Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Custom Rifles & Wildcats 444 Rinless from 30-06?

How many steps? What do you use? We can fire form them in a 35 Whelen, and that will get them from 30 to 35. Can they go straight to the 444 die, or is that too big of a jump? I'd just buy some from Quality Cartridge, but they have been on the "Waiting for sufficient order to make a run", list for several years. I haven't checked in a while, I'll do that next.

Run through a 35 whelen die, reanneal, and then run through a 44 die is my assumption

That was our plan, we have both. We were thinking of fire forming in a 35 Whelen bolt gun. Thanks, maybe we will try just using the dies first?

Without giving it too much thought I'd run the brass into any die on the bench that I could use to step them up gradually. Can't wait to see your finished product Joe!

Wait, whut? 444 Rimless is a THING?

Always something to learn isn't there.

Big fan of the 444 Marlin, do keep on with this project here.

I don't know if it's the same as the 444 Rimless, but I know about a 444 Michigan.

Redding offers tapered size buttons you can use to neck the 30-06 cases up to .375. I use a couple to make 375 WIN cases from 30-30 brass. You may have to make a custom tapered size button/expander to get from .375 to .429. Remember to anneal.

I mean yeah you could fireform but I'd rather keep the primers

Yep. Rimless 444 is a thing. Built one on a Mauser probably 15 (or more?) years back, after talking Ken Howell. Basically used full length, 30-06 "basic" brass, not sure if it's still available anywhere.
Used it on a bunch of whitetails, more than a few hogs and 1 300 pound black bear, and found it to kill as well as any.
Headspaced on the case mouth, so case length is pretty critical. Haven't loaded for or shot it in probably 8 years, but it was a thumper with 300 grain XTP's, the discontinued 250 partition, or hardcast. And with 180's over either IMR 4198 or Reloder 7 (don't remeber which, have to dig up my notes!), it would talk trash to a 300 WinMag as far as velocity goes, in the neighborhood of 3000 fps. Pure hell on groundhogs, lol.
Need to dig it out of the safe and give it a workout.

That's interesting. I'd be a little concerned about headspacing on the case mouth especially with a good roll crimp on a cast bullet. But it would be a fun way to run some 300g cast flat noses. I wonder if atarline with make a 30-06 basic case now that they make 30-06 brass? They do basics for 223 and the grendels I believe.

Bb

I believe the 444 Rimless is also called the 44 Warp. Thanks for the input. The only question I have about head spacing on the mouth? The Bushmaster head spaces on the mouth and everyone and his brother has one, is it that big of a deal? Oh, Quality Cartridge lists the 444R. Last time I checked, 2 plus years ago, they were on the “ enough to make a run” list. Need to call them again?