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.
http://www.vernonmorningstar.com/news/132568888.html
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.
http://www.vernonmorningstar.com/news/132568888.html