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The Ol' 444 getting to work early this morning.

Congrats! Great buck and rifle.

What do you shoot from yours?

Thanks. Got it over early today so I can get to cooking for the clan.

Been using the 240 gr XTP up to now. This is the first deer with the 240 gr .431 dia Zero Flat Point.

Got it loaded down with a modest charge of 5744 to inline ML speeds.

Pile drived him at 60 yards.

Never heard of that bullet. Looks to be a good one though.

Nice!

Very nice
Venison and firearm.

Makes me homesick for my old one I
foolishly let go some years back.
Don't remember exactly, 1979 or 1980 vintage IIRC.
I have one of the newer short barreled ones I
came into this last year, and it's a tackdriver with
the obsolete #4300, but I still miss the original.

What's the number of the bullet If you have
it somewhere handy please ?

That's a great looking rifle.

Yeah. Me either.

Ran into it online. Bad part is ya gotta buy 500 at a whack so if they don't work it's something to contend with. Luckily my bore and throat diameter like the .431 diameter and they shoot good. One down side is to crimp at the groove the bullet ogive is just a bit too long and fat and jams HARD in the lands with regular length brass. Hard enough the lever won't go into battery.

I figured 3 solutions. Just seat deeper and crimp up on the ogive with the Lee FCD. Or, get the throat cut for the bullet. Or, trim the brass back .085 and crimp at the groove. I chose the latter as the best idea. Worked out ok.

Zero Brand 240 grain .431 diameter purchased through Roze Distribution. Quantity 500.


https://www.rozedist.com/mm5/mercha...e_Code=RZD&Category_Code=ZB-44Magnum

A good friend off mine uses a .444 Marlin as his primary deer rifle. It tends to put the deer down with authority. His is the stainless version with the gray laminate stock. The rifle shoots as good as it looks.

How fast do you figure they run?

My initial goal with them was to break 2000 fps with MOA at 100 yards. I ended up with 2035 fps at 60ish degrees ambient using a V3 magnetospeed chrono.

Groups are touching clover leafs at 50, and 1.25" or a little smaller at 100 yards. 200 yards hovers around 2 inches at worst, with around 8 inches of drop from a 100 yard zero. Using a 3x9 leupold on 9x for the testing.

I figure that's pretty darn good with the horrible trigger this thing has. Needs some work on that. I plan getting that trigger weight down before the weather gets colder here and re-testing the load below 30 degrees just to know what it does.

I’d be plenty happy with that sorta accuracy. My 444 is a good shooter as well.

Feral I don’t want to get into a pissing contest with you but I’ve been shooting and hunting with the 444 since the 70’s. My rifle is a one of a kind Ruger #3 built for my late Brother who was a Wyoming guide by Parker Ackley. Since Bill Ruger refused to chamber his #1 or #3’s in the 444 Ackley was game to build one. My Brother knew him quite well and Parker thought the idea was interesting. He would build him #3 but he wanted to shoot it and work up loads and barrels first then he’d hand it off to my Brother. Anyway it’s a beautiful rifle, nice wood, slicked up action and trigger and a 25” 1-18” barrel with roughly. #4 contour. I got the rifle around 79-1980 and taken several elk and two moose. It’s a serious performer but nothing for recoil shy shooters. Still has the original Niedner steel butt plate.

My loads are as follows
Hornady 265 gr. over 55.5 grs of H322 reliably at 2350 fps
Barnes #4320 300 gr FP over 55.9 gr. of H335 ( compressed ) reliably at 2240-2250
Hawk 275 gr. Spitzer .025” jacket over 55.0 grs H335 runs 2300 fps

Being a single I can load and shoot pointy spritzers ( Hawks ) increase my range and they hold 2.5” to 2 3/4” at 200 yards. I’ve found this rifle will print close to MOA or 1/2” more all day. I’ve taken two moose with both the Hornady and Barnes 300 both blew out and shattered both fore and far side big shoulder bones. They dropped about the speed of gravity. Both were planted and couldn’t move but we’re still alive when I got to them. The 275 gr. Hawk was only used on one elk hunt in the thorofare but it was a 200 + - shot on a big cow. Bullet entered left shoulder traveled the entire body and broke up the right hind quarter hip. Not sure what the hunting range of the Hawk loads would be but I’m sure they could be considered 250 yard. I never considered this rifle and round as a long range option but with these Hawk spritzers in a falling block I think people would be surprised

Rick

Why would we get into a pissing contest? That's good stuff Rick.

It is at a level I'm probably never going to get to play at though. Whitetails here in the Appalachian mountains, and maybe a black bear if the opportunity ever presents itself, is the bulk of my needs for this rifle and cartridge. I certainly have lots of long range options here on the farm, but I've other rifles if I want to do that. Where I use these lever guns in the hardwoods and brush, 200 yards would be really stretching visibility. 50 to 100 is more the norm.

I tried to get some of those hawk flat points a couple three months back but the guy on the phone said they were all out of stock in the three calibers I was trying to order, and couldn't give me an approximate date of when they'd have more made. So I went with these Zero brand 240's for the 444.

Hawk is closed until next week. Been playing phone tag with Fred at Roze. Still trying to determine jacket thickness of the Roze 240 and whether it will hold up under 2300 fps.

The 240 Roze/Zero flat point works quite well launched at 2035. 60-ish yards, went down like he was hit with a freight train. Quartering away, hit in the middle of the rib cage. (Rifle/scope is covering the half dollar size exit in the shoulder)

I have a bunch of other weights that I am going to thin out but hate to do so until I actually get to shoot 240s out of my gun.
I use the 200 XTP in my Marlin 44 mag but way too fast in the 444.
Close to 800 jacketed bullets but no 240 grain.

i have a TC Encore with 23" MGM barrel in 444 Marlin. i have killed deer with the 265gr Hornady FN, 255gr Kieth type SWC, 275gr Ranch Dog, 280gr LFN GC, 280gr WFN GC and a 300gr Saeco FN GC. depending on the bullet, it will go 1624fps (300gr) up through 2300fps (265gr Hornady, 275gr RD and 280gr LFN).

i took it this year with 280gr WFN GC and Reloder 7 going 1947fps. i killed a doe at 40ish yards and the bullet went 1/3 of way up and behind the shoulder. she managed to run about 15ish yards and then fell over.

I use the 240 and 210 Lyman, hard cast SWC bullets with Unique. The 210s are very accurate with 12 gr at 200 meters and is my load for Cowboy Silhouette. The 12 grain Unique load takes 70 pound T-1 armor plate rams. My Marlin in a 1969 production rifle, straight stock, without the pistol grip. It has the early micro groove rifling. I found that hard cast bullets hold the lands sized to the groove diameter, I use LBT Blue lube. I put a 2x old steel tube US made Bushnell scope on a tip off mount.