.444 Marlin

.444 Marlin
.444 Marlin (center) with .308 Win (left) and .45-70 (right).
Type	Rifle
Place of origin	United States
Production history
Designer	Marlin, Remington Arms
Designed	1964
Manufacturer	Remington
Specifications
Bullet diameter	.429 in (10.9 mm)
Neck diameter	.4530 in (11.51 mm)
Base diameter	.4706 in (11.95 mm)
Rim diameter	.5140 in (13.06 mm)
Rim thickness	.0630 in (1.60 mm)
Case length	2.250 in (57.2 mm)
Overall length	2.55 in (65 mm)
Rifling twist	1-38" (Microgroove) or 1-20" (Ballard cut)
Primer type	large rifle
Ballistic performance
Bullet mass/type Velocity Energy 240 gr (16 g) SP 2,350 ft/s (720 m/s) 2,942 ft·lbf (3,989 J) 265 gr (17 g) FP 2,200 ft/s (670 m/s) 2,849 ft·lbf (3,863 J) 300 gr (19 g) HP 2,000 ft/s (610 m/s) 2,665 ft·lbf (3,613 J)
Test barrel length: 24 in Source(s): Hornady / Remington

The .444 Marlin is a rifle cartridge designed in 1964 by Marlin Firearms and Remington Arms. It was designed to fill in a gap left by the older .45-70 when that cartridge was not available in any new lever action rifles; at the time it was the largest lever-action cartridge available. The .444 resembles a lengthened .44 Magnum and provides a significant increase in velocity. It is usually used in the Marlin 444 lever-action Rifle.

In the mid-1960s the .45-70 had all but disappeared from the American marketplace. There was no big-bore cartridge available in a lever-action rifle in current production, so Marlin decided to create a new cartridge to fill this empty niche. They created what is essentially an elongated version of the .44 Magnum by making it nearly an inch longer to give it power similar to the .45-70. The case Marlin created is very similar to a rimmed .303 British trimmed and necked-up to work with .429 bullets.

Hunters initially had some troubles because the .444 was frequently hand-loaded using existing .429 bullets that were designed for use at handgun velocities. Remington has stated in letter and email, when asked, that their 240gr .444 bullet was not the same as a .44 magnum handgun bullet. Nevertheless, the rifle did gain in popularity as more suitable bullets were designed for its higher velocity.

In 1972 Marlin re-introduced the .45-70 to their lever-action line, expanding their big-bore offerings. Sales of the .444 are now overshadowed by .45-70 cartridge which has enjoyed a resurgence in popularity due to interest in cowboy action shooting. This quick action and powerful stopping power has been shown to be an efficient and useful hunting rifle for those who are experienced shooters.

The .444 Marlin can push a 240-grain (16 g) bullet at velocities over 2,400 ft/s (730 m/s) generating 3,070 ft·lbf (4,160 J) of energy making it well suited for all North American large game.SAAMI has rated this cartridge at 44,000 CUP. It functions efficiently when used with cast lead bullets. Hand-cast bullets allows the shooter to optimize the alloy for strength and expansion at the higher velocities generated by the Marlin over the traditional .44 caliber bullets. There are several commercial moulds available for the hand-caster: The SAEC #433 mould which casts a 300-grain (19 g) gas-checked bullet, the Lyman 429640 at 280 grains (18 g) are two of the more potent bullets for this caliber. Proper cartridge length is maintained by seating the bullet to the correct depth and using a crimp die to put a firm crimp on the seated bullet to prevent slippage in the magazine tube.