Home Forums Lever Action Central Marlin 336 Lever Actions 35 Rem or 444 Marlin?

While you might ge by doing that without incident, the .44 Mag cartridge is 0.136" smaller in diameter just ahead of the rim than is the .444 cartridge. (According to Speer #12.) I would think the shooter would be asking for a ruptured case and all that goes with it - not something I would try.

I disagree about tha advantage of handloading. The 444 isalready loaded up to potential with the 265 Hornady loading. The 35 Rem is greatly underloaded. Loaded to the 43000psi that the Marlin is capable of the 35 Rem could become quite a boomer. If 2010ft/sec with 220 grain bullets is possible at 33,600psi (Hodgdon 27) What would 10,000more PSI do? 2200 I'd say. Given the BC of the Speer 220 grain bullet it would overtake the 444 at 150 yards or so.

North61, you are quite correct concerning the potential of the .35 Rem. In fact, Buffalo Bore loads a 220 gr. bullet at 2200 fps (for about $35/box, ouch).

Now, where I live (southwest Missouri), the Remington factory .35 Rem. load is powerful enough. But it can do more, as long as it's used in a modern rifle instead of the auto it was designed for 100 years ago.

I tried to send you a PM but your box seems to be full. Did you sell your .444 <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

Carlos

They want 40 bucks for a box of twenty! Two dollars a round for the 35 rem, thats crazy, just buy a .358 win or 35 Whelen. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/cool.gif" alt="" />

I have owned two different 444s and just love that round. Georgia Arms loads speer 270gr Golddots for about 20 bucks a box of 20, not anymore expensive than a good factory load for a 270, 308 ect. This round is extremly versital (sp) if you reload, if not the Hornady LtMag 265gr and the 270gr gold dots from Georgia Arms will really do 90% of what you would ever want from that gun. But if ultimate versitility (and ammo avalibility) is what you want, get a 45/70 Way more factory offerings.

No, you don't want to do that!

I have both a 35 Rem. and a 444 Mar., both are Marlin rifles. I use the 35 Rem. as my brush/woods rifle when deer hunting. It has a Leupold VX-II 2-7x33mm Shotgun Scope on it. This is an awesome little set up that works great, its basically my go to rifle since most of my deer hunting is done in the woods where my longest shot will be well under 100 yards. I got the 444 Mar. for black bear and wild boar hunting (haven't done either yet). I'll probably put the same scope on this rifle that I have on my 35 Rem.

If you're only going to hunt deer then I would get the 35 Rem. If you think you might want to use this rifle for deer and larger game then I would get the 444 Mar. Remington's factory 240 gr. Core-Lokt ammo will perform like lighting on deer shot in the shoulder or heart/lung area and is all you'll ever need for deer hunting. You can get heavier loads for larger game! Just my opinion! <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" />

You might also consider a Browning BLR in 358 Win. The 358 Win. is a great cartridge for deer, black bear and boar hunting. It has more range and shoots flatter then the 35 Rem. and 444 Mar. Here is Winchester's ballistics for this round! <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

Are you still givin' advice to the guy who posted this almost a year ago and never replied back?! Just checkin. Anyway, a couple of points that may help you with your Marlin 444 set up for bear/hogs. Go with a smaller scope with a wider field of view. A 1-4x20, 2.5x20, etc. Nice to have when hunting potentially dangerous game and they get in tighter on you than you planned. Any more power is not needed anyway. You will find the wider field of view extremely important, definitely more so than higher power. Secondly, stay away from the POS Remmy 240gr loads. They are what gave the 444 a bad name in the first place. They are 44mag bullets and do not perform well at 444 velocities, not even on deer IMHO. If you must use factory rounds, the 265 Hornady is much better, and was designed specifically for the 444. Good handloads can still better it in both the velocity and accuracy departments. I handload the 270gold-dot the most. It flattens black bears with a surprisingly high degree of weight retention. I'm surprised Remington even bothers to load the 240gr 444 anymore. Nobody who knows anything about the 444 will buy it. Hope this helps, anybody who makes fun of Rosie O'Donnel is alright in my book---2MG

I never even looked at the date of the post, just figured I'd give my $.02!
I'm really comfortable with a 2-7 scope. I turn it down to "2" power and I have enough field of view.
I disagree with the Remington's 240 gr. being POS for use on deer. I've seen deer shot with then and I was really impressed at how well they worked, like I said, it was like they were hit by lighting. For black bear and wild boar I agree and would probably uses at least Hornady's 265 gr. factory load!
Thanks! <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smirk.gif" alt="" />

NYH2-- You may be able to convince me that the scope is okay(there are much worse choices). I figured in upstate NY the bear hunting terrain was really thick. Maybe we hunt in different conditions. In Michigan it's REAL thick. I used a 2.5x20 and it was all the magnification I ever needed. I recently sold it to my buddy to put on his 444. I switched to a 1-4x20 and really like the wider field of view on 1x. Especially when I'm walking down a trail with 2 sets of little bear tracks and one set of big bear tracks Where I hunt it's so thick it's dark on a sunny day. The bullets you'll have a harder time of convincing me that they're worth a damn. I have lots of articles bad-mouthing them. The most recent one I can think of is one by Brian Pearce in Rifle Magazine. My opinion is based on experience though, not magazine reading. Of all the 444 loads out there, it is by far the least effective IMHO. The bullets are way too frangible even on shoulder shots on deer. Definitely no good on anything bigger. The bullets simply don't hold together. This load is the least penetrating of all 444 loads by far. On deer you pretty much have to double lung 'em or blow a perfectly good neck roast all over the forest floor. Anyway, sorry if I came off wrong in the previous post. Take it easy---2MG

Not at all! <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/cool.gif" alt="" />

You might be on to something with the "scope thing". The only experience I have with a really low powered scopes is an older Tasco 1 power scope I have. I just don't like it at all. I guess if it was a 1-4 power (Leupold) scope it would be better, I could always turn it up to 4 power if I want. I really hate the looks of a scope that doesn't have larger "bells" (both front and rear) then the scope "tube". Having said that....its more important that it works good instead of looks good. Thanks! <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" />

Try it, you'll like it <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif" alt="" /> Mine is a VXII. The only thing is, it has the regular duplex. I wish it had a heavy duplex, but I got it and a set of Warne rings for $140, so I can't complain---2MG