Wanted Remington .444 Marlin 240 Grain Bullets Only

[supergrizzly]

I know this is a long shot but I am looking for 100 or more Remington brand bullets for the Marlin .444. Specifically, the 240 grain flat nose bullet. Not loaded ammo, just the bullets. Thanks.

 

[Bob Nelson 35Whelen]

I know this is a long shot but I am looking for 100 or more Remington brand bullets for the Marlin .444. Specifically, the 240 grain flat nose bullet. Not loaded ammo, just the bullets. Thanks.

@supergrizzly
Have you looked at cast for the 444.
My experience is the 240s are to explosive in the 444.
The 265gn Hornady flat nose and FTX are where the 444 shines they were designed especially for the mighty marlin.
Bob

 

[Ray B]

I see that these bullets can be purchased on-line from Remington.com but they are presently unavailable- not sure when they are expected to be available. Also, these are listed as being for the 44 Rem Mag. Not sure if there is a difference between these bullets and what would have been loaded in the 444 ammo.

 

[supergrizzly]

Thanks guys. I tried the Hornady factory FTX loads this year and had very erratic performance on deer. I also don't like the short cases and prefer to reload the full size brass. Bullets listed for .44 Mag usually are not rated for velocities much over 1400fps and I want to load to about 2000 fps. I know a few guys who have used the .444 since it came out for deer and bear in PA and they all told me to find the 240 Remington bullets or try and find the factory loaded rounds. That big exposed lead front apparently drops them. I picked up a NOS box this weekend at a gun show and will see how they shoot. I was also told there that Remington is a long way from ever loading them again if they do at all.
Bob, I am also concerned about the 265 grain and the spin of my barrel since the FTX rounds were so erratic. I have read a bunch on the JM barrels and mine is a 1982 JM Marlin. I believe lighter works better for that year barrel. Comments are always welcome!!

 

[Bob Nelson 35Whelen]

Thanks guys. I tried the Hornady factory FTX loads this year and had very erratic performance on deer. I also don't like the short cases and prefer to reload the full size brass. Bullets listed for .44 Mag usually are not rated for velocities much over 1400fps and I want to load to about 2000 fps. I know a few guys who have used the .444 since it came out for deer and bear in PA and they all told me to find the 240 Remington bullets or try and find the factory loaded rounds. That big exposed lead front apparently drops them. I picked up a NOS box this weekend at a gun show and will see how they shoot. I was also told there that Remington is a long way from ever loading them again if they do at all.
Bob, I am also concerned about the 265 grain and the spin of my barrel since the FTX rounds were so erratic. I have read a bunch on the JM barrels and mine is a 1982 JM Marlin. I believe lighter works better for that year barrel. Comments are always welcome!!

@supergrizzly
The standard marlin barrel will be fine with the 265gn fnsp even in a 1 in 38 twist. I forgot the ftx needed short case I was using a 444 bolt action.
The 240gn Hornady xtp is a deadly bullet on pigs and deer even hard driven to over 2,500fps. It does do one hell of a lot of damage to game even at 100yds.
Bob

 

[Saddlemaker]

Hey Guys, Is this what you are looking for ?

 

[supergrizzly]

Saddlemaker, not sure what that is or how heavy but the Remington tips look like this.

 

[supergrizzly]

Bob, I was told the Hornady XTP 240 was only good for 1400fps or so (.44 Mag). I'll try and get some of those if you think they can go that high. Thank you.

 

[Bob Nelson 35Whelen]

Bob, I was told the Hornady XTP 240 was only good for 1400fps or so (.44 Mag). I'll try and get some of those if you think they can go that high. Thank you.

@supergrizzly
I had a 444 marlin on a No4 SMLE action that I could stoke up safely. I used to get close to 2,600fps with 240gn xtp and 2,400fps with 280gn Woodleigh.
Those 240s make very short work of pigs at over 100yds. I hit a good size pig around 80kg up the backside with a 240gn xtp. Penetration wasn't great but the damage was spectacular. Damned near disembowelled it. I was writing an article for a gun mag at the time on the 444. My mate said I better put the pig back together for the photo. After it was tidied up it looked like a 40kg pig, very skinny.
After the hunt my mate said if I want to eat wild pork next hunt bring something smaller, like a 105 howitzer that way I will get some meat.
The 265s and the 280 Woodleigh are a better choice for game, less meat damage but the 240s do work within their limits.
Bob

 

[Scrumbag]

I think the 1400 fps MV limit is for the 180gr XTP:

Which I think is really in mind for 44 Special handguns

The 240gr XTP has quite a flexible MV range though I'm sceptical of it being that flexible:

The above 2 bullets are listed by Hornady under "Handgun" bullets on their app.

The 265gr "Rifle" bullets seem to need a higher band of impact velocity.

Interestingly the 300gr XTP tops out at an MV of 1,900fps.

I think with any .44 cal reloading it is worth thinking about the bullets and some of the lighter projectiles (particularly hollow points) are really designed for .44 Special handguns and if you hit bone on a larger, more solid critter you might not get the performance you would want.

If you could find them, I reckon the 240gr Swift A-Frames (Or maybe the 280s) would be the thing.

Happy shooting!