Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Elk Hunting Anyone hunting with the .444 Marlin?

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

I have a .444 -- Winchester M94 made with synthetic stocks. I took it caribou hunting in '04, and killed a bull with a 270 gr Speer bullet. Through the ribs at 65 yards -- worked really well... . Mine carries a 3X Leupold, and pretty consistently shoots 270 gr bullets into an inch and a half at 100 yards.

But I don't think you're supposed to shoot .44 Mag brass in a .444 -- it's not a lengthened .44 Magnum.

Great rifles and cartridges for their purpose, I think...

Dennis

I've got a newer 22" blued Marlin.
Mine absolutely loves the Hornady tipped ammo, couldn't get the Core-lokts to shoot at all.

I carried it for a season for cow elk, never got to fire it, but sure was fun packing it around. At some point it'll get bloody.

I really like my 444 and it really likes 265gr Hornadys. Haven't stuck on through an elk but I've no doubt it'd do an excellent job.

Unless it were an emergency, I can't think of any reason why I'd ever want to run any of my 44 mag ammo in my 444.

Used to have a M94 Timber Carbine in .444 Marlin, and stoked up with full house 300 gr. hardcasts, it let you know when it went off.

Killed a couple of pigs with it - put a shotglass wide hole straight through them.

Check out the Marlin Owner's forum, marlinowners.com, for more than you ever wanted to know about the marvelous .444 Marlin and the rifles that shoot it.

Actually, a lot of guys shoot .44 mags through their .444's. The .444 has the same dimensions, just longer. I load one in the mag and one in the pipe. It won't feed more than one out of the mag. That is why I wanted some reduced load data. Thanks for the info on the Marlin forum. Flinch

You're getting no swelling at the base of the .44 Mags? They really aren't the same size, but if you're doing OK with it, then you are. You might go to LoadData or somewhere and check, though. It could be interesting...

Dennis

No, they are not the same dimension. The Marlin round in .012" larger in diameter at the web of the cartridge. You could have a case rupture. Not something you really want to happen.

They shoot the same diameter bullet, but that's about it for commonality.

The Lyman manual is a good source of reduced loads for the .444 Marlin and Cast bullets.

I used one for a few years with a case load of IMR4198 and a 240 grain Jacketed bullet. Very good, hard-hitting round for deer, and with the right bullets, just about anything that walks this continent.

I've got two .444 Marlin. One with a microgroove barrel and a newer one with the ballard rifling. Haven't shot the newer one yet but the microgroove one shoots under 1" at 100yds with the Hornady 265gr FP and 300gr XTP and the Speer 300gr UC.

I just installed a grey laminate on my newer one. Once I confirm that she shoots as well as my older one, I'll probably only keep one.

I like that laminated stock. Big bore lever guns are killers.

I have several lever guns and like em a lot. I shoot a lot of cast bullet out of the because they are much cheaper number 1 and 2 they will penetrate a lot deeper with my handloads and proper weight bullets.

I have an older .444 and the newer version (safety) model in the 1895 Marlin, big brother 45-70 too. The got a couple of smaller guns in the 30-30 and 35 Remmy.

I do like the looks of those laminated rifles I saw on the shelf at the gun store awhile back but I don't believe I will be changing stocks anytime soon.

I have a Marlin 444P Outfitter that I picked up about 10 years ago. Gun shoots cloverleaf groups with the Hornady Light Mag 265 gr ammo. I've taken 4 or 5 deer with it and it puts them down quickly and doesn'y mess up too much meat. It's a great carry gun in the thick stuff. No doubt it would put the smack on an elk.

Umm ya you're really not supposed ti shoot 44's in the 444 very dangerous. That being said the 444 was my first big bore levergun and opened a new world to me, thus my handle on here. I had great results with the 270gr speer gold dot. Try some hardcasts from Beartooth bullets if you really wanna hammer something! And as someone mentioned marlinowners.com is the place for info on marlins of any kind.

That blued/laminate look is nice! Marlin should take note.

JV

BCSteve Where did you pick up that stock, love the looks of it.
I think one would look great on my 356. Cheers Don

Here's what my .444 and .356 Winchester 94's look like...



Caribou taken with .444 at 65 yards...



Nice rifles...I had one .444 rebarreled in .356, though I haven't hunted with it...yet... .

