.44 mag question

[Edmon]

Recently acquired a Marlin 336 in .44 mag. I understand you can fire .44 special in this rifle as well. I have both .44 special and 44 mag brass. The 44 mag is longer than the 44 special so my question is can I load a 44 special recipe in the 44 mag brass?

Thanks, Edmon

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[JO JO]

yes you can download the 44 mag case , you can also look up 44 mag cowboy loads and 44 mag lead loads that are very mild ,
what projectile are you wanting to load

 

[Edmon]

I don't know. Do you have any suggestions? New to this rifle and caliber so trying to do research. Not going to hunt with it just punching paper so was looking at coated bullets as well. Would coated bullets be ok? They are a lot cheaper than fmj.

 

[Dillon1000]

Its my understanding it's not recommended as the brass is not built to take the 44 Mag load.

 

[kmk1012]

Watch your velocity in a rifle with coated bullets.

 

[Certaindeaf]

Recently acquired a Marlin 336 in .44 mag. I understand you can fire .44 special in this rifle as well. I have both .44 special and 44 mag brass. The 44 mag is longer than the 44 special so my question is can I load a 44 special recipe in the 44 mag brass?

Thanks, Edmon

You need a reloading manual or three.

 

[aasbra]

Yes, consult with a manual, and keep the velocity at a reasonable level for the bullets you plan to shoot, and be sure the bullets are appropriate size to your bore. In 44 mag rifles sometimes the bore is larger than typical. I always slug the bore when I get a new to me 44 mag rifle to match up appropriate sized bullets.

My plinking load in 44 mag rifles using 240 grain coated lead or plated bullets range between 1,000 FPS to 1,100 FPS. On the lower end, wanting to keep them Subsonic for suppressor use. I use several different powders, and many others will work (check your manuals). But for mid-range plinking load, I use universal, unique, green dot, American select, Hp-38, sport pistol, and tite group.

 

[Certaindeaf]

Yea, the .44's are sweethearts with no shortage of load data.

 

[Nosferatu]

Look up some .44 mag Elmer Keith loads. Fantastic performance without going nuclear.

 

[MikeInOr]

Recently acquired a Marlin 336 in .44 mag. I understand you can fire .44 special in this rifle as well. I have both .44 special and 44 mag brass. The 44 mag is longer than the 44 special so my question is can I load a 44 special recipe in the 44 mag brass?

Thanks, Edmon

You need to stick to 44mag loads in 44 mag brass BUT there are many light recoiling 44 mag load recipes out there.

DO NOT take a 44 special recipe and put it in a 44 mag case!!!!

Will the rifle hold more rounds if you use 44 spec rounds?

 

[po18guy]

Recently acquired a Marlin 336 in .44 mag. I understand you can fire .44 special in this rifle as well. I have both .44 special and 44 mag brass. The 44 mag is longer than the 44 special so my question is can I load a 44 special recipe in the 44 mag brass?

Thanks, Edmon

If that load overlaps with .44 mag, you are good to go.

 

[CLT65]

DO NOT take a 44 special recipe and put it in a 44 mag case!!!!

It's OK to use .44 Special level loads, with a caveat. The caution is that the magnum case is longer with more volume, so a light Special load would be even lighter in the Magnum case, potentially risking a stuck bullet in the bore, especially in the longer rifle barrel. Other than that, a Special level load is fine; you'll just need a little more powder for the same velocity, due to the larger case volume. .44 Magnum "Cowboy" recipes should be about right.

I've had a Marlin 1894 in 44 mag for decades, and have experimented a lot with it over the years, to get it to shoot well.

Yes, the bores are often oversized, .431" or more, instead of the standard .429" in a revolver. This can wreak havoc with lead bullets. The traditional wisdom back when I got mine was no lead bullets in Marlin Micro-groove barrels. Well, that's only partly true. Lead is fine so long as you do it right. There's no real velocity limitations either, so long as you do it right.

My best shooting load for my Marlin .44 mag is a 240gr Kieth-style cast/powder coated bullet with a gas check, with a full-magnum-power charge of H110. Very clean shooting, as accurate as that rifle is ever going to be, and not a trace of leading.

If you're just wanting something that's cheap and easy on the shoulder, then "Cowboy" level loads should be the ticket, just make sure the bullets are the right diameter for the bore if you use lead or powder coated.

 

[Edmon]

Thank you all for your replies. I will slug the barrel first and see where that leads.

 

[Longwalkhome]

Just a suggestion if you decide to hot load your 44 specials, Mark the bottom of the case so it's obviously different with a paint or nail polish. Let your friends know which is which.

 

[gopherbaroque]

Question - considering a 44 Spl load in 44 Mag case, what about adding a filler to make up the different in case volume?
I do like the idea of using a proven light Cowboy 44 Mag recipe in 44 Mag cases to get desired 44 Spl-like performance.

 

[Nosferatu]

Trail Boss is made for this kind of thing. You practically don't even have to measure it.

 

[Twodogs]

I use unique or W-231 with cast or coated bullets for sub sonic loads in my pistol and rifle.
.Even load them down to 900 fps for my buddys 4.5/8 " ruger blackhawk.

 

[Alexx1401]

I don't know. Do you have any suggestions? New to this rifle and caliber so trying to do research. Not going to hunt with it just punching paper so was looking at coated bullets as well. Would coated bullets be ok? They are a lot cheaper than fmj.

Some are trying to make this FAR harder than it has to be. I would use mag cases for ease. If using lead just stick with what a manual tells you works. Since you just want to punch paper you can make nice light, easy to shoot loads. Play with a few and you will soon see what the rifle likes. The round is SUPER versatile. Any manual will show you what will work. After that its just a mater of how you find the rifle likes what you roll. Assuming you are not trying to get "match accuracy" here? Have fun with it.