[ENGLANDER]

Hello from Scotland-

Ive been trying to get a .444p for nearly seven months now kept being told " in two months"

Well ive given up but i have found a second hand .444ss 22" micro groove , the only one i have ever seen advertised here in Britain.

The gun is in London so ive not seen it but the shop owner tells me it in good condition except for the stock which the last owner treid to varnish and cocked it up, so i will have to refinnish the stock.

Got him down to $247 inclueding bases and scope rings oh and hes paying the shipping !

Lever guns do not hold value over here and due to ammo not being available plus stock condition i feel a got a good deal.

It will be sent up, to my local dealer on Wednesday, cant wait, like a kid at Christmas !

This will be my first lever gun and my first Marlin. Obvouisly i will have to slug it and work at it to shoot well with cast gas checked bullets but that should be fun...................

Will keep you posted.

Englander

 

[Slamhound]

I've never had a firearm w/ microgroove rifling but i hear they can sometimes not work so good w/ lead bullets. If that's the case and you want to use cast bullets it's possible that it may be best to use a hard heat-treated alloy?

 

[BigEd]

Englander, congratulations on finding your .444.  Excuse me if I am telling you what you already know, but go to the Tech Notes on this site and look for Mr. Stanton's series of articles on the .444.  The three articles provided a wealth of information.  I haven't worked much with a .444 but my understanding is that properly sized cast bullets work just fine in a micro groove barrel.  I applaud your pursuit of the shooting sports where the laws make it so difficult.  We in the US are generally blessed to be able to enjoy shooting sports with minimal legal difficulties.  Ed

 

[Starrbow]

Have fun with it! Getting those Hard Cast bullets too shoot isn't that bad, if you don't have Mr Stantons tech manual yet, get one!...Marko

 

[Jungli Bains]

I have a Marlin .45/70 with micro groove rifling. It shoots cast bullets just fine. The bullets should have long shanks to take the rifling, and short noses. That bullet style should shoot well in your .444.

 

[ENGLANDER]

At present ive been experimenting casting, with the Lee 310 mold using wheel weights they are coming out at approx 325 gn and 0.4315

I have air cooled and also water quenched which are remarkable hard !

Once ive slugged it i may get my Lee sizer 0.430 opened up a wee bit.

Redding molds have been recommended to me for producing bullet of 0.432 + i might try a 250gn or 280gn although im not sure if i can get them here.

But i have found a shop that can order stuff from Midway.com thats were i got my brass.

I shall have to get Marshalls tech manuel as lapping would seem important with these guns and the of cast bullets.

Lots of fun ahead.............. perhaps a bit of hard work to !

Englander    

 

[rackettc]

ENGLANDER
    feel kinship and envy.  my first brand new deer rifle was a marlin 444.  had the best trigger of any rifle i've ever owned.  never let me down.  any game touched ended up shortly in the freezer or on the fire.  bought her new in 1979.  my secretary's son begged me out of her in 1993.  have first dibs on repurchase.  know a lot of 21/2" chambered shotguns in your land.  do you have a suggestion to source of load data for 16 ga. 21/2" slugs for a sauer drilling?  good luck with your triple 4.  with 240 gr factory(remington) ammo and a 1.5-4.5 steel cased weaver, mine shot 0.5" groups at 75 yds.  forget about the naysayers, the micro groove shoots cast fine when sized .001-.002" over groove dia.