Opinions on the 444 Marlin in Single Shot Pistol

Do any of y'all have a single shot pistol in 444 Marlin?

I am looking at getting my 44 mag Single shot re-chambered by Mike Belllm into 444 Marlin. He says that when complete it will be extremely accurate.

What are y'alls thoughts?

Hold on tight ;-)

My brother has one by ssk with magna ports. I find it accurate but it torques in the hand more than my 45-70 or 358 jdj.I would invest in a good brake for it [not magna port] to make it more user friendly.240 gr bullets are not bad,300 gr start to get interesting.

I plan on getting Bellm to do the re-chambering and porting. From what I have read his porting makes a noticeable difference in the bigger calibers.

I had a 444 Marlin once, for a very short period of time. Resembled the recoil of a my .460 wheel gun firing 390 gr. Corbons. Might be as bad as the 45/70 I once had for a short period of time as well...

I shot a 444 marlin once. Never again.
"A man need to know his limitions"

Rubber grips, heavy forend and a very good muzzle break would make for some fun shooting. I expect it would be a little lighter then +p 45-70 loads at max loads. Do reduced loads accurately in the 444 Marlin? What platform is it in?

CVA Scout V2 Pistol with fluted bull barrel. Currently in 44mag. 14" barrel. The gun is almost 5 lbs and in its current caliber is like shooting a 9mm almost no recoil.

I picked up a used 44 Mag S-14 Hunter barrel that was rechambered by Bellm to 444 Marlin back in December. I finally got around to doing some load work for it, and it will definitely shoot. I'm using Hornady 300gr XTP's seated to the bottom groove because the throat is a bit lengthy. Remington brass, Winchester large rifle primers, and AA5744 powder. I had read that 1900 fps was possible with the 300 grain bullets, but I really did need that much performance since I already have a 45/70, and 405 Win barrel, I was just looking for something between my 44 Mag and those other two. Best loads to date are 32.0 grains for 1489 fps, and 35.0 grains for 1625 fps. Both loads group under .750 inch for five shots at 50 yards. Recoil is almost pleasant with the T/C Hunter brake. I shot 45 rounds off the bench in preparing this series of loads and they didn't bother me one bit. I performed an expansion test at 100 yards and the bullet went completely through 3 one gallon jugs filled with water and expanded to .680 inch with a retained weight of 280 grains. I figure this is more than adequate for the deer and hogs I will be shooting around here.

x2, LOL

I have BFR in 444 it is extremely accurate in that platform. It really likes 270 WFN GC cast bullets loaded to 1900 FPS. But even with the heft of that gun with 10" BBL it kicks hard. Had one many years ago rechambered in a Contender it used break the grip screw after 15-20 shots...... I really
Iike the BFR chambered in it but I will not ever go Encore or Contender in that caliber.

Great info Mech 8. This is exactly what I am thinking about doing but with my CVA. I love the 444 it is all i have hunted with in rifle for many years now. I think I will go ahead and go with Bellm on getting this done for me.

How do you like the work from Bellm?

This barrel is the only example I have of Bellm's work, and was only a rechamber job. I would say it is very good just do to the accuracy I'm getting. I was considering sending him a 44 mag barrel to rechamber to 445 Super Mag, but I stumbled on to this one that was already done and at a fair price. With Starline making 444 Marlin brass now, I think that more people will be willing to explore this option.

Mike Belm does great work. He has helped me with a couple of rifles including a custom wildcat camber in .222 Rem Mag AI. If he says it works, it works.

I used to have a" lone eagle " in .444 what a conversation starter that thing was , it was very accurate, not very fun to shoot the recoil was interesting to say the least , but I did carry it for a few days during deer season unfortunately / fortunately I never got a shot with it , it was the loudest gun I have ever shot ,