the 444 should work great for deer in Ohio let us know how it works for you

 

thats great!!!

 

That's great! But the 444 isn't a black powder or pistol cartridge. Must be somebody sponsoring that bill is a marlin lover!

 

I like the way you think! If I was up there hunting them cornfed bruisers I would want to carry the most powerful rifle I could stand to shoot. I would have nightmares about carrying a 357 magnum rifle and a 275 lb B &C buck stepped out somewhere North of 150 yards!

 

Largest Ohio whitetail I have shot in the past 34 years of hunting weighed 249 lbs........ field dressed.

yep....249 pounds.

big 11 pointer that took me, two buddies, and a bobcat to get out of the woods.

1989

My 375 winnie is trembling now at the thought of being able to shoot whitetails.

 

My 444 is my go to gun. I do most of my hunting with it. It has never let me down in any type of timber.
Best of luck to you.

Enjoy the Journey
444GS2

 

The current regs for pistol use, states "straight walled cartridges, of 38 caliber or larger". I actually picked up a 14" ssk contender barrel TWO days before I saw this posted on Facebook. Almost wish I hadn't bought it now, but it'll still make a fun toy!

 

We should find out April 10th if it passes.

I've been slug hunting in ohio for 30 years. I have hundreds if not thousands wrapped up into developing a setup that can equal a 50 cal muzzleloader. I have killed dozens and dozens of deer with slugs out to 150 yards. The finicky slug gun, the cost of ammo, the recoil.

I won't miss any of it.

 

Same here..and about the time I have my slug and smokeless MZ groups perfected to 4" groups@ 200yds..they go and make it easy for everyone else...go figure

Anyways, better get your 444 before it passes and all the "wait and see" guys start fighting over the few being sold. Then again Remington is supposed to resume production in May/June. I'm sure most will just go with 45-70 simply because it's easier to get your hands on and ammo availability.

 

I'm going to be patient. I can always get. .444 single shot. I only hunt 1.5 days a year in ohio as it is, so if I have to wait another year I will. By the time our gun season rolls around I have had my fill in WV.

 

The 444 is great for deer. Good luck.

 

I decided to go ahead and get one now, because I've always really wanted one regardless if it passes or not. I sold the only rifle I had(Ruger 77/30.06) to buy a shotgun with slug barrel for deer here in OH back in the day. I lived in Colorado awhile and did a lot of Elk hunting with the Ruger, but always wanted a 444 like my boss had. Longest shots we ever had were in the 150-200 range and that 444 put them down just as well on the longer shots, but was waaay better inside of 100 than my bolt gun. He had Bushnell 4x scope. I never could see myself ever taking a shot on any game beyond 200 yards anyways even though probably could make the shot. I like to have a setup that works well everywhere inside that 200 yard limit for quick shots and I think the 444 will be all that and a bag of chips for me.

 

It will be the best of the options if the proposal passes for sure.

 

I agree that the 444 is the best option from the proposed calibers, though a good case can be made for the 45-70 also. With a 265 grain flat nose at 2200 fps and a 150 yard zero the 444 is only 2 inches high at 100 and about 5 1/2 inches low at 200. I've got a 2 x 7 Leupold on mine and it's no problem banging the steel plates (10" I think) at the 200 yard berm. Two hundred yards is a pretty long shot where I do most of my hunting, but it will be nice knowing I could take the shot if it presents itself. I wouldn't even consider it with my slug gun.

 

it sounds like another situation were non hunting AH's drum up and try to pass laws affecting the hunter,shooter and sportsman-the REAL people in the know! Take it from me,I see in in my own state (of confusion) NY. Our Govenor (ANDREW KOOOMOE) should start off with his next anti ownership,shooting and hunting mandate of firearms with. "LAST WEEK I COULDN'T SPELL HUNTER OR SPORTSMAN,KNOW I ARE ONE !!!!

