I sold my Win 94 444 some years back for the same reason you mentioned. Horrific recoil. I like you also shoot a 260 Rem. Takes mature muley's to elk , no problem. I do have a Win 94 24" Bbl in 44 mag. All I shoot in it is my own home cast bullets. I can control recoil bu adjusting my load.
As to the price of your Win 444 , I would think you need to look at whatt they are actually selling for. What folks are will to actually pay. I see a lot of firearms on GB just setting there with no bids. That tells the real story of value.
