Alright...added another pistol caliber to my barrel collection, and a 14" at that. Got it from a pawn shop on a nice frame for 350. Frame is an earlier model that has already been modified by TC for the easy break and has a wonderful trigger.

'Bout the barrel, however...I have heard tales told of "Lawyer Barrels" made by TC and I think I may have found one...the throat is **** near non-existent...I can almost chamber a friggin' 445 SM cartridge in there...and when I trimmed .070" off the neck I CAN shut the action...

So...do I just call it a new wildcat and call it the 44 Cookiemonster and live with it? I haven't shot it yet, but I have discussed it with a gunsmith locally and he said that it would be safe to just take any 445 starting load (except the twins 110 and 296) and reduce by 10-15% and see what that gets you...he also said to not go below 200 grains bullet size. All I am looking for here is second opinions and somthing I may have possibly missed.

Darrell

Get the book out and make sure the PSI will match up with 44 mag pressures. If you are not careful you may have fireworks, so wear your ears, eyes and a helment when your shooting it!

I just shot a 444 barrel on a contender with out a brake. Let me tell you ouch!!!!!!! It was a 44 barrel that had the chamber re cut.

If you like, I could rechamber the barrel for you to 445 Super Mag. or the 444 Marlin either one. I could also add one of MAXIMIZER muzzle brakes to the barrel as well as a modified 6-csrew base. I'll do any or all of this work for you for 1/2 the normal cost. No gimmicks, just trying to help a fellow handgunner out....

D-A

can you shoot me a PM with a quote for that rechamber?

Also can you possibly rechamber a 300 savage 14" to a 300-444? AKA 309 JDJ?

Darrell


If you like, I could rechamber the barrel for you to 445 Super Mag. or the 444 Marlin either one. I could also add one of MAXIMIZER muzzle brakes to the barrel as well as a modified 6-csrew base. I'll do any or all of this work for you for 1/2 the normal cost. No gimmicks, just trying to help a fellow handgunner out....

D-A

Darrell,

pm sent...

I can rechamber your 300 Savage to what I call the "308 ALPO". This cartridge is based on the full length 444 Marlin case necked down to 308. It has minimum body taper and a 40 degree shoulder angle. It can be loaded using a set of 309 JDJ dies but most customers will send in a set of Redding 30-06 Ackley Improved dies that I modify to match the chamber that I cut...

Anything else, just ask.

D-A

Take it slow on 44 to 444 conversions. We discussed this one a couple of years ago on this BTB website. I can't remember where the original article is, but I do have these two photos of a 44 mag standard Contender barrel converted to 444 Marlin. I think this event occurred about the 30th shot. The owner thinks it was the gunsmiths fault, but maybe the loads were goofed up. Click on the attached photos.
Dave

Wow, That is not good. I have owned a 444 marlin contender for a little over 3 years now. I have shot hundreds of shells through it, Maybe even over a thousand now. I have never had any problem with it. It started life as a super 14 44 mag that i had rechambered to 444, No brake or anything on it. I do not get wild with my loads either. Usually middle of the road or a tad better. I know alot of people cannot resist trying to make a cartridge do things it was not designed to do. I have been guilty of that myself. Ruined a beautiful 29 smith in process too. I take it easy with them now. When I need more power I get a bigger gun. By the way the 29, I was shooting 23.5 296 with a 300 grain lbt out of my Superblackhawk hunter with no problem. Tried it in Smith, 3rd shot locked gun up solid. Took it to smitty and it sprung the frame. He had to beat topstrap down with a hammer to open cylinder to get shells out. I stripped it for parts and learned an expensive lesson. Bought a FA 454 casull soon after that. Be careful Be safe God Bless Steve

I have rechambered over 300 44 mags to the 444 Marlin and so far, have never had a single problem with any of them. They have all been in the T/C Contender super 14" barrels, in both blue and stainless...

I saw those same pictures a while back and if I'm not mistaking, the "barrel failure" was caused by LOADERS ERROR! I think that the powder he was using was too fast in burn rate for that particular cartridge and when the pressures spiked too fast, something had to give....

D-A

One thing's for sure, it's always good to check everything twice and go slow with gunpowder involved.

Did Thompson Center ever make a 444 Contender barrel??

The T/C Custom Shop - Fox Ridge Outfitters has offered two diffrent runs of the 444 Marlin that I know of. They could have produced more than those two but that is all that I am personally aware of....

D-A

Were those Contender barrels or Encore barrels?

Send it to Thompson Center. Get their opinion.

I had an xp 100 by Remington. Original 7 Br rechambered to 7 mm 08. Sent it to Remington Custom and they rebarreled it to 308 with a muzzle break. Yes, I shot it as 7 mm 08. What a beast. With the 308 and muzzlebreak it shot like my 45 ACP (recoil etc.) Last time on the range I shot 100 rounds and ran out of ammo and fun long before I wanted to quit.

Have fun, be safe.

Greenhorn Dave,

those were Contender barrels....