Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Rifles Info on .444 Marlin ?

Looking for someone who has hunted with the .444 cartridge. Seems to be a decent round if the range is kept below say 150 yards. Has anyone had any experience at ranges greater than this and specifically on elk ? Would appreciate any comments, positive or negative. Thanks.

I own a Marlin 444ss, and I LOVE this gun...I haven't hunted w/ it yet, because of the limited selection of ammo, so far I've only shot 240gr remington soft points out of it, and they have a tendency to blow up on impact because they are travelling too fast (they were designed for .44 handgun velocities), however I can plink the 300yd target all day with this thing, open sights. It is a joy to shoot. If you want premium factory bullets, get Buffalo Bore or Cor Bon, Buffalo Bore offers 270gr2250fps&3034ft/lbs, 300gr2150fps&3078ft/lbs, and a 335gr2025fps&3049ft/lbs. I'm not sure what Cor Bon's stats are. However Buffalo Bore are expensive at $40/20rds, and again, I'm not sure about CorBon, but I would expect it to be similar. If you handload, look up Beartoothbullets.com, and look for Marshall Stanton's Pet load of a 330gr Cast bullet2200fps. He also has 280gr2500fps and a 290gr2400fps that penetrate forever. This guy is a 444 junkie, and has some sweet loads. I've read stories about his rounds, and they will anchor anything on this planet, including African game. I have some on order (330gr) and will be using them for elk this season. Nosler and Hornady also are making rounds for it, a 250gr Partition, and a 265gr Interlock respectively. Speer also makes a 300gr round rated at 2200fps+ w/ great results. Also, about it being a 150yd gun...NONSENSE, this load is capable of way more than that. In the words of Marshall, sight it in at 3" high100yds and you have yourself a 200yd game harvester. I won't hesitate to try for 300yd shots w/ mine, as soon as I figure out the trajectory. This round is truly underestimated, and is only now coming into its own now that there are bullets being manufactured for it. Please feel free to email me more if you want more info.

Thanks for the info. All I have heard is that the .444 malin is only good for 200yd maximum. I am also going elk hunting this year and I am thinking of buying the model 444p by Marlin. What do you about this model. Feel free to suggest other guns.Thanks

UP Hunter go to <A HREF="http://www.georgia-arms.com" TARGET=_blank>www.georgia-arms.com</A> and request a catalog. You will find ammo for the 444 in the catalog. The web site list some, but not all of their products. I own a 444S and shoot their 270 gr. Gold Dot Soft Points (2200 fps)in my gun. I just got back from the range last week and shot 1" three shot group @ 100 yds. They also have a 300 gr. that clocks in at 2000 fps. So far I am very pleased with their ammo. I took a whitetail buck @ 170 yds. last hunting season. I plan to order some more 444 ammo from them and try some other ammo for the rest of my firearms. Their prices are low ($17.00 per 20 rds. for 444)and you get a plastic ammo box with the ammo. Try some and you will be pleased. The other brands mentioned earlier are excellent also, and will do well in the 444 also. Also check out <A HREF="http://www.marlinfirearms.com" TARGET=_blank>www.marlinfirearms.com</A> for some tips and suggestions.<BR>Good Shooting...<BR>Den-Den

Thanks for the info Den-Den. That ammo is really cheap!

I had to switch my name so this will be me from now on.

I just checked out beartooth bullets again, and looked in their shooter's forum...Marshall printed up ballistics to compare a 180gr 30'06 round to his 330gr cast bullet (which, incidentally has 3500ft/lbs of energy at the muzzle...1 3/4 TONS!!!!!) Anyways...it is shocking. Sighted in at 3" high at 100yds, this beautiful little(big) round still has MOV (minute-of-vital [img]images/icons/smile.gif" border="0[/img] ) accuracy at 250 yds!!! And, it keeps enough energy, that if you are sure in how far you would have to hold over, you can be dropping animals at 300+yds, no problem. I'm not recommending it, however, because most of us arent that good. [img]images/icons/wink.gif" border="0[/img] You never told us the ranges that you will be shooting at. As another suggestion about an elk round, is the venerable 30'06 w/ 165 or 180gr bullets. Along the same line, if you are interested in magnum calibers, the 7mm magnum and 300 Win Mag, are also GREAT elk rounds. I hope this is somehow helping you, because I could keep rambling for days and days, but do me a favor, and CHECK OUT BEARTOOTHBULLETS.COM!!!!!!!

I hunt elk just North of Cody. Normally more than 200yd shots.

OK, since your shots are normally MORE than 200yds, I suggest another rifle. Not because of the range of the 444, God knows that it will reach that far, but for the occasional 300-500yd bull that presents itself, you'll want a gun with a flatter trajectory, and something that retains energy as well. This is where the 300 Win Mag comes into its own. I own one, and I love it. I also own a 30'06 and love it to death, but for those shots at 300+yds, I usually go with my 300WM because of the flatter trajectory (eliminates guesswork for holdover) and better retained energy downrange. Ammo is relatively cheap, and it's a common round, so there is brass available everywhere if you reload. Since it's a .30cal, (probably the most common caliber around) everyone makes at least one premium round for it. I'm going to start using Hornady SST's or Swift Sciroccos if I can't get these Barnes X's to group. Nosler, Speer, Sierra, and the list goes on. They all make good bullets. Even Remington came out with a new Ultra Core Lokt, to keep up with the times of faster, flatter shooting cartridges with their Ultra Mags. You didn't mention much about your background with shooting/hunting...are you a newbie or veteran? If you need more advice/info, please feel free to email me.