Deerhntr1213

I was looking to buy a new deer gun and cannons are somewhat appealing to me, is the .444 marlin suitable for deer, black bear and maybe and elk or two?

" My Name is Bocephus"

Bloodnativ

Absolutely!! Just look at some of the other, smaller calibers these lever guns are chambered for. The .30-30 and .35 Rem are both notorious game getters especially on deer and black bear. Some will disagree but how can you argue with 100 years of results. I have a .30-30 and have no problems taking deer and black bear. I have not used it on anything bigger yet but there is no end of reports of these two taking elk and moose within it's 100 yard range. The .444 packs much more punch than any of these and only slightly less than the reknowned .45-70 and with flatter trajectory. Within 100-150 yards you couldn't go wrong with the .444. But if you really want a cannon got with the .450 Marlin.

Mainehunter

The .444 is great for deer and black bear and I expect elk as well but as I have never had the opportunity to hunt them I can't say for certain. The .444 was introduced in 1964 and does a good job at bringing down the deer.
I would personally recommend going with the 45-70 as you have a much greater variety of ammunition available to you and over a century of proven usage with improved ammunition increasing the effectiveness regularly.
The .450 Marlin really has no advantage whatsoever over the 45-70 considering some of the hotter factory ammo that is available and, like the .444, it is limited in the variety of available loads. The .450 Marlin is also a newborn in the ammunition field so it's staying power has not been determined. You wouldn't want to buy a firearm that you won't be able to find ammo for in 10 or 15 years. Not that this is the case with the .450 but at this point and time noone can honestly say what the future holds for this round.
Again I recommend going with the tried, proven, and very much available powerhouse known as the 45-70 Government. There is nothing you will hunt in North America that is beyond it's ample capability to bring down hard and fast.



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deerslayer444

I am very fond of the Marlin .444. I have taken three deer so far this season for a total of twelve with this rifle. The deer nearly always drop instantly and never have had to take a second shot at one. Mine shoots groups of five shots in one inch at 100 yards. I have taken deer with other rifles, but prefer the .444 as I have absolute confidence in it. Factory Remington ammo gives you 2,350 feet per second out of the muzzle and nearly 3,000 lbs. of energy with a 240 grain bullet, and handloaded ammo will do even better. For deer or bear, I don't think you would be disapointed. The reload manuals claim it to effective out to 200 yards, so elk is a serious possibility too.

"Fast is fine, but accurate is final". "Wild Bill" Hickok - 1869

Quilly

the only reason why i would pick the 45-70 over the .444 is not because of the overall power of that cartridge but you can get differant bullet sizes. when the .444 i think off the top of my mellon has only one or two sizes.
as for the 35rem. it is a well suitable caliber for deer and black bear. it is a proven round and great out to 150yds. 200yds if you have a scope and practice with it. just ask any maine hunter. i see almost 60% of them that have a lever action have it chambered in the 35rem and it is a sweet shooter.

bigbulls

The 444 is suitable for any game in North America. Look at Buffalo Bore and Corbon for loaded bullets and look to Beartooth for reloading if you want a heavier lead bullet. The 45-70 has more bullets available in the normal stores but you can get just as good of a selection if you know where to look.

http://www.beartoothbullets.com/tech...h_notes.htm/17

sam 444

My results with the 444 marlin are very simular to deerslayer444s. Only i have always loaded the hornady 265 gr flat nose bullet.

N3YWV

444 is good!! I have the Outfitter and I love it and as for the 450 and 45-70, the only reason the 450 is in existance is that the factory ammo cant be loaded to the full potential of the 45-70 because there are too many old guns out there that cant handle the high performance smokeless loads

ALL DAY, EVERY DAY,IN THE WOODS...

.270Shooter

Yeah, I dig cannons too. Love the new Marlins, but don't forget The Winchester 1895 in .405 Win. Expensive, but has that cool Teddy Roosevelt vibe. Or even a Browning reissue of the Win. 1886 in .348! Too bad they're so pricey.