RD 265 cast in 444 Marlin

[Brother_Love]

I just received my new (20% off) NOE RD 265 mold. I need some starting load data for it. I will start with the old standby of 10 grs. of Unique.

Anyone else load this bullet for the 444 marlin? I would appreciate some data, especially for Alliant 2400.

Thanks, Malcolm

 

[Brad]

I need to try that bullet in my 444. Should do very well.
I need to run some numbers thru QL to see how 2400 looks. Should be fine once the right load is found.

Give me a few days and I can see what I get

 

[Ian]

Brad, look at Reloder 7 too.

 

[Brad]

Re7 should be about the best for that bullet in the 444. I have no doubt it will be great for top end loads.
I bet 2400 does well in the normal 1300-1400 fps range I use it for in the 45-70.

 

[Chris]

FWIW the RD 265 casts a bit big for me, like .434-5 in my current hard alloy. This has not caused me any problems though.

 

[Brad]

Alright, QL says the following
20 gr of 2400 gives peak pressure of 15K PSI and velocity of 1470 from a 22" barrel.
25 gr boost pressure to 23K PSI and velocity to 1747.
I'm kinda surprised that much more 2400 gave that little pressure inscrease.
I need to run some loads over the chronograph and see how well the velocities correlate.

For Ian I ran some RE7.
35 gr gives 20K PSI and 1725 fps
40 gr gives 29K PSI and 1953 fps
43 gr gives 34.5K PSI and 2089 fps

That is well below max pressure. I'm sure the bullet could go close to 2300 fps but recoils tarts to climb too. At some point it stops being fun.

The 2400 data gives a good start point.

 

[Brother_Love]

Thank you for the info! I will give it a try (later) , it is raining in bucket fulls today.

 

[Ian]

The predictions with 2400 surprises me, too. Looks like a good load would be easy to find by just working up until it cleans up. The Reloader 7 will be dirty, too, but won't kick as sharply on the mid-upper end.