Big Bore Lever Gun recommendations

Hello Wyo. I have some Marlins that have had some customizations by Wild West Guns in Alaska that I truely enjoy. The actions can't be compared to stock rifle. You said you didn't want the 45-70. There are a lot of ammo choices for that rifle today. I have one that WWG calls a .457 that shoots the 45-70 that has done a great job on anything I've shot with it.

Why is the .444 marlin still around?

Who still chambers for it(other than Marlin)? The .45/70 is pretty much all you need for just about any kind of big game shooting. Handloading will really give you some kind of performance that the factory pressures won't come close to.
The Leverevolution will give you extended range by a pretty wide margin over standard lever cartridges.
My only big bore is a legacy/puma 1892 in .45 colt
Short range, but really easy to carry, fun to shoot and terminal ballistics are pretty awesome.

Guide Gun 45/70. Just do it.

I really like the idea of the .444, but bullet selection is lacking..

and you probably have the opportunity to hunt some bigger game up there. I am sure I will get a .444 some day, but right now I have two .45/70's. It is kind of the .45 Colt of the rifle world. It can be loaded down easy as a pussy cat or throttled up to take anything on the planet.

I have seen some better bullets for the .444 lately, but still nothing like what is available for the .45/70. It also was born in the a great year along with the .45 Colt and Coors beer. That sealed the deal for me.

Good Luck and have fun with whatever you choose. Leverguns are a true joy to hunt with, so I am sure you will have great experience no matter what.

Matt

Guide Gun 45/70. Just do it.

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Repeat,over and out.And as said,lots of ammo selections ,all the way up to Garrett Hammerhead 415 grainers which will take out any living creature,not just in North America,but on the planet.
I have over 3 dozen rifles, but my Marlin 1895 Guide Gun in 45-70 is easily numero uno.

Guide Gun 45/70. Just do it.

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This is a rifle that I'm interested in. Marlin offers a blued and stainless version. Usually I like stainless but I think that the blued Guide Gun looks better. Anyone here have the stainless version and really like it?

Thanks.

I have a .444 Marlin Lever gun that I used for a guide gun/camp gun/pack gun when I lived up north. I love it, it's very fun to shoot. Good out to about a 100yds with the irons, very quick handling when in brush. The only animal I shot with it was a medium black bear, he was DRT.

Downsides, kicks harder then the 45/70's I've shot, ammo's kinda limited and expensive. I reload for it now. It's a good gun though.

From what I've seen, .45/70 is more readily available, more versatile, and cheaper.

Hard to argue with.

+1 on the Marlin Guide Gun. I've got the 1895 Cowboy which would be a little long for a saddle gun. My best friend has the Guide Gun in stainless and it's a very intimidating little gun. His has the ported barrel and when you load it with the heavy loads it's a thumper. I've never been able to shoot it as accurately as my "rifle" version but I think that's just because I'm a poor shot.

FWIW.

another vote for the 45-70. More bullet selection. Less expensive to shoot. Just as fun. You get to shoot a caliber that has some history on it.

Mark

The .444 Marlin will give a better trajectory. It too was available in the Guide Gun with a shorter barrel. In my own experience with the .444 Marlin, it drops game fast.

Doc2005

I've got a .444 Marlin Guide Gun and a .45-70. Love em both, but the cost of the ammo is daunting for the .444

I am slowly collecting brass and I expect to pick up some reloading dies for it soon; this will make it much less expensive to own and operate.

jw

Big Bore Lever Gun

Hey Wyocowboy,

A friend of mine has a Marlin 45/70 and totally loves it. Used it to hunt bear and deer and has been happy with performance.

Mr. T

Bullet selection for the 444 is not lacking(same slugs as 44 mag, lots of choices). Factory cartridges are lacking. If you handload, the sky's the limit with it.

I have a win 94 chambered in 444 mrlin. It's accurate and fast handling. I'm keeping it. Good caliber, even if it isn't mainstream.

If you handload go with the 444. I am also partial to the 375 Winchester. 45-70 is a nice gun also, and gained allot of popularity with the Guide Gun.

The .450 Marlin is the modern .45-70, get the guide gun in that if you really need that kind of power.

45/70 guide gun. Do yourself a favor. You can get all kinds of ammo for it.

Another vote for the .45-70

I have a guide gun in .45-70 and I love it. Since you won't be scoping it, I can recommend ghost ring sights from XS sights. They work very well and have improved my accuracy with the rifle.

As far as the caliber goes, the choice is really yours. I was in the same situation and I chose .45-70. I felt the .450 marlin couldn't really do anything over the .45-70 that I needed, and that ammunition availability with the .444 would cause me problems later. That is just my particular situation though, not yours. I also have other .45-70s and I also like the traditional aspect to it.

As far as the rifle itself, the guide gun is great. Even with a short barrel, it is still plenty accurate for me. Having said that, a friend has one with a 22" barrel, and I really like that one also. I am not that familiar with Wyoming, but I'll bet you could take some really long shots out there if you wanted to. Well, the longer barrel length might come in handy in that case.

Why not a good ole' 30-30. A good placed shot from a 30-30 is effective on about anything out to a 100-125 yards. I myself can't see good enough to shoot past 100 yards open sights and the 30-30 doesn't kick the piss out of you when you pull the trigger. I actually do carry one as my saddle gun. I have a Winchester mod. 94 and a Stevens 325B. Both are great saddle guns. I know it's not a "Big Bore" but it will do the job nicely.

Marlin Guide Gun works for me...45-70.

Use rings similar to the Warne Quick Detachables as pictured on mine and you can go from scopeless to scoped in seconds and everything stays zeroed in.

Very limited experience here--

But a few years ago I had a rare collision of opportunity, desire, and temporarily fat checking account. I got a Wild West Guns Co-Pilot.

The take-down feature is neato, and for most people completely unnecessary. The caliber I chose is .457 Alaskan (350 gr at 2200 fps), so it'll take .45-70 as well.

It may offer very little more than the 45-70 Marlin guide gun it's based on, except I can't stop smiling every time I take it out to shoot or to show off. Has a permanent place in my truck.

I have 2 Marlin 1895s in .450 Marlin. The first is an M, the 18.5" ported Guide Gun, and the other is the 22" pistol-gripped MR. Of the 2, the MR is the softer shooting.
As for the 444, I've never shot one. A couple of years ago, a buddy filmed his Dad's bear hunt. The Dad was using a 22" 444. The black bear (a BIG one) stood up and the Dad drilled him in the white chevron on the bear's chest. The bear said "Oof!" and fell over backward. Said something remarkably like "Mama", and died right there. Factory ammo, 25 yards. Pretty impressive.
My reccomendation would be either the 45-70 or the .450 Marlin, but the 444 will certainly get the job done as well.

I went with an 1895G when I was looking for my big bore lever and have never regretted it. However, I've had some range-share time with the .444 and it's a quality big bore Marlin rifle.

I know when I'm horseback I prefer the 18.5" barreled guide gun, if you're interested in the .444 and want to get under the 22" barrel look for an Outfitter model, the .444 'guide gun'. They may cost you a few pennies, though.

I'm not a big fan of the Hornady gunny-tip ammo on heavy game. Too many reports of bullet blowups on heavy bones. The .444 is a real winner with 270g bullets, this would be a great round to handload for, much like the 45-70.