has anyone loaded the hornady 300 grain xtp for .444 marlin im new to reloading and looking at the hornady handbook there load data seems realy wimpy with a max charge of 41.5 grain rl-7 while speer lists 47 grains rl-7 for there 300 grain bullet ive bean seriously impressed with the 230 grain xtp in my 45 acp and wanted to try there 300 since its desighned to fly past 1900 fps for the 444. my goal was 2100 fps now im not sure if thats resonable im new to reloading so i dont want to start pushing things

I load the Hornady XTP's for my Guide Gun(.444 Marlin). Out of the Hodgdon manual I use 57.0grs of H335. CCI 250's and Rem. brass complete the load. I hard crimp into the cannalure also.

I have chrono'ed this outta my gun at right at 2100fps. This ain't no wimp load,it's hard on the shoulder but harder on game.

I have broken both shoulders of 800-1000lb moose and completely penetrated a 300lb+ black bear. You will never recover a bullet from a deer.

Now in Fla. I use my Guide Gun for hogs but have switched to hardcast. I'm sure the XTP's would hammer the larger hogs also.

I have gotten 1" groups a 50yds with the above load combo. -----pruhdlr

Welcome to the forum.

If you haven't considered it, I'd strongly recommend the Beartooth 290gr. WFNGC. There is a lot of good information on loading the .444 in the "Tech Notes" section of our forum, FYI.

Just holler if you need help....

i have thought about the bear tooth bullets and will probably order some when i run out of what i have however i purchase my equipment used and got 3 boxes of these as well as 2 boxes of the 165 grain and a bunch of 240 grain assorted lead bullets with it thanks for all you guys help

oh i also got 1lbs of re-7 and 2 lbs of h 322 unopened with this stuff

I shoot the 300gr XTP in two Marlin 444’s and it is my most accurate jacketed bullet. It’s going to depend on the style of rifling your rifle has, Ballard or MG as to whether they will shoot good for you. My rifles shoot best using H4198, never could get RL-7 to shoot worth beans. Both of my Ballard 444’s will shoot sub- MOA to 250 yds.

2100fps is possible with the 300gr XTP- but- Hornady gives the operating range of 900- 1900fps as the optimum ‘impact velocity’ for this bullet…

ive got a micro groove barrel and its fairly acutare with the factory 240 grain air soft pellets 4 inch at 100yrds but i got into reloading cause i shot a roughly 300 lbs black bear out my bedroom window and the garbage can he was hanging out of was about 25 yards away i put two bullets in him where they should have killed he left about 200 yrd blood trail and didnt die hes bean back 3 times and that was over 2 months ago.

the info with my lee die says 52 grains h322 max load and the hodgdon manual says 48 max another sight on the net said 52 also cant remember where im starting to wonder if there is any actual science to this stuf or if its throw a load and pray kinda scary

For starting load data using H322 and a 300gr bullet;

http://data.hodgdon.com/cartridge_load.asp

It gives a starting load of 43gr of H322 at 30,600 CUP
And a Max load of 48gr of H322 at 42,600 CUP

The 52gr load of H322 is from the old Hodgdon # 26 manual and is outdated; is it safe to shoot???
I don’t know…

pruhdlr-
your load for the 300 XTP is 5gr over Max and comes from #26 also. I bet the fire-ball is cool though…:eek::D

Fixed the link

http://www.hodgdon.com/

You need to check the load data against the kind of bullet that you have - does the Hodgdon manual say what kind of bullet it used? Probably not as that manual has a lot of data, but doesn't necessarily say what bullet the data was for. It does make a difference in general anyway, and the .444 forces a short seating depth for just about any bullet. So the length of the bullet nose is going to be critical for safe pressures.

I would go with the most current Hornady data since it's their bullet.

Should settle all of Mr. Bear's problems nicely.

Don't worry too much about the impact velocity issue. It's gonna leave a mark, expansion or not :eek:

Really would strongly recommend a chronograph. They aren't terribly expensive anymore compared to the cost of a couple of boxes of bullets, and will save you a lot of components in the long run. If you post the actual velocities you are getting with each powder increment, some of the .444 shooters here can help determine whether you have exceeded safe limits.

I've been shooting 290 and 330gr. cast bullets with Varget powder, so I can't really comment more on your particular loads.

