Cowboy Load for .44 Marlin

[Angel_Eyes]

Somebody HELP!! I'm having trouble getting a suitable load for my .44mag Marlin (Microgroove rifling) that gives little recoil without going too light on powder (nitro). I use mainly Alliant powders, Bullseye and Unique with 240gr RNFP bullets. Any help appreciated


C'mon guys, there must be someone out there who uses one of these in CAS?>

[Shady Ray]

Assuming your rifle will feed .44 Specials, I've had good luck with Hodgdon Clays and a 180 grain truncated cone lead bullet.  Check their Cowboy Loading Manual online here: http://www.hodgdon.com/PDF/Hodgdon%20Basic%20Manual.pdf (cowboy data starts on page 29) .  Each rifle being a universe unto itself, I wish you luck.

[Adirondack Jack]

To meaningfully reduce recoil, ya gotta go to a lighter bullet.  A TC design or a RNPF in the 180 to 200 grain range will help.

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[knucklehead]

i have found that titegroup works well in my marlin 44.
i use 5 grains with a 180 or a 20 grain bullet(cant remember 100% rite now on bullet weight).

like using titegroup cause it works for 44 mag, 45 long colt, 38 special, 357 mag and 12 gauge shotgun.
this way i buy a big can of powder and can use it for all my cowboy guns.

my dad uses this powder now cause i went to shooting black powder in my guns for cowboy shootin.

[Christopher Carson]

Switch to 200-grain RNFPs. 

I've experimented with Bullseye, Red Dot, American Select, Unique, W231, AA-2, AA-5, TrailBoss, Clays, Titegroup, VV-N320 in the Marlin using .44 Mag cases... maybe a few others I can't recall just now.  My goals, in order, were: reliability, clean burning load (minimal soot), consistency, accuracy.  Light loads have not been a goal.

Most powder fail the cleanliness test until pressure is high enough to properly expand the case.  With .44 Mag brass, that;s more pressure than with something like a thin .44-40 case.  Most satisfactory loads ended up at least halfway up the powder manufacturer's recommended charge weight limits, and best loads are at least 3/4 of the way up the recommended window.

Best powders I found for cleanliness have been Clays, Red Dot, and VV-N320... and I'm still experimenting with TrailBoss.  The latter is nicely bulky, easy to see the powder in charged cases, looks promising probably at about 3/4 of IMR's recommended charge limits.

Finally had to detail clean my Marlin this year... last time was probably about 2002.

It is possible to use .44 Special cases, but generally requires seating the bullet out long enough so loaded rounds meet Marlin's guidelines for minimum OAL.  I've seen such a bullet -- which has a two crimp grooves, one just for this purpose -- but believe my bud cast 'em himself, don't know details about the mold, etc.

Don't have experience with the MicroGroove rifling, sorry can't comment on that.  Might just be a matter of selecting bullet hardness and pressure level to mate well with the rifling pattern, though.

Good luck, -Chris

[Dalion]

Howdy,
This is my first post but I have had a lot of experience working out loads for Micro Groove barrels.  Currently I have a Marlin 95' and 94' with Micro Groove barrels that shoot extremly well.  The trick is not so much the powder as is the bullet size.  These barrels tend to be oversized and if you shoot a .429 bullet in the 44 you will not have good results.  My current 94' needs at least  a .430 bullet but shoots bug hole groups with .4305.  I have some .431 bullets that shoot fantastic but are a little to hard for CAS.  My 95' Marlin in 45-70 wouldn't even group unless I shoot a .460 bullet in it.  With the right size bullet I can shoot 1 inch groups at 50 yards with as little as 4 grains of Red Dot and a 160 grain bullet ( on a calm day).  That load feels like shooting a 38 Special.  Currently I am shooting 6.0grains of Trail Boss behind a .430 246 grain bullet becacause my Ruger Vaqueros like that load and it shoots more than accurately enough in the Marlin.  I hope that helps.

[Fairshake]

Try working up a load using Clays powder, 200gr RNFP and in 44 spl cases. You will shoot all day with no recoil.