I picked this up yesterday and I'm still questioning my sanity. It's a Magnum research Lone Eagle in .444 marlin. It was cheap enough at 150 bucks but it has a broken firing pin and the red dot doesn't work. I spent 3 hours today searching for a firing pin and finally found a newly made titanium pin that shouldn't break for 50 buck including shipping. After I get the pin installed it will be the largest caliber handgun I've ever fired, I did get a box of shells in the deal.
Lone Eagle
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Well, before you fire it make sure nobody is standing near you! .444 MARLIN???!!! Holy jumping catfish! That's gotta have some serious recoil!
It is cute, though, very racy!!!
It is cute, though, very racy!!!
Ivan the Butcher
Member
If you go hog hunting, make sure you have them lined up 2 or 3 deep!
Ivan
Ivan
Well, before you fire it make sure nobody is standing near you! .444 MARLIN???!!! Holy jumping catfish! That's gotta have some serious recoil!
It is cute, though, very racy!!!
Honestly I'd never seen one prior to buying it. It's got a weird sort of cannon breach system that locks the shell in place. I do agree I'm sure it will be a handful to fire.
gwpercle
Member
Yeah....$150.00 is an offer you can't really walk away from .
I would have had to buy it too....like I have any need whatsoever for a 444 Marlin handgun .
When you go to the range you will be noticed.
Awesome Deal !
Gary
I would have had to buy it too....like I have any need whatsoever for a 444 Marlin handgun .
When you go to the range you will be noticed.
Awesome Deal !
Gary
RobertJ.
Member
Interesting!
Please let us know how it shoots!
Please let us know how it shoots!
...and maybe a football helmet
Or maybe a catchers mask to keep from getting smacked in the face...
That should be fun! I've got a Savage Striker in .308 and it's my favorite range toy. The recoil on mine is about equal to a full house .44 magnum from a 4" revolver. Please let us know how it shoots.
Sent from my SM-G960U using Tapatalk
Sent from my SM-G960U using Tapatalk
The design has been around a while. Magnum Research bought it from the developing company. I'd have to dig to find it. There was originally a wood stock model. It sold for about $300 in stores back around 1989 or so.
There were a few chamberings including 308, 30-06, 7mm-08, maybe 45-70, etc.
It shoots well, but did not catch on with IHMSA shooters nor hunters. The breech works well but can be slow.
One cool feature is that the barrel is removable with a spanner wrench, and calibers are an easy switch.
I'll bet you can find some cheap barrels with a bit of luck.
Watch out for recoil! A lot of people have gotten badly rapped by the rear breech extension hitting their forearm.
I'd start with light handloads and workup....
Good deal!
Jim
There were a few chamberings including 308, 30-06, 7mm-08, maybe 45-70, etc.
It shoots well, but did not catch on with IHMSA shooters nor hunters. The breech works well but can be slow.
One cool feature is that the barrel is removable with a spanner wrench, and calibers are an easy switch.
I'll bet you can find some cheap barrels with a bit of luck.
Watch out for recoil! A lot of people have gotten badly rapped by the rear breech extension hitting their forearm.
I'd start with light handloads and workup....
Good deal!
Jim
M E Morrison
Member
Oh, I don't know. I have a TC Contender Super 14 in 45-70. It is one of the earlier ones, without Magnaporting. Recoil of the 405 gr loads isn't horrible, but thhe 300 gr loads are pretty snappy....
I have fired the TC super 14 in 45-70, and it is more of a handful than I am interested in any longer. I'm getting too old for that kind of punishment. A good friend bought a Marlin lever action in 444 and fired 3 shells and traded it off for a 45-70 which he claimed was a *****cat next to the 444.
indigo22
Member
I had a Lone Eagle in 308. It was a lot of fun and very accurate as long as I kept the bullets below 150 grains. The 180 grain hunting rounds hurt my wrist, and I never dared to touch off any 220's.
Good luck with that 444...
Good luck with that 444...
Mark: We expect a report back on the first range session.
Mark: We expect a report back on the first range session.
I will do that right after I get back from the ER after getting my wrist bandaged...
It will probably be a week or so before I get the replacement firing pin.It might not be as bad as the Contender you talked about. I had a contender back in the 80s and the biggest problem with heavy recoil was that pointy trigger guard digging into my hand.
Well I got the firing pin yesterday and it was easy to replace. I don't have the optics replaced yet but I did take to the range to fire it for function. All I can say is OMG this thing is brutal, when they built it probably should have been ported or had a muzzle break because the muzzle blast is horrendous. If I lived in California I'd get arrested for starting a wildfire with the 4 foot flame that it spouts. The recoil was really heavy but using the bi-pod made it manageable.
LVSteve
Member
Sounds like you need the following for your next range trip:
1) Friend with a video camera
2) YouTube account.
one eye joe
US Veteran
I CAN READILY UNDERSTAND WHY THAT RED DOT MIGHT NOT BE WORKING. THE VIOLENT RECOIL OF THE .444 MARLIN PROBABLY TURNED THE INTERNALS TO JUNK.....
IN ANY EVENT, THAT'S A VERY INTERESTING WEAPON. THEY ARE PROBABLY VERY SCARCE---AND DEFINITELY WORTH THE $150. YOU PAID FOR IT, AND THE $50. FOR THE FIRING PIN.....
GOOD LUCK WITH IT, AND DON'T FORGET THE RANGE REPORT---IF YOU MUSTER THE COURAGE TO SHOOT IT.....lol.
Hairtrigger
Member
I have several Lone Eagle handguns, from an early SSP-1 in 223 to a 22-250 and a 7br. The newest was made by Magnum Research and is in 308 with a break, it is accurate but also a handful for me
You can dry fire it but you must leave the breech open
U gave a copy of the manual if you need one
Competitor made a visual close copy buy is very different
You can dry fire it but you must leave the breech open
U gave a copy of the manual if you need one
Competitor made a visual close copy buy is very different
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