.444 Marlin loading

Zastava223rem

Zastava223rem

Member
Finally picked up a set of well used dies for too much but figured theyll clean up. I have some Hornady 1x fired cases that are cut shorter for the FTX but wanted to load up some speer 270 gr and maybe some 310 gr Hardcast in Starline cases once they become available.

Was curious if anyone here loads for .444 and what your thoughts were. Any helpful tips or go to loads? I currently load for quite a bit, including .45-70 so I know a little about the straight walls. Never played with .444 Before.

Also curious if anyone has some reduced loads they like to play with. I recently got 5 lbs of Shooters World Buffalo Rifle that is supposedly good for reduced loads in many cartridges and though it would be fun to load some light target loads with a plated 240 gr bullet
 
I called a friend that has two Marlin lever guns. One is a .45-70 and the other is in .444 Marlin. He bought them for Alaskan bear but never used them for such. For plinking loads he uses a cast 250 grain bullet in both and he likes 12 grains of Trail Boss with a large pistol primer. Says the speeds are around 1200 fps. Like me, he is not a big fan of hard kicking guns but he does have a few of them. A nice gentle push sure makes it easier to keep shooting than a WHAM does every time you pull the trigger does.
 
Originally Posted By: Stu Farish265 gr Hornady over H4198 with Federal 210 GM primers


+1, call it done

I don't know about shooting lead bullets in the micro grove barrels, old Marlins yes.

The old Lyman manual gave an accuracy load for the 265g and 4198, accuracy load for my rifle in Rem brass was 1.0g more, and it shot 1" at 100 yards...my barrel, my lot number of powder...your results may vary.
 
The 265 Hornady is a great choice but discontinued, you can still find some around if not the 270 Deepcurl over H4198 is also a good choice.
 
At some point I'll pick up the new ones, but I think it's a shame that the old ones aren't available any more. They hit quite decisively
 
I have a few boxes of the FTX to play with since I already have some hornady brass that is cut shorter for it. Was able to buy some Speer 270 gr bullets off a local guy pretty cheap so I will have to play with those too. I will just have to wait until brass is available again.
 
FWIW, Starline makes 444 Marlin brass.

I don't have any, last time I decided to buy some I lucked up on some more Remington (which is all I've used for this rifle) but I did see Starline available at the time
 


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