Good 444 article

Our friend Brian Pearce, a long-time fan of the lever action rifle, has a good article on the 444 Marlin, with over 300 handloads tested!

It's in Handloader magazine. Avail on newsstands now, the December 2018 edition.

I'm impressed. He goes back to the roots of that iconic Marlin cartridge, and takes it all the way up to a current prototype with a 22" 1:20 twist barrel. Brian is a serious lever-action aficionado with excellent hunting cred on big game.

If you like the 444 Marlin, and are interested in an updated look at that very serious hunting cartridge, this is something you ought to read.

Regards, Guy

I’ll have to check that out. I had mine out a couple weeks back makin sure it’s still zeroed in at 100 yards for our upcoming gun season here in Ohio.

I liked that article a bunch. Right now my 444 is down in Florida and my buddy is trying his best to talk me out of it. Darned good lever action cartridge.

It is a cartridge that I have not yet had the pleasure of trying.
I just read that article the other night, and have the number for a guy who has one of the original 24" barrelled Marlin 444's for sale. Almost bought it this summer, but instead chose to buy from him two early Marlins with very nice wood in 30-30 and 35 Rem. Was looking for a nice older 35 Rem for a saddle/camp gun for my wife, and the 30-30 as it is like my grandfathers rifle (who is now in my uncle's possession) with which I harvested my first big game animal (a whitetail doe) at 15.
The article has made me want to buy that older Marlin and try those 280 and 300 gr A-Frames! Would be a great moose/elk/bear thumper!

I like that Marlin re-released the 1895 Big Bore in 444 this year after being dropped for a while. 1:20 twist 22 in barrel and the short mag tube holding 5.

https://www.marlinfirearms.com/lever-ac ... 444-marlin

"I just read that article the other night, and have the number for a guy who has one of the original 24" barrelled Marlin 444's for sale"

I bought one of these this past May. A .444 was one of my bucket list guns and found one on consignment in a little gunshop. It has the monte carlo stock with an inlaid Marlin medallion. I bought a box of Hornady Superformance 265 FP ammo (only kind the shop had) and took it to the range. At 100yds, off bags and with iron sights, it shot a very respectable 1.24 inch group albeit high in relation to point of aim. I later got a box of the Leverevolution ammo and tried it as well. I had installed a scope by this time and it shoots this load about .75 if I do my part.

Ron

For sure, lever guns can be capable of some fine accuracy. My several Model 94s will consistently produce 0.75 MOA and about all the Marlins I ever shot were capable of MOA or better.

My younger brother has one of those 24" original models It has always been very accurate, and I always wanted to buy it from him.

The article has made me want to buy that older Marlin and try those 280 and 300 gr A-Frames! Would be a great moose/elk/bear thumper!

Click to expand...

I’m running the 280 AFrames in mine. Nothing bigger than deer with it thus far but is a formidable load with that bullet.

The man I worked for right out of high school had a .444 and it was by far his favorite rifle of the many rifles he owned.

I never saw him shoot at anything but elk with it and never did see him miss one. He had a fixed 4x scope on top of the peer-through mounts for using irons. He did not like the 240 grain Core-Lokt, he felt it was too soft of a bullet. The 265 grain Hornady loads are what he shot when he hadn’t any time to reload. Great rifle, I never personally took anything with it but had many opportunities to shoot it back when I worked for him. A very underrated caliber and platform in my opinion.


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