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I have been offered a chance to pick up a nice Marlin .444 rifle. However, I am concerned about the recoil- I know my 336 chambered in .30-30 has a pretty hefty wallop. Anyone here own one or shoot one?

flynbenny wrote:... I am concerned about the recoil- I know my 336 chambered in .30-30 has a pretty hefty wallop....

In that case, there's a good chance that you won't like shooting the .444 much at all. The rifle is essentially the same weight as your 336, and the .444 starts off with roughly 50% more muzzle energy than the .30-30. The recoil calculator at http://www.handloads.com/calc/recoil.asp claims that the .444 will produce about double the recoil energy (21+ foot-pounds) as the .30-30 (10+ foot-pounds) for two sort of generic loads. For that calculation, I used:

For the .444: Bullet weight = 240 grains; powder weight = 45 grains; muzzle velocity = 2350 fps; rifle weight = 8.0 pounds
For the .30-30: Bullet weight = 150 grains; powder weight = 35 grains; muzzle velocity = 2300 fps; rifle weight = 7.0 pounds

The rifle weights were taken from the Marlin web site, adding an allowance for a scope. You didn't say whether this was the 22-inch barrel model or the "444P" with an 18.5-inch ported barrel. If it's the latter, the recoil will be a little more (it's a little lighter than the 22-inch model) and the noise will be a lot more (and even the 22-inch model is a whole lot louder than your .30-30).

The right thing to do, of course, is to try to borrow it for a range trip to see how you like it.

Thanks, I talked to some people I know last night, one of them has owned a 444 and said it kicks like a mule on steriods. I've decided not to purchase it. My search for a Marlin in .44 Mag renews...

Owned one, shot one, broke the stock on the third shot ( Marlin did a great job on the warranty repair ) , but the recoil is rough. If you can deal with it, it's a great gun, but I downgraded to a .30.30.

I have, and love a Marlin Model 444S (22" barrel, 7.5 lbs) I find that it actually kicks less than my father's 1894 in 44 Mag because the 44 mag has a plastic buttplate and no recoil pad. I put the felt recoil of my 444 at or just below a 300 WM using Buffalo Bore ammo.

Just FYI, my own calculations from a pulled cartridge:
300GR SP (297 grs. measured)
46 grains powder
Claimed MV of 2150

Recoil Velocity-16.4 FPS
Recoil Energy-31.4 foot-pounds
( using http://www.huntamerica.com/recoil_calculator/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; )

I'm 5'10" and 170 lbs BTW

I have a marlin 1894 .44 and it can hurt quite a bit with magnums. specials are nice & easy though.

Thanks for the input. I just purchased a 1894 44 Mag. Does anyone know whether it will cycle 44 spl?