Hay Litefoot: When it comes to comparing trajectories and velocities I head right for the aspirin bottle. So much of it seems to make real sense but too much of it also seems to be manufacturer's hype. Witness the 444 -
Most of the 300 grainers I load for my 444 hit out at around 2300'/sec, and from my 26 inch Winnie I'll bet I'm doing better than that by a bit. Also, there are a bunch of those loads available in published loading manuals, so whoever it is, Cor-Bon or Buffalo Bore, sure isn't brewing up anything better than what you can do for yourself. And since they don't tell you what gun, if it was a gun, they tested the rounds with you can't really verify their claims. It could have been a pressure chamber or a barrelled action of sorts with a longer than usual barrel.
When it comes to the 444, a modern cartridge fired from modern firearms, you basically get one pressure level - whatever the lever action will tolerate - somewhere around 45K psi I believe, and that's IT. Go beyond that and you're lookin' fer trubble, period. With an oldie like the 45-70 you must be very careful not to use the higher pressure loads meant for todays firearms in a firearm made for the original lower pressured loads. Comparisons between these two cartridges, both proprietary, both levered and short ranged as such, is pretty much an effort in futility.
Some guys will absolutely refuse to consider anything but their 45-70s - that's their bias. Some love their 444s but question whether they need something bigger, like the 45-70. I would opine, that with the effectiveness of both cartridges on large dangerous game already sufficiently noted (Cor-Bon states that their 444 loads from a 14" Contender have taken the African Big Five), and since I intend to hunt within the domestic boundaries of the United States where I will not encounter Rhino and Elephant, but may encounter very large Bear and Bison, the 444 will suffice.
I do enjoy playing around with the heavy weight bullets in my 444 but I won't go beyond pressure limitations. I figure that with my longer barrel I can even drop my charges a hair and still do better at velocity than most. What I will want to do later is see what the difference in velocities are between my long barrelled Winnie and the Timber Carbine I have on layaway.
By the way, I did see the advertisement for the 444s from CDNN in the Shotgun News - that's the one I wanted but the Timber Carbine I have on layaway has absolutely beautiful wood. Don't quite know what I'm going to do with two of those shoulder bruisers but I'll figure it out someday. This is Mikey.
