Use 44mags in a 444Marlin?

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carl gustav

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Given that both 44mag and 444Marlin fire the same .429 diameter bullet, what do you think of using 44mags as a reduced load in a 444Marlin? That way you don't need to take up hand loading or put small amounts of powder in the large cap 444case. The reduced load rounds are already factory made. On the other hand the shorter 44mag case would only go part way up the 444 chamber and the bullet would have to go the rest of the way on its own after ignition and hit the rifling already on the fly. Would pressure be safe and is chamber wear from exposure to burning powder something to worry about? Of course 38 Specials are fired in 357mag revolvers and 44 Specials in 44Mags. But I've never heard of firing 44mags in 444Marlins, or of anyone ever raising the question. Feeding the shorter rounds through the Marlin lever action could be an issue, as could the slight difference in case dimensions exclusive of length. Anything major I'm missing here? Don't know why I've never heard this discussed anywhere. Well, enough said. I await your wisdom.
 
I don't much about .44mag or the 444marlin except for the fact that .44mag ain't cheap. relatively speaking anyways.
 
The 444 case is 2.225 inches long. The 44 mag is 1.285 Thats a pretty big bullet jump almost an inch. Its way more than 45 colt in a 454 casull. Or the 44 special in a 44 magnum. I would be worried re the lead build up in the chamber. Similar to using 38 special in a 357 lever action. It's suggested that after shooting to wire brush the area re lead build up. My guess accuracy will suffer.


I wouldn't do it could really mess up your rifles chamber.
 
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While the rim diameter of both cases is the same, the diameter of the case at the base is not. The 44RM is smaller. I would think accuracy would suck, and your brass wouldn't last very long.

I'm also skeptical about how reliably the short 44RM cartridges would feed...
 
Be careful experimenting with ammo.
The .444 Marlin, at a length of 2.225", is not an elongated .44 Mag. as some may think. It is a slightly tapered case going from .470" at the base to .453" at the case mouth, while the 1.285" long .44 Mag. is a straight case of .456" diameter.
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Samson said:
I have a XL 44 Cal . Shotgun ans I have fired 44mag through it without any problems in a 100+ year old gun.Samson
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Chances are you are using light reloads, I would quit or at the very least make sure your life insurance is paid up. I'm not sure why people are so interested in trying out different cartridges in guns not marked for them.
 
Thanks for all the good tips! I guess I'm most persuaded by the point about the wide base 444Marlin chamber narrowing towards rifling making the 44mag cartridge too narrow at the base and maybe just a wee bit wide at the case mouth. The difference in base dimension worries me more than anything else. Maybe fireforming factory 44mag cartridges would weaken the case base above the rim. So reloading fireformed 44mag cases might be risky. But if you are rightly persuading me off a ready-made reduced load solution, then I'm faced with reloading 444Marlin cases. For reduced loads that means small amounts of powder in large capacity 444 cases and the problems that go with that. Though I have no reloading experience, I've heard of problems with ignition and accuracy. I've also heard of mixing in some type of filler (was it maybe corn starch?) to fix it. None of the reloading manuals I have include any info on either the problem or the filler solution. Anybody out there actually reloading 444s? What do you do for reduced loads? Is this a real problem or not?
 
.444

have .45/70 which is similar use imr trail boss powder it is made for light loads a small amoumt will fill the case enough that you cannot double charge
14 .gr with 340 .gr lead bullet is a nice light load in my 45/70
 
.444

i have .45/70 which is similar to .444 I use IMR trail boss powder which is made for light loads.
14.gr with 340.gr lead bullet is nice light load in .45/70
check IMR powder website for .444 loads
 
If you want to blow up your face, and wreck your gun, I'd say that would be a great idea. If you took the firearms safety course, you would have come across the topic about NEVER SHOOTING A ROUND OUT OF A FIREARM THAT WASN'T MARKED FOR IT!!
Yes, there are exceptions (like the .38 out of a .357), but I would advise strongly for you to check reloading manuals for a reduced load, rather than a cheaper-per-shot option like substituting ammunition. I am not trying to scold you, as I am glad you asked before trying something like that. You can't be expected to know everything, and thats what this community of gunnutz are here for. I don't know everything, but with the collective experience here, I sure know a lot more now.
 
I know of a fella who tried this. Ruptured case on first shot. The gun did not look damaged, but would not try again. I am not sure of how all that kind of thing works, but I can only imagine the risks involved.
 
Don't worry, I'm in no hurry to blow myself up, or my rifle either. Great news about Trail Boss which I'd never heard of before. I'm on the trail of it now. Not a lot of loading data found yet on this powder in the 444Marlin. But the IMR web site has scared me off using filler on less bulky powders. So it looks like Trail Boss bulky powder all the way! With it turning spring and warmer weather I'm really looking forward to getting out to the range and emptying some cartridge cases. Had a good recoil pad put on the Marlin. Thanks for the reloading tips!
 
theres lots of good reduced cast loads in lyman cast bullet book, for .444 marlin ,, i use uniqiue 11.5 grs and a 245 cast bullet, for a minimum load 1200fps, works very good, i would do that and leave the 44 mag to a real 44 mag ..wade
 
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