A buddy of mine recently acquired a C. Sharpe's chambered in 444 Marlin, 32" bbl., peeps, the whole pkg. He bought a box of 300 G. WFN coated bullets from Missouri Bullet Co. + is interested in a good load. Any help would be appreciated. He lists here on AR as Tejas57. Thanks.

That should be loaded with a case full of FFFG. To get the full effects of a Sharps Rifle.
Otherwise, using smokeless powder; just pick a load. 5744 works well with cast bullets.
I would have chosen another caliber for a Sharps though.

H322 is good in the .444 in a Marlin! Don't know about the much longer barrel.

A guy by the name of Hass or Van Hass or something like that did some work with the .444 in a single shot. Unk. type.

I think I saw it in Pet Loads by Ken Waters.

Hip

You're close; you saw it in the Big Bore Book; article by Frank de Haas shooting a rolling block he rebarreled in 444. Also a Win 94 converted to 444. And a De Haas single shot with a 1-16 twist. His favorite light bullet load was 50 grains of 3031. For cast bullets I would use 5744.
The 444 is a bastard child in a long barrel unless it is to be used with heavy bullets and a faster twist; it is a lever action caliber. I don't know what twist is on that Sharps but if it is the original 38 inch twist, then it is only for light bullets. The original twist won't stabilize bullets over 300 grains, which makes a long barreled rifle a waste. There are better Buffalo rifle calibers.

As usual you are right Tom!

Hip

Tom, I totally agree with you. Pete got this rifle in a trade + it was already chambered in 444. I agree also in the use of 5744 powder on cast bullets; that is my primary powder for that use. Peter is a friend of many years + I have been loading for him for quite some time, but getting him set up to do it on his own. I appreciate all the feedback + I will ask him to get on here + talk with everyone himself. He is a Minister (who loves to shoot!) + his time lately has been tied up with many funerals + dealing with bereaved families. Thanks everyone.

Amen.

I've been using 4198 for mine,(CVA Scout) but so far have only experimented with 180 & 240 grain bullets. I recently got a mold for a 245 gr Keith bullet but haven't done any casting yet (also have a mold for a 310 gr bullet but going to try to stay with the Keith bullet if it works out).

Here's the load data from Hodgdons website:


Twist: 1:38.000"
Barrel Length: 15.000"
Trim Length: 2.215"
Bullet Weight 300 GR. SFT HP
Case Remington
Primer Remington 9 1/2, Large Rifle
Starting Load Maximum Loads
Manufacturer Powder Bullet Diam. C.O.L Grs. Vel. (ft/s) Pressure Grs. Vel. (ft/s) Pressure
Hodgdon Benchmark Buy now 0.430" 2.620" 46.0 1,790 36,200 CUP 48.5 1,893 41,900 CUP
Hodgdon H322 Out of Stock 0.430" 2.620" 43.0 1,694 30,600 CUP 48.0 1,905 42,600 CUP
Hodgdon H335 Buy now 0.430" 2.620" 49.0 1,811 37,600 CUP 52.0 1,964 42,300 CUP
Hodgdon H4198 Out of Stock 0.430" 2.620" 38.5 1,816 36,200 CUP 42.5 1,946 42,500 CUP
Hodgdon H4895 Out of Stock 0.430" 2.620" 47.0 1,722 33,600 CUP 50.0C 1,853 35,600 CUP
Hodgdon Varget Buy now 0.430" 2.620" 47.0 1,631 30,700 CUP 50.0C 1,753 35,700 CUP

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