my brother just bought the .444 and was wondering if anyone ever has used this caliber of gun and how it performs.

we shot it and it sure packs a punch.

My Father-in -law hunts deer with a .444,when he hunts W. WA.
It's a great short range deer or elk rifle,for thick cover. Does it have a scope? If it doesn't I'd put one on it,maybe a small variable,like a 1x4 or maybe a fixed 2 power. Alot of people say you don't need a scope on a rifle like that,but you can't hit what you can't see,it's alot easier to pick spots in the brush,than to shoot thru it.

Have fun with your new rifle.

are you sure its not a Marlin, hav'nt ever seen a Winchester in this caliber

the weapon is a winchester .444 marlin. that is what it said on the barrel. i think that the ammo that it takes is .444 marlin. but the gun is definitely a winchester from what i seen. also there is a 4 power scope we were thinking about putting on but were still just havin fun shooting it for now.

Winchester makes one, Marlin has the rifle 24" bbl. and the "Outfitter" which is the carbine/Guide Gun 18.5" bbl. I,ve got the short one, with a 2-7x scope on it. Good shooter, some 1.5" 3-shot groups @ 100 yards with my reloads. Looking for some wild pigs to try it out on.......

Your ammo choices if you don't reload are somewhat limited. The Remington 240 gr. SP has been around forever and is ok. Hornaday is now putting out a load in thier Light Magnum line with the 265 gr. FP, some other special use ammo is out thier Buffalo-Bore , Cor-Bon and Garretts(sp?) its hard to find (some gun shops carry it). Try linking to Malin Talk lots of info there on the big bores....C/22