just put one on layaway it was made in 64, who has one? do you like it ? should make a good close up deer gun. im loading some 180 jhp for it now with 2400.

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WILL WORK FOR AMMO!

Michael:
I have one from the same time period and used to carry it as my hog gun. Have switched to an SKS due to ammo being a lot cheaper but the Ruger is effective on nearly anything up close. They are a breeze to carry since they are so light.
Ed

mine is not that early but late 60s vintage with a leupold fixed 3x with hinged tip off mounts so i can use the irons. with the scope it will put factory winchetser or federal 240s dead on to 50 yards with boring regularity. wife likes shooting it due to minimal recoil. took her out once to some BLM land and set some old oranges on top of fenceposts and marched off 50+ long paces. i said put the cross hairs on the orange and pull the trigger. a few seconds later orange juice vapor blew back on us and she giggled like little girl at the fun.

its doesnt like 180s that much. i get occasional fail to feed or hung cases. dont know why but never a prob with 240s. also once it does get dirty you will know it becuase you will have a single shot rifle. google how to clean a ruger 44 carbine or similar and somebody has posted a very nice tutorial with lots of pics how to break it down. mine didnt come with a manual.

cool rifles. if i find another at a generous price i would snap it up.

I have a 44 R-S (recever sight) 50yard fun gun .loves240grain reminton.+1on single shot when dirty

The gas system was designed to work with the 240s and as a side note, all lead bullets are not recommended.

If you hand load, medium to heavy charges behind your favorite 240 jacketed will make you and the Ruger happy.

I've used H110 and 296 behind Hornady 240 XTPs with good results.

JR

I have one in the Mannlicher full length stock. I have shot a lot of deer with it. It is OK for short distances under a 100 yards. I did find that solid nose jacketed worked best. They are a pain to load and unload but overall a great little gun. Mine has a early Redfield post/cross-hair scope on it and it is quick in the woods.

I got rid of mine cause of the limited capacity and the chore to unload it...
I am still kicking myself. It wasn't "precision" enough for me either....
Just one stupid gun trade I made...I don't even know what I traded for it. Whatever it is, I no longer have it either

Mine likes the Remington 240 gr loads

Had one years ago but never warmed up to it, was always 'picky' about ammo. as well as a pain to load & unload.

I traded it for a M96 & really like it much better. Will feed & shoot specials as well as most any of my mag loads. Loads & unloads with ease due to the rotary (clip) detachable magazine.

Handling size & weight wize are same ol' same ol'. Now if they would only make a 10 round MAG!

Jim

I'll echo what JoeR said, stay with 240g bullets. I had an R-S from the same time period and it just would not do well with anything other than those. Traded it off for something more versatile.
RD

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Got a Phd from Hard Knocks U

I took several deer with one when I was a teenager. You don't see much armor piercing around anymore, but at the time I had mine I was told not to use it as the recoil may set one off in the magazine. Wish I still had mine but I sold it right before I went in thhe Navy.

i dont mind that it only hold 5 rounds im used to hunting with single shots, so from what im reading i need to load up some 240 gr jsp and use the 180s in my wheelguns?

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WILL WORK FOR AMMO!

Yup !

good luck and let us know

My brother has one of that era and took many deer including his first with it in northern Michigan where the shots are normally under 100 yards.
He doesn't handload but used I believe Remington 240 grain JSP ammo made for use in rifles only with good result.

The early ones seem to have a good resale value around here. I've told him to never sell it unless offering it to me first.

Amen. I bought one a year ago and it wouldn't run with
23 grains of H110 and 240 bullet. Dealer gave me refund.
Told me a couple of weeks later that it ran fine on factory
Remington 240s. At that point, I didn't care. I don't need
a finicky gun.

Joe

Mine is much later, just a few years before the end of production, but I don't recall the date offhand. I had just unloaded (no pun intended) a S&W 629 I didn't like, and had plenty of cash on hand when I walked past this little beauty. It had the box, all papers, and the "original box of ammo with only two rounds missing" all sitting there for what I thought was a good price.

The gun looked new, had one very minor little blemish on the butt, and I just liked the way it felt. It is now pretty much a safe queen, but I get it out and play with it fairly often. I'll probably never hunt with it, don't want to subject it to that kind of damage. But it would make a heck of a short, powerful home defense gun I guess. I'm more interested in just keeping it though.

What are these things going for now? Mine was bought probably 10-15 years ago.

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I hope I copied that right

well i put a scope on it and it does pretty good with 180 jhps, about a inch at 50 yards, cant wait to try it with 240 gr, ill have to go get some, loaded the 180s with 23.5 gr of 2400 and there was little or no recoil, think its gona be a fun little brush gun!

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WILL WORK FOR AMMO!

I had one in the early 1960's. It was my first centerfire rifle.

I used 240gr WW ammo in the long 20 round boxes, later Remington 240gr ammo became available, first the SP, later the SJHP.

All of them killed deer like the Hammer of Thor.

I reloaded 240gr Remington, Sierra, and Speer, bullets using 22.5gr of 2400 or 24gr of H110.

With the above ammo my Ruger was 100% reliable.

