ronlaughlin,

Your load, .44/270 Deep Curl, Harvester .44/50 Green Crush Rib, and BH209 is one of my accuracy favorites. Mine uses 82.5 gr. volume of BH.

How is your terminal performance on game?

I've found this to be a tough bullet, a real penetrator, on deer. For rib to rib shots, it seems that it may not expand. One deer, downhill and quartering away, was hit above center near the back of the ribs, with an exit low and just touching the opposite shoulder. Deer went 200 yards and needed to be dispatched an hour later. Bullet appeared to pencil in and out. Since that, I've waited for quartering angles and tried to hit bone. One buck this year entered at the last rib and exited through the ball of the opposite shoulder, breaking off the end of the blade and the top of the leg bone, then passing through leaving about a 1/2" hole. Shots have ranged from 105 to 125yards. I estimate a 100 yard velocity of about 1385 fps.

A post on a .444 Marlin forum said, "Speer told me that there could be noticeable box to box differences in expansion based on manufacture date." The .444 guys seem to be pushing it over 2100 fps and use it for elk. Then there are .44 mag hand gun guys using it at velocities below our muzzleloaders. All seem to praise accuracy.