Marlin 444

By the way, anyone who has any interest in the 444 Marlin or any Marlin levers for that matter, HAS to go on marlinowners.com. Tons of information on pretty much every models and calibers.
 
Johnn Peterson said:
Apparently there were initially two models that were chambered for the 444 cartridge, the 444P and the 444S. What the difference is I don't really know but I would guess barrel length and possibly butt stock and lever design may be. I vaguely recall something along the line one was a 'carbine' sized model and the other a 'rifle' length model.
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I'm going by memory on the dates, but I'm pretty sure the order of models is correct:

1964 - First model 444 introduced; this had a straight buttstock with montecarlo cheek rest, barrel bands, 24" barrel, and rounded lever

a couple years later - Second model 444 introduced; lever changed to square

a couple years later - Model designation changed to 444S (sporter), buttstock changed to pistol grip, barrel shortened to 22"

a couple years later - barrel bands replaced with foreend cap and dovetail hanger

a couple years later - Model designation changed to 444SS (sporter, safety), crossbolt safety added

a couple years later - Model designation returns to 444, barrel changed from 1:38" microgroove to 1:20" ballard rifling

2000-2004? - Model 444p Outfitter introduced, straight buttstock, 18 1/2" ported barrel

So as you can see, there have been a lot of variants! As bcsteve mentioned, MO is a great forum to read about the 444.
 
stickhunter said:
I'm going by memory on the dates, but I'm pretty sure the order of models is correct:

1964 - First model 444 introduced; this had a straight buttstock with montecarlo cheek rest, barrel bands, 24" barrel, and rounded lever

a couple years later - Second model 444 introduced; lever changed to square

a couple years later - Model designation changed to 444S (sporter), buttstock changed to pistol grip, barrel shortened to 22"

a couple years later - barrel bands replaced with foreend cap and dovetail hanger

a couple years later - Model designation changed to 444SS (sporter, safety), crossbolt safety added

a couple years later - Model designation returns to 444, barrel changed from 1:38" microgroove to 1:20" ballard rifling

2000-2004? - Model 444p Outfitter introduced, straight buttstock, 18 1/2" ported barrel

So as you can see, there have been a lot of variants! As bcsteve mentioned, MO is a great forum to read about the 444.
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Thanks for the info. Much appreciated and I never realised, as you've stated, that there were that number of variations. I guess the one I find the most suprising is what you've stated as to the change in the rate of twist of the rifling. That is a major change and I'd be suprised if it wouldn't show up in bullet stability. Thanks again.
 
Great caliber, great rifle.
The Remington 240 factory load worked great for me. Never tried loading pistol bullets (the Remington 240 available as components on the shelf), nor did I ever ran a poll on who has actually used those 240 factory loads.... or just propagated something they've heard. Which is, I'm sure, excluding all present here.

I was "guided" to get the 444 by a friend.... Thanks again.
 
bcsteve said:
By the way, anyone who has any interest in the 444 Marlin or any Marlin levers for that matter, HAS to go on marlinowners.com. Tons of information on pretty much every models and calibers.
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Thanks for that informatio.I will check it out.

In the past I had a friend who used a Marlin 444 .He seem happy with it.
 
I've got a 444s - have shot over a dozen deer with it. Hits hard and has never ever jammed on me, even in the worst snow and freezing rain. I have a Bushnell 1.5 - 5x on it - only thing I would consider trading it for would be another in the guide version for something a little quicker handling - but realistically, the difference would be marginal.
 
For use with cast bullets, yup you heard it right, cast bullets, the .444 does best with .432" bullets, something that is not easy to find as most molds drop at .430" or less. I had to order a custom mold just for the .444 Microgroove as none of my 10 or so .44 molds would work good. To me this reason enough to go with the 45/70.
 
eltorro said:
Great caliber, great rifle.
The Remington 240 factory load worked great for me. Never tried loading pistol bullets (the Remington 240 available as components on the shelf), nor did I ever ran a poll on who has actually used those 240 factory loads.... or just propagated something they've heard. Which is, I'm sure, excluding all present here.
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When the 444 was first produced the 240 rem loading was pretty much all that was available. The 240 rem bullet IS a pistol bullet, which is why it got such a poor reputation for penetration on animals larger than deer (and not such a great reputation for them either). The 265 hornady bullet was designed for the velocities that the 444 produced, about 500 fps faster then the 44 mag rifle loads that the rem bullet was designed for.

Yes we used the rem load for years, and yes deer died, but surprisingly some needed some convincing. When we started reloading we switched to the hornady bullet and have been much more impressed by it's performance; about 50% pass throughs from all sorts of angles, a few elk, a number of moose, and a dozen or more deer. The 265 interlock is completely reliable for any sized NA game animal, including the big bears IMO. The 240 rem is OK for deer sized game, but not much bigger, again IMO.
 
Pudelpointer said:
When the 444 was first produced the 240 rem loading was pretty much all that was available. The 240 rem bullet IS a pistol bullet, which is why it got such a poor reputation for penetration on animals larger than deer (and not such a great reputation for them either). The 265 hornady bullet was designed for the velocities that the 444 produced, about 500 fps faster then the 44 mag rifle loads that the rem bullet was designed for.

Yes we used the rem load for years, and yes deer died, but surprisingly some needed some convincing. When we started reloading we switched to the hornady bullet and have been much more impressed by it's performance; about 50% pass throughs from all sorts of angles, a few elk, a number of moose, and a dozen or more deer. The 265 interlock is completely reliable for any sized NA game animal, including the big bears IMO. The 240 rem is OK for deer sized game, but not much bigger, again IMO.
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I had much the same experience with factory ammo on Moose a number of years back, which is why I went with the Hornady 265gr. That has given me the results on paper and the reliability on game that I was looking for:).
 
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