These are great for killing deer in the woods where the shots are not far. The limited capacity and slow reloading isn't a handicap for hunting.

nice my friend has one

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God save the SOUTH

I have a 1970 it is mint condition and the style of the stock, I have yet to see, It's not the Mannlicher style, but it does not have a barrel band to hold the stock. It attaches thru the factory sling and also has a Ruger medallion at the end of the pistol grip, and is a very nice walnut with inletted finger grips at the forearm. As others have mentioned
It too is very finicky about the bullet. Mine will hang trying to cycle 180 JHP, they seem to hang on the locater plate at the roof of the breech, obviously there are no issues with the 240 JHP or JSP, as I have fired many rounds without a single issue. The manual does say 240 grain bullets, I wonder if it's more of a fitment issue? The 240 is a tad longer and does not hit the leading edge of locater in the roof. We use ours as our go to buggy gun at close range for pigs in Florida, these are the Hammer of Thor at under 50 yrds, it only weighs 6 lbs and is short, 18.5 inch barrel. Hope ya'll have as much fun with them as we do, great little semi auto rifle thats really getting hard to find and are commanding big bucks from the dealers, 450 to 1000. They do need routine cleaning especially at the gas port from the barrel in to the piston cylinder and all the gunk build up on the piston, there is online detailed instructions on how to do it....it's really simple!!

I had an ad in the local paper to sell my Sig P220. Older gentleman called to inquire. I told him it was already sold. We talked and he offered me a Ruger 44 Carbine. I opened up my gun book and saw the going values. I asked how much..? Mmmmm... How about $250..?

Met him at the local range today and gladly handed him the money. Put 4 reloads(240 JHP / Unique) for my 629 Classic in her.. POP POP POP POP... 50 yards soda can flew all around... Picked up the brass came home and gave her a good cleaning...

I bought one that was made I believe in the mid '80s about 10 years ago for $400. I had wanted one since I was a kid. I remember reading my Dad's Rifle magazine from sometime in 1975 about a guy who accurized his in anticipation of a bear hunt. I still have the magazine somewhere, and re-read it recently.
If we could use pistol caliber carbines on deer in Iowa it would be my first choice.

Mine is a '73.. Happy to have it...

Imagine my surprise when i started reading this thread without looking at the date, and discovered I had already posted in it, several months ago!

Oh well, I still love my Carbine, and mine is also happiest with Remington 240grainers. Don't shoot it much at all though, it is my only safe queen rifle, have the box and all paperwork.

Incidentally, one of you mentioned you didn't get a manual with yours. Call Ruger and they will mail you one, free. Just for asking.

The Highlander

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I hope I copied that right

I have had my 44 carbine for over 30 years and taken numerous deer - too many to remember. This is a great little gun for taking deer up to 120 yards (in Michigan most shots were under 50) and have never had them run more than 20 yards, most dropped on the spot due to the shock. Most effective load SJHP 240gr. The 180's are too fast and did not provide the stopping power of the 240s. Due to expansion and few pass throughs of the 240s transferring all energy to the target proved most effective. I have never had any feed issues other than initially chambering a first round (not letting the bolt travel fast enough to feed the shell properly). I have no problem shooting sub 1.5 inch groups at 100yds (scope). Love this gun due to the handling and knock down capability... will never part with it.

I have a finger groove sporter model that puts 240gr rounds on target up to 100 yards.

Clearly none of you have one of these as there are no PICTURES

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Still Running Against the Wind

Has always been one of my "grail" guns.

I have one from about that year. I got it a few years ago. The gun was my best friends and hunting companion and upon his death his wife gave me the gun. He bought the gun new and it has a fixed four Weaver on a pivot mount.

This gun is quite accurate for a weapon of this class and my buddy took a lot of deer out of the woods of upstate NY with it. Most shots were under 50 yards, but he took a nice six pointer at 125 yards the year before he died. It now sits in a place of honor in my vault!

Someone told me mine is a finger groove sporter made in 1967. The trigger is kinda rough but is accurate.

A little Ruger .44 carbine trivia - though it would seem an unlikely choice for a sniper rifle, one was used by Mark Essex to kill 9 people (including five cops) from the roof of the Howard Johnson's in New Orleans many years ago.

The seige finally ended when NOPD officers in a borrowed National Guard helicopter hosed Essex down with M16 fire. There is a photo available of the little carbine lying next to a very dead Essex, its stock shot in two.

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“What you got, ain’t new.”

Looks like ohio might get pistol cal rifle deer hunting. Me and my 44 will be in.

They do seem to be bullet sensitive. I've had two, and neither one liked 180's. I load the Hornady 260 gr soft point with the max load of H-110. Chrono's about 1640 fps out of my gun. Drops deer like the hammer of Thor, haven't yet recovered a bullet. It's my very favorite walkin' around deer rifle. I shot one deer with a Hornady 180 XTP, the bullet entered the chest cavity and exploded. I think the carbine velocities are just too fast for this bullet. If you load the 260 gr bullet watch for OAL. I must seat the bullet to the very top of the crimp groove for it to feed reliably.

Your Ruger Deerstalker was called the Sporter Model.