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.