.444 Marlin

Rifle cartridge .444 Marlin .444 Marlin with .45-70 and .308 Win.JPG .444 Marlin (center) with .308 Win (left) and .45-70 (right) 300px United States Rifle Marlin, Remington Arms 1964 Remington 1964–present Semi-rimmed, straight .429 .453 .4706 .514 .063 2.225 2.55 1:38 in (microgroove) or 1:20 in (Ballard cut) Large rifle 51500 CIP 44,000 240 SP 2350 2942 265 FP 2200 2849 300 HP 2000 2665 24 in Hornady Hornady Hornady Handbook of Cartridge Reloading Vol. I 6th 2003 Hornady Mfg Co 586 / Remington http://www.remington.com/products/ammunition/ballistics/comparative_ballistics_results.aspx?data=R444M Remington ballistics table 2007-03-08 2007-09-30 https://web.archive.org/web/20070930020228/http://www.remington.com/products/ammunition/ballistics/comparative_ballistics_results.aspx?data=R444M dead The .444 Marlin (10.9×57mmR) is a rifle cartridge designed in 1964 by Marlin Firearms and Remington Arms. It was designed to fill the gap left when the older .45-70 cartridge was not available in new lever-action rifles; at the time it was the largest lever-action cartridge available. The .444 resembles a lengthened .44 Magnum and provides a significant increase in velocity. It is usually used in the Marlin 444 lever-action rifle. Currently, Marlin, now owned by Ruger Firearms, does not offer the .444 chambering in any of their rifles. It remains to be seen if they will bring the chambering back into production. It is available in new production Rossi R95 rifles however. History In the mid-1960s the .45-70 had all but disappeared from the American marketplace. There was no big-bore cartridge available in a lever-action rifle in current production, so Marlin decided to create a new cartridge to fill this empty niche. They created what is essentially an elongated version of the .44 Magnum by making it nearly an inch longer to give it power similar to the .45-70."A Hard-Hitter in Rifle or Gandgun by Dr. George E. Dvorchak, Jr. in Bob Bell Handloader's Digest 17th 1997 DBI Books Iola, WI 172–176 0-87349-192-0 The case Marlin created is very similar to a rimmed .303 British trimmed and necked-up to work with .429 bullets. Ackley P.O. Handbook for Shooters & Reloaders 8th Printing vol II 1966 1979 Plaza Publishing Salt Lake City, Utah ASIN B000BGII48 213 Some hunters initially claimed they had trouble because the .444 was frequently hand-loaded using existing .429 bullets that were designed for use at handgun velocities. Remington has stated in letter and email, when asked, that their 240-grain .444 bullet was not the same as a .44 Magnum handgun bullet. Despite the litany of false rumors about the 240-grain bullets, the rifle gained additional popularity as additional bullets were designed for its higher velocity."The .444 Marlin" by Chuck Hawks In 1972 Marlin re-introduced the .45-70 to their lever-action line, expanding their big-bore offerings. Sales of the .444 are now overshadowed by the .45-70 cartridge, which has enjoyed a resurgence in popularity due to interest in cowboy action shooting. This quick action and powerful stopping power has been shown to be an efficient and useful hunting rifle for experienced shooters. Performance The .444 Marlin can push a 240 gr on bullet at velocities over 2400 ft/s m/s on generating 3070 ftlbf J on of energy. SAAMI has rated this cartridge at 44,000 CUP.http://www.accuratepowder.com/data/PerCaliber2Guide/Rifle/Standarddata(Rifle)/432Cal(10.97mm)/444%20Marlin%20page%20331.pdf# .444 data from Accurate Powder 2007-08-17 https://web.archive.org/web/20070928014550/http://www.accuratepowder.com/data/PerCaliber2Guide/Rifle/Standarddata%28Rifle%29/432Cal%2810.97mm%29/444%20Marlin%20page%20331.pdf# 2007-09-28 dead It functions efficiently when used with cast lead bullets. Hand-cast bullets allow the shooter to optimize the alloy for strength and expansion at the higher velocities generated by the Marlin over the traditional .44 caliber bullets. There are several commercial molds available for the