Home Forums Lever Action Central Big Bore Levers loads for .444 Marlin?

I like the fox squirrel thread.... the last time I tried that with my 45/70 on a much smaller pine squirrel, I DID find the tip of the tail,, went hungry that night!! LOL I use ghost ring sights, so not quite as pinpoint as w/ a scope..
I just got my wife a .444, was wondering if anyone had experimented with light loads.. I've got a pile of 180gr XTP's, trying to find a 'used' load for these for practice 'til she gets used to the feel of the lever gun before I move up the gr scale. I hadn't thought of using something like kleenex, I was thinking of felt patches I use in my .44 or .457 BP revolvers to take up airspace in the cartridge.
Cool site! Been here before, but been a long while!

I got this load from Clay Harvey:

210 grain Speer bullet - 49.0 grains IMR 4198

Muzzle velocity from 22 inch barrel: 2409 fps

This is not a light recoil load at all but still less than 265 or 300 grain bullets.

Sherwood

Thanks!! I'll keep that one in mind.. sounds like a good'n.. How is the cartridge capacity with that load? full,comprssed?With this casing, it should be full..?
Just checked my drawer, don't have any felt patches for the .44 right now, guess I'll have to get some.
We've got plenty of prairie dogs here, good for mid/long range practice.. Most of this is for her to get accustomed to open sights. No time to aim, pull into the victim and let 'em have it!

32.0 to 35.0 of the above mentioned IMR 4198 should produce between 1300 and 1600 fps with your 210gr bullets. No filler recommended or needed. This should be reasonable recoil and a good training load for her. Be cautious using fillers unless the recipe specifically calls for one...It could lead to very dangerous pressures. Lyman indicates a load of 40.0 IMR 3031 for an accuracy load with a 210 cast bullet at around 1275 fps. also with no filler. A jacketed bullet should give similar results.
Good luck,
Rick

Thanks,, I'll try these,, was wondering about fillers,, Might experiment with Trail Boss, too.. I looked at a can the other day, didn't realize how fluffy it is,, only 9oz in a 1# can..

Alrighty now,,
I picked up some Trail Boss, I think I might like it, at least for the plinking thing. Find it online, there's a simple recipe for determining where to start with it. make a light mark on a cartridge where the bullet seating depth is. Fill case up to that point, weight it. That's max, sharpen yer pencil, figure 70% of that, there is your starting load.. just work your way to max, just as with any other load to find the sweet one. Surprisingly, the .444 case only holds a shade over 18gr of Trail Boss! My starting load was 12.6gr which averaged at 1350fps. Max speed in the book is 2200, so I've got plenty of room to grow with that 180gr XTP.. Not sure where I'll end up for a max with the Trail Boss, But the light load recoil is akin to my .204..
UGH,, off to work I go.. the weekend will be here soon!

I've found a lot of 44 Rem Mag loads work out well in the 444 for light loads..

I primarily use Blue Dot or SR 4759 in mine...

after checking the ballistics on the Hornady bullets I use in mine, they are so lacking in aerodynamics, that the difference in 2200 fps MV and 1700 fps MV is about 10 yards point blank range..

shocked the crap out of me... they have the BC of a falling parachute...

so for my max load for hunting, I load a 300 grain XTP for an MV of 1800 fps...

for the kids to shoot, I load the 180 XTP with Trail Boss... light load, and I don't think it even kicks as much as a 204...

gentle push, and not much of one of those either..