Dennis

Instead of shooting 44 Rem Mag cases in the 444, I can tell you from experience, that if you load 444 cases using 44 Rem Mag load data, you will end up getting 44 Mag Velocities..just lower pressure.

Both SR 4756 and SR 4759 give good accurate loads for the 444. Data is either out of Lyman's Cast Bullet manual. or using 44 Rem Mag data.

that route is alot safer than using 44 Rem Mag cases in your 444.

Also for those who don't like the recoil, 44 caliber bullets are about as aerodynamic as a pingpong ball. I can drop loads down to the 1800 fps range from the 2200 fps range, and surprisingly lose about 10 to 15 yds of point blank range at most.

I almost use Hornady XTP bullets for my 444, so the lower velocity is not handicapped by the bullet design. The kids love shooting 200 grain XTPs at 800 to 1000 fps using Trail Boss powder. for hunting, I load it up with 25 to 35 grains of SR 4759 and a 300 grain XTP...

That still makes a decent 150 yd rifle, and that is pretty much the distance that is reasonable with it.

Mine is the older type, built in 1980 and bought early 1981 for $219.00 brand new out of the box!

Steve,

what was your source for that laminated stock?

my 28 year old 444's stock either needs an overhaul, or I could sure enjoy a grey laminate stock on it like you did yours!

thanks
seafire

That is damn sure easy on the eyes.

Joseph

muledeer it also looks like you have changed the lever to one that is easier on the fingers? Who's is it? Thanks
Cheers NC

I don't fully understand why the .444's are considered big bores, they are oversized handgun rounds..... Wouldn't trust one in africa on either plains or DG. That goes for the .450 as well.

Yeah, a 300 grain WFN hard cast going 2200 fps out of a .444 won't kill anything.

Schewe.. Going back over your last ten, and only ten posts, you seem to be running 100% on completely incoherent statements. Is this on purpose, or by accident?

For a person who seems to own all the hunting armament that Schewe owns, he does not seem to have strong grasp of cause and effect, caliber wise. He must be young with more spending money than experience or learning.

Sorry guys, forgot about this thread. For those who asked about the laminated stock, it's the standard Marlin grey laminate stock they use on the XLR. I ordered mine straight from Marlin.

Nope...it's pure from the factory. Winchester made three or four models of the 94 in .444, including this one with half-pistol grip and a synthetic stock. This particular one was made with either a 20" or 24" barrel, at various times. Mine has a 20".

Dennis

I think a 300 gr bullet at 2200 fps will kill lots of things very nicely. I know mine will kill a caribou with a 270 gr Speer at 2100 fps . Within reasonable range, it won't much matter whether it's a 180 gr at 2800 fps or a 300 gr at 2200 fps -- hit them in the right spot, and they will die promptly.

Dennis

If you want to fool with it the case dimensions on a .44-40 work pretty well in a .444 Chamber.

Hmm.. that's interesting. I never thought about that one. I pretty much ran mine full snort, anyway.

I've also heard that the 44-40 works well in the .444. Also heard of people shooting .410 in them, but never tried either of them myself. I've only shot one deer with my .444 Winchester, but it worked very well. It seems that the .444 shoots accurately in most leverguns,as my Winchester also loves the 265gr Light Magnums. Hopefully I'll get to try them on something bigger than deer soon. Anyway,here's my .444,its the 3rd from top.

Anybody use the Nosler 250 gr. Partition? I am thinking about using it in my Marlin 444 XLR. Gonna put a Leupold scout on it and use it to hunt elk in the thick timber(also thinking about cutting 4 inches off the barrel). I was gonna try Leverevolution loads but have not heard good things about em.

Do you reload?

No i don't reload, but i was going to buy some loaded from Conley Precision.

Love them 444’s

I kinda miss having flinch and rancho around.....

444 Big Bore Love

Nice rig Johnny.

"Big Bore" is a relative term. It must be remembered that at one time a 50 cal was mid bore and the 45s were small bores. Coming out of the era of the 58 Rim Fire and the 58 caliber muskets, the 50-70 was "small" and the 45-70 was called a small bore too. In the African hunting world the invention of the 450 Nitro was indeed a small bore when it started making inroads into the world of the 8 bore and the 6 bore.
Here is a big bore............... Unless you have history in the military and in the field of artillery.
2 Bore muzzle by Steve Zihn, on [bleep]
2 bore.
3,500 grain ball.
1650 FPS.
So your 600 nitro is a small bore in comparison to this. I can use the barrels I make 600s from as ram-rods to LOAD this rifle.


