.444 marlin soon on the way, reloading help PLEASE!

S

sgt.rock

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I am in the process of purchasing a .444 Marlin and I have a few questions.
I am getting brass/dies/bullets also in the deal. As far as bullets go, are the only bullets that can be loaded in this handgun bullets?? Or are there actual "Rifle" bullets that come in .429 size??
I think these 444 marlins all come with ballard rifling (at least as far as my early research is showing), so that opens up cast bullet options. What kind of cast bullets do any of you use and what weight ranges do you dabble in??
I am sort of new to reloading and haven't gotten into casting yet, so are there any sources of cast bullets available in canada that would be good to use in this?? My main targets will be Black bear, moose, caribou, and of course, the 300 yard gongs for fun. Any and all help on this new to me caliber will be appreciated.
Any recipes would be also be nice. What kind of powders do you all use? I understand that the fast-medium powders work best (Reloader 7, etc)
Looking forward to your responses!!!!!!!!:dancingbanana::D
 
I have a Marlin 444S that initially I used on Moose with the factory 240gr loads and for all intents, the bullet seemed to have been constructed more for say 44 Mag velocities. Although I did drop a couple of Moose and a few Deer with that load, I wasn't happy with the performance and switching to handloads using the Hornady 265gr FP's proved to be a considerable improvement.
I've 'dabbled' with a number of cast bullets and two that seemed to give good results are a couple of 'Keith' style, a 250gr SWGC and a 325gr SWGC. My rifle has micro-groove rifling but with hard cast bullets and ideally sized about 0.001" over the bore diameter, they worked well.
 
My son bought a 444 Marlin and then informed me I needed to start reloading for it. The 265 gr. Hornady was designed for the 444 so I am told. It is an awesome bullet and he killed his first bear with it this past spring. It is very accurate and that bear was spun right around and then died on the spot. We have also loaded the 240 gr. XTP's and,while he hasn't killed anything with it yet, it is a very accurate bullet to shoot with iron sights. This particular rifle really likes IMR 4198 powder.

I also made him some cast bullets in 240 gr. They are a great plinking load and accurate as well.
 
My only advice is if your going to hunt with it don't use .44 mag bullets, they are certainly not designed for the velocities the 444 is capable of spitting them. Unless of course your varmint hunting them they would work fine ;)
 
Hardcast WFN or LFN GC bullets cast hard will be the deadliest on big game, some .444 Marlins shoot best with a .432" bullet, as proven by a shooter/friend in NW Ont. who had a custom mold made that is a 250gr. WFN GC that is .433" dia. and a real hammer. I now have the mold and it sure is deadly in my.44 Mag.
When I reloaded the .444, my fav. powder was 4895, and lots of it....Recoil didn't seem as heavy as some of the faster burning powders like RL-7 and AA2015.
 
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H335 works pretty well, but mine prefers H4198. With a 240 gr Hornady, they really move. The bullet I haven't found yet but will probably stick to once I get my hands on them is the Nosler Partition 250 gr protected point. With VVN130, you can make them scream (for a levergun). I don't use hard cast or any other cast lead bullets, as I find them unnecessary for what I want plus the potential fouling issues. There are lots of good bullets out there, the 265-270 is probably the best all-around weight. Having said that, all I currently load are 240's and 300's...
 
I load the Hornady 265 and Nosler 300. Use about 50 & 48 gr 3031.

Start lower and work up in your rifle.

One think to watch out for. The OAL is critical. Too long and it won't cycle thought the magazine into the chamber. Then you have to take things apart.

See below...
 
I shouldn't get into this, because I have never had anything to do with a 444. However, the same bullets are used in a 44 magnum and I have had quite a bit to do with the 44 mag.
All the factory jacketed 44 bullets I have tried just come apart/blow up/seperate and shed pieces all over the place, in any medium I have tried firing them into. Cast bullets work far better. A friend who has shot quite a bit of game with the 44 mag in a Marlin rifle, swears by a cast bullet.
Some one mentioned the potential of foul up with cast bullets. You can forget about that. My marlin rifle also has the micro groove rifling, but I have never had any problems, whatsoever, with shooting cast bullets in it. Even the flat base bullets from basically wheel weights, will leave no discernable lead in the barrel.
Out of five different 44 magnum revolvers I have owned, there were none that collected significant amounts of lead in the barrels. However, the revolvers did get more lead than does the Marlin rifle, which would seem to indicate that velocity isn't cause of lead in the barrel. The Marlin will shoot the same load at about 250 to 300 fps faster than a revolver. The best I could get out of a revolver with a 250 grain cast bullet was about 1550.
 
For best accuracy with cast bullets size to .432. You can buy a great mold and sizer for the Lee tumble lube design here http://www.ranchdogmolds.com/ I love the 265 grn bullet in both my .44 mags and my .444 marlins. I air cool them for my .44 mags up to about 1200fps and heat treat them for use in my .444 and they work great. I have also designed 2 other bullet molds in the 250-280 grn range that I had Lee special make for me and I have also bought some from the various group buys on http://castboolits.gunloads.com/ . Both my early and late model .444's love the 280 grn bullets sized to .432 and driven hard. Taken a Buffalo and three moose in the last couple of years so I can attest to the accuracy and effectiveness of the good old .444 and cast bullets.
 
I had the best results with IMR 4198 and H322.

For bullets, I used the 240gr Speer GDHP and the aforementioned 265gr Hornady.

If you want to hit something REALLY hard, try out the Sierra 250gr FPJ (Full Profile Jacket). They do have an exposed flat lead tip - but - they don't open-up. They carve a smooth hole through 3/8" plate like it's butter...

Good luck and have fun!

SD
 
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