Home Forums Reloading Big Game Rifles 444 marlin

I am knew to this forum thing. I am going to order a 444 marlin. It will be used mostly for hog hunting here in texas. Does anybody have comments on what bullet,weight ect.

I have already owned a 45-70cb, great gun but i am not interested in the fine merits of it.

The hornady 265 gr. bullet is designed for the 444. It will serve you well. If you don't reload, hornady loads it in their light mag line.

Viking,
Try this link:
http://www.beartoothbullets.com/tech_notes/archive_tech_notes.htm/17

I've gotten good accuracy and performance with 270 gr Speer Gold Dot bullets and H335 powder. H335 also works well with various 300 gr jacketed bullets. I shot a bull caribou in 2005 with the Speer Gold Dot bullet, and it tipped over just fine.

I shoot a Winchester Black Shadow .444, fwiw.

You can also make pretty nifty shot cartridges, using .410 shot cups and crimping the case mouth over a .429 gas check .

Dennis

What do you think of 240 xtp bullets, I think they should work on a side shot. The experts say a 87 grain bullet from a 250 savage should not work well but I have used it and seen it used to great affect in ND where I used to live.

265 gr Hornady's...made for the 444...along with H4198

A well-constructed 240 gr bullet will no doubt penetrate a deer or other big game animal quite well. I like a little more bullet weight and length, so shoot heavier bullets. I'm less interested in trying to pick up one or two hundred fps at the muzzle, with a cartridge like the .444. Some 320 gr hard cast bullets will be my next .444 experiment, at some point.

Dunno who the alleged experts are who say that an 87 gr bullet in a .250-3000 won't work, but they pretty clearly haven't used one .

DN

I load the 240 grain XTP to around 1900 fps to keep it in it's velocity range. Works fine on hogs and deer and you don't need a perfect broadside shot either. Very accurate and mild to shoot. Good bullet.

I also have had good luck with H-4198 and the 265 grain Hornady Bullet, but for great pentration and to be prepared for the biggest stuff in my part of the woods my favorite load was 4198 powder withe the 300 grain Barns Copper tube jacket with I think It has the .030 Jacket or is it the .020 I can not remember for sure. I got rid of the rifle but still have two boxes of the bullets. Once I shot right through a good sized Black bear and through a drum of fuel we had just rolled up the bank from the river boat and the fuel was spraying out all over the bear, with a few sparks things would have really got interesting. Another time my father who was a lot better shot with open sites than I am dropped two Bull Moose standing side by side at around 150 yards with one shot a piece and they were dead by the time he walked out to them, I was impressed.

300 grain uni-cors or hard-casts over RL-7 blow big holes through hogs.

Well having owned a 444 since 1981.. I have some miles under my belt with her...

First of all, realize that the lack of aerodynamics on 44 caliber bullets, no matter how much MV you get out of your 444, they loose a lot of that velocity very very quickly...

the good side of that, is that you can load bullets down to lower velocity and reduce recoil substantially without sacrificing much point blank range at all...
for reload info, look at data for cast lead bullets... powders like H335 and even RL 7 and IMR 4198 are actually too fast for that large a bore... with the case capacity of a 444...

44 Rem Mag loads can be used in a 444 and will actually give you the same MV as listed in a 44 Mag rifle.. just at even less pressure.. that will help a lot on low cost shooting...

as far as bullets, all of the 265 grain FN/SP Hornadys, or the 270 Gold Dots or even those spendy trendy other bullets.. none give the terminal performance that you can get from 'available anywhere bullets are sold" Hornady XTPs...

when they are loaded to operate within the published velocity range by Hornady for that bullet, you are good to go...

you can't push a 200 grain XTP as fast as say a 240 grain XTP..

for my own use in Hunting with MY 444, I use the 300 grain XTP exclusively.. It has taken deer with a tree behind them or in front of them.. didn't matter unless the tree was bigger in diameter than say 10 to 12 inches.... some folks may say BS, but unless they have tried it and seen it fail, they don't know what they are talking about...

I've used a lot of powders in my 444, but the one I have settled on the last few years is SR 4759... I have played with charges from 15 to 35 grains of it.. all work well in the 444.. with MVs from 800 fps to 1850 fps with the 300 XTP...

For off season use, or young shooters, or just plain plinking ( actually blowing big holes in stuff) loads using Trail Boss are also a blast to use in the 444...

I have never owned a 45/70.. the only reason I haven't is that I haven't seen anything it will do that the 444 won't do for me...and I got the 444 first...paid $219.00 for it brand new in 1981 at Mills Fleet and Farm back in Minnesota..right off the rack.. it has been a love affair ever since...

Same thing since I first reloaded it with the 300 grain XTP... the 300 grainer is ALL I use in my hunting loads.. at 1850 fps, it is a 150 yd load.. but that is all I ever expected out of the 444... I want more range, I use a bolt action...

What I need to get tho, is one of those Cabelas Specialty scopes for it, or one of those Nikon with the BDC for black powder rifles on her...and maybe finally take off the wood stock and refinish it finally.. it has the wear, tear and scratches to show many seasons of use...

and it has the older one in 38 twist.. but it still is a tack driver for a lever action!

Viking,
Bought mine from Walmart* 5 years ago. 1 in 20 twist, 22" barrel.

265 gr Hornady FP, in my experience in my rifle,is much more accurate than Speer 270 FP and velocity is easily achieved in the 2300-2400 fps range. Hornady 300 gr XTP and Speer 300 grainers for heavier bullets are splendid performers in 444 Marlin.

Try the VV N120 powder for 265's- follow the manual. I subbed primer by using the Rem 9 1/2. Easily got to 2405 (clocked with tbe new CED M2 chrono-12 shot avg. very narrow ES)a full grain below the listed max from the '06 free manual.

I can't get enough of the 444 Marlin.

*Incidentally, did you guys see that NRA-ILA email this weekend about Walmart starting to videotape the transaction of firemarms sales in their stores? Beware.

I have a 444 Marlin, and since I bought it 5 years ago, it has become my favorite rifle. It kills game with results that you have to see to believe. I shoot nothing but beartooth hard cast lead bullets. Check out their website and read the articles on the round. I personally use the 280 WFN or the 325 LFN, both with gas checks. Accuracy has been amazing. Hope this helps.