I have eight Marlin 444s. The 444 is a very effective round with better ballistics than the 45-70. The round is also easy to reload. The Hornady factory loads are pretty stout pushing 265 grain bullets at 2400 fps at the muzzle. Those rounds are more than one needs for whitetail and offer pretty heavy recoil. Tissue damage on whitetails I have killed with the Hornady loads has been massive.
I developed a lighter load pushing 240 grain Hornady XTP bullets at 2150 fps. It works well on whitetail with much less meat loss.
I have only seen one Marlin 444 with the Remington REP stamp (DOM 2011) and I own it. Remington was having a lot of trouble building levers and quit producing several models including the 444. I haven't been tuned in to Marlins for a while but I have heard several times that Remington plans to start producing 444s again. I have yet to see a new production Marlin 444.
That said, the "JM" Marlins are favored and generally sell quickly if fairly priced. I would need more information on your particular rifle to offer an opinion on value. I will say that a JM Marlin 444 in nice condition should be priced from $650 on up. Anything less would be a very good buy. also, as mentioned in an earlier post, many do not like ported levers.
Merry Christmas!!
T.S.
Last edited by TexasShooter; 12/24/18.
