I only own one gun at this time,,,,a Marlin .444 lever action saddle gun.  I have it for home defense, and for when I need to stop a charging elephant <G>. Very nice rifle.  Pretty accurate up to about 300 yards. Not a lot of fun to shoot for extended periods, but I seldom fire more than 15 or 20 rounds in a sitting.  I do that a couple of times a year to keep my accuracy up. I have never (and will never unless I am starving) hunted with it, as I do not hunt. I have no problem with those that legally hunt, it is just not something I enjoy.

Do you have a scope on it or open iron sights?

 

I used to have a 30-30 Marlin in lever action which is similar in operation, just in a smaller caliber.

Just now, gimruis said:

Do you have a scope on it or open iron sights?

 

I used to have a 30-30 Marlin in lever action which is similar in operation, just in a smaller caliber.

Marlin 336? I had one of those as well...iron sights as I 'stalk hunted' rather than 'stand hunted'...great rifle for traipsing through brush.

2 minutes ago, MN Fisher said:

Marlin 336?

 

Ya I'm pretty sure that's what it was.  It was the first deer rifle I ever had.  They always called it a good "brush gun."

I had a 336 in .35 Remington- great gun, great cartridge for the 200 yd and under deer hunting I did growing up.

7 hours ago, gimruis said:

Do you have a scope on it or open iron sights?

 

I used to have a 30-30 Marlin in lever action which is similar in operation, just in a smaller caliber.

open iron sights. At 300 yards, I shoot from a bench. If standing and shooting, I don't try anything over 150 yards if I want accuracy.

6 minutes ago, Kirt Howe said:

open iron sights. At 300 yards, I shoot from a bench. If standing and shooting, I don't try anything over 150 yards if I want accuracy.

Heck - if the shot was over 50 yards, I'd 'take a knee'.

I've always heard the old saying, don't mess with a man that only has one gun, he's probably really good at using it.

3 hours ago, Way2slow said:

I've always heard the old saying, don't mess with a man that only has one gun, he's probably really good at using it.

My father had a saying...."If you are going to own a gun, you should be accurate with it."

My dad had a Marlin lever action 30/30 when I was a boy . It was my favorite gun , reminded me of the "Rifleman" . Sadly it was stolen .

I bought a Marlin .444 about 12 years back, kept it for 5 year and foolishly sold it when I was needing cash. It was the first cartridge I reloaded for. Even 12 years ago a box of ammo for it was $41 something out the door and I remember loading my own 20 round for less than $7. The first day I was cranking out rounds for it I loaded up 40 some rounds and shot them all that same evening. A great powerful cartridge although I never got a chance to bag a deer with it.

On 1/8/2022 at 11:18 AM, Smells like fish said:

I bought a Marlin .444 about 12 years back, kept it for 5 year and foolishly sold it when I was needing cash. It was the first cartridge I reloaded for. Even 12 years ago a box of ammo for it was $41 something out the door and I remember loading my own 20 round for less than $7. The first day I was cranking out rounds for it I loaded up 40 some rounds and shot them all that same evening. A great powerful cartridge although I never got a chance to bag a deer with it.

Did your shoulder get a bit sore from shooting 40 rounds? I really like my rifle, but after about 20 rounds I begin to like it a lot less.  It is amazingly accurate for a saddle gun, and the stopping power is really good. 

Actually those 40 rounds were reduced loads that I knew I’d be doing lots of paper punching with. I’ve always liked having standard loads and reduced loads for my calibers. Yep, the .444 at full power would get you. My .45/70 can hurt you ?