But as for the capabilities of the 444, I can speak to it a bit. To start out, I must say I have never personally hunted with one myself, but as the former CEO of Cast Performance Bullet Co, I sold several million bullets to others that did so a lot, and I had a large file of reports on how they worked on game up to and including American Bison, Grizzly Bears, Elk, Moose and many kinds of African Game.

And I do hunt with 2 friend who use the 444 to a large extent and I have personally seen elk, bear and moose killed with them as well as 3 bison.

The 2 bullets that were most successful were the 300 grain WFN CG and the 320 grain WFN GC. Back in the 80s and 90s Marlin didn't seem to have a standard way to cut their lifters in all their 444 rifles, so some would not feed the 320s and others would. All of them could be modified to feed them, but many men only bought the 300 grain bullets instead so they didn't have to bother, and I didn't read any complaints about how well they killed game.

The problem I have heard from some hunters with factory ammo is the face that ALL the ammo loaded for the 444 in it's first 20 years was actually loaded with revolver bullets. So Schewe does have a valid point, but it's very dated. They killed deer sized game very well, but penetration was less then it could be.
Hornady took a large step in the right direction with their introduction of their 265 grain bullet, but the real magic of the 444 was only seen when it was loaded with hard cast bullets with wide meplats and loaded to a C.O.A.L. that would feed. With such loads the 444 does a LOT more then it did in it's infancy. Full penetration through American Bison in the 1700 to 2200 pound range is common.

The 444 is over shadowed by the Lever Action Marlin (and now Henry to some extent) rifle. The 45-70 will use bullet as light as 300 but can be used with bullets up to 550 and most Marlins feed fine just as they come. So the 444 is not going to dethrone the 45-70. But that is not to say the 444 is somehow a weakling.

That is parallel to saying a 308 is not capable of killing elk because the 375H&H is more powerful. Somehow the elk I and many others have killed with their lowly 308s are..............well...........still dead!

Thankee, I think I have many versions. I haven’t found a why to use anything else.

I played with the .444 for years and owned several. Funny how I never killed anything with them. I've bought some 250PT from Conley Precision, set up a Winchester Timber Carbine and gave it to a friend in MO. I had planned on meeting him there and going pig hunting, but never did. I found a full length magazine Winchester BB at a gun show and set it up with the 265 LM ammo. I also had a Merit adj. peep put on it. My SIL has it now, put away for my grand daughter. ( I have several different rifles I wanted her to have that she can either use or sell when a teenager.) I shot a bunch of Marlins and the Beartooth bullets.

Good stuff

The only reason I don't have a .444 is I found a .45-70 first.


I saw above where someone suggested 150 yards for the .444. Have not run any ballistics and have not shot one, but my .45-70 punched through a mulie buck at 197 lasered and the following morning dropped a 6x6 bull elk at 213 lasered. At 600 meters (NRA Whittington Center) I was able to topple the steel rams 4 out of 5 in a heavy xwind and am pretty sure any game animal hit would have been in big trouble.

A good hardcast out of a .444 isn't something I'd want to be hit by at any range.

Ive yet to recover a hard cast gas check bullet in the 400-450 grain range fired from a 45/70 or a 450 marlin rifle so far theres been an exit wound every time
even the 355 grain versions generally exit elk



https://www.midwayusa.com/product/6...8-diameter-405-grain-flat-nose-gas-check


https://thebiggamehuntingblog.com/hunting-cape-buffalo-with-the-45-70-government/

https://forty5seventy.wordpress.com/
generally load those bullets to a 1800-1900 fps range

One of my favorite .45-70 loads is a 300-350g hardcast at 1167 fps and 1097 fps respectively, using only 13.5g HS-6. Recoil is about half that of a standard .30-30 load and they are very inexpensive. Cost of lead has gone up, but at one point I figured about $2.50 per box of 20. Very accurate with a trajectory similar to a .22. Great plinker for the kids and very destructive to whatever they hit. They consistently drill through 11-12 water jugs.

Wouldn't choose them for elk as I have many loads better suited for that, but they are a lot of fun. Softball-sized rocks shatter when they meet.

That sounds like a fun load. I've been looking for a plinker load. Thanks for the info.

Look at gmdr.com for more loads like this.
http://www.gmdr.com/lever/lowveldata.htm

Is it hunting season yet?