i've heard one guy say he shot a 44 mag out of his 444 marlin. is this even safe, considering there is 1" of free play for the bullet? if it is safe, i'm sure there would be no accuracy at all.

I don't see it as unsafe,but why? I can't fathom thier being decent accuracy

I wouldn't do it. I've played quite a bit with both the 444 Marlin and 44mag and the case dimensions are pretty different. Case head diameter and rim thickness are both greater on the Marlin. If you didn't have headspace problems, I bet the 44 mag case would split the full length.

i heard the case dimensions are the same besides the extra inch on the .444 marlin.

The only difference I can see is the Marlin rim is .003" thicker then the .44 mag. which would mean a little more headspace, but not enough to worry about with the pressure. Well within manufacturing tolerances. I see no harm in shooting them but accuracy might be real bad. The boolit has no support in the large chamber until it slams into the throat.

I belive the accuracy wouldn't be any good. I tried 357mags out of my 357 max they wouldn't shoot worth a darn. I belive one would have the same trouble using 44 mags in a 444.

quote:

The only difference I can see is the Marlin rim is .003" thicker then the .44 mag.

We must be looking at different drawings. The base of the 444 Marlin just ahead of the rim measures .471, the 44 magnum is .457 diameter.

Dimensions on that end of the case are a better match to the 45 Colt, it is just longer and tapered. That said, you would have a loose fit and the bullet would not likely be pointing perfectly straight. I don't see how it could be in any way good for the chamber.

If you want reduced loads, you may look at some techniques used by BP shooters for doing nitro for black or powders used for trapdoor loads in 45-70. 5477 should be pretty dummy-proof.

44-40 would actually fit the chamber better but it is still short and the bullet can still bounce around in there. If this is a last-ditch survivor issue, I think I would shoot the .44 mag in whatever it came with instead of trying to put it in your .444. I have heard that it will function but I don’t know what it can hit.

You are correct. I looked in all of my books and not a one of them shows the base diameter for the .44, so I measured one of mine and it is indeed .457. My books show the .444 as .470.
Why they didn't include the measurement for the .44 is beyond me.
When I got my 6.5X55, there was no brass to be had. I learned they could be formed from 30-06 cases so I made a bunch. The base of the 06 is smaller then the 6.5. They worked fine but got a funny bulge above the web.
The .44 in the larger chamber would lose pressure and blow gas past the bullet besides because there is no throat to enter at the end of the case. so I don't think it would be too dangerous. The only thing I would worry about would be chamber erosion and the chance of a bullet stopping momentarily at the throat and setting up a secondary explosive effect. Not something to keep doing, but one shot would probably not hurt anything.

If one is using a factory .44 Mag barrel and it has been re-chambered to .444 Marlin cartridge
by a reputable gunsmith, the T/C ramping system will have been cut away going into the bore from the chamber. There now is no ramp to guide the bullet so we have a semi abrupt area for the bullet to hit before it goes down the throat into the bore. Unsafe? Cases different in size, unsafe? Case swell .020 greater than normal, unsafe?

Have hunted with this setup for years. I must admit the thought crossed my mind to do what is asked about here. Doing the fact sheet comparison I have thus far avoided using .44's.

Neal