Marlin .444 Downs Charging Grizzly

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Alaska444

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The debate over how good the .444 is or isn't nearly always gets side tracked by comments of I prefer the 45-70 more. The issue of whether the .444 is a good bear defense gun thus goes unanswered every time. Before this thread once again is side tracked, read of the account of a hunter in Canada that killed a charging grizzly with two shots from a .444 and walked away unscathed.

The 39-year-old man had been out with his dog hunting for white tail deer 13 kilometres up Harris Creek Road at around 3 p.m. Oct. 19 when a 550-pound male grizzly started charging at the dog.

The hunter yelled at the bear and it stopped. With its hair raised, the bear turned its attention to the hunter, who was carrying a 444-calibre Marlin hunting rifle.

“The investigation shows that, from approximately 10 yards, the hunter fired two shots at the charging grizzly bear,” said Sgt. Josh Lockwood, conservation officer. “The animal went down, got back up and took off. . .

They discovered the dead grizzly, estimated to be a seven-to-nine years old, in an area about 50 to 75 yards from where the shots were fired. . .

“In this case, there is no doubt in our minds that had he not shot the bear or had a smaller calibre rifle, the hunter would have suffered grievous bodily harm or death,” said Lockwood.
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http://www.vernonmorningstar.com/news/132568888.html
 
Glad he survived. Would be interesting to know where the bullet placement was and type of ammunition, e.g. bullet style and weight.
 
Its all in that my link there. 46.5gr. of H4198 with a Hornady 265gr. flat point. Two shots going through the chest I believe. One through the shoulder.
 
Alaska444, yes, the .444 worked.

However, if one reads the article, after two hits the bear was able to turn around and run off.

The kill was eventually achieved, but the stop was a psychological one, not a physiological one.

In other words, this example is ok, but hardly definitive.
 
The bullets going all the way through tell you what you need to know. Cant do more than that unless you physically stop them by hitting the CNS no matter the gun.
 
Exactly, Doc. Those big slugs did their job as well as any could have, for where they hit. Without hitting brain or spine an immediate kill is unlikely. Penetration was complete, so no more was needed. At least they had enough "umph" to stop him, put him down and send him packin'. I believe a 45-70 or even a .458 Magnum would have made little difference.
 
Sorry, he not only killed the beast, but he indeed STOPPED him to the point he dropped, and then got up and decided he didn't want anymore of that medicine. How many times have you seen a .375 kill a bear yet fail to stop it.

“The investigation shows that, from approximately 10 yards, the hunter fired two shots at the charging grizzly bear,” said Sgt. Josh Lockwood, conservation officer. “The animal went down, got back up and took off.
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A whole lot of bears hit with bigger rifles have done exactly as this one did. You can't argue with success. That is the whole point of this thread. Indeed, the hunter had more to give him if he hadn't run off as well. The .444 did as it is designed to do shooting the sucker through and through twice over.
 
It takes some brass to stand your ground and empty the rifle into a charging bear. If it were me I think I would attempt to shoot while back peddaling.
 
A 45-70 would've done it in one shot...



Just kidding! :-)

I've looked the numbers for all of the big bore cartridges that Marlin makes guns for, and I'm pretty sure that the average hunter and average charging grizzly isn't going to know the difference between a 450, 444, and a 45-70... they'll all do the job and do it well. Quibbling over a few fps or a couple of grains of bullet weight or a few thousandths of an inch here or there is pretty academic when it comes to these cartridges imho.

Now, if I were going to choose loads for myself, I'd tend towards 300gr bullets if I could find them properly constructed for my cartridge... heavier if I were going to use a 45-70.

Honestly, I sort of feel like the 450 is a solution looking for a problem... but that doesn't mean it's no good. :-)
 
A 45-70 would've done it in one shot...

Just kidding! :-)
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Arrrrghhhh, oh just kidding.