I'll bet if you call up Marshall he'll talk your ear off about the .444 and probably would have some insight into best loads for the XTPs as well. But just so you know, you'll be ordering some 290gr. WFNGCs by the end of the conversation :D

By the way I've killed a couple of deer with my .444 and the 290gr. WFNGC and the farthest any of them went was a few feet. Mostly straight down.

im not that concerned with the speed i just want it to hit as absolutely hard as possible while still hitting what im aiming at. i doubt il ever shoot at anything even close to 100 yards let alone over. visibility is about 5 yards here on the oregon coast

thanks again for all the help. what am i looking for as far as sighns of iminent doom when im working these loads up im pretty sure from what ive read that the action will give up long before the case but all the reloading manuals say about it it if its starting to stick its way to hot. id like to know when its a little to hot and back off not when its way to hot

Well that's a pretty broad question and to try and sum it up, a lot of the 'pressure signs' that people rely on for bolt guns are way past the danger area for lever guns.

You want to be real safe?

Find the source of data that most closely matches the components you have on hand. In this case I'd go with Hornady since they make your bullet.

Get a chronograph. They aren't terribly expensive.

Work up your loads and check the velocities as you go. They should closely match your data unless there is something badly wrong. Also put a few factory loads over the chronograph to make sure it's giving reasonable readings.

If everything is happening as expected, then you are good to go. If you are seeing something strange, like velocities that are way off the published data, stop and check back in here with the information.

You can just work up with the published data without a chronograph, but checking the velocities would give me a lot more confidence that things are going OK. Let me assure you also that the cost of the chronograph will be more than made up for in saving components and trips to the range over time.

I hope that makes sense and helps.

anyone tried marshalls 300 grain with the .340 meplate? im thinking of ordering a few different bullets from him cause by the time my testing is done i dont think il have many of the 3 boxes of hornadys left. and speed with the hard cast seems to be a little higher than with the jacketed or at least theres alot more iformation avaliable to me with bear tooths bullets im looking for a bullet that will caust the most trauma and still pass through a 400 lbs black bear even through a few bones.

Highwayman,

Indeed, I've used the 300g WFNGC bullet in the .444 Marlin, it is an excellent bullet, very accurate and leaves huge wound channels. Although it's been on the back burner for quite a long time, I'm anticipating getting the next three parts to our series of articles, .444 Marlin, America's Most Versatile Big Bore, online, hopefully next month. Part IV will be full throttle loads using cast bullets 250g through 300g, and will have tons of data as have our last two installements in this series.

Personally, I've used the 290g LFNGC to great effect and advantage in the .444, taking all manner of N. American big game with them except the big Alaskan bears. I harvested a 1100+ lb moose at a little over 200 yards, multiple black bears, truck loads of deer, elk, pronghorn and feral hogs with that bullet in the Triple-Four. To date I've not recovered a single bullet out of game!

This fall I harvested the largest bull elk of my hunting career. It weighed somewhere around 1000 lbs, and dropped literally where he stood to one shot with the above combination.

You'll find higher velocities in the .444 using gas-checked cast bullets when comparing them to jacketed bullets of equal weights, due in part to their lower friction coefficients, and the fact that they compromise less case capacity than their jacketed counterparts.

If you have questions please give me a call. 1-888-4-BEARTOOTH

God Bless,

hey thanks what powders seem to provide the best acuracy in these guns i know every gun is different but is there any one powder that seems to do expensionaly well in all or most .444'2 mines a micro 444ss

I use the BTB .423" - 290gr LFNGC over a stout load of H335 in both of my Marlin 444's (ballard and MG rifling) with great success. They both shoot 1 MOA at 100 yds. and there's nothing up here in the Northeast that can stand up to these bullets. Boom/flop.

I've also used H322 with the same success. The reason that I switched to H335 was to "standardize" on the powder (H335) that I use in my Marlin 1895 (45-70) pushing the BTB 425 Pile Driver Jr. A stout load of H335 pushing that 425gr bullet is not for the feint of heart!

Dan

Highwayman,

Dan is spot on with his powder recommendations. For me, it's H322 first (temperature stability is awesome with this powder) followed by H335, and AA 2015.

Dan, I like that description..... Boom, Flop!

God bless,

anyone tried marshalls 300 grain with the .340 meplate? im thinking of ordering a few different bullets from him cause by the time my testing is done i dont think il have many of the 3 boxes of hornadys left. and speed with the hard cast seems to be a little higher than with the jacketed or at least theres alot more iformation avaliable to me with bear tooths bullets im looking for a bullet that will caust the most trauma and still pass through a 400 lbs black bear even through a few bones.

