I liked the 444 better than than the 45-70, it didn’t kick as much.
There is that...
That depends on the loads, even in the case of factory loads. The Hornady 25g .,444 load at 2300fps is going to kick less than Hornady's 250g load at 2025fps? No. And probably not less than the Hornady 325g load at 2050fps.
My hardcast 300g and 350g .45-70 plinking loads use 13.5g HS-6 powder for 1167fps and 1097fps respectively. Recoil is about half that of many factory .30-30 loads, yet they will penetrate and exit 11-12 water jugs, and are very accurate if somewhat limited in effective range due to the trajectory. Inside 100 yards they are fine. And very inexpensive - I used to be able to builds a box of 20 for about $2.50. My other loads include a variety of bullets and velocities, including some in the stratosphere where the .444 can't begin to go.
Factory 405g .45-70 loads at around 1300fps are surprisingly gentle on the shoulder yet devastating on game.
Nothing wrong with the .444 but the great thing about the.45-70 is that it can do everything a .444 can and and considerably more. The recoil level is optional, but for similar loads the recoil of the .444 and .45-70 are very similar.
