Hornady 240gr .429 dia XTP

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JLDickmon

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In a .444Marlin lever gun..
Crimped in the cannelure, OAL under SAAMI..

Do these guns have short throats?
Or is the bullet too goofy in the "ogive"

I had to physically cam the lever closed the last oh, 1/16" or so..

Pressure signs are negligible, but this thing HURTS (yeah, I know it's not supposed to be a pussycat, but my 45-70 on a HOT load is easier to take)

I'm gonna take a magic marker and color the bullet and chamber the next round to see if it's engaging the rifling..
because this is definitely UN-COOL.
 
Hornady manual says seat OAL 2.535".
(MAX case length = 2.225" - Trim Too = 2.215"))

It should not be in the rifling at that length.

rc
 
2.457 COAL...

maybe it's just a rough cartridge..

but holy poop.. I can load my .45-70 to levels that knock on the door of a .458 and it doesn't hurt as bad..
 
Care to share the powder type & charge with us??

Just so you know, Marlin .444's Do kick.

I think it's the lighter bullet leaving faster then the heavier bullet leaving slower in a 45-70.

That makes the recoil impulse more of a sharp jab then a punch.

rc
 
I used to load for one of those using 242 gr. JHP's and H110 / 296. Talk about taking care of business with a thump!
GS
 
rcmodel said:
Care to share the powder type & charge with us??

Just so you know, Marlin .444's Do kick.

I think it's the lighter bullet leaving faster then the heavier bullet leaving slower in a 45-70.

That makes the recoil impulse more of a sharp jab then a punch.

rc
Click to expand...
52.0 gr RL7
Just so you know, Marlin .444's Do kick.
Click to expand...
yah, I figgered that out, eh?


and I have no signs of rifling engagement...
 
Well, according to Lyman #49, & RX7 data.

MAX load is 51.0 Compressed, with a 240 Speer JHP.

According to Hornady #6, MAX is with your bullet seated longer is 48.8 grains.

Maybe your 52.0 grain load being at least 1.0 to 3.2 grains OVER a MAX LOAD is your problem right there???

rc
 
good point.. I should have checked more sources.. I got the load off ReloadersNest.com and should have double checked against component manufacturers..

(even though I did reduce it by 10%)...
 
However, that's only half the issue..

I painted a bullet with a dry erase marker and chambered it..
I don't have any rifling marks on the bullet, but I do have to cam the lever closed..

I measure .4658 above the web of the case.. Lyman gives me .4689...
so I wonder what the heck is going on with that, too.


anyway, action plan is to pull bullets and recharge the cases...
 
Is your resizing die adjusted correctly? If you are not sizing your brass all the way down,I would expect to get the same hard chambering result.I would also measure your bullets just to make sure you don't have a problem there.As to recoil,an overcharge will surely give you more recoil. If the ammo cycles through the action,it shouldn't be too long,as the action length,not the throat is the limiting factor on the .444 OAL.You sure have me curious,as I have loaded .444's for nearly thirty years with very few issues.Please post your findings.
 
osprey176 said:
Is your resizing die adjusted correctly? If you are not sizing your brass all the way down,I would expect to get the same hard chambering result.I would also measure your bullets just to make sure you don't have a problem there.As to recoil,an overcharge will surely give you more recoil. If the ammo cycles through the action,it shouldn't be too long,as the action length,not the throat is the limiting factor on the .444 OAL.You sure have me curious,as I have loaded .444's for nearly thirty years with very few issues.Please post your findings.
Click to expand...
overcharge aside, I knew going in the .444 was no pussycat of a cartridge. I remember hearing one story in particular about a Spec Ops soldier in Vietnam using one as a bunker buster...

That being said, I've loaded some rounds for moose for my 45-70 that were potent enough to flip the muzzle 30* in the air and they didn't hurt as much as this thing.. could also be stock dimensions as well.. will compare that today.. RC brought up another good point.. a 405 gr leaving the barrel is going to accelerate slower than the 240 gr.. and it could simply be the "moment" of recoil I'm feeling.. which makes sense.. I've got some 325 gr gas checks that I bought FOR loading in this rifle.. maybe I should explore them a little..

I also am going to take the rifle apart and clean the beejebus out of the action and look for anything there.. this is the only Marlin rifle I've ever seen that feels butter smooth but the lever won't close without noted effort (and it's a pre-crossbolt safety model)..

I'll post back tonight.
 
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Cleaned the crap out of it..

the rifle chambers a dummy round fine.

a loaded round, however, requires a conscious effort to close the lever.

Ordinarily, I'd suspect a high primer, but these don't feel excessive..

I'll get a primer rocker on Thursday. I seem to have misplaced mine.
 
Whats a primer rocker??

Something to lay across the case head to see if the primer is sticking up maybe??

Use a credit card, or your wifes kitchen counter top.

I would suspect a case bulge from crimping.
Dig out the magic-marker, color the case, and chamber it.

The culprit will be a gleaming brass spot in a sea of black marker ink!!

rc
 
MMCSRET said:
Hornady makes that bullet in .429 now? They have been .430 since the very first production run, when did it change??????
All my Hornady data lists it as .430, what goes???
Click to expand...
yeah my bad... it is .430

anyway, the ink is rubbed off around the primer pocket.. dumbass me, I never adjusted it, just the mouth of the die, and it was deep enough it bumped the bottom of the case. I thought they felt funny when I was decapping them, but I passed it off to not enough lube on the outside of the web of the case. I bought some "value added" .44Mag cases once.. they were once fired, cleaned and deprimed. I ended up trading the gun off because they always tied up the cylinder like a high primer. Same issue, I'm betting.

So it looks like I'm out to buy a pocket swage and a cheapie cordless drill (the old Makita 7.2 just ain't gettin' it anymore) so I can fix the web of these cases.. thankfully I only prepped (ruined?) 50 of the couple hundred I bought...

So, the two lessons are...
Always check everything.

Always double-check everything. The Devil is in the details.
 
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