Can .44mag cartridges be fired from a .444 Marlin rifle?

Question

I know that the barrel diameter of 44mag and the 444 Marlin are the same.

Since they are both straight-walled cases, can the 44mag then be fired from a rifle chambered for the 444 Marlin? Will the case bases match as well?

I'm an NRA 3-position target shooter and I have won only about twelve 1st place medals there as well as pistol competitions. So I'm highly qualified to shoot a gun.

A 454 Casull will shoot from a 460SW, as will a 45 Colt because their diameters match. But they also have a forcing cone I know.

A 44 special will shoot in a 44mag. Why won't a 44 mag shoot in a .444? Is it the forcing cone? It may not work, but for me to believe any of you actually know what you are talking about, you're going to have to explain yourselves better.

I only made the NRA statement because a guy posted and said that I should not even be shooting guns. But he quickly deleted his post after I added my details.

The reason I pondered this is because I am buying a 444 Marlin, (I don't own a .44mag), and just wondered what the possibility of this was since I assumed the 444 was straight instead of having the slight taper in which it does. I just thought that it would be an advantage to shoot cheaper pistol ammo for plinking, but it looks like this is not going to be the case.

50BMG brass can be fireformed to open the mouth for custom 12ga 3-3/4 cases with rim cut off and re-threaded on, but it is annealed once inbetween and is strong brass. But it does stretch far. Pistol brass would probably split in the rear if this was tried.

Answer 1

NO! You will damage the throat of the rifle.

Answer 2

Marlin 444

Answer 3

Considering the fact that SAAMI specs rate the .444 Marlin at 44,000 cup and the .44 RemMag at 36,000 cup, I don't see a problem.

Early .444 Marlin ammo was loaded with the same bullet used in the .44 RemMag.

Accuracy will probably suck stumpwater, but there won't be a problem. Just remember to clean the chamber well to prevent a build-up of powder fouling that might cause chambering problems for your .444 Marlin cartridges.

I just looked at my Speer Reloading manual, and it looks like the ,444 Marlin's case is slightly larger than the .44 RemMag so you might have a brass failure. It probably won't hurt the gun, but you might end up with a face full of hot powder gas.

Doc

Answer 4

444 Marlin

Answer 5

Can .44 Mag. cartridges be fired from a .444 Marlin rifle? Yes they can. Is it recommended? No, the caliber is not listed as: .444 Marlin/.44 Magnum. It is listed as: .444 Marlin.

Difference: The .444 Marlin is nearly an inch longer than the .44 Mag. which mean .44 Magnums will probably not feed right and the inch jump to the rifling will probably destroy any accuracy you could hope to have shooting the shorter rounds.

Best.

H

Answer 6

It looks like it would be possible, but it's not a wise idea. The .44 brass will have to expand to fill out the difference in chamber size, and the rim is slightly smaller and thinner, so it might not extract. It will also rapidly erode the chamber and throat of your rifle pretty bad. The .02" gap between the bullet and the chamber may let enough gas escape or allow the bullet to turn enough to cause a loss of velocity that may cause the bullet to get stuck in the barrel, and that would certainly cause a very serious malfunction.

Also, since the .444 Marlin was not originally designed to fire .44 Magnum rounds, there is no forcing cone, only a steep shoulder where the case should contact, and the bullet should seat in the throat slightly. That is where you run the highest risk of the bullet not being able to pass through and rupturing your barrel.

Answer 7

Even if it does fit the chamber and if it could seal upon firing I would be concerned by the long jump to the riflings. There would be a heck of a lot of free-bore, and at a minimum accuracy will be poor, worst case it could damage something. I would also be concerned about leaving a ring in the chamber from shooting the shorter .44 mag cartridges in the 444, it could etch your chamber. If it does, your 444 casings would want to stick in the chamber and will extract with difficultly.

Answer 8

The .444 Marlin isn't a straight walled case. It's a straight tapered case. You being an award winning NRA shooter, you threw that in as a red herring, right? ;)

The .44 mag will chamber in the .444 Marlin, but the case will be totally unsupported at the moment of firing which will almost certainly split every case you fire.

You'll get chamber erosion from the escaping gases, bolt face erosion, chamber leading, throat erosion, bad accuracy due to the inch jump to the rifling etc etc etc.

In my opinion, it's something I would only try if the axe-wielding maniac was busting down the door and I had one bullet and one rifle.

The .460 S&W is a stretched .454 Casull, which is a stretched .45 LC in essence....but the .444 Marlin *isn't* a stretched .44 mag.

Answer 9

cant see any reason you would want to other than couriosity. but wear glasses if you do it. as some of the others said the 444 is a straight taper case .470 dia. at the case head versus 457 for the 44 mag so you will get some gas leakage before the case expands enough to seal, it may split with that much expansion. it wont damage the gun other than getting it dirty with powder gasses kind of like when you fire a 270 in a 30-06.

Answer 10

The neck diameter for the .444 Marlin is .453", the .44 Remington Magnum neck diameter is .457 (a small, but telling difference). The base diameter of the .444 Marlin is .4706" while the .44 Remington Magnum is .457" (that's a .0136" diameter difference, and that's big). Can you do it? Probably. Would it be safe? Doubtfully. Will you damage your rife? Likely. Will you have extraction problems? Inevitably.

Answer 11

I'd not recommend it, 444 is a longer cartridge you'd tear up the shoulder of the chamber. it may seem like the difference is miniscule, but in terms of chamber pressure, i'd not ruin of $300-1000 rifle to test a inane hypothesis.