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marlin .444


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Hiya boys and girls

 

I met a guy lastnight and he shoots a marlin .444, When he said the round size i thought he was taking the mick haha as he was very intrested in me when i said i shoot (theres a lot of ***** about round here who say they are shooters but just generally mess about) but as we got more in depth about cartrage sizes etc i think he realised i really have an intrest.

any way just a few questions:

 

are they all home loaded? (his was)

what sort of distances can you shoot out too

what whould they be originally used for

what are they like as a round?

 

thanks guys. was just curious.

 

john boy

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thanks bud!

 

anyone with experiance?

I have one for deer and wildboar ,I love it i use 265 gr interlocks doing 2300 fps for deer and piggys good out to 150yrs or just a bit more and also down loaded it using cast bullets to shoot on my clubs indoor range.you can buy factory ammo from Remington and Hornady but the last lot of 240gr Remington i bought cost over £40 a box and that was about 3 years ago . Reloading is a lot cheaper

 

100,265gr Horndy interlocks £34 over 47grs of relader 7 @ £36 a lb ,brass at £50 a 100

cast lead 240 gr £25 per 500 ,over 19 grs of 2400 @ £36 makes 350 rounds for target practice.

Bob

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A mate of mine has one. It's a cracking Pig gun but the trajectory isn't great.

 

From what I remember of his explaination, 240gr are too light and blow up, 265gr drill through well and Hornady Leverlution (they have soft "points" so they don't chain fire under recoil in the tube mag) also work. It's not something I would choose for UK use outside of dense woodland but it is seriously fun at the range. Kind of like a .44 magnum on stearoids!

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The recoil is not that bad for the power it is pushing out of the front end over 3500Ft pounds of energy plus with the right load.

 

Mugler are you going with Frank this year ? ,were of on the first trip on the 17th.

 

Bob

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It was Marlin's attempt to corner the same market as the .44 magnum by giving it a bit more poke. Only really ever a lever action calibre it is popular in the US as a brush rifle ie short range. It is however limited by the type of rifles that use it and the trajectory which is far from flat. Very much a carry it all day and shoot it once sort of rifle, as said above, the recoil is too much for a day at the ranges.

Edited by Vince Green
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I had one for 3 years as a woodland rifle.

 

Most 44 calibre bullets then were designed to work at 44 handgun velocities and were just too explosive at 444 speeds. I eventually settled on Hornady XTPs and Hornady Interlock Silhouette bullets to try and minimise carcase damage. The Silhouette bullets were used in handgun comps to knock down steel rams so technically were non-expanding but did expand well at 444 speeds and performed well in the field.

 

My 444 Marlin was surprisingly accurate and I could squeeze 3 shots groups down to 1" at 100yds.

 

I shot a fallow doe one day from a high seat as she stood on a partially flooded field and was shocked to see the 240 grain Hornady XTP plough straight through then skip off across the flooded field kicking up water until I lost sight of it.

 

I even messed about with the "Dark Side" of down loading the 444 with cast lead bullets but then you can easily fall foul of the Deer Act with muzzle velocities and energy.

 

I once guided an American client who had successfully used a 444 on dangerous game in America and Africa.

 

In my opinion the 444 is let down by a lack of decent game bullets and there are a lot of better calibres out there for UK stalking and pigs.

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Treestalker

 

Down loading the .444 is not a dark art ,loads of data on cast bullets with and without gas checks .

As for good expanding bullets there are quite a few makes Horndy ,Nosler,speer ,Barns to name a few that make .230 Dia .444 marlin bullets if you know where to go get them

eg. Reloading soulutions can any of the above no probs.

 

Bob.

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Treestalker

 

Down loading the .444 is not a dark art ,loads of data on cast bullets with and without gas checks .

As for good expanding bullets there are quite a few makes Horndy ,Nosler,speer ,Barns to name a few that make .230 Dia .444 marlin bullets if you know where to go get them

eg. Reloading soulutions can any of the above no probs.

 

Bob.

 

I wish I'd known you back in the early 1990s when I was experimenting with a 444. I could've saved myself a fortune working up loads and trying them on deer.

What is a .230 diameter 44 caliber bullet? Were you using sabots?

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I wish I'd known you back in the early 1990s when I was experimenting with a 444. I could've saved myself a fortune working up loads and trying them on deer.

What is a .230 diameter 44 caliber bullet? Were you using sabots?

 

Sorry that was a typo error .44 magnum pistol bullets are .429 and .444 bullets as a rule are .430" and yes size does mater with a .444 :yes:

Edited by mowdy
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