Do any of my fellow afficianados have the answers to...............

1. Why did Remington® discontinue the 265gr SP ammo?
2. What is your experience/performance with the 240gr SP Remington® ON DEER?
3. What is your experience with the Hornady® Light Magnum 265gr FP ON DEER? (I know it's a great bullet for bear, elk, & moose).
4. Have any of you used the Buffalo Bore® 270gr bullets? If so what was your experience; how did they perform?

[QUOTE=badge8512. What is your experience/performance with the 240gr SP Remington®[/color] [color=red]ON DEERQUOTE]

I can only comment on this part of your question. The 240 grain Remington bullet kills our white tail deer very quickly. I have shot them from all angles and the bullet or at least a portion of it has allways exited.

I believe the 270 grain bullets are probably the ideal whether cast or the Speer doesnt matter. I am talking deer hunting as I dont have experience with the .444 on heavier game.

Probably just didn't sell enough of them.

If you're reloading anyway, consider the Beartooth 290gr. LFNGC. Works great! :D

rem. 240 gr stink i shot a bore three yrs ago in fla glade and they blew up on the hide. had to track it down and use my black hawk. the hornadys wil give them a try on 5-26-5-30 hog hunt. still waiting for horndy new ammo to come out

Big difference between shooting a deer and a hog.
Try the 310 Lee, one of the Beartooth LBT bullets or the 270 Speer for hogs.
I once loaded some soft cast bullets for a friends .30-30 at modest velocity with the thought he would use them for target shooting. He shot a big hog on the point of the shoulder and all the bullet did was clear the hair and leave a red spot. Things were interesting for a few minutes...

The Beartooth 290gr. LFNGC pushed by a stout load of RL-7 is the best in my Marlin 444. Accurate & pretty flat shooting.

Dan

Badge,

Several years B.H. (before handloading) I did shoot a deer with the Rem factory 240 grain 444 load.

It was honestly not the best angle, or circumstance, as I jumped the deer on one side of a thicket, and let fly at about 140 yards as the thing was turning away from me. The bullet struck just towards the middle ribs, ended up breaking the off side hip, and flopped the buck down hard on its back like someone had pulled a rug out from under it.

The bullet didn't exit, but I didn't find much of it, except for some jacket splinters. I really wasn't looking that hard, though, as during the time B.H., I didn't pay that much attention to the autopsy, and was only a causual student of bullet performance.

My feeling is that this bullet would be excellent, to the point of dramatic- if a soft/ medium body hit is made, but it might be a bit soft to do any bone breaking or heavy lifting.

Good luck to you friend, kill a great big one.

Steve

According to Ranch Dog who has discussed this with Remington, the 240gr bullet they load in the 444 is different (stouter) than the 240gr bullet loaded in the 44 mag and sold to reloaders.

That's right fellows... the Remington 240-grain bullet used in the factory ammo is specifically made for the 444 Marlin (bullet #R444M) and not available to handloaders. The only 240-grain JSP available as a component is the R44MG2.

Here is my guess concerning the Remington 265-grain JSP... maybe one day I will obtain a copy of the bullet to verify this... I believe it might be greater than .735" in length and didn't stabilize or shoot well with the 1:38 rate of twist. Hornady's bullet is .686" long and shoots well from the early rifles. Like I said, one day maybe I will find a Remington 265-grain bullet to measure and then cross section.

I only shot one Texas whitetail with the Hornady bullet and I would use the Remington before I used the Hornady again. The Hornady is too tough and I got zero expansion. The shot was broadside through both lungs but with the small entrance and exit holes there was no blood to trail. It was a dead deer but I would like to see a blood trail if it moves from where I shot it.

Badge,

Several years B.H. (before handloading) I did shoot a deer with the Rem factory 240 grain 444 load.

It was honestly not the best angle, or circumstance, as I jumped the deer on one side of a thicket, and let fly at about 140 yards as the thing was turning away from me. The bullet struck just towards the middle ribs, ended up breaking the off side hip, and flopped the buck down hard on its back like someone had pulled a rug out from under it.

The bullet didn't exit, but I didn't find much of it, except for some jacket splinters. I really wasn't looking that hard, though, as during the time B.H., I didn't pay that much attention to the autopsy, and was only a causual student of bullet performance.

My feeling is that this bullet would be excellent, to the point of dramatic- if a soft/ medium body hit is made, but it might be a bit soft to do any bone breaking or heavy lifting.

Good luck to you friend, kill a great big one.

