Home Forums Lever Action Central Big Bore Levers EASILY one of my favorites.

1971 made 444.

Metal/bluing in great condition, action smooth as butter after I degunked it and worked it over a tad. Stocks refinished with red oak stain, heated BLO + drier, and Axe Wax, my favorite Marlin stock recipe.

Up to date scope not so much, but that's what Leupold does now when you send in a mint 80's model steel tube 2x7 compact for repair on a seized turret. No parts left to fix them, they say, so they replace at their discretion with something "of equal value". Works fine, just wrecks the ambiance of a vintage rifle. Oh well, on the look out for another steel tube compact to put back in the weaver strap rings and right that wrong.

Anyway it's a helluva shooter. 240 grain XTPs do everything it's needed for as a white oak ridge top rub line deer rifle, pushed on the hotter side of mild with AA 5744. Always goes hunting opening day and until the first one is down.

Nice
Hang on to it and don't let it go.
I let mine get away and regretted it ever since

You can get the old scopes refurbished, but
it costs an arm and half a leg and a firstborn.
I checked on getting my old steel K4 redone,
and liked to have had a stroke

My middle son has dibs on it, and half of my other ones, when I'm 6 feet under. If I sold it he'd never speak to me again. Infact, when I set it aside to hunt with another one, out the door he goes with it, hollering "MY turn".

Yeah I know about the refurbished scopes, but I never dreamed leupold couldn't fix a turret now days. Now I do and lesson learned. Been a hot minute since I had to send one back to them. I wish they'd contacted me and gave me a choice.

My cousin had one similar, from about the same time……lost it in a house fire! memtb

Very nice. I've had the .450 and still have the .45-70 but the .444 has eluded me

I've pulled the remains of firearms out of what's left of a house fire several times for people. Still steaming laying there in the yard. It's a sad sad sight.

A 219 Zipper eludes me, and probably will keep on eluding me until I just get fed up and build one.

I’m sure it is! Fire is one of my biggest concerns! memtb

I've never seen one myself except in pictures

Great rifle. 24 inch barrel?

T.S.

Yes, 24".

It's stamped 444T and came to me with a straight monte carlo stock and square lever. So, Texan(?) I swapped parts off a spare 30-30 and made the wood on this match up a little better. I like it better this way too for shooting comfort. Big hands and square levers on big bores don't really jive. My son can put it back someday if he wants to.

Did some load work up with a new bullet and decided that mushy turret, fat reticle, steaming pile of crap warranty replacement had to go. Fixed it with some vintage 3x9 I had laying around.

Guessing that decent new load just got a whole LOT better.

You've got it now just like Bay Bears Soup, just right! Love that setup!

Something to eat, now your talking.

Got a recipe for that?