 

Mike,

I agree with what you say about the order of choices. .444 will be the best if you can find a gun and ammo, at least on paper. I think unless someone is willing to be patient most Ohioans wanting to make some sort of switch to a lever gun will have to go to 45-70 due to availability.

Looking at the stats I would have no problem using the 45-70 to 200 yards. The 444 gets you another 50-75 yds without too much expert shooting abilities.

I have several places I hunt that I can take advantage of 250 yard range so if this passes I will have to balance patience vs availability. I am kicki around another barrel for my handi rifle instead to get into the .444 cheap and easy but I bet it will kick pretty good and I haven't had much luck with accuracy with my other barrels.

 

Despite what most say, the fit,recoil, heavy trigger and design of these singles make 200 yard accuracy tough from a benchrest let alone 250 in the field on game

 

Darn.... I will have to choose which Marlin lever action to use as 41 mag, 375, and 444 are all listed!

 

I hope it goes thru to maybe get MI to pass a similar change.

 

Kevin,

I handload for all my guns so I don't worry much about ammo availability. Even during the recent ammo shortage I would see 444 and 45-70 on the shelves the local gun shops. Nine mm, 45 acp, 223, and 22 LR were a whole different story though.

If you can swing a Marlin lever I'd definitely recommend doing that. The weight and stock design make them very easy to shoot. I've never shot anything big bore in a Handy rifle, but I don't expect it would be much fun; especially with something like Buffalo Bore ammo. I do have a 23" 45-70 barrel for my Thompson Contender carbine and I'm here to tell you that is NOT fun. My buddies laugh at me when I shoot it. With 300 grain factory equivalent loads the muzzle ends almost straight up in the air and about a foot to the right after it has bounced off the side of my face. With all that going on I can't hit squat with it.

mike

 

This Saturday March 1st. The proposal is open for discussion at the following locations 12-3pm

Open house location information for March 1:

• Central Ohio: Wildlife District One office, 1500 Dublin Road, Columbus 43215; 614-644-3925;
• Northwest Ohio: Wildlife District Two office, 952 Lima Avenue, Findlay 45840; 419-424-5000;
• Northeast Ohio: Wildlife District Three office, 912 Portage Lakes Drive, Akron 44319; 330-644-2293;
• Southeast Ohio: Wildlife District Four office, 360 E. State Street, Athens 45701; 740-589-9930;
• Southwest Ohio: Greene County Fish and Game, 1538 Union Road, Xenia 45385; 937-372-9261;
• Lake Erie (east): Fairport Fisheries office, 1190 High Street, Fairport Harbor 44077; 440-352-4199;
• Lake Erie (west): Lake Erie Shores and Islands Regional Welcome Center, 770 SE Catawba Road, Port Clinton 43452; 419-625-8062.

I want to use my lever guns to hunt deer. I and three other hunting buddies are planning to attend and let them know.

 

I'll be there to push for this as well..

 

Just bought a nice SS "JW". For Ohio. If Ohio doesn't happen then i will use it down here for hogs. Deciding on a scope for it now.

 

I see that the 50-90 is on the first list. Billy Dixon would be pleased.

 

Thats sweet! Hopefully you politicians dont drag their feet like ours do. We have a similar bill, and it seems to die every year.

 

Attended ODNR open house and all of the officials I spoke with feel it will pass. Now we just have to wait and see..

 

Yep. Seemed like there wasn't any opposition in the stuff I read. I only talked to one guy and he seemed pretty indifferent. He seemed to think muzzleloader filled the 200 yard gun niche just fine. He must have a much nicer muzzleloader than I do.

Should know mid April. Then it will be a mad dash for guns and ammo here. Anyone in states surrounding ohio that have been waiting to stock up on 45-70 brass and ammo better do it now.

 

I think most will gravitate towards the 45-70 simply because of availabilty, but I'm certain there will be a lot of guys looking for 444's creating a small frenzy for used ones UNTIL Remlin begins production again in a couple months of the 444. If it goes through, I think Marlin's sales go up significantly on all models especially the 444 when production resumes in May/June.