It’s pretty rare to see an American-made pump-action shotgun I’ve never heard of, especially from a major company. When the Marlin Model 44 crossed my path at an unreasonably low price, I had to have it.
Marlin isn’t all that well-known for their shotguns. They are primarily known as a lever gun company that Freedom Group tanked, and Ruger revived. Interestingly enough, Winchester is also known as a lever gun company that went on a shotgun streak. Unlike Winchester, no one talks all that much about Marlin’s shotguns.
At the end of the 1800s, pump-action shotguns exploded in popularity, largely thanks to the Winchester 1893 and 1897. What allowed pump shotguns to flourish was the fact that Winchester didn’t own the patent on them. In fact, they had to defend themselves from a patent suit brought on by a man named Bannerman, who had the rights to the first Spencer shotgun.
Winchester won by producing an ancient pump-action gun to prove the Spencer wasn’t the first. Marlin was another fairly large company, so it’s interesting that their shotguns were more or less forgotten about. Marlin released their first in 1898, known as the Marlin 1898. They stopped pump-shotgun shotgun production in 1933.
The Marlin Model 44
The Marlin Model 44 is a pump-action 20-gauge shotgun that’s an improved version of the Marlin 31. The Model 31 was produced prior to the standardization of 2.75-inch rounds and was configured for 2 9/16th shells. The Model 44, produced from 1922 to 1933, was Marlin’s move to the 2.75-inch shell.
Marlin produced but exposed hammer and hammerless guns; the Model 44 is the latter. The Marlin Model 44 came in both A and S grades, with mine being the cheaper, simpler A-grade. It holds four rounds of 20 gauge. Marlin offered these shotguns as free gifts if you purchased four shares of Marlin, which was a $100 investment.
There isn’t a whole lot known about these guns. We have one decent reference book on Marlin Firearms written by Lt. Col. William Brophy that’s out of print and costs more than I paid for the gun. Marlin shotguns didn’t have the fanfare to generate widespread information.
The best way to learn is to find out, right? It’s worth noting that in 1999, Marlin released a statement saying all of their old pump-action shotguns should be considered too dangerous to fire. Marlin cited that they had no records of material, heat treatment, or acceptance standards. If you’re reading this, I survived.
In and Out of the Marlin Model 44
The Marlin Model 44 features a fairly distinct look. Most shotguns all look the same, but the Model 44 has a distinct receiver shape. It’s angular with a ramping design at the rear. The ejection port seems to be massive and serves to show off the stainless steel bolt.
The safety is positioned inside the trigger guard, which is always an interesting place to put a safety. The bolt release sits right behind the trigger; a small stainless button acts as a shell release to unload the gun. These Marlins were fitted with a hang fire safety system.
If you pull the trigger and the gun doesn’t fire, it doesn’t unlock the bolt. It requires the inertia generated by the gun firing to unlock the bolt. This way, in the event of a hang fire, the bolt stays in battery.
It’s a single-arm gun. The action isn’t the smoothest and requires a fair bit of force to open and close. A Winchester Model 12 it is not.
Take Down Procedures
These are takedown guns, and the barrel and magazine tube depart from the receiver with relative ease. You press the small button at the top of the magazine tube and pull upward, which detaches the magazine tube. Next, you pull the pump forward and out of the receiver. Finally, you unscrew the barrel.
Putting the gun back together is a little tricky. A small knob on the pump has to align perfectly with a small slot on the bolt; if you don’t align it right, it will just push the bolt back. Doing so resulted in my fishing the bolt from inside the receiver.
Someone along the way decided the barrel was too long and trimmed it back a bit, and attached a screw-on bead sight. It ruins the collectability, but lowers the price to below a hundred bucks. However, when taken down, it’s quite the compact package.
At the Range with the Model 44
I stuck to some basic light lead-sporting loads. I’m not in a rush to see how many rounds the gun can take in a burn down. I’m also a little mindful of the 1999 warning. I do appreciate my ability to see and hear, so I’ll stick to birdshot.
As expected, the Model 44 is pleasant to shoot. Mild recoil from mild loads in a heavy steel and wood shotgun has that effect. Since whatever choke the gun came with is effectively gone, and the barrel is chopped, the pattern is fairly wide. I’m sure buckshot would handle a little better.
The chunky bolt slings shells away with authority and feeds with ease. The shell lifter lives a bit overmade, but no complaints on that end. It scoops the rounds from the magazine to the chamber easily enough.
The wood stock has a comfortable length of pull, but no real recoil pad. It’s just a 20-gauge, so I could handle it just fine. Before I knew it, I was running low on ammo to shoot. Old guns are always a blast to shoot.
For a gun older than my dad, it handles quite well. The stock pistol grip lacks checkering, but the front end has a great textured pump that allows for a good hold on the gun. You need that extra texture for the somewhat stiff pump action.
The Model 44 even smells good. Something about blued steel and years of oil accumulated gives these old guns a specific smell that I can’t quite pin down.
The Model 44 Now
The Marlin Model 44 doesn’t command a premium. They aren’t all that desirable in standard configurations. They don’t fetch the same sum as older Winchesters. That’s great for me, as a collector of ancient shotguns, I can’t help but appreciate their style, their unique designs, and the look of blued steel and real wood furniture.
