44 Magnum levergun loads with jacketed bullets only. I accepted the first statement and loaded all of my first. In both cases these leverguns had Micro-Groove barrels. Later on, another good friend of mine would lament the ability of the Marlin. 44 rifle.” Those words by my friend the late John Lachuk are found in an article from the 1960s and pertain to the. “Cast and ¾-jacketed bullets proved impractical in the. The only round to feed and chamber through all four leverguns was the Oregon Trail 300-gr. Obviously, the last two are not good choices if one wants to shoot a lot of heavyweight cast bullets. The results showed the Marlin would feed and chamber nine rounds and the Winchester all 10 rounds the Rossi, two rounds and the Browning only one round. I loaded up dummy rounds using all of these bullets and then tested for feeding and chambering through the guns listed previously. 44 Magnum sixguns, but what about their use in leverguns? I have 10 cast bullets on hand weighing from 290 grains up to 325 grains with all but two of them having gas checks. I am particularly fond of heavyweight bullets, those weighing around 300 grains in. With the Keith bullet seated over the front shoulder, it will work in all except the Rossi/Browning. However, it will not work in the longer action of the Marlin 336. The former will work through the action and chamber in the Marlin and Winchester Model 1894 along with the Rossi and Browning Model 92. 44 Magnum sixguns over the past six decades has been the Lyman/Thompson #431244 Gas Check and the Keith bullet - in this case the H&G design, the closest available to his original design. Softer bullets without a check can be used, but only with very light loads. In most of my experiments, I have found both of these are critical for obtaining the desired accuracy. Two things to consider are bullet hardness and whether or not it has a gas check.

However, even if the bullet meets all of the necessary criteria for feeding and chambering it still may not shoot well. A wide, sharp-shouldered bullet may feed through the action but not enter the chamber and if the diameter is too large even after entering the chamber, it might not seat deep enough to close the action.Īny cast bullets chosen should be used to make up several dummy rounds to cycle through the action and chamber. Another factor is diameter, especially the diameter in front of the face of the case mouth. For example, Keith bullets often will not feed and/or chamber because their shape requires crimping over the front band. The shape of the bullet is also important. If the bullet makes the loaded round too long, it will not feed through the action. 44 for any of the other options you mentioned, but a project Iike that is probably not for someone looking to pick up a stick on the cheap and shoot factory ammo.There are several factors involved when choosing a cast bullet for use in the. 44 special is terrible.Īlso, if cost is an issue, a threaded 77/44 is going to cost you quite a bit more altogether than a basic. I'd hate to be stuck with factory loads for this rifle, everything Magnum is going to be supersonic, and the selection for. I have a few loads for this rifle now that give 2 - 3.5 moa groups at 100yds, which I consider plenty for my purposes, but it took some work on the reloading bench to get there. My suppressed 77/44 is definitely one of my favorite rifles to shoot, but I wouldn't recommend one if you aren't a reloader. 300 blk, but I like pistol bullets for pistol velocities, and honestly believe that these will give more reliable subsonic performance: There are some decent subsonic bullet designs coming out for the. 44 for a super-quiet short range bolt action hunter and plinker.

Best subsonic bullet for 44 mag