500 S&W.:) They're the design experts and on a number of other questions I've found them more than willing to help.
 
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