444XLR - problems sorted out?

[shilo]

A few months ago I was hearing alot about 444XLR with shallow rifling. I heard this was due to diffenent hardness levels in Marlin barrels. I was thinking about buying one, but then decided to hold off until this problem was resolved. Does anyone know if Marlin has gotten this worked out? Was there a certain serial range that was affected? The guns coming out now, are they OK?

[VerySavage]

[size=18px]I don't know much of the supposed troubles some reported with thier XLR's, I bought my .444 XLR last October and found it to be very accurate & fun to shoot. It took only 5 shots to adjust "0" on my Burris scope, the 6th shot fired from my XLR dropped my Moose @ 175 yards & the 7th shot fired from my XLR dropped my Whitetail @ 200 yards. I figure with the amount of meat I have in the freezer from those last two shots that my XLR has already earned its keep, from that point forward all the rest of its time in my hands is a bonus I plan to enjoy. I am fairly sure my XLR will outlive me. IMHO my Marlin .444 XLR is a great rifle!
--Ken[/size]

[RJD]

I hunt in Florida and Georgia.So far i've been happy with my .35 rem. But,I'm thinking of buying a new levergun.I just need to make a choice between the new Marlin .308 express or .444 xlr. Whats your vote ?

[CouchTater]

Hey 6pt, and others, is that Hornady 265 grainer soft enough for whitetail? I had the impression it was a fairly tough bullet intended for elk/moose.

p.s. that 2nd photo is excellent. Nothing like a nice autumn day in the hardwoods.

[WyoStillhunter]

Couch Tater,

I think the 265 gr. Hdy. will work just fine on WT.

hit a 5X5 mule deer at about 65 yards with that bullet in the factory Light Magnum ammo. The bullet went in high, just behind the shoulder blade on the left side, angling forward and down as I was above the deer on a steep mountainside.

The bullet was recovered from just under the skin at the point of the shoulder on the left side after going through the backbone. Needless to say, the deer dropped right in his shadow.

I was a little surprised that the bullet did not exit at that short range but it held together well despite shattering the backbone and did the job.

I would not hesitate to use the same ammo on mule deer, antelope, or the whitetails in my home state of Missouri.

[Gunjunkie]

I hunt in Florida and Georgia.So far i've been happy with my .35 rem. But,I'm thinking of buying a new levergun.I just need to make a choice between the new Marlin .308 express or .444 xlr. Whats your vote ?

This is easy to answer.. One of each :lol: