• 444 Marlin
• Specialized serial number
• 8 1 capacity tubular magazine
• Skinner ladder sights
• C-Grade American black walnut pistol-grip stock
• 24″ half-octagon/half-round barrel
• 40 1/2″ long
• 13 3/8″ length of pull
• 7 lbs. approximate weight

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. SAAMI has rated this cartridge at 44,000 CUP.⁶ It functions efficiently when used with cast lead bullets. Hand-cast bullets allow 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 molds available for the hand-caster: the SAEC No. 433 mold, which casts a 300-grain (19 g) gas-checked bullet, and 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.

The best cast bullet accuracy in the .444 Marlin is attained when utilizing bullets sized to .432 in diameter, both in the older “micro-grooved” and the newer “Ballard” style barrels. This bullet diameter is dictated more by the large diameter of chamber throats than by groove diameter of the barrel. A projectile closely fitting the throat dimensions greatly enhances the cast bullet performance of this cartridge. Those writers and publications citing the inability of the .444 Marlin’s micro-groove barrel to accurately shoot cast bullets driven over 1,600 ft/s (490 m/s) are simply in error, in that those results were largely obtained using .429 and .430 in diameter cast bullets. Full factory velocity handloads when assembled using hard-cast, gas-checked bullets of .432 in diameter rival accuracy of any jacketed ammunition for this cartridge