hand-caster: the SAECO No. 433 mold, which casts a 300 gr on gas-checked bullet, and the Lyman 429640 at 280 gr are two of the more potent bullets for this caliber. Proper cartridge length is maintained by seating the bullet to the correct depth and using a crimp die to put a firm crimp on the seated bullet to prevent slippage in the magazine tube. The best cast bullet accuracy in the .444 Marlin is attained when utilizing bullets sized to .432 in diameter, both in the older "micro-grooved" and the newer "Ballard" style barrels. This bullet diameter is dictated more by the large diameter of chamber throats than by groove diameter of the barrel. A projectile closely fitting the throat dimensions greatly enhances the cast bullet performance of this cartridge. Those writers and publications citing the inability of the .444 Marlin's micro-groove barrel to accurately shoot cast bullets driven over 1600 ft/s m/s on are simply in error, in that those results were largely obtained using .429 and .430 in diameter cast bullets. Full factory velocity handloads when assembled using hard-cast, gas-checked bullets of .432 in diameter rival accuracy of any jacketed ammunition for this cartridge..444 Marlin- America's Most Versatile Big-Bore Part I :: By Marshall Stanton on 2001-06-27 Three years after the introduction of the .444 Marlin, Hornady introduced a new, heavier, 265 gr on .430 in bullet created specifically for use in this new .44 caliber cartridge. Since then Hornady has also made a 265 grain (17.2 g) interlock "light magnum" that boosts velocity to nearly 2350 ft/s m/s on and 3140 ftlbf J on of energy at the muzzle. Hornady's latest offering for this caliber is its new Leverevolution ammunition that has a soft polymer spire point that can be safely loaded in tubular magazines. Because of an increased ballistic coefficient, Hornady claims increased velocity at distances over 200 yd m, and velocity and energy at the muzzle of 1971 ft/s m/s on, 2285 ftlbf J on and at 200 yd m, 1652 ft/s m/s on and 1606 ftlbf J on versus 1542 ft/s m/s on and 1400 ftlbf J on for its interlock ammo. Other specialized companies such as Buffalo Bore, Cor-Bon, Underwood Ammo, and Grizzly Cartridge offer loadings for the .444 Marlin in bullet weights up to 335 gr. Comparisons The .444 Marlin is often compared to the newer .450 Marlin which has greater energy. However, the .444 Marlin is very similar ballistically to the .45-70, the almost extinct .348 Winchester, and is virtually identical to the .405 Winchester in its 300 gr on loading. A 265 gr on bullet in .429 in on has the same sectional density as a 300 gr on bullet in .458 in on and can provide good penetration on large game. According to M. L. McPherson (editor, Cartridges of the World), "the 444 is fully capable against any species in North America"Nosler Reloading Guide 5th Edition; Book by Nosler Inc, LP, 2002, p. 487. and describes its useful range as being out to about 200 yd m. The typical .444 Marlin fired from a rifle has more impact energy at 200 yard than a .44 Magnum has at the muzzle when fired from a 4 in on barrel. See also 10 mm caliber List of rifle cartridges Table of handgun and rifle cartridges References .444 Marlin Hodgdon Powder Company Rifle Data http://data.hodgdon.com/cartridge_load.asp 2008-10-17 https://web.archive.org/web/20081020071001/http://data.hodgdon.com/cartridge_load.asp 20 October 2008 .444 Marlin Remington Ballistics Data http://www.remington.com/products/ammunition/ballistics/comparative_ballistics_results.aspx?data=R444M 2007-03-07 2007-09-30 https://web.archive.org/web/20070930020228/http://www.remington.com/products/ammunition/ballistics/comparative_ballistics_results.aspx?data=R444M dead Cartridge Dimensions: Designing and Forming Custom Cartridges, Book by Ken Howell, Precision Shooting, 1995, 0-9643623-0-9 p. 359 External links The Marlin Models 308, 336, 444, and 1895 at Chuck Hawks .444 Marlin, The Forgotten Big Bore Category:Pistol and rifle cartridges