Big bore Marlins

[Redthies]

Red, I've also owned both 45-70 and 444 JM Marlins. never owned a Remlin, but I know several local shooters who bought late edition Remlins and love them. No problems at all. There really shouldn't be, anyway, because the 336/1895 action is pretty fool proof.

I loved the 444 Marlin as a shooting round. Much flatter trajectory than the 45-70, for instance. Unfortunately, if you're shooting factory ammo, only, finding 444 factory ammo is going to take more tine and money than it's worth if you plan to do any amount of shooting at all. You'll actually spend more time hunting ammo than actually shooting it. The T4 isn't dead, yet, but it's getting there. Real shame, but that's the reality.

By contrast, I can walk into any local store that sells ammo and find 45-70. It's almost all the 300-350 grain hunting loads, because it's a popular cartridge in our area. If I want to find some of the more traditional 405 grain loads or cowboy loads for my Ruger No. 3, I have to order online.

As always, you are a wealth of info! Thank you! I used to reload, but since I stopped being an employee 20 years ago, I’ve had no time. I’m leaning towards the .45-70 and will likely have it cut down to 20” as I have zero use for a 26” octagon barrel. I don’t have a gun bearer on my hunts, so I would have to lug the extra 2 pounds of barrel around myself

I’m going to chat with my smith/shop owner about which of the two if either, would be easy to sell before any cuts are made, but either one will be more valuable than a Ruger American…

[Redthies]

Red the two I have are quite different. The first one is a '87 year model with a 22" micro-groove barrel.
The second one I picked up is the P model, and yes to NCG it is ported and has the ballard rifling.
RP

I’m glad you’re along on both here and Marlin Owners to keep me straight!

[Vaquero]

You're welcome buddy, I will try and help as much as possible.
Do you know the years of manufacturing of either?
Like you already know the later years of the Rem. made ones were pretty good.
The friend that cut my 35 had a Remlin 444 that he had chopped down to 19" and it shot quite well.
He also cut down a remlin 308 mx, but I don't remember what length that was.
And he left us a couple years back.

RP

[BigAl52]

Red can you order ammo online and have it shipped to you?

[Redthies]

I’m not sure on year of the .444 but it is a JM. The Remlin is a late 2017, so they had their act together at that point. My “EDC” 336 BL is a 2020 Remlin, and the only issue it has is a 1* cant in the rear dovetail. But I have it scoped, and put a Skinner LoPro in the rear, so it’s hard to tell it’s canted looking through a ghost ring! I disassembled the 336 before I ever put a round through it and used some 800 grit and gun oil and polished all the moving bits. It is now, dare I say, as slick as my Henrys. It shoots exceptionally well for a lever, and fit and finish are top notch. It is an excellent gun.

That’s the long form of “I’m not afraid of a late Remlin”. In my area, SBLs and GBLs are flying off the shelves, so I doubt I’d lower the value much, if any by having the CB professionally shortened to 20” (if that is the legal limit). If I can go shorter, I’d take it down to 18.5” like the JM CBs that Cabellas sold were. I’ll get an answer on that tomorrow.




Al, I can get ammo shipped, but there is only one courier that will ship ammo in Canada and they charge $100 per order, so you end up paying an absolutely obscene amount. I have a couple of friends in the USA that I can get to buy for me, but no USA based sellers will ship to me due to my billing address on my Visa being in Canada, even though I have a warehouse in the US. The other issue is, taking live ammo out of the USA is an ITAR violation and subject to a $1 million dollar fine. Makes Canadian UPS look like saints

[Redthies]

I talked to a couple of people locally today who have extensive lever knowledge (both have 200 plus levers in their collection, one bought his current ranch of 150 acres from selling part of his collection) and both have said in our area, the .45-70 will be worth 30% more and sell 5x faster if I decide to not keep it. They both said there is little to no market for .444s here. It seems like I have had my thoughts confirmed.

If any of you want a nice .444, I’ll put you in touch with the seller!

[Redthies]

So the guy I was going to trade with messages me after going silent for a few days. “Sorry, I have to decline the deal we made, my water heater blew, and I need cash”. Less than a week later he posts a different 7-08 for sale that he “took in a trade”. What a Richard…

[North Country Gal]

Sounds fishy to me. Given the popularity of the 45-70, though, doubt you'll have to search long to find another one. Best of luck.

[Vaquero]

Sorry to read that Red, shouldn't be hard to find another if really want one.

RP

[BigAl52]

Sad people do this. But nothing seems to amaze me anymore. After reading all these posts here Red makes me wanna search out a 444. I need one like I need another hole in my head