Don't know about the 44, but my 45-70 sure is fun. I like it so well, I kept it and sold the BC. Mine has been drilled and tapped for a scope, don't know if it was factory or not, but it a deer hammer and lots of fun with trapdoor loads. I have read that the underlugs on the old Shikari rifles were silver soldered on the barrell, not welded. This limits them to trapdoor level loads. They look kind of funky, but shoot great.