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This is my first post on the forum so please be gentle

I have been a member in good standing of the S&W and Marlin Owners forums for many years
but only recently came across this one which appeals to me greatly.

I joined this prestigious forum primarily so I could respond to this thread.
I happen to own a Rizzini double rifle in of all calibers, 444 Marlin and would like to
write an article about it for y'all but digging the BBCode out of Flickr, where my pictures are,
is kind of a trial.

I have been shooting and reloading 44's for around 40 years.
My first handgun was a 7.5" Ruger Redhawk in 44 magnum.
I then discovered the joys of the 44 special also winding up with a Marlin 444S from a gun show.
Along the way I also took up skeet, starting out with a BPS and quickly graduating to Beretta 12ga. doubles.
This got me perusing the Beretta catalogs when they were nice printed annuals.
Low and behold one year their 686 based O/U double rifles were offered in 444 Marlin.
This got me lusting after one but they quickly disappeared from the catalog and the only other
picture I have seen of this gun is in RL Wilson's big coffee table Beretta book.

Fast forward a few years and I retired from full-time work as a broadcast engineer and took up
part time positions as a video engineer at our university and as a lifeguard at the YMCA.
This gave me more time to concentrate on scientific reloading and saving for a double rifle.
I became totally enamored of reloading the 444 to the point of taking over curation of the
"444 Marlin Master Reloading Table" which is a spreadsheet that attempts to collect all published
444 Marlin reloading data in one place.
This table was started years ago by others at the Marlin Owners Forum but had not been updated
in quite some time.
I found that I liked doing this kind of thing when I could not hit the field and have been updating it since.
https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/31in08pa8...is0hwc&dl=0

Then came the day I said to myself "OK, let's get that rifle" and started sending out inquiries
to all the double makers I could find.
Internet search found exactly 2 444 doubles for sale in the USA at Griffin & Howe.
Both SIACE Alaskans.

They didn't look all that appealing and were about $9K if I remember.
One had fabric in the case apparently ripped by the front sight. Not cool.
Didn't like the grain in front of the grip either.

There are now quite a few European double makers that offer the 444 in their smaller 20ga. frames
mostly in Italy, Germany and Austria.
I sent emails to all of them requesting a quote.
A couple of weeks later I received an email from Rizzini USA (Fierce Firearms) saying they had one.
It had been their showroom demo for 3 years and not sold in that time.
He sent some (rather lousy phone) pictures and an offer of a $2K discount making the final price $5K.
They even kicked in the shipping and FFL transfer.
After careful looks at the pictures and reading the Rizzini.it website a bunch of times, I bought it.
Glad I did.
It's well engineered, built and regulated perfectly.
It even shoots some non-standard loads and will give me a lifelong reloading project as I attempt
to regulate some non-standard bullets like the Woodleigh 280gr 444 SNFP and it's 280gr Swift A-Frame brother.
I am already close to getting the 240gr A-Frame to work for the deer around here
having regulated the Hornady 240 XTP with a slightly reduced load.
The gun is regulated for the Hornady "LeveRevolution" round which may have been the only
factory 444 ammo available in Val Trompia at the time it was made.
This is the Hornady 265gr FTX bullet going around 2240 out of a 22" Marlin.
More on loading fun in part 2.

I've run out of time today and will continue this monologue tomorrow including a pictorial set showing
the details of the trigger-lock action which includes a hammer blocking safety which I really like.

--------------------
Nemo -- Everything 44

Edited by Nemo (06/07/23 01:58 PM)

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