Marlin introduced the mighty 444 several years about 8 years after Winchester's model 71 went out of production. This rifle and cartridge filled the big game cartridge gap when the .348 went under due to poor sales. I like to think of the 444 Marlin as an improved Winchester 71 that is, takes a modern scope easily and shoots heavy bullets quite well.
Comparing the modern 444 to the antique 45-70 is boring to me. I prefer to compare the 444 to .348 in real life performance on big game. Speer's 270 grain "Deep Curl" bullet performs amazingly well when mated to the mighty 444!
Sherwood
