I have been unsuccessful at finding information on reloading 444 marlin pistol loads? I know there people with TC pistols in 444 Marlin?

I have been using rifle rounds which probably throw out 1/3 of the powder or is burning it out the end of the barrel - want to find a good 12 inch 444 load data?

It should be a faster burning powder than the useless rifle - this coming from some one who has never reloaded before - but i have an AMT AutoMag III 30 carbine with the same rifle/pistol cartridge problem? It is 8.5 inch barrel shooting M1 rounds for rifles as well?

I have a single stage reloader that i was given and was going to use it for my 45 win mag, 444 marlin and 30 carbine cartridges - but want to pin down reloading data or just keep using rifle cartridges? 45 win mag has good commercial loads but i figure i will save brass and load some?

Any help on 12 inch 444 marlin (or M1 30 carbine 8.5 - found all kinds of 7.5 blackhawk loads which have to be better than rifle loads) - i wish i had the twist rate, watched Larry potterfield do it on midway usa but cant think now - not sure how much difference would make? I have shot off hand at 100 6 inch plate and hit it so it shoots good - except it weigh over 7lbs with 6 shells in and you squeeze off on the way down almost?

single six will have to be done from front of barrel? i also have the lever 444 and want to use the hornady leverrevolution rounds but -- seems a waste in my pistol?

Pistol was made in 1985 in evansville indiana, eagle one #33 - phelps mfg (was a lock company i heard from sister in law who lives in evansville), iron sights, brown bluing

RICK

so if you think you cant buy 444 ammo and that its less power than a 45/70 - you would be wrong - unless you have a 1;38 twist with 240 grain factory shells, 2200 with 240 grains and people are saying is it effective for whitetails?

http://www.dakotaammo.net/products/corbon/hunter.htm

I wish they offered pistol ammo in 444

Contact SSK. They make Contender barrels in 444.

Along about 1990 I had a T/C with a 14",bull bbl chambered in .44mag. I sent it off to JDJ/SSK and had it rechambered to .444Marlin.

I tried numerious loads with this weapon but finally settled on 45.3grs/H4198/Hornady 265gr/CCI200/RP brass

I also found that the load was a little MORE accurate if lightly crimped into the cannaleur.

Don't remember about the unburned powder thing. Didn't care. The load was fast,accurate,and killed with authority. That's all that mattered to me.

Later I also came up with a load for a 300gr(Cast Performance)WFNGC. It was 53.7grs/H335/CCI200/RP brass. This load was seated to the first cannaleur but WAS NOT crimped.

The above two loads were used on Maine moose(900+lbs) and the medium sized black bear with very good results. Also the bigger bodied Maine deer.

I also expieramented with other powders and have load data for the older Data223,and very "stiff" loads using IMR4198.

I would also reccomend that you not use any of the smaller bullets. The 240's and below seemed to over expand if driven at the velocities that I was trying to achive.

The pistol was very manageable if a shooters glove was used and you knew what to expect. -----pruhdlr

444 marlin uses the fastest burning rifle powders there are, so the only thing you could do is use slow burning handgun powders in your reloading, not a good idea . 444 marlin is a big case so if you use handgun powders you would get way to hi psi with full charges. go to hodgdon reload data center and scrool down to bottom[handgun loads] there is some data for handgun 444 15" barrel but you will notice it is almost the same as the rifle data.

case size and working psi dictate what kind of powder are used, it really does not make much diff if it is handgun or rifle round , unless the working psi is diff. there are better powders for short barrel and some powders burn cleaner than others . when reloading handgun rounds like 44mag 45colt and so on for rifles you still use handgun powders not rifle powders.

Just opinion, but I think unless you load down to very light handgun levels (and I don't even know where to find such data), you are going to have a terrific fireball / blast with just about anything in the .444 in a short barrel.

It's tough to get that much powder to burn quickly, in a short straight bore. The only loads that were ever well behaved / quiet out of my .444 were lapping loads, somewhere between 2 and 3 grains of bullseye and the rest of the case filled with polyester pillow stuffing.

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MikeG

The Hornady 7th edition manual lists quite a few TC loads for the .444. It lists 200, 240,265, and 300 grain loads with pistol bullets.

I think we've been around this tree before.
The idea of using a faster burning powder for shorter barrels is one of those things which sounds reasonable but doesn't work out in practice. Generally speaking, the load which produces the highest velocity from a long barrel will also produce the highest velocity from a short barrel. The "slow burning powders" just really don't burn all THAT slow.

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Life is such a hard school that no one has ever gotten out of it alive!

Had a 14 inch contender barrel that was rechambered to 444 about 10 years ago.I shot 3 loads over the chronograph.Remington 265 gr. factory loads,that they don't make anymore,went for an average of 1876 fps.They went 2053 fps from the Marlin.265 gr. Hornady's averaged 1952 fps,average deviation was 12 fps with 53 grs. of H322.From the Marlin they did 2176 fps with 6 fps average deviation.300 gr.Hornady XTP's and 55 grs. of H335 averaged 2009 fps from a 14 inch barrel.Average deviation was 9 fps.From the Marlin they went 2194 fps.Average deviation was 24 fps.After 43 rounds the grip screw broke on the contender.Traded that barrel for a 35 remington barrel.Today I use Reloader 7 with 300 gr.bullets in my Marlin.

I own a custom eight inch 444 Marlin Contender barrel and my Pet Loads are 300 grain cast, over either 20 grains of Alliant 2400 or 14 grains of Alliant Unique. Both of these loads are pussycats to shoot, and they are all that I care to shoot in this barrel.