Ok, there's some Renegades around here that can help on this one..
I need someone with a 444 Marlin to see if our round fits the mag tube nicely, as in not snuggly..
I really don't want to rebarrel a 45-70 and of course that tube will work wonderfully. If the 444 tube will suffice then I'll just open the barrel to some custom twist. Of course at that point I could always put on a 45-70 mag-tube. I suspect that the 444&450marlins have the same tube. Just trying to keep things simple in an R&D gun.
Speaking of twist, I'm on a quest to find out what twist starts to destabilize the factory 450b fodder, when the groups start to open up to say 2.5" moa consistently, then I will call it quits, that'll be the twist for the kill bullet in a +P loading (2600fps+- at this point, also with about a 2.5moa, with a 257gr pill). The +P+ loading will have a twist that gives our normal accuracy and better, but probably won't stabilize the factory fodder short of say 5moa, so you might not want to use the factory stuff in that twist, unless of course minute of grizzle is ok, which is the trade off for those want the most out of the power curve (3000+- fps).
Here in lies the problem, I can get the speeds, but because of the 25t barrel the accuracy goes to curd, hence, what is the twist that will give "Exceptable" accuracy with the factory loading and the killer at the +P loading. The +P+ loading will need a totally custom twist, to-be-determined.
That's the kill bullet update, but what I really need is that 444 intel..Thanks Guys