CVA 444 marlin

Stag, I'm enjoying your adventures with the cartridge.
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I am too. I'll have some REALLY interesting adventures planned once (if) my dies show up--they shipped three weeks ago and USPS says that somewhere they are on their way and someday they will be delivered.

Even my 44 mag rifles can be remarkably accurate with the right load--but there's "something special" about the 444 marlin, at least with the 265 interlocs I've shot so far. I shot the group above in blasting winter conditions and it put them right in there.:)
 
If I lived in a "straightwall only" state I would definitely choose the 444 marlin as my hunting cartridge of choice--and bypass something like the 350 legend.:)
 
I didn't try any distributors but I'm wondering if they are currently making new ones.
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Remington shut down Marlin in August, after having shut their own production down a while prior.
Marlin was sold to Ruger in October (via Remington bankruptcy proceedings), with the deal finalized a few weeks ago.
There won't be any new Marlins available until Ruger moves the tooling and equipment, adapts their own methods, and restarts production (I believe Marlin production will be in North Carolina).

If you want a Marlin Model 444 right now, you have to pay to play, or wait until you find one locally for a good price.
 
Nice group! My 98 in 444 does about the same, one big hole at 100 yds. Beauty of it is you can see the bullet holes with the naked eye at 100 yds!:D I like to think of my 444 as my "poor man's .375" (I also have a 375, and ammo costs twice as much as 444 ammo). I like the 444 enough that I was going to build myself a 444 on an old 336 frame I had sitting around for a couple of years, but I sold the rifle instead. I have no need for any more projects, I can barely keep up with work at my shop!
hornady appears to have discontinued the 265 gr interlocs
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Cutting Edge makes a 300 grainer that looks awful tempting!
 
Cutting Edge makes a 300 grainer that looks awful tempting!
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LOL--you read my mind and my order is already in. Problem is I'm guessing I'll/you'll have to wander off into "wildcat" territory with the trimming the case length to accommodate the longer ogive and CBO, sorta like what you have to do with the 265 FTX. I'm not exactly sure what effect having the shorter case length will do to the chamber/throat/accuracy over time and repeated firings. .311 BC on this bullet flying fast...hmmmmmm:D

What powder have you found that works especially well with 444?

My 98 in 444 does about the same, one big hole at 100 yds
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You put a 444 barrel on a Mauser action?
 
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4198 and RL-7 are the go-to powders for .444 Marlin.
Others can work, but those work the best.
RL-7 is preferable if you start working with heavies (330+ gr).


RL-10x is the only powder I recommend not using in the cartridge. It was a filthy mess, due to the pressure level, and performance was very disappointing. (3-5" groups at 100 yd, from rifles proven to be capable of far better.) I wasted a lot of bullets testing that powder.
 
I had really good luck with IMR 4895 and 240-265gr pills. In the end it was entirely too much gun for the itty bitty California blacktail deer and even the black bear. It now sits untouched next to a dozen other guns I never shoot.
 
I haven't tried 1680. I don't think I have any, but do have several powders that are slight derivations of the same parent powder (Explosia D.063). I reserve those for .300 Blk and .475 Tremor.

All of the testing that I have done came back to the same three powders that were always recommended to me, anyway: H4198, IMR4198, and RL-7.


One caveat that I guess I should put forth:
I don't play with light bullets in .444 Marlin. Powders that do better at the light end are out of my experience range. I run Hornady 265 FPs as my lightest bullet, and generally play in the 275-310 gr range.
 
i have a tc custom shop 375 jdj rifle (24" barrel), one of the best calibers for a single shot(444 necked down to .375), simple to make. just run the lubed 444 case into the .375 jdj size die and you are ready to load full power loads from the start(no fire forming to form). with 51 grs of H-4895 for 2300 fps with a 220 gr hornady, i think i can get to 2500 fps as 51 grs doesn,t show any pressure at all. it comes close to the .348 win lever action in power.
 
.44 ALPEN

I made a comment elsewhere about this old wildcat, but it seems fitting to mention it here. I've got an old (1960-70?) magazine, I think a "Rifleman" where the author developed a wildcat .44, using a 300 H&H case and .429 bullets. Chambered the creation in a '98 Mauser action, and called it the .44 ALPEN, useful from Alaska to Pennsylvania. One of his problems, as I recall, was finding suitable .429 jacketed bullets, as all that was available commercially at the time .429's at 240 grains. He was hard casting heavier designs, perhaps Keith type and others. His other issue was headspace, which he solved using the belted H&H case. I've not seen the magazine in my archives for a long time.

The rimmed .444 case, and the heavier .429 bullets of today, would solve all (well most) of his problems. I don't believe the .444 had hit the market when the article was written, not sure about that. The belted H&H case headspaced on the belt, and would stack and feed from bolt rifle box magazines, something the .444 might be challenged to do reliably.
 
I opted for a CVA Hunter in 44 MAG. It seems to shoot all bullet weights very accurately but best of all is Hornady Lever-evolution ammo. For hogs, I load Speer 270 grain soft tip for maximum penetration.

Jack
 
I opted for a CVA Hunter in 44 MAG. It seems to shoot all bullet weights very accurately but best of all is Hornady Lever-evolution ammo. For hogs, I load Speer 270 grain soft tip for maximum penetration.
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I've seen a couple of those still available--if I didn't already have lever guns in 44mag I'd get one. I've also seen a CVA scout still available in 35 whelen--I definitely would consider getting that too--but I have a superb 77 Hawkeye in that cartridge so I'm passing on it as well.
 
You put a 444 barrel on a Mauser action?
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Absolutely! It fits the magazine, feeds without reworking the feed rails, and I always wanted a big bore Mauser. Mauser made a 10.75X57mm, but it would have meant custom dies, and it was basically a rimless 444 anyway. So 444 it is! Why? Because I can!
The belted H&H case headspaced on the belt, and would stack and feed from bolt rifle box magazines, something the .444 might be challenged to do reliably.
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Not to start an argument here, but I run 444 in a 98 Mauser and I have built several for customers. It is easy to feed out of a box magazine. It is not a rimmed cartridge, it is a semi-rimmed cartridge. The rim diameter is .504, but the head diameter is .470, giving it a .017" rim, about the same rim as the 220 Swift and about the same as a magnum belt but without the hassles of a belt. A belted case might be nice for a little extra oomph, but I built it specifically because of factory ammo availability (sounds like an oxymoron, right?).
 
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I've never had the pleasure of working with Mauser actions Scorch--so I didn't know whether or not it could be done. Can you run bullets like the cutting edge's at full case length--and I assume longer COL? That's pretty cool.
 
Can you run bullets like the cutting edge's at full case length--and I assume longer COL?
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Yes, the 98 is not limited in how long of a cartridge it can handle, unlike repeaters like the Marlin 444s. My 98 was a 8X57 (not commercial '06 length), but I still have room in the mag in front of the bullet. I plan to use some of the Cutting Edge 300s when I load up my brass. Better BC and velocity than the Hornady Flextips.
 
Yes, the 98 is not limited in how long of a cartridge it can handle, unlike repeaters like the Marlin 444s. My 98 was a 8X57 (not commercial '06 length), but I still have room in the mag in front of the bullet. I plan to use some of the Cutting Edge 300s when I load up my brass. Better BC and velocity than the Hornady Flextips.
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Very cool...I got the .311 BC from CE's data sheet so I bet it will perform very well. Hornady's superformance 265 interlock 444 is a tough act to beat. I have some superformance powder but have never been able to get very accurate results with it in other cartridges.
 
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