any 444 Marlin fans here?

MacEntyre

MacEntyre

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I have a friend in TN who has been loadin' and chootin' 444 Marlin since before 1972 when Marlin reintroduced the 45-70. I am lookin' at acquiring one locally... lookin' at it as a plus sized 44 magnum, would like to try Cutting Edge Bullets. Anyone here use a 444 Marlin?
 
Honestly I want to be a fan , but i have never found the right rifle at the time i had extra money to grab it
I reload 44 and being able to use common projectiles is appealing, plus I like to be a little different at times.
Would love , love the chance to have a Marlin lever gun in the caliber, but todays collector market for Marlin products makes that rifle akin to a “needle in a haystack” .
The round itself is big enough to take anything in NA, flatter shooting and can deliver the same or more energy downrange to 300 yards (for me I do not ever see myself taking a shot beyond that distance)
However the film industry has made another round their darling Dino blaster
 
Tailhunter said:
Tried it. Sold it. At the time brass was like finding ghost turds.
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If'n I buy the one I'ma sneakin' up on, it comes with 11 boxes of ammo. It ain't as purty as that'n you posted, @Tailhunter, but it ain't as pricey either.

I traded my Cowboy Marlin 44 to a mechanic to rebuild my truck's front end... would love to replace it with a 444. @BrettB, you can't push the 44 mag bullets to hard, but they make stronger ones for 444.

So that means you can shoot it as a 44 magnum, or hotter, more like a 45-70. The wide range of bullet choices for 44 magnum all work jus' fine as low power loads for 444.

ain't that jus' crazy? 44 Magnum is to 444 as 44 Special is to 44 Magnum.
 
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Back in the 90s, my buddy had a Marlin 444 that I shot a lot. I think 444 is a great round and I would love to have one. It is in the same league as the 45-70. Hunting wise, it will take any game in North America. Shooting wise, it is accurate and can be loaded from mild to wild.

My favorite bullet for it was the remington hollow point with the half jacket. I would load in in the 44 mag and the 444. Performance on deer was great.

With today's selection on projectiles, the 444 could be an even better hunting round.
 
One of men in our hunting circle hunted all of Shenandoah with the .444.

We have some great stories about that gun and just the sheer power, the muzzle blast and the damage caused by it.

He still has that gun, I think his Daddy bought it for him when he started hunting with the crew.
 
I think it is a very under appreciated caliber. Almost purchased one back in the early 2000s but finding ammo was a deal breaker for me. I do believe a hand loader can really make that cartridge shine!
 
MacEntyre said:
ain't that jus' crazy? 44 Magnum is to 444 as 44 Special is to 44 Magnum.
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Actually the 444 case has a slight taper and a slightly larger case head.
I'm thinking of reaming my 44 Mag Henry single shot to 445 Super Mag. The brass is easier to find than 444 brass. While I would be nearly 444 power it still ain't as cool as a Marlin lever 444.
 
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45/70fan said:
Actually the 444 case has a slight taper and a slightly larger case head.
I'm thinking of reaming my 44 Mag Henry single shot to 445 Super Mag. The brass is easier to find than 444 brass. While I would be nearly 444 power it still ain't as cool as a Marlin lever 444.
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Yea that would be a super conversion for sure I’m just getting into reloading..I have about 100rounds of once fired brass and several hundred rounds of 444marlin ammo I stocked up on.. but can’t wait too press my first one in for the 444
 
shooter89 said:
I have about 100rounds of once fired brass
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I thought that I needed a lot of 45/70 cases when first starting to reload. I have two cases of 50 rounds. One is always full, the other's what is currently used for matches/target. They get rotated.

I'm still on the original brass (almost). The straight wall brass is hardly worked. The other cases are stored somewhere, just in case.
 
MacEntyre said:
I wonder what @Michael458 thinks of the 444 Marlin with CEB .429 Maximus bullets?

They are similar to the Raptors. They have 'em in 210, 250, 275 and 300 grains.
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I have tested a couple of the Maximus line, and talked a lot with Dan about them. They are good, devastating bullets. They are NOT Raptors, but they would be only a slight notch below a Raptor concerning terminal performance.
I assume those in .429 would be flat nose enough to run in lever guns? I don't know, I have only ever worked with the 200 Raptor in .429 when I worked up loads for the new Auto Mags.........I have not reviewed any other .429s at CEB.

OK I just went to CEB Site and see the .429 Maximus are actually pointy, not suitable for Lever Guns , maybe first round up or something..... or hand feed first round, followed by something else. You would not need anything heavier than the 210 gr versions......

I think I would hang tight with a lever gun with the 200 Raptors and 240 Solids............. That would do anything you ever need or desire to do in a .429 lever gun of any sort...........
 
Michael458 said:
I think I would hang tight with a lever gun with the 200 Raptors and 240 Solids............. That would do anything you ever need or desire to do in a .429 lever gun of any sort..
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There are not any .429 Raptors or Solids on the CEB web site! Only Maximus... :(
 
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What are the Henry Big Boy Steel models going for nowadays? I got my 16.5" .41 at Ed's as soon as they came out & thinking I paid high $600's then. No idea what they're fetching now.
 
MacEntyre said:
I have a friend in TN who has been loadin' and chootin' 444 Marlin since before 1972 when Marlin reintroduced the 45-70. I am lookin' at acquiring one locally... lookin' at it as a plus sized 44 magnum, would like to try Cutting Edge Bullets. Anyone here use a 444 Marlin?
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Like all lever guns
 
Never shot one, but would like to! Going through my dad's stuff after he passed, I found a set of Lyman reloading dies for 444, but to my knowledge he never actually had one of the rifles. No idea why he bought them, unless he was planning on it.
 
RedneckFur said:
Never shot one, but would like to! Going through my dad's stuff after he passed, I found a set of Lyman reloading dies for 444, but to my knowledge he never actually had one of the rifles. No idea why he bought them, unless he was planning on it.
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May I buy them, @RedneckFur?
 
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I had a Marlin in 444 a few years ago. I found out I could reload with 44 mag bullets for super cheap. So I was able to do a lot of shooting with it, as much as my shoulder could handle. I shoulda kept it.
 
I inherited a Marlin 444S earlier this year and had it out last weekend. Didn't bring anything home but I put a few rounds through it and it was a blast to shoot. It was the first time it had been out in at least 15 years. For sentimental reasons, I'll never part with it but it would be high up on my last gun I'd ever sell list regardless.

Marlin444S.jpg
 
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