I love my 44 Marlin. I had a new one about 5 years ago and it didn't shoot hard cast reloads very well, but this early 70's vintage one that I just picked up works great with them. I like not having the cross block safety as well, that cost me a nice buck a few years ago. Nothing like squeezing the trigger and hearing a distinct "clack" instead of bang...

The 357 Mag can be reamed to 357 Maximum for little money, which is a pretty good deer round.