Highwayman--

I have more experience with Marshall's 330 gr. LMNGC in my triple 4, and I like it. But, I've also used his 300 gr. WFN and 405 gr. There are several people on the web who believe a bullet of about 300 gr. is optimal in the .444. Right now, me and my gun seem to agree on the 330, but YMMV. I'm beginning to believe the big and slow has some real merit. In fact, I've begun to explore some lower velocity loads in the 15-1700 fps range. That's enough velocity for the critters that I see in central Texas.

thanks
Rimrock,

I just got a 444, a Timber Carbine and am looking to start loading for it, I am in central Texas and around the state, so, whitetails and the occasional hog out to a hundred or so yards is what I am looking for
I have a 44 mag pistol and a tack driver bolt action/scoped 308 for when I need to reach out, the 444 would be for walking/stalking

what kind of loads are you running?

speaking of powder, I would like to use Varget as I use it in my 308 and it's very consistent, there are a few recommended loads for it on Hogdon's website, but would buy the H332 if it indeed "the powder" for a 444

speaking of powder, I would like to use Varget as I use it in my 308 and it's very consistent, there are a few recommended loads for it on Hogdon's website, but would buy the H332 if it indeed "the powder" for a 444 H4198 is the powder to use in the 444 IMHO (most consistant & gives the best accuracy for me).

I will have to go with Badge851 on the H4198. I have tried several powders and H4198 gives me the most stable velocity and accuracy in my Ballard rifled 444 with all the bullets I have tried.

have both of you tried h322?
I called Hodgon and that was their recomendation

has anyone loaded the hornady 300 grain xtp for .444 marlin im new to reloading and looking at the hornady handbook there load data seems realy wimpy with a max charge of 41.5 grain rl-7 while speer lists 47 grains rl-7 for there 300 grain bullet ive bean seriously impressed with the 230 grain xtp in my 45 acp and wanted to try there 300 since its desighned to fly past 1900 fps for the 444. my goal was 2100 fps now im not sure if thats resonable im new to reloading so i dont want to start pushing things

I have loaded 57 grains of H335 behind the great 300 grain XTP for 2160fps out of my standard Marlin 22" rifle. Shot a doe at 60 yards and not one flake of bullet was left inside. Could have dropped a golfball through the channel. The recoil was more of a great big push than a sharp snap like, say, a 300 Win Mag.

thanks
Rimrock,

I just got a 444, a Timber Carbine and am looking to start loading for it, I am in central Texas and around the state, so, whitetails and the occasional hog out to a hundred or so yards is what I am looking for
I have a 44 mag pistol and a tack driver bolt action/scoped 308 for when I need to reach out, the 444 would be for walking/stalking

what kind of loads are you running?


Ccoker,

I use 40 grains of H4198, Remmington brass, and CCI Large Rifle primers to push BTB 330LMNDCGC or BTB 300 grain WFNGC. I can shoot only about 20 of either of these loads at a time before my shoulder says enough! I also launch BTB 405 WLNGC with 28 grains of H4198. I can buy H4198 in Bastrop while I have to go to Austin for H335 and H3322, otherwise I'd try them. I have to seat WFN bullets deeper in my gun for proper lever cycling most likely because of the short throat (or leade).

thanks
I picked up some h4891 today at Sportsmans Warehouse in Round Rock by Dell..
They have the best component selection around
I went with the h4891 because it seems to be the most recommended powder out there on the net for 444

here's an interesting article I came across today

http://www.leverguns.com/articles/anderson/444Outfitter.htm

thanks for all of the great information if the bank or credir companies ever gets around to replacing my fruadulantly used right before christmas cards il order some 290 grain bullets that seems to be what everyone here recomends and with bears i definetaly want an exit wound they are hard to track unless you shoot it with a bow.

my micro groove 444 shot the 300 xtp into 1.25" at 100 yds for three shots with 39 gr of imr-4198 with a cci large rifle primer.
265 gr hornay -cci primer - 45.3 gr of imr-4198 = 1.5" at 100 yds (three shots)
315 gr lee wheel weight cast bullet - cci primer - 47 gr of varget = 1.75" three shots at 100 yds

these are what my shooting would average depending on temps and such