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Lever guide gun - Marlin


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All superb, and i,ve shot them all, and owned the .44 magnum in a 24" cowboy. That was the model with the square bolt. The 45/70 and the .444 are on the larger framed round bolt reciever. The 45/70 can be loaded with level 2 loads which are potent, and the .444 is a beast too. If i wanted a woodland deer gun or one for splatting pigs, i would have one tomorrow.very accurate with handloads, and a gun thats a bit different, that are a pleasure to shoot. Can be easily tuned, and a very good aftermarket trigger available, in the form of the trigger happy units.

What do you intend to use it for buddy ?

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I shoot all of the above in various rifles. The question is how far you're going to shoot. If you're shooting at 100M or less, a 44 magnum will work if you can shoot. compared to the others, the trajectory is fairly loopy. I like it because I shoot several 44 magnum revolvers and frankly, it is usually thought of as a "companion" gun for such. In close cover though, it is a very effective deer round with a 240 grain bullet.

 

The 444 is a 150 M cartridge. I like it because any of the (common, here at least) .44 pistol components can be made to work with it including commercial or home cast lead bullets. It is Marlins "express" rifle. The largest bullet if will stabilize is a 265 grain bullet due to the 1-36" twist Marlin builds their rifles with. I confess to have not had a lever gun in this caliber but have built a few single shots with 1-20 and 1-18" twists. They shoot really well. Brass is an issue sometimes as it isn't nearly as popular as the .44 magnum or the 45-70.

 

The 45-70 is the best of the bunch for game shooting. Stiffly loaded, it can kill out to 175 m on US mule deer. The largest North American game has been killed with it and components are available in spades. I have two: a Marlin 1895 and a Siamese Mauser bolt action custom. Both are deadly on big game. Be warned though, unless you reload you will not get the full flavor of the cartridge.( nor any of the others mentioned ) A fun and accurate 45-70 practice / small game load is to flare the case mouth of a cartridge (sized or unsized...your rifle and die set will decide) and load a bit fast burning pistol powder under a .457" round ball made for muzzleloaders. Wipe a bit of bullet lube (even pump grease) into the area of the flare around the seated ball and single load them. They will shoot ragged holes at 25M or knock a rabbit into the hereafter. I have fired hundreds of these for off hand practice.

 

One last thought on the Marlins. Get one of the recent ones that does not have the "Micro Groove" rifling. Micro groove works well with jacketed bullets but not so well with cast bullets. Marlin's resurrection of "Ballard Rifling" in their rifles was long overdue. JMHO ~Andrew

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I've been thinking over this subject for some time. I decided on the .444. It's not quite as powerful as the .45-70 or .450, but the trajectory is flatter. My mate went through the same a year or so ago and he went for the .444 too. All will give your shoulder and your target a good solid thump!

 

As far as guns are concerned I'd go for the marlin .444 (22"). You can get the stainless version but it's longer (24"). I feel a lever gun should be short and pointable, as no matter what the barrel length none of them are long range performers so there's no point getting a long one! If you go for the .450 or .45-70 you can get an 18" barrelled version and they look great, but then they're not available in the calibre I like.

 

Twist rates are slow in the old .444s. 1 in 38 if I remember correctly. The newer marlins are 1 in 20 and work much better with heavier bullets (and the hornady leverevolution bullets) so don't buy an old one! The winchester '94 is available in .444 too but it's got a slow twist rate like the older marlins.

 

I don't have the gun yet but I applied for the .444. My mate's thinking of selling his rifle soon and swapping it for a .30-06, so hopefully I can have that!

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Thanks for the good advice.

 

I am intending to use it for mainly targets up to 100 metres. Although I may use it for deer at some point. It appears that the 45/70 may be the best calibre, given that the new Hornady Leverevolution is available. Does anybody have experience of this bullet? Cost and supplier?

 

Cheers

 

Keep the right shoulder hammered!!

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If you're going to be reloading, I'd go with the 45-70. You can load it down to a 44 mag or up to full house loads. Plenty of info and data available. PLenty of forums to discuss or get ideas. What's not to like? The 45-70 is on my 'one day' list.

 

Thanks

Rick

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