Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Express Rifles and Big Bores Only .444 Marlin - good for big bear?

Shooting magazine has a test of the new Hornady bullets.
The rubber tipped 265-gr .444 shot flatter than their regular FN 265, but the old one had more weight retention and penetration, just as one might expect. The regular .444 is already a 200 yard rifle for deer, elk and the average black bear. If I only had one rifle, the new bullets might be interesting, but for me, the .444 is about power inside 150 yards.

Some big bear killed with the .444.

http://www.buffalobore.com/hunts/Default.htm

I would use mine.I would also make sure I had a good heavy 300gr+ bullet in it.If Fred Baer can kill an elephant with a bow you can kill a big bear with a 444. You need to know it's(444)limitations,range ect.
Now, if I didn't have a 444 already and wanted to go on a big bear hunt. I think I would buy a 375 H&H.
So, if your buying a rifle for a big bear hunt.Get more gun than a 444 Marlin.JMHO

The 444 certainly would not be one of my picks for a big bear rifle but it comes might close, if not duplicates, the old 405 Win. With good bullets it should be a fine big bear rifle.

I want another .444, a nice one, like a Beretta Silver Sable O/U double rifle. Same 24-inch barrel as my Marlin, 4 inches shorter, same weight. Speer 270-gr Gold Dots and 305-gr hard cast bullets.

The .444, when loaded properly, is more then adequate for any north American big game; including Grizzly.

I own a Winchester 94 BlackShadow in .444 that sports a full length magazine and Ghost Ring peep sights. I push 300 grain jacket bullets through the chronograph at 2450 f/s. That's 4,000 f/lbs of energy. Bullet construction is everything when persuing dangerous game. From what I understand, 70% of pro hunters in Africa shoot Swift bullets. American hunters apparently aren't aware of Swift. I shoot 300 grain Swift A-frames in my .444. They're built like a Nosler Partition; but with heavier jackets and a thicker A-frame construction. In my opinion, this is the best bullet available for hunting dangerous game with the .444. I shoot a lot of Hornady XTP's too. They're OK for plinking; but use the Swift for heavy work.

I guess the 4 grizzlies I've killed with a Marlin 444 havent read this thread because they all died. The 444 is a fine rifle for anything in NA. Anything the 45/70 will do, so will the 444. I've used both hard cast 300 grain slugs and the Hornady 265 grain bullets. Either bullet will shoot clear through a grizzly or moose for that matter most of the time.

In reply to poster BMT, Remington has never loaded JHP as in jacketed hollow points. They load soft points. I do believe they were initially hand gun bullets but were long ago changed to a thicker jacket. They still are really a deer/black bear bullet though. The 265 grain Hornady interlock is a great bullet, very accurate and much tougher than the Remington SP. I have shot the 300 Hornady XTP on paper and it is so accurate its almost funny out of my 1981 vintage .444 with the 1 in 38 inch twist. Never shot it on game though so I can't comment on its performance there. I have shot the 265 Interlock on many deer and its a tough bullet, I have killed two deer.with the Interlock after it penetrated trees, one was over 2" in diameter at abouth 80 yards, one was only about 3/4". Very good bullet performance, I have no doubt it would work well on any bear.

Wow, a Lee24, Safariman and muledeer thread resurrection. Brings back memories. RIP Dennis.

What load would that be?

Ha! Yeah, holy thread resurrection, Batman! I sure would like to know what load that is, too. The factory Hornady 265s shoot into an inch at 100 w/ my 1-38 Microgroove. I'd also like to try out the Underwood 220gr Extreme Penetrators at 2660fps!

I think its interesting to read the comments and advice given on these threads about bear rifles/calibers . Its obvious that most of the guys posting have likely never seen a bear let alone shot one. Fact is just about any accurate rifle is good for bear; big or otherwise. The vast majority of the grizzly and polar bears killed every year are shot by trappers or first nations people and they seldom use anything bigger than an 06. Usually its something smaller. A 444 marlin is so close to the 9.3x62 that no animal would ever know the difference, and the 9.3 has been used successfully for cape buff and elephant......

One of my guide friends who would over winter at the lodge by himself carried a 444. He would shoot around five moose and assorted nuisance bears both black and brown each year, on a Homestead license. He would use factory 165 grain loads on moose but if specifically for bear he would use the Corbon load. These were a huge step up in performance and recoil. They made the 444 almost equal to a heavily loaded 45/70. As a fishing/self defense rifle not a bad choice with the Corbon or Buffalo Bore loads. For Hunting give me something that is better to two hundred yards even though the 444 is capable of this.
In a lever action I would go for Teddy Roosevelt's "Big Lion Medicine" the 405 with modern hand loads.

Power wise the 444 is pretty close to the 405. Except with a little less SD.
In the proper hands, using tough bullets, it should work OK
But there are better choices.

Boils down to [bleep] that can shoot, and those that can't

Wow I thought I'd stepped into the way back machine!

Just for record here’s a new 444 Marlin load at over 2,100 fps that would make small work of most animals on the receiving end.

Underwood 444 Marlin Heavy Load

I've got a grizzly hunt booked for June 2021. I've got a 375 Ruger, 30/06 and a 444. The 375 Ruger with 300 grain Nolser Partitions is my choice.

Go to Marlin talk, and the safari grade 444 is what you seek.

It’s been a while but I think some dude was running 400plus grain bullets.

no, you need something bigger unless you want to be bear food,,