Just out of curiosity what would be wrong with a 330 -335 gr hard cast bullet in that 444 Marlin for that big bear? Say pushed at maybe 1600 or so?
Do you not think it would lay one in the shade if you do your part?
One of the beauties of the Encore in 45/70 is one can push bullets as heavy as 550 gr to around 1500 or 300 gr bullets to slightly over 2000 if you find the right powder.
Of course if you have an aversion to cast bullets that may be why you wouldn't want to use one.
On Garretts site there is much game taken with cast bullets from 45/70"s and 44 Mags using cast.
Just wondering why.