My Savage Striker in 444 Marlin

Well after back and forth on cartridge choices, and playing with this trying to get it to work I finally got it assembled and cycling dummy rounds properly. So I decided to snap some pics and throw them up here.

This was originally a 516 Striker with a .473" bolt face and 308 sized blind mag. I have switched it up and am now running a .520" bolt head (modified from a .473") to accommodate the 444's rim. I also added one of my Bolt Handles. The barrel is of course from Apache Gunworks and as always Jim did a terrific job machining her. After getting the barrel, I decided that big of a round needed a brake, so I took some 304 SS and built myself one. I may have over done it on the ports, but hey more porting can't hurt right? ;) The scope is Burris Fullfield II in 3-9x40 in Weaver Quadlock Rings. Normally I use Burris Sig Zee rings, but these were here and the right height I needed so I went with them for now.

I would have just went with the 450 Bushmaster for this build (as I already have one in carbine form and love it) but rules for regular season Deer Hunting here in Iowa have a specific list of cartridges that are legal for taking Deer with a pistol, and I needed a longer round to help it feed properly so it was either the 444 Marlin or the 460 S&W. I was on the fence as to which one until a generous individual sent me some 444 brass for free and Jim (Apache) wanted to see if this could be done so they tipped my mind towards the 444. I have always had a thing for the 44 Magnum in a revolver so this just seemed to be a sign.

I have yet to shoot it, but hoping for this weekend. Sorry for the crappy cell pics.

http://i747.photobucket.com/albums/x...psc56501db.jpg

http://i747.photobucket.com/albums/x...ps38e01ae2.jpg

http://i747.photobucket.com/albums/x...psd31a80b8.jpg

http://i747.photobucket.com/albums/x...ps69054f28.jpg

Lookin' good, Boots. Eager to hear how it shoots.

BTW, how long is the 444 case? I am wondering if it will work here in southern Michigan.

By the book, case is 2.225" and OAL is 2.570".

Remember that in the case of the 444 and the 450BM that they were designed to run at lower pressures due to the rifles they were designed for, so just like the 6.5x55 if you are shooting them in a modern bolt action like the Savage, you can run them up a fair bit more and still be well within your safety ranges for what the brass and action/barrel will handle.

To be honest if I could have gone with the 450BM I would have, just for the brass being better suited to the Savage magazines and bolt head, but I am glad I have built this one and anxious to see how she fares.

That looks menacingly great! Should more then get the job done!

Ah, that won't work here, then. I forget the limits, but that's too long.

As for 450BM, earlier you said use a S/A CF. I have SF's, any reason those won't work?

Looks like it shoots a laser beam! Where does someone go to get a stock for one of those?

I had my 450BM working on a LA-SF, but I found the SA-CF to be much more user friendly. I had the brass wanting to hang up on the front of the mag cut-out in the action on the SF and had to use my dremel and smooth the sharp edges on the action's opening. Once I did that it fed fine but the SA-CF just feels more positive to me.

I do not have any experence with 444 m. or the BM, but I do have a lot with the .450 marlin in a TC Encore pistol and I don't really want more.

That baby is screaming for paint! But, I have to admit the stainless looks good. Glad you got it all together in time for deer season.

snowgetter1 I was thinking the same thing, but I can never bring myself to do it. I have 250AI carbine setup that I will probably paint since I don't plan on switching it around, but the Striker will probably play switch barrel duty in the future just due to them being harder to find and I only have one.

Thanks for the compliments guys. Hopefully this weekend I can get a range report going. I am going to start making up some loads tomorrow night.

foxx, I am not sure what you mean by "get a stock"? The pictured stock is the factory one that she left Savage with. Do you mean an aftermarket laminate or ??

Nope. I did not know those were factory products. thought they were some kind of build.

Yup Savage used to sell bolt action pistols for a few years. IIRC the offered 223, 22-250, 243, 7-08, 308, and 300WSM.

Nice looking rig and brake. Port sizes are probably okay. I have always heard that the lower the pressure, the larger the ports. Although the .444 is not really a low pressure round, it is not 60,000 psi either. All that matters is that it works. Do you manufacture the bolt handles that you have on your Striker? Thanks

Quote:

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Originally Posted by bythebook

I do not have any experence with 444 m. or the BM, but I do have a lot with the .450 marlin in a TC Encore pistol and I don't really want more.

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What kind of brake are you using on your .450 Marlin?

Well, I finally got to run some test rounds through my Striker. Feeds and Functions great and I still have all my fingers and eyes. ;)

I could only get onto the 25yd range today because the 50 and 100 were closed for the youth shooting group that was there this morning. At 25yds it stacked 3 rounds where a nickel almost covered them, easily covered by a quarter. Recoil with that brake was like a 4" 357 Mag revolver. Not bad at all.

It has a TC factory brake on it. The one I have been working with now belongs to my youngest Son, his older Brother had one for awhile and sold it.

Nice looking Striker. Great idea and follow through.

Went out and did some groups at 100yds. Group was about 2.5", but I attribute that to me being a rookie at shooting a Striker and this fairly heavy trigger pull. Going to try and lighten things up this week and see if that helps, might also work up a bit more and see what that does. I am at max listed charge of RL7 for the 300gr XTP but being in a bolt action vs the Marlin it was designed for I should be able to go up quite a bit. I was getting no flattening of the primer or trouble with extraction so we will see where we end up. I'll post up a pic of that target once I get it off my phone and onto the comp. Can't find my phone to USB cord at this moment.

Like a Moron I decided to remove the brake to try a new one I had made, low and behold the brake was on tighter than the barrel nut somehow and the barrel spun loose. So between sitting in my blind in the morning and before heading back out for an evening sit I drove over to another property of ours and rechecked her zero (after resetting headspace and getting the nut good and tight the other night). Off the hood of my truck I used the rangefinder and had the target at 145yds. After 2 shots to adjust her down and over a bit, I made a nice 3 shot group just under 2.5" and right to POA. Now to get some venison in the cross hairs.

FYI- the load I was shooting was 44.0gr of RL7 under a 300gr Hornady XTP with a firm crimp from a Lee FC Die.

Got me a kill with this pistol. Here is a link to the thread on the Medium Game board.

http://www.savageshooters.com/showth...341#post293341

Boots,
That looks great. How does that Striker shoot? I would like to know more, on how your build went. I would like to build one for one of my Strikers, in 375JDJ. Being a old TC shooter, moving to the Barrel Nut brother Hood, which was the best thing I ever did. Lol I have some of the left over reloading equipment from those days. I would like to also do one in 6.5 TCU in a 1/8 twist with about a 14" barrel on it.
Any information would be great.

Mike

Well to be honest the group off of the hood of the truck was the last group I fired through it at any distance. Life and a couple other builds have not let me have the time to shake it down anymore than that. I did take it to my uncle's place this last sunday and fired it on his pistol range and at 40yds it put 3 shots through the same hole.

If you have any specific questions PM me or perhaps we can just chat for a few minutes over the phone. I am always glad to talk guns with y'all when I can.