44 mag carbine

All this reminds me that I have a Marlin 1894 in .44 mag around here that I have never shot. Bought it at a Big 5 promotion a couple of years ago to keep company with a 629 I had acquired a couple of months earlier. But -- familiar story -- I handled the one they had on display and then wrote up the paperwork on a boxed gun from the back room. Mistake. The front sight was crushed into the slot at an angle and couldn't be made to fit. Rather than send it back, I just ordered a replacement front sight and then found it was the wrong one. I can make this right, but other things have taken priority.

I thought I would put a tang sight on it some day. I like the action and the way it feels.
 
Let me add that a friend of mine has a Ruger Bolt rifle in 44 Mag and likes it a bunch.
 
If you buy one of the older Ruger .44 mag semi-auto's....they only work properly with full power 240gr magnum ammo.

I've owned both an older Ruger, and a Marlin 94 in .44 mag. I've used both for hunting.....lots of punch, decent accuracy.....both brands of .44 mag carbine lived up to expectations.

The cool old Ruger 10-22 lookalike .44 mags carbines just plain don't like puny ammo....or 'Blazer' aluminum case ammo.
 
just two...an older Ruger 77/44 and a Winchester 94 with 16" barrel. The Winchester is by far the most accurate of the two.

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Always wanted one and had my eye on the Ruger Deerslayer, but after discovering that they won't shoot lead - all I ever use - I had to look elsewhere.

Found this 1894 recently and took it home. Fantastic rifle! 1978 vintage, no CBS, shoots my reloads accurately. Word is, these like fat bullets, .431 or more, but this one works real good with my skinny .429's.

I swiped this Leupold 2x7 Vx II off another of my rifles and it's a perfect match for this rifle. 2x and you can shoot with both eyes open.

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I can't say enough about how much I like this rifle. More power than a 30-30 in the first 100 yards by a good margin, flat shooting and hard hitting. Reloads costing as little as they do when you cast, it's an inexpensive fun rifle that's accurate and easy handling. Perfect brush gun.
 
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44 mag lever gun is a logical little rifle to use as a brush gun. In fact, I believe that ultimately the 500 S&W round will find a home in such a carbine and enjoy far greater popularity there than it does in its current native X frame wheel gun.
 
"Always wanted one and had my eye on the Ruger Deerslayer, but after discovering that they won't shoot lead - all I ever use - I had to look elsewhere."

They will shoot lead bullets (mine did well with my home-cast SWC's) but it plugs up the gas system after a while and it is a pain to take this gun apart enough to clean that out.
 
I have a 1978 vintage Marlin 1894, great little gun, has the Micro Groove rifling. I think the newer Marlins have the Ballard rifling which the CAS shooters found worked better with lead bullets.
 
The Browning B-92 in 44 Magnum is a fine lever gun if you can find one. Mine is slick and accurate. The Ruger 96/44 is a good non-traditional lever gun that I also enjoy. The Marlins are probably the best pick of the currently manufactured rifles. I have a Marlin Cowboy in 45 Colt that is an excellent rifle.
 
I've taken many, many deer with a Ruger .44 auto. Never had a malfunction. Had it almost given to me by someone who plugged up the gas system shooting butter-soft lead bullets in it.
I hunt alot of thick woods and creekbottoms. The Ruger .44 and my Winchester Trapper .45 Colt with hot Hornady 250 gr. XTPs perform perfectly.
 
BUFF said:
"Always wanted one and had my eye on the Ruger Deerslayer, but after discovering that they won't shoot lead - all I ever use - I had to look elsewhere."

They will shoot lead bullets (mine did well with my home-cast SWC's) but it plugs up the gas system after a while and it is a pain to take this gun apart enough to clean that out.
Click to expand...

I understand it can physically shoot lead, so can a Desert Eagle, but their gas systems aren't made to handle it and I don't like cleaning out the port on such firearms or having them go single shot at a bad time.

I have a Mini 30 and I worked up some 160g gas checked loads for it. They shot well, but gummed up the port. I have a reduced size port in it to be fair, but just the same, I am not shooting lead in it anymore.
 
older no warning .44 ruger auto here. as noted, shoot factory 240s and its perfect. 180s wont cyle good even if its clean after about 500+ rounds mine needs a thorough detail clean.

when its clean and running, it is so dead on accurate. i have a leupold 3x M8 in a tip off mount . it will detonate oranges at 50+ yards with no problem at all. my wife likes shooting it as there is no recoil. its also fun for her becuase in her words "what ever you put the x ( thats crosshairs, babe) on it hits" and vaporizing old prodcue at the BLM range is quite fun for an infrequent shooter.

i passed on a older 336 (not 1894) marlin in .44 and of course a few weeks alter i went back and it was gone. never seen one before or since.

no experience with winchester or puma/rossi

anybody got a lead on a nice no safety marlin .44 ?
 
I took my first whitetail buck at a distance better measured in feet than yards, with a Winchester 94 in .44 Mag. Sold that and acquired a Ruger Deerslayer that disappointed, ballisticaly. Not long ago, on a whim, bought a Marlin 1894 SS .44 that could not be made to shoot anywhere near point-of-aim with either the factory open sights, or the adjustable XS ghost ring sights I tried. However, while I was monkeying around with this rifle, I found that there are several 'smiths who work wonders on Marlins, and if you are really enamored of the platform, you can throw enough money at it to end up with an exquisite example of the pistol-caliber lever gun.

It didn't mean much to me to have a very expensive plinker, so I just got rid of the gun...
 
I have an older Rossi "Puma" model with an ugly looking "Tigre" medallion on the side. It feeds specials and mag equally well in Semi-Wadcutter, RF and wadcutter profiles. It has never seen factiry or jacketed ammo since I bought it used. Make sure that your wish gun feeds what you want it to. Bring a loaded unprimed shell to the gun shop to make sure if you reload.
 
Marlin 1894C Limited. Beautiful rifle and will knock your socks off using full house loads. You can see the lines on the rear stock where I slide on a "Limb Saver". I am a wimp on rifle recoil. Handguns do not bother me, I'd rather shoot my 629.:)

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ElToro said:
i passed on a older 336 (not 1894) marlin in .44 and of course a few weeks alter i went back and it was gone. never seen one before or since.
Click to expand...

Don't fret over missing out on that 336.... There is a reason why they didn't make many of them. The 336 wasn't designed to cycle handgun rounds and therefore can sometimes give you a problem.
The 1894 is perfectly designed for the handgun cartridges. If you want a Marlin in .44 Mag, look for a pre-CBS m.1894
 
i have a ss 44 marlin, a 1894 44 oct barrell, 30 30, 35, 45/70. the ss 44 is a great shooter. i can eat up a pie plate at 100 yard open sights. well i had too my brother and father were watching. but as a shooter it is wonderful. i think my favorite is the 45/70 i know with it i can take anything, but it will rattle your teeth. Doeboy
 
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