Hi , I shore am warming up to this 444 even though I haven,t shot it yet ! I am waiting until I have pachmeyer deccellarator put on ! I mean whit a 444 I see a man can shoot 444, 44-40 in a pinch 44 mags and 44 specials ! Wow what versatality!
     The next question is this , get ready for a whopper!
   I read somewhere ,although I cant remember where that a 444 or at least some 444 chambers would accept a 410 shotgun shell!!! Thats right ,thats what I read and if no one knows I will go to wally world and buy a box even though I dont own a 410!
   I can envision that if it were true ,that if the usual deer hunt goes as usual the place where I am sitting will be where the squirrels are dropping acorns or hickory nuts  on my head all morning!
  If this will work then I would have 4 or 5 410 shells for changing their minds and at least having some meat before I head in for lunch!
 IF and I realize that is a BIG IF THEY WILL CHAMBER would there be any harm in firing them in the rifle ? IE bulging chamber , harm to the bore , etc ,etc?
    Thanks sincerely , CRAIG

hi, Jack r I am relatively new to this forum . I tried using search and could not find the article on 410 in 444 . I would really be appreciative if you could help me locate the article . Thanks , CRAIG

Craig,
the post was on the old forum which is not accessable now but i sent a copy I had printed to the e-mail listed in your profile.
Marshall and Co.(M.T. Callahan and Mr. James Gates)and several other members of the forum *have a wealth of information on the 444 and I'm sure they would be very willing to share with you.
Take care and God Bless

NRA Life Member
NMLRA Member

Jack R,
    Could you e-mail me a copy of the 410 article? Thanks a lot. Greg

hi, I just tried the 410 in my 444 and sad to say they will not work! I have a winchester 444 big bore and I bought some Remington 410 2-1/2  game loads 1/2 oz shot #6 shot. The shell would go into the chamber with a snug fit until it got ALMOST halfway down the brass portion and then It got TIGHT ! sILLY ME WENT AHEAD AND ussed the camming action of the gun to fully chamber the shell. I did not try to fire the shell but I could see that it had fully chambered by the fact that the disconnect was fully depressed and the hammer would realease and lower to the shell.
          Maybe Marlins have looser chamber diameters or?
    Anyway I suppose that I could open the chamber up somewhat to get the ability to fire the shotshells but yall think that it would hurt the accuracy of the 444?
       BTW I had to take a wooden dowel and put it into the barrel and hit it very sharply 8-10 times before I could get the 410 shell to back out of the chamber.
        I am interested in opening up the chamber somewhat to be able to do this , again any thoughts on this and the adverse affects on the firing of the 444 ?

Craig,

I'm still wincing at the picture of you hammering out a loaded 410 shell from your chamber from the muzzle end of a rifle. Please don't do that anymore, OK? I'd like you to be around a while to enjoy your 444. :wink:

Opening up the chamber of your rifle would be a definite no no. You'll ruin the proper chamber dimensions for the 444 cartridge and will cause case head bulges in your brass cases or worse. You could try to size down the heads of your 410 shells but that is strict experimentation and you would be strictly on your own in that area.

Shoot that rifle with what it is intended for for now and enjoy it. Leave the funky stuff for later to fool around with if you are still inclined to do so.

Above all, be safe and have fun reloading for that new rifle. We look forward to hearing about your experiences with it. Not from the hospital.

Best Regards,


:cool:

HI , Thanks contender for the concern but I dont think I was in much danger as the extractor had already slipped over the rim and I was essentially hammering the shell with nothing touching the primer.
    The reason I asked about opening up the chamber a little bit is that the info atated that others were firing 410 in their MARLIN rifles with no case head bulges and surely their chambers were of the proper dimensions to start with !
      However I do appreciate your concerns with my safety and I did in fact but the rifle to shoot 444 in and not 410! I wonder how I could size down the case head of loaded 410 shells ? any and all feedback is welcome and appreciated.
                 Thanks , Craig

Craig,

I believe that the head diameters on shotgun shells can differ with different brands. I don't think they are held to the same tolerances as brass cartridge cases. You could try a few different brands to see but, it may get a little expensive to find out buying boxes of shells you can't use.

If you had a case head resizer for the 410 or one of those resizing rings that are used with the Lee Load All ,that might work for you. Not sure if Lee makes one for the 410.

Are you absolutely sure the head was hanging up and not the front of the shell jamming into the barrel rifling? Remember, The shells fit in a barrel with Micro-groove rifling yours has a different type.

Just a thought.

HI , Yes I thought about that also so I cut a shell to about half the lenth and it still would not go in .

Before installing a Pachmayer Pad or any other aftermarket item, I'd shoot the rifle some. The reason is that if there is a problem of any kind and the weapon must be returned to the manufacturer for service, such additions may well void the warrenty. I've seen this before with add-ons totally unrelated to the problem at hand. It is much like the "Use factory ammo only" warnings.

My own 444P has feeding problems and will be returned to Marlin soon. Until then the Decelerator and Asley scope mount stay in the boxes.

I don't Know as I'd worry about the modifications on warranty work. Marlin sells the Ashley sites on their own website. They also endorse modifications by COMPETENT gunsmiths as well because they don't run a custom shop.