44 Mag in Marlin 444?
I just read a seller's description on Gun Broker regarding a Marlin 444 for auction. The seller states that the rifle will shoot 44 mag cartridges as well as 444. Is this so or is the seller wrong? If so, what would be the reason or advantage of using 44 instead of 444 rounds? Thanks
A Dane
A Dane
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If you could it would be f'in fantastic excuse my French, however I don't believe you can.
The reason it would be good is 444 rounds cost right now a buck each during hunting season they will go to up 2dollars+ a round and be hard to find or at least thats how its been the past few years in Minnesota.
Where as 44 magnum rounds are like 30 cents each or cheaper for the most part.
edit: also the .444 round is pretty large for deer "its the smallest animal you can take with the .444" its made for killing moose, so using a .44mag instead would leave more meat possibly, or something.. also theres like only 2 manufacturers for .444 rounds and like xxx many for 44 mag rounds so you have a lot more choices in .44mag in what type round you want to use.0 -
I think in a survival situation you could probably do it, but I sure wouldn't want to. I read my owners manual completely and I don't recall any mention of interchangeability... 0 -
the 44mag and the 444 both share the same bullet size and also the same case head size the only real difference is the case of the 444 is about 1 inch longer than a 44mag case , which let mfg. put in more powder so you get more speed , could you shoot a 44mag in a 444 ,I WOULD Guess you could as a single shot because I really don't think the shorter 44mag would feed right in a 444 gun , like bambihunter says in a survival situation , most likey , but not as a sub. for the higher priced 444 shells [:(] 0 -
Now you've got ME curious. Why in a survival situation only? If the math works and shows that they are identical, ( and I'm not saying they are), then why not? people do similar things all the time...38 spec. in .357 mag, 44 spec. in 44 mag, 45 acp in 45 long colt with moon clips. Just fooling around the other day I put a .45 Long Colt in a .410 shotgun and everything looked as if it should work, I didn't touch it off! Please don't get me wrong I am not advocating that some one do this with a .410 or a .444 just wondering why would it not work? Conversation and speculation only please do not misinterpret this post as a go ahead on any of the previously mentioned ammunition mixing![^] 0 -
To build one Henry's comment above ... accuracy should be degraded because the bullet has approx. an inch of chamber to jump before encountering the lands. Similar situation to what is found in the T/C Contenders chambered for 45lc/410 -vs- same barrel chambered for 45lc only, and the latter have the better groupings.
How many rounds would it take to damage the chamber, that's way beyond my abilities to estimate, but at some point the chamber should get seriously fouled and require a fair amount of cleaning work to get 444's to chamber.
If you only have time to do two things so-so, or one thing well ... do the one thing!0 -
In a survival situation you would most likely only be expending a few rounds at most. In that situation I would use anything that would fit the chamber, be of equal or slightly smaller bullet diameter, and go bang. But in the case we are talking about, substituting to save a little money--no I would not. Think of it this way, the first thing to degrade in the rifle is the lead area in front of the bullet. This is from some friction wear but mostly from gas cutting as the still burning gases hit the rear rifling area. This gas cutting is very similiar to a short shot from a blow torch as the gas burns and the bullet is expelled from the case. When you shoot qa much smaller round (.44 mag. instead of a .444) you are bringing this gas cutting as well as carbon and copper fouling right back into the chamber; the last place you want it. The question you have to ask and answer is --do I want to take a chance on ruining a prefectly good chamber to save a few dollars. New barrels are expensive these days also. My advice is don't do it--but again its your rifle. 0
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