has anyone tried using a 180 grain hollow point pistol round for the 444 sounds like it would be devestating on squirels and yotes at 444 velocities.

A Remington 158 grain SJHP in a .35 Remington with a full load of 3031 is very rough on skunks. :eek::eek:

MikeG gets the willys just thinking about it. :D

Bye
Jack

Many years ago, with one of the first model 444.s and it's 24" barrel. Won't mention the powder charge (was young...and foolish) used then, but it's hard to get more H4198 behind a 180gr. bullet than pressure will allow.

Accuracy wasn't anything to get excited about, and the bullet sheds vel. pretty fast, so your targets should be close in.

Guess the most telling point of this is that other than that one time, never bothered to load those light weights again.

Boy don't we all go thru that phase. When I got my first magnum (a 308 Norma mag) I was a young guy and after reading all the reloading manuals started out loading a 150 grain Sierra bullet faster than it should ever be pushed thru that rifle. The first few deer I shot with that were instant kills, but it would bloodshot both front quarters when hit. The last time I used it was on a mule deer doe that was trotting up a hillside trail with five or six other does.

When I shot and brought the gun back on the line of does they were still just trotting up the trail at about 75 yards. I knew I missed even though the cross hairs were settled nicely on the back of one of their necks. I was going to shoot again, but my hunting partner assured me I hit one.

We found it down off the trail about 20 feet. It had jogged when I shot and I hit it in the back of the head. All that was left was two ears and the neck, no head no nothing else. That was the day I went to a well constructed 180 grain bullet.

Moral of the story is a light bullet can really destroy meat, but a heavier bullet kills as well and usually leaves more to eat. That load should be good for coyotes and such if you can get some accuracy out of it. My old hunting partner still laughs at that episode when he thinks of it. He had been shooting his 300 ICL Grizzly for quite a few years and shooting the 180 grain noslers in it with great success.

i was thinking more of a ground squirel becomes red cloud kind of round and cheaper than buying another gun. i had a dpms .223 ar-15 but could not get anyone to go over to eastern oregon to shoot with me now i sold the gun and everyone wants to go.