30-40 Krag. M-95 Win. Or .405.

Trapdoor loads kill deer for me just fine, and already have similar power to a 12 gauge slug. I don't see much need to go hotter.

As for the whole "shoot full power loads" idea, trapdoor loads ARE full power, unless talking about powderpuff cowboy action loads. Trapdoor loads are loaded to the original spec for the cartridge. Anything higher like Marlin and Ruger loads can be looked at as +P and +P+.

If I lived in Alaska I might see a need for the hot stuff, but Iowa has a shortage of enraged brown bears.

Why? It's not the overkill most people seem to think. The original load was a 405 grain bullet at 1200 feet per second. A 1 ounce 12 gauge slug is 437.5 grains at similar velocity(1200-1400 feet per second).

Very similar numbers, in a package designed for the job, unlike the slug which from the start was a way to shoehorn a shotgun into a job it wasn't meant for.

I think that is the case for most of us, but some like to have a bullet to kill bigfoot incase he shows up.

Not against the idea at all, I just haven't bothered to spend the $3 $4 per round to get them. Then again, there is a bison farm a few miles south of me, and bovine species can indeed contract rabies, maybe I need them after all. An animal that doesn't understand the concept of a barrier, combined with all the rage rabies can muster would be a scary sight indeed.

Ok, I get that the OP doesn't reload and has his reasons for the 444 but he also seems to be asking what I think is the best lever gun cartridge .

First , best for what? I don't much hunt so for me that answer is what gives me the most fun shooting.

My Marlin 39a is a great gun and a lot of fun to shoot.

My Rossi 357 is also lots of fun and covers a lot of ground with everything from light 38spl target loads up to blow out the walls heavy bullet 357 loads.

My Marlin 44mag cowboy also covers lots of ground with all my reloads.

I also have a Marlin in 45/70 , winchesters in 30-30 and my newest find , a Marlin in 375win. This latest find would have been almost unshootable a couple of years back because ammo and brass was very hard to find and really spendy . My buddies at Starline are now kicking out 375win brass so everything is cool with this great gun.

Don't make me choose! I reload most everything I shoot and have fun with them all.

Same guy that sold me the marlin 375win tried to talk me into taking his 444. Gun was a older near minty condition gun and he was offering me a decent deal but I just don't feel the 444 like the OP does. Doesn't mean the OP is wrong for him , just not for me.

Now I'm jealous.

There was a .375 on armslist for maybe $650 here a while back and I should have just bought the thing.

Black bears kill more people than brown bears true story and they are in lots of places that brown bears aren't

If a 45/70 is what makes it happen for you treat yourself. and choot all the deer you want with it   I have experienced no problem in several decades now with expiring deer using a 7x57 .  It seems to work quite effectively for the purpose,  when I need my 45/70 for other matters that I feel merit it's use then I will retrieve it from the closet.

So...tell me about the .35 rem arfcom...

...my buddy inherited one and I advised him to sell it and buy AR parts, but damned if it ain't a nice feeling gun.

Should he keep it, or should I buy/trade him for it?

Speed

That's a good round too-accounted for a lot of meals!(and other uses).

My only experience with the round is a 14" barrel for my Contender pistol. It's a handful(in that package), but not as much as .45-70.  Bought the barrel because I found 8 boxes of ammo on clearance.

35 Remington kills way better than it's on paper numbers look.

In certain areas of the country it has a cult like following.It has brought a lot of deer and black bears to "Dirt nap" territory.

Ammo can be hard to find and may be worse now,but a fast handling Marlin lever gun is a dream in the close woods.

It is at best a 125-150 yard gun but in the right hands can be very deadly up to those ranges.

Not my project I just donated some WAA .410 wads. Not sure if they were actual Winchester’s or Clay busters.

I have one with a Leopold 2.5x on a X outdoors or whatever the company is called nowadays. I put a lot of rounds through it and it is smooth as butter.

I do reload.  I just loaded a batch of 300 gr at 1950 fps-just in case I do run into bigfoot.  On my stock cartridge holder I keep two 410 shells, three of my bigfoot rounds, and four extra of the hornaday 265gr.

Very cool. You make really neat stuff. Deer hunters in Ohio would like this, with a 2-round mag of course. But for boar, or other varmints, the drum is perfectly legal here.

How close is that to the .45 Raptor?

@TonyRumore

Rumor on the Saiga 12 Forum back in the day was that you made that one and then said no mas....that true?

If it is just a rumor....what's your ETA if I ship my S410 to you?

Per wikipedia-

45 Raptor
Specifications
Bullet diameter
.452 in (11.5 mm)
Neck diameter
.478 in (12.1 mm)
Rim diameter
.473 in (12.0 mm)
Rim thickness
.039 in (0.99 mm)
Case length
1.8 in (46 mm)
Overall length
2.3 in (58 mm)
Primer type
Large Magnum Rifle
Maximum pressure
62,000psi


450 Marlin
Specifications
Parent case
N/A
Bullet diameter
.458 in (11.6 mm)
Base diameter
13.4 mm
Rim diameter
.528 in (13.4 mm)
Case length
2.10 in (53 mm)
Overall length
2.55 in (65 mm)
Rifling twist
1:20 in (508 mm)
Primer type
Large Rifle
Maximum pressure
(MAP) 43,500 psi (300 MPa)