I was so pleased with my 444 that I decided to take the plunge with the 45-70 (I've never owned that caliber). Very pleased with overall fit, function and accuracy. I was going to put a peep sight on it, but these new Marlins are NOT drilled for peeps and I really need a scope nowadays so I committed blasphemy and put a Leupold (so I guess double blasphemer) 4X on it. Loaded and shot 8 rounds of Hornady 325 FTXs at 100 yards after initial sight in @ 25.:

[Linked Image from i.imgur.com]

[Linked Image from i.imgur.com]

[Linked Image from i.imgur.com]

A good principle to guide me through life: “This is all I have come to expect, standard lackluster performance. Trust nothing, believe no one and realize it will only get worse…”