What is everyone's take on the two cartridges? Which would you choose and why? (come on, it could have been worse, like .17HMR vs. .50BMG, wich is the better varmint cartridge?)
Sorry if this topic has been posted before, but I cannot get the search feature to work for me.
These cartridges, while they look fairly similar on the outside, are not in the same niche. The .444 Marlin is essentially a deer rifle that can be used on black bear. It uses .429 bullets (same as the .44 Mag). The .450 Marlin is like a 45-70 loaded to red line - into the lower end of the .458 Winchester power level. Good for real big stuff and most African game. Has abundant recoil, though.
Personally, I would get the .450 Marlin. Can always load it down if you don't need the horsepower. Or, for that matter, get the .45-70 if you reload. My understanding is that the .450 Marlin was developed so it could be factory loaded to high performance .45-70 levels. You could not, of course, factory load the .45-70 this hot without risking damage to many of the older firearms floating around out there that were only designed for blackpowder pressures.
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The .444 Marlin is essentially a deer rifle that can be used on black bear.
Well, I gotta respectfully disagree with that statement. While the 450 Marlin is definetly a more powerful cartridge the 444 certainly aint no slouch.
If all you shoot are the Remington 240 grain loads they are pitiful. However, Corbon and Buffalo Bore load some pretty stout ammo for the 444 Marlin.... along the lines of 300 grain bullets at 2100 - 2200 fps. These loads are certainly capeable of killing anything you would want to hunt with one.... up to and including dangerous game.
Hornady also loads their 265 grain bullet at over 2300 fps for the 444.
Conley precision also loads some great 444 ammo with bullets like Barnes, Nosler partition, & Swift A-frames.
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It depends on what and where you want to hunt with this rifle. If for deer only then a .444 is just about right. Throw a moose in then I would lean to the .450 but realize that these lightweight .450 carbines kick like a .375 H&H.
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Bigbulls - I guess I am remembering the .444 when all you get for it were 44 Mag pistol bullets. It's still a plateau below the .450 Marlin, but not as much as may have implied when you shoot some of the newer bullets available for this application.
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A man has got to know his limitations . . . . .
The .450 is above the realm of the .444,but as stated befor the .444 is no slouch either.The biggest problem the .444 was when it was introduced they loaded it with same bullets the .44 mag was loaded with.This caused the bullets to seperate or blow up,wich in turn gave the .444 a bad rap.
I like the .450 for elk and moose in close 1/4's,and would use it for grizz in a heart beat.If you load solids in it it would make a good African game gun I would supose also.
With todays bullets and ammo the .444 and the 450 can handle almost or most of N/A Biggame.
BBJ
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Throw a moose in then I would lean to the .450 but realize that these lightweight .450 carbines kick like a .375 H&H.
yes, it does have quite a kick. A friend of mine bought a .375 H&H and he shot my .450 one day and said he would prefer to shoot his .375. The .450 is like shooting a 12 gauge magnum shell, where hte .375 is a sharper punch.
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Those are some interesting thoughts on the subject. For me, the .444 Marlin would be more than enough 95% of the time. But I tend to lean towards the .450 Marlin in case that the extra little bit of 'oomph' were ever to be needed. As a handloader, rolling my own would be the only way I would go. My only issue might be recoil. I can stand up to fair amount of recoil, but I'm no brutus either. However if I think along the lines of the Winchester Model 94 Timber with the ported barrel and decelerator pad, it should help tame the beast to managable levels.
.444 Marlin vs. .450 Marlin