One shot? How about this example:

This grizzly was killed at point blank range in self defense by Mike Leslie of Soldotna, AK. During a dark night the bear attempted to break through the cabin door. They tried to scare it off but the bear persisted in its attempts to enter the cabin. Mike shoved his .444 Marlin through a crack in the door and fired. The next morning the bear was found dead, about 50 feet from the cabin. The 335 gr. hardcast Buffalo Bore load had gone through its chest.
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http://www.buffalobore.com/index.php?l=page_view&p=ammo-reviews5
 
Not to be difficult, but the bullet makes a lot of difference.

I guess the concern I have with the .444 is the number of guys I see or hear who like to get relatively cheap handgun bullets and load them for the rifle. I've met too many people who don't seem to realize that bullets are designed for different functions, and who will use whatever they have on hand.

A .444 with 335gr HC Buffalo Bore bullets is a very different weapon than a .444 with 240gr JHP bullets.

It's a lot easier for a newer shooter to come up with a very stupid (for bear) load for the .444 than for the .45-70.

Loaded properly, the .444 is fine.
 
Today, 08:41 PM #13
MLeake
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Join Date: November 15, 2007
Location: NW Georgia
Posts: 5,849
Not to be difficult, but the bullet makes a lot of difference.

I guess the concern I have with the .444 is the number of guys I see or hear who like to get relatively cheap handgun bullets and load them for the rifle. I've met too many people who don't seem to realize that bullets are designed for different functions, and who will use whatever they have on hand.

A .444 with 335gr HC Buffalo Bore bullets is a very different weapon than a .444 with 240gr JHP bullets.

It's a lot easier for a newer shooter to come up with a very stupid (for bear) load for the .444 than for the .45-70.

Loaded properly, the .444 is fine.
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Excellent point, I would agree that the .444 needs to be loaded to it's maximum potential if you are going to use it for grizzly bear defense. For me, it is the Buffalo Bore 335 gr hard cast at 2025 fps at the muzzle. I shoot the 240 gr shells at the range, but that is not what I have in my rifle when out in the woods or in a campground. When loaded to the max, the .444 works well as this case illustrates.
 
.444

I believe the .444 got hamstrung early in its histroy by the lack of heavy bullets. The 240 gr handgun slugs did not do well on big critters and the "jury" rendered its verdict and the .444 ha been living in that dark shadow ever since.

The specialty ammo folks, and the 265 and 300 gr slugs of later years go unnoticed by these bashers.
 
That was in the days of the 1:38 rifling. Today, it is 1:20 and can handle bullets up to 405 gr. Hopefully over time, the ammo selection will increase. Hornady just increased the muzzle energy of their light mag to nearly 3400 ft-pds of energy. Many that hand load push the limits of the .444 to over 3750 ft-pds at the muzzle. The .444 at top loads is a serious contender. Glad everything went well in this situation.
 
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The one thing thats against the 444 as a bear rifle is you cant use big bullets IE can the 444 chamber a 525gr pile driver? or a 405 gr I dont think it can!!! I'm not saying the 444 is GARBAGE it just has it's LIMETS.Because when you shoot a bear with a heavey hard cast bullet from a 45/70 will go alot deeper in the animal therefore with one 525 it's all it would take!.
 
Dear Jack308, yes, the .444 can be hand loaded with 405 gr bullets jacked up to over 3750 ft-pds of muzzle energy. No it can't handle 500 gr bullets, but here is an example with only 265 gr bullets that got the job done. Once again, this isn't is a 45-70 more powerful thread. Yup, the 45-70 is more powerful but it comes with the price of severe recoil issues.

I have a .444 set up so that the felt recoil is no worse than a 20 ga and easily handled. I doubt you can say the same with someone shooting a 45-70 with Garrett Hammerhead 540's.

I have posted two examples of one and two shot grizzly kills with a .444 that all went through and through the beast. Is the .444 enough for a charging grizzly, the answer appears to be yes by real life examples.
 
Well Alaska444 we dont see eye to eye on this 45/70 - 444 but I would feel alot better in the bear woods with my 45/70 loaded with either 405gr or 525 pile drivers.
 
No votes for the .358 Winchester:confused: poor ol' .358 gets no respect from anyone. ...... Never the prettiest girl at the dance...but, she is always faithful!

444 VS 45-70? This is always decided by the operator.
 
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