H & R 444

[Kealhofer]

Everything I have looked at looks like the 444 is better in every category.
Am I looking at something wrong?

[ECHO1]

No, you are looking at it right. I also did my homework before i bought one.

[PCI]

Look in the Dec. issue of LA Sportsman, Simmons has the wood 444 for $199 & Chag's in Metairie has wood 45-70 for $209.

[duramax]

No I meant that the original ones were produced as a .44 magnum. They then reamed/bored them out to a .444 marlin. These shot fine. The new ones that are coming off of the assembly line are being originally produced as a .444 marlin and many people are reporting that they are not shooting well at all.

???

A .44 mag shoots the same size bullet as a .444 marlin. Simply rechambering a .44 mag barrel to .444 marlin wouldn't change anything. Twist rate wouldn't matter with a gun like that, nor is the pressure in a .444 so great that you would have to worry about anything. Rechambering isn't bad either. I know a lot of people that get their guns rechambered. I have a .444 marlin NEF and I am hand loading pistol bullets meant for a .44 pistol (200 xtp's). You can shoot a .429 diameter - .430 diam bullets in a .44 or a .444. A .44 cal gun, like a .38, aren't true .44 calibers. A .44 actually has a .43 diameter bore, as does a .38 have a .357 diameter bore. I guess a .43 magnum didn't have the same ring that a .44 mag did when they created the cartridge.

I'm not sure where you heard that, and why it would matter if it were true.