In some states hunting is restricted to straight-walled cartridges like the 444 Marlin & 45-70. Because the bullets are larger and less aerodynamic, they have a much shorter effective range. This isn't that big of an issue because most whitetail deer are taken within 100 yards.
444 Marlin & 45-70 are perfectly capable of killing elk out to about 250 yards, and they are also somewhat popular in forested regions where long range shots are less common. Large bottleneck cartridges are generally recommended for elk hunting because they are effective out to 350-400 yards or even more.
The two different sizes are for different ranges, which is related to the Ballistic Coefficient of each cartridge, or how effective they are at different ranges.
Why are there two different black bear sizes? Do people handgun hunt black bears?
Each type of game is given a range of chambering a so that you have some sort of sense of choice.
.444 Marlin would be ethical for black bear hunting, but nobody does. Bass pro is trying to sell guns with this image.
Is the choice mainly for cost reasons, or just personal preferences?
.444 has superior ballistics and a longer effective range, but is quite a niche chambering.
.45-70 is pretty easy to find and a hell of a lot cheaper.
Thanks for the response, still super new to this sort of thing.
In some states hunting is restricted to straight-walled cartridges like the 444 Marlin & 45-70. Because the bullets are larger and less aerodynamic, they have a much shorter effective range. This isn't that big of an issue because most whitetail deer are taken within 100 yards.
444 Marlin & 45-70 are perfectly capable of killing elk out to about 250 yards, and they are also somewhat popular in forested regions where long range shots are less common. Large bottleneck cartridges are generally recommended for elk hunting because they are effective out to 350-400 yards or even more.
.444 Marlin was created to be a 45-70 with better ballistics. Bass pro is not just trying to sell guns. People actually use these cartridges.
The two different sizes are for different ranges, which is related to the Ballistic Coefficient of each cartridge, or how effective they are at different ranges.