I helped a neighbor friend of mine out a lot this year. He knows how much I like tinkering with guns and asked me to come over. He handed me an older model (pre crossbolt safety).444 Marlin and said, "Thanks for all your help, she's your's." He handed me two boxes of factory ammo and 100 pcs. of new brass as well. The rifle had a cracked stock and a little surface rust here and there, but is a real gem, especially for FREE!
First things first, because I am not a collector, I'm a shooter. I just had to get the stock fixed before touching off a round. I drilled a 1/2" hole cross wise through the stock/cracked area very carefully and glued in a hard wood dowl. I glued and clamped the crack as well. Vigorous sanding, a new coat of stain and an oil rub really made the rifle look new. You can hardly see the dowl. I completely disassembled the rifle, cleaned all the parts and oiled it up. It is cold as heck out here in Utah, but I just couldn't wait any longer. I had to get some trigger time with her. The 240 grain Remington factory load really got my attention! This is no "boys" gun. You know you are shooting something. The rifle turned out to be a one holer out to 50 yards (the farthest I could shoot). The rounds were punching through 3/16" steel plate with boring regularity. I have a couple of .44 magnums and am highly familiar with that round, but the .444 is a new one to me, for the most part. Oh, and the rifle loves shooting .44 magnums as well, they just shoot a few inches lower. I plan on hunting pigs, elk and deer with the rifle and would like to get some good loads for big game and reduced loads for fun. So let's hear it from guys in the know. Flinch
