I enjoy the marlin 336 30/30 but like the 357 magnum more. With a 300 lb animal all three are great. Also, it is dirt cheap to load for it.
444 Marlin VS. 4570 Page 3
The marlin guide gun and the win 94, weigh 7.5 and 7 pounds.
I had a 450 marlin in the guide gun which is basically the same as the 45/70 and got a nice six foot boar at about 75 yards.
I have two.444's and a.450. I am planning on using the gun mainly for hiking, fishing protection but i might use it for hunting in the future. Designed in 1873, this round was meant for use by the us army with their springfield rifles during and after the american civil war. What i really want though is a marlin 1894 pre.
Plus it will be lugged into the woods on a gun rack on the atv, so gun weight isn't a factor.
That bear died instantly and flopped to the ground. The 45/70 hand loaded for a ruger #1 is one mean rifle, so is the marlin 45/70 just don't expect it to run a hot load your ruer likes. The marlin 1894 in 44 mag that i’ve owned simply don’t have the correct bore diameter or twist. Ammo won't be either as i'll order several boxes online, so won't be relying on the local gunshop to have it in stock.
The.444 shoots much flatter than most folks realize.
It will easily take all of but the largest north american game. But loses half its energy at 100 yards to get an idea when comparing rounds. The.444 marlin has the advantage of using the jacketed and cast bullets for the.44 magnum, making it a rather flexible. A hotgun slug has 70 to 80 tkof!!!!
But a 500 grain bullet hunting load in a light lever gun will rock your world.
At those ranges power is near meaningless because any good shot will kill quickly with more than enough power. Never been able to get one to shoot good. If the op wants a 444 there is nothing wrong with that round either.