Does anybody have any preferences in CURRENTLY manufactured .44 Magnum lever action rifles (16"-20" carbines, actually)?

I've always found the Cimarrons interesting.

I like my Rossi 92. Mostly I shoot Specials in it.

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I always take precautions

I had a Marlin, bought it about five years ago. I wanted to shoot cast lead bullets. The gun had micro groove rifling and would not shoot lead. At 25 yards, bullets key holed through paper.

Simple fix - oversize your lead to .431 and it becomes a laser.

Mine did.

Current Marlins are MUCH better.

Go to the Marlin Forum for latest info.

I have a Marlin 1894 octagon(w/ballard rifling) & a Winchester 94 AE in .44 mag..............Both shoot good.....The Win has accounted for several deer.....The Marlin has yet to make it to the woods.....I used for hunting today I would buy the Marlin since it can be scoped/peep sighted easily.

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S&W Accumulator

I am happy with my Henry 44. I only shoot jacketed bullets through it.

I don't know if the Browning mod 92 is still being made(imported),
probably not. If not then a mint used one. After that an early pre
crossbolt Marlin, with jacketed bullets or a current Remlin. Cimarrons
may be interesting until you find that prices are high and quality is
likely well below Marlin's.

Currently, can't help you. Marlin 94 is still made, by Remington.
I hear a lot of complaints on the "Remlins" personally I don't go
for the import replicas. For the money, or a little less you should
be able to find a very hi condition Marlin JM, pre safety. It is the
best of the lot for use as a hunting rifle,especially if scoping.
I've had several of them, and have a 70s production now. Action
is slick, gun is accurate.

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I owned a Marlin 94 some time ago and it was great. Sold it just because I didn't shoot it very much, but it was a wonderful rifle. It was a pre-Remington made one.

I have heard good things about the Henry 44 lever rifles.

Don't know if they're still made, I have a Winchester 94 Trapper carbine in 44mag. Dependable, easy handling, accurate. Does hit the shoulder a little hard, but it's a hunter, not a target rifle.

The Henry's are too heavy for a pistol caliber carbine.
The Marlin is probably the best design, especially if a scope is desired.
The little 16" Rossi 92 is about as small and light as one can get. They are decent shooters, too.
I had a 92 but finding ammo cheaper than full power 30-06, etc was hard and I didn't think it was worth the cost for a fraction of the power.

I've had the Marlin and Winchester 94 in 357 and the Rossi 92 in 44mag. Had a friend with a Taurus/Rossi in 45 colt. I just haven't warmed up to the pistol carbines like I thought I would.

Actually have built a few AR-15s in 7.62x39 and love them for their cheap ammo, power level and versatility.

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War Eagle! '10 BCS & '13 SEC

I have a Marlin 336BL (.30-30) and would not hesitate to get a Marlin in .44 Mag

Cimarron makes beautiful guns but I have no first hand experience with them.

Hope this helps.

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Jorge

.44 Magnum and lever action make a nice combination. They are slim, light, and pack a real punch, comparable to a .30-30. I have a Marlin 1894 (square bolt) and a Winchester (Miroku) 1892. In terms of looks, the Winchester takes the prize. Both shoot and feed well*. The Winchester trigger is what it is, 6#, but there's a drop-in, "Happy Trigger" for the Marlin with a crisp, 3-1/2# pull.

A .44 Magnum will get at least 300 fps more from a 20" barrel (> 16") than from a 6" revolver, and even more from loads a revolver can't safely handle (Ruger Super-Blackhawk excepted).

Lever actions must be operated briskly and firmly, all the way to the end of the stroke. The Marlin can get hung up, requiring partial breakdown to clear. This is easy, by removing the pivot screw for the lever. The Winchester is more reliable, but can stovepipe. If so, it's easy to clear from the top. Breaking down and reassembling a Winchester is difficult, and should be done out of earshot of small children or your spouse.

For cleaning, get a bore guide and clean from the muzzle. Spare yourself the chore of breaking either rifle down.

* The Marlin is a controlled-feed action. The rim of the cartridge should slide smoothly under the extractor. I find it helps to break the action down, and stone the underside of the extractor to break the sharp edge. After that, the action should be extremely smooth, with no tendency to bind halfway into the chamber, and no gouging the case in the receiver. Some people bend the hook of the extractor a little, but I didn't find that necessary.

I reload for .44 AND .30-06. Ammunition cost isn't an issue.

