444 Marlin bullet test

[SJB358]

Thought this was pretty cool. I love to see bullet tests and the big bore lever guns never seem to get old!

http://www.marlinowners.com/forum/444-m ... post962979

 

[DrMike]

Fascinating stuff. He truly performed yeoman service for all the 444 Marlin people with such extensive testing.

 

[JD338]

Great test. The 444 Marlin is a real power house round.

JD338

 

[FOTIS]

That is a good test though in my opinion his rating system is a bit.....warped???????

 

[velvetant]

Now that I found a couple loads for my Marlin 444
I'm going to test the Hornady 265 fn tomorrow.
For some reason my bullets don't have the second cannelure on them
Also have the Speer 270 deepcurl to try out.
Milk jugs are filled and ready to go.

Yes I'll post pics

 

[SJB358]

Now that I found a couple loads for my Marlin 444
I'm going to test the Hornady 265 fn tomorrow.
For some reason my bullets don't have the second cannelure on them
Also have the Speer 270 deepcurl to try out.
Milk jugs are filled and ready to go.

Yes I'll post pics

I am looking forward to that Randy! Those are two bullets which don't break the bank but really perform as premiums. Man.... Really looking forward to tomorrow!

 

[SJB358]

That is a good test though in my opinion his rating system is a bit.....warped???????

Why is that Fotis? Just wondering?

 

[FOTIS]

Well in my opinion the Ranch dog would not have been #1.

I think the 300 unicore speer and the swift among some other ones did better. Unless he is going after cape buffalo (super penetration).

No elk moose deer bear etc, can take that 300 speer in the boiler room and survive.

I guess penetration is very very important to the OP.

 

[Elkman]

So! for you big bore guys, me being a newbe, why does one buy a caliber capable of shooting 500 gr (as an example) buller and test performance with a short squat 180?
I have seen numerous times where we and others are discussing loading data for a 180g. bullet in a 338 caliber rifle. If you want to shoot 180 grain bullets, there are a lot better caliber choices. !

Did the "Ranch Dog" look similar to the maxi-hunter our just my tired old eyes.?

 

[SJB358]

I agree in the most part, but that .10 cent cast bullet has alot of performance compared to a Swift or other super premium bullet. Can't beat how well they do work and those WFNs have a huge following in game taking ability.

Bill, I goofed around with 180's a bit in my 338 but only to see if it would be a relevant low recoil load for my son. Turns out that a 180 at 3150-3200 recoils very little out of my braked 338 and would be pretty potent with the AB. Me, I will stick with 250's for my hunting. They seem to shoot really well and i can't see much holding on to one of them.

 

[velvetant]

The Hornady looks great and retained a lot of weight. expanded dia. .860"
The Speer looks good but lost more weight. Also found a bunch of fragments in the various jugs.
Both the Hornady and Speer ended up in the fifth jug
The CCI 22 round was just for fun

 

[SJB358]

Randy, those look excellent man! What a good test. Not sure an elk would take many of them! Great test. I kinda figured you would have gotten a couple more though? Might have to pump up some bullet weight a little? Who knows, that is still excellent performance. Maybe if Nosler is nice to us bigger bored lever guys, they will bring back the 250 PT for the 444 and the 300 PT for the 45-70. My 45-70 went into the 8-9th jug.. It was brutal.. Best penetrator I have found yet.

 

[velvetant]

Lost a lot of milk jugs when I forgot and left them out and they froze and busted so was real short on testing jugs.
Plan on doing more tests when I drink more

 

[SJB358]

Lost a lot of milk jugs when I forgot and left them out and they froze and busted so was real short on testing jugs.
Plan on doing more tests when I drink more

I love the milk jugs tests! Cheap and fun. Can't have much more fun with our clothes on!

Any other ideas for bullets?

 

[velvetant]

Not really, The Hornady 265 is what everyone seems to love and now I see why.
It'll take anything I plan on hunting.

 

[SJB358]

Good point Randy. It is an awesome looking bullet. What was the muzzle velocity of the load you used?

The 350gr Hdy FNSP seems to perform about the same in the 45-70..

You just gotta love these big bore lever rifles.. They are too much fun!

 

[velvetant]

Just a tad over 2200fps.
Hope to get across the boarder and get a few pigs this year

 

[SJB358]

Just a tad over 2200fps.
Hope to get across the boarder and get a few pigs this year

Nice, that is some great performance from a big bullet. I like my bolt guns for hunting the wide open country, but the lever guns see alot of use in the timber and forests around here for deer/beer. Ain't nothing handier than a good shooting lever rifle..

 

[FOTIS]

The 265 in that 444 is my favorite hands down!

 

[tecumseh]

The 265gr interlock sitting on top of 42gr of IMR-4198 is the goods out of my 444P guide gun.