444Marlin query

No, no casting at this stage. Just for some additional info that may be relevant ... rifle will be used by a family friend's left handed 14YO lad. Reason I'm favouring the 444Marlin is I can set him up with numerous rounds loaded with a bulk buy 240gr at a sedate speed for low recoil practice and familiarisation, and when he can place them all onto a dinner size plate at 80yards, I reckon he'll be ready to go hunting. Unless using cast, I cant economically get him that degree of practice using a 45/70. I just don't have the time to be casting projectiles with family and work commitments at the moment.

Now, if I grab an older 1:38" 444Marlin, will something like a 265gr Hornady, 280gr Swift or 300gr Spper be appropriate at a sedate 2000fps or maybe a bit less? I keep reading that the heavier 300gr projectiles require full steam ahead loadings in the 444Marlin with 1:38" to stabilise. I don't want it to kick him into next week, but I suppose after a few hundred sedate 240gr practice loads, he probably wont feel a 265gr going off at full steam during a hunt. I'll be adding a 1" Decelerator etc to tone down the recoil and he's been fine to date with a 308Win from the bench.

I've owned and hunted Sambar with a 45/70 with hardcast 420gr at 1780fps ... and its not the level of recoil I'd expose a young lad to from a Marlin.
Cheers...
Con

G'day Con,

I posted on here about big game bullets for the .444 already, if you check that discussion out there was some useful information passed along.

Just don't use the 270gn Speer, it is a heavy bullet but my mate had spectacular bullet failure shooting at brumbies with it in his new .444. Bullets were literally blowing up on the shoulder of an average built mare. Seems the jacket construction is way too thin for .444 velocities. He's going to get some 265gr Hornady's based on what folks on here recommended.

Those sambar are just too elusive to lose through poor bullet performance! Good luck with the .444 mate, it should be an awesome round if you can find a bullet that works.

For a plinking/practice load, I'd be tempted to use cheap cast 240gr pills and either ADI Trail Boss or another pistol powder and load them to about 1000fps. Trail Boss is great for these sort of applications because you can fill a fair bit of the case compared to a light load with an equivalent pistol powder. I've loaded the .45/70 as light as 11grs with a 350gr pill for an old bloke who shoots western action with us.

Matt; There ya go...thats the ticket. If I wasnt having such success with cast bullets, and I had to shoot jacketed, that would be a good choice...You know, many years ago, I used to swage my own jacketed bullets...very accurate. If it wasnt for the cost of getting back into it, I would entertain the idea of doing that again, for the big bores. But, the technology of cast has gotten to be so good, that it would kind of be a senseless endeavor................The monolithics that Con is having his buddy turn would also be a great choice. When I started doing the research for my 444, I found that when all was said and done, that the 325 grain bullets (I use Marshall's 325 LCMNGC....my COL modification was designed around that bullet) would deliver the best balance in velocity per weight and impact performance in my 16 1/2" barreled Marlin 444. Of course the longer barreled guns could utilize heavier bullets for maximum performance. I favor a 300 grain (cast) for deer hunting, but, I only push it at 1850 for that purpose....no more is needed for the deer hunting that I do. If I was hunting a more open environment, I can stoke those 300's easily over 2200 fps out of my 16.5 to give it a bit more reach. Most likely, for all practical purposes, a jacketed 300 grainer would take care of anything that Con wants to take.