I shoot 8 grains of titegroup for a plinking round.

I used Unique but only because I always had some handy. I tried laddering for accuracy but felt like I was wasting my time. I also tried fillers but couldn't tell any difference. I felt the Microgroove rifling in the Marlins was not as effective as the Ballard rifling in the 94's or my Savage when dealing with cast bullets. This was done back in the 90's. JMO and experience. Nothing real scientific. I was primarily looking for cheap ammo for skunks, possums, armidillos which were in barns and under sheds, most shooting done 15-40 yards.

I looked at the bullet on the Hunter Supply website but cannot tell if it has a bevel base or a gas check shank. Looking at their other bullets that have the bevel, I think this has the gas check shank without the check which is a bit odd.



Anyway, Hodgdon offers advice on how to determine a max load of TrailBoss here: IMR® TRAIL BOSS® REDUCED LOADS FOR RIFLE AND PISTOL

Personally, I've never had problems with cast bullets in Marlin Micro-Groove barrels, at one time I owned over 70 Marlin rifles all shooting cast from the 219 Zipper through the 450 Marlin, but I've thinned the herd a bit as I've gotten older. Before you do the math for Trail Boss, determine a max cartridge OAL for this bullet with the bullet's ogive at bore contact in your rifle. If you don't know how to do that, I will detail it. With that info, don't shoot it with an OAL more than .005" off that contact length. That's the first key to good cast bullet performance from the MG barrels; the ogive must be supported by the chamber's throat.

I've also done quite a bit of work with fillers and pressure trace equipment, and my general feeling is to stay away from them, especially that this appears to be your first go with cast.

How about a picture of those bullets when you receive them? I'm interested in seeing the base.

Is 8 grains a min or max load? incase I can find titegroup easier.

I just got lucky and found a couple bottles of trail boss.