Another vote for the Marlin 1894 and I wouldn't hesitate to look at the new manufactured versions. I think Remington had some problems at first but the last several year's production has looked pretty good to me. I have one of the newer 45-70s and it is just fine for fit and function. Another option, although not currently manufactured, is the Ruger 96 if you can find one. I like the rotary mags which provide more options for bullet type although now with Hornady's FTX plastic "flex tipped" bullet the old tube magazines are less limiting. Good luck.

Jeff
SWCA #1457

I've never been a Marlin 1894 fan - too large and clunky in comparison to a Model 92 Winchester or clone.

Rossi quality has improved a lot in the last couple years. The metal work is nicely done on the outside, but benefits from some soothing on the inside, and the stock finish has gotten better, but a few coats of Tung oil or Tru-Oil on top to fill the grain really helps.

Rossi offers lots of choices in configuration with:
- rifle or carbine patterns;
- blued, stainless steel, or color case hardened finishes; and
- 16" carbine, 20" rifle or carbine, and 24" rifle barrel lengths.

Rossi has also been making Model 92 clones for straight wall cartridges like the .357 Mag, .44 Mag and .45 Colt longer than anyone else and they've got the design down pat with subtle changes like using a coil springs for the hammer.

The Model 1892 action is very strong and can be made to operating very smoothly. Changing the factory ejector spring for a lighter one will give noticeable improvement in smoothness and with a little elbow grease and a video from Stevesgunz.com you can lighten the loading gate spring, lighten the hammer spring, shorter the magazine spring, and smooth the cartridge guide and lever detents and end up with a very slick action. While you're at it replace the plastic magazine follower with a stainless steel follower, as the plastic one will eventually start to stick and or crack. The DVD, spring, and follower are all available at Stevesgunz.com.

It won't be quite as slick as a Model 1873, but it will be a lot stronger and much better suited to 44 Magnum than an 1873 clone.

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Armi Sport / Chiappa makes 1892 Winchester clones that are very close to the original Model 1892 patterns. They cost about twice as much as Rossi, but they are butter smooth out of the box.

They also have very nicely finished wood and metal and are a turn key rifle or carbine right out of the box.

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The current production Model 92 (and Model 94) Winchesters are made by Miroku and they are very well made firearms - but they are spendy, costing about 3 times as much as a Rossi and 1.5 times as much as an Armi Sport.

Local gunshop got in a Marlin 1894 .44 Mag. Looked at it closely. Wood and metalwork were done properly. Sights on straight. Smooth action. Nice checkering.

Still has the slow 1:38" twist, which irks me. It's apparent Marlington is not going to get around to putting a 1:20" twist on it like its bigger .444 brother.

Even so, was tempted to get it.

Until I saw the rifling.

The grooves were very, very shallow. So shallow that I had to wonder if lead bullets would start stripping over the lands within a few rounds. Passed on it. Don't know if this particular gun was an aberration or if such shallow rifling is normal on them. Will keep looking.

The only .44 magnum lever action I had was a Marlin I purchased new about 20 years ago. It had a micro groove barrel and was very accurate and reliable.

But, because I'm a certified genius, I ended up selling it. I also sold the .357 Marlin I had (from the same era) to a friend many years ago, and it's now maybe his favorite rifle. Another genius move.

I sometimes think about selling my great shooting early 80's Marlin 1895 in .45/70, but I'm worried that I'd become so smart that my brain would explode. Sorry I ventured from the "currently manufactured" theme, but there's no law that says you can't buy a used gun.

I should add that the Marlin with Ballard rifling has a 38" twist, which tends to be unstable with bullets heavier (i.e., longer) than 300 grains. The Winchester/Miroku has a 20" twist, hence can handle bullets 350 grains or more. Both seem to handle standard 240 grain projectiles equally well.

I don't know when Marlin switched from micro-groove rifling for .44 Magnum, but the effective bore diameter is larger (q.v., Hickock45). Use lead bullets sized to 0.431, rather than .429 or .430. Jacketed bullets work perfectly at 0.429 with either style of rifling.

I just bought a circa 1997 "Marlin Limited" 16 3/4" Model 1894 carbine from a friend of mine. If you can find one of those, grab it. I love that little rifle! Before that deal came up I was very close to buying a Henry Big Boy carbine. They appear to be very well made.

Can't speak to current Marlin quality, but I have heard that they have greatly improved.

Henry Golden Boy