SteveThanks for sharing your info; helps to improve this old soldier's knowledge base. BTW, love your avatar; "US Army Airborne gives the enemy maximum opportunity to give their life for their country - DEATH FROM ABOVE!"

HOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!

That's right fellows... the Remington 240-grain bullet used in the factory ammo is specifically made for the 444 Marlin (bullet #R444M) and not available to handloaders. The only 240-grain JSP available as a component is the R44MG2.

Here is my guess concerning the Remington 265-grain JSP... maybe one day I will obtain a copy of the bullet to verify this... I believe it might be greater than .735" in length and didn't stabilize or shoot well with the 1:38 rate of twist. Hornady's bullet is .686" long and shoots well from the early rifles. Like I said, one day maybe I will find a Remington 265-grain bullet to measure and then cross section.

I only shot one Texas whitetail with the Hornady bullet and I would use the Remington before I used the Hornady again. The Hornady is too tough and I got zero expansion. The shot was broadside through both lungs but with the small entrance and exit holes there was no blood to trail. It was a dead deer but I would like to see a blood trail if it moves from where I shot it.

I appreciate your info; it substantiates my suspicions. FWIW I get sub-MOA from the bench with the Hornady® Light Magnum 265gr FPs. My Trip 4 is an older model w/ 1:38" Microgroove rifling.

David, I also believe the orginal Remington 240gr load was with their pistol bullet and results like what whitehunter35 encountered made them get a better bullet.

David, I also believe the orginal Remington 240gr load was with their pistol bullet and results like what whitehunter35 encountered made them get a better bullet.
Makes you wonder what the 444 bullet would do in a 44 Mag; both handgun & rifle?

I guess you could buy a bunch of factory loads for the 444 and pull the bullets! :D They do not sell the 444 bullet as a componet.

I agree with Mike G. & Dan 444.
If you reload and want a darn good bullet go with our friends at Beartooth Bullet. 290 LFNGC.
Excellent bullet have been outstanding in my Marlins .44 & .444. R-L 7 with 51 grains is an outstanding load for my .444.

Good Luck

Webfoot

I've been shooting the .444 for years now. Bought two Winchester 94's with 20" barrels; one wood and a Black Shadow. A lot of discussion has taken place concerning good quality bullets to use in this caliber. It amazes me that so few people in the USA are familiar with Swift Bullets. Probably 70% of pro hunters in Africa shoot Swift. They offer a 300 grain A-frame in .430 caliber that is hard to beat. Swift bullets are built a little better then Nosler; having thicker jackets. I shoot these at around 2450 fps using Accurate 1680 powder. I have a full length magazine which gives me 7 shots. Running right at 4,000 f/lbs, these bullets are a pretty good choice in my opinion. For plinking I shoot 300 grain Hornady XTP. My Black Shadow also has a set of Ghost Ring sights. I prefer this over the Leupold 1.5-6 LPS scope I had mounted a couple of years back. A scope takes to much away from a Model 94 with regards to handling. I would go against African lion any day with this rig and bullet combination.

Black Shadow,

You get how many fps with a 300g jacketed bullet in your 444? I shoot the 300g XTP's as well, but don't get any where near that velocity.

It's not that we Americans havem't heard of the Swift bullets, it's just that for most practical applications on North American game, other bullets will do just as good of a job at a much more reasonable price. The price on those babies at around $1 per bullet is out of this world, whereas most others cost less than half of that.

You're right. For his use they're probably just right. If an elephant is going to squish you into goo...

I haven't seen any elephants around here. Pumpkins, melons and cans are pretty thin skinned and their foreheads aren't even that thick.

rem. 240 gr stink i shot a bore three yrs ago in fla glade and they blew up on the hide. had to track it down and use my black hawk. the hornadys wil give them a try on 5-26-5-30 hog hunt. still waiting for horndy new ammo to come out

Bob,

Was the "blow up" with the 240-grain bullet factory ammo or a reload?

Does the Beartooth 290gr. LFNGC shoot well in the Micro-Groove barrel?

im not a big fan of the 240 grain bullet i put one into a large black bear from around 35-40 yards, he became somewhat anoyed and ran away, and has bean back in my garbage since dosent even limp. shot placement was through front shoulder should have hit heart if it had the power that a big bore should have i have since started to reload im getting great accuracy from 300 grain xtp,s and a max load of 332.

Does the Beartooth 290gr. LFNGC shoot well in the Micro-Groove barrel?

I just shot that bullet in my .44 Mag Marlin (Micro-Groove) yestarday- it shoots awesome.