[Jayhawker]

Hello:

Is there such a thing as a carbine that shoots .44 Mag ammo? Currently made? Used to be made? I'd be interested to know.

Thank you.

Pete

[Kurt]

First thoughts...

Marlin and Winchester for a levergun.

Ruger for a semi-auto

[FPrice]

My Marlin 1894 is chambered for .44Special/.44 Magnum. It's one sweet-shooting rifle and the new Cowboy versions are supposed to be even better.

[Jayhawker]

I should be more specific. If a guy was looking for something in a .44 Mag carbine (or possibly a rifle) to shoot targets, knock over plates at 100 yards plus, should I look at the lever actions? The Ruger site shows a .44 bolt action with a rotary magazine. The Marlins talk about microgroove rifling. I want to be able to shoot my reloads (preferably lead).

Pete

[jsalcedo]

Winchester Model 94 Trapper Walnut

Lever action Carbine w/ Saddle ring

side eject

.44 Rem Mag

16'' barrel

Mag capacity 9 rounds /10 rounds .44 special

Weight: 6 lbs

Overall length 33 3/4''

Length of pull 13 1/2''

Rate of twist one turn in 38''

Paid $300 NIB

With 240 grain Keith style wadcutters backed by 16.6 grains of blue dot
I easily group 1.5 to 2 inches at 100 yards with wind.

At 60 to 70 yards my friends and I can rapidly break clays hung near the backstop..

The brass ejects cleanly 3 feet to the right so its easily retrieved.

[FPrice]

Either a lever-action or a magazine fed rifle will fill the bill. I guess it all depends upon what you want. I would imagine that the lever-action would appeal to a person with more traditional values while someone with more modern leanings would like the magazine-fed rifle.

My Marlin (which is a rifle not a carbine) handles lead .44 Special loads very well. I would think it would handle your reloads unless they are off the top of the reloading charts.

[Kaylee]

Ruger used to make a .44 Mag carbine that was basically like a scaled up 10/22. Semi-auto, tube magazine. Local shop has one I think.

Isn't their current "deerfield" also .44? Mini-14 type action, rotary magazine.. I THINK.


all that said... the leverguns sound like more fun. :)



-K

[Mike Irwin]

Doesn't Rossi also make a .44 Mag. lever rifle?

[dfariswheel]

There was also the Universal Vulcan, a .44 Mag pump rifle, based on the M1 carbine.

Browning made a run of Winchester 1892 Carbine "Clones" chambered in .44 Mag.

There have been a number of carbines in .44 Mag based on actions like the Remington Rolling Block.

[Badger Arms]

Ruger, Marlin, and Winchester all make 44 Magnum lever action carbines. Ruger also makes a semi that's essentially the bastard child of a Mini-14 and 10/22. Fairly well done, but I own the original semi-auto tube fed gun and prefer this versaion. Ruger makes a third 44 Rifle... a Bolt Action which is an outstanding gun.

If it were me, I'd buy the Marlin 1894SS with a 20" barrel. It's a stainless steel lever action that's easy to mount a scope on, handy, light, and relatively cheap. Unlike the Ruger, you can use long bullets in the Marlin and get away with it. That's a real important advantage for me in Alaska where I MIGHT want to shoot 300gr bullets. That extra versatility is vital.


Here's the Winchester:
http://www.winchester-guns.com/prodinfo/catalog/category.asp?cat=003C
http://www.winchester-guns.com/prodinfo/catalog/images/534094m.jpg

Here's the Marlin:
http://www.marlinfirearms.com/firearms/1894_centerfireRifles/index.htm
http://www.marlinfirearms.com/firearms/images/firearmImages/1894ss.jpg

Here's the Ruger lever gun:
http://www.ruger-firearms.com/Firearms/FAProdView?model=6401&return=Y
http://www.ruger-firearms.com/Firearms/images/Products/39H.gif

Here's the Ruger auto:
http://www.ruger-firearms.com/Firearms/FAProdView?model=6301&return=Y
http://www.ruger-firearms.com/Firearms/images/Products/30H.gif

And finally, here's the Ruger Bolt:
http://www.ruger-firearms.com/Firearms/FAProdView?model=7402&return=Y
http://www.ruger-firearms.com/Firearms/images/Products/27H.gif

[russlate]

"Fairly well done?"

( Thee would'st not praise Ruger with faint comdemnation - or would thee?) :cuss:

On second thought a couple of them Rugers has been beat on with an ugly stick and then some.

[firestar]

My dad has one of the original Ruger .44mag carbines. It is a 3 shot I think. It is rather short but kind of heavy and chunky for it's size. It is also not very accurate at all, 3-4" groups at 50 yards are about all I have been able to get out of it and that is with a nice Redfield scope mounted.

I would never buy one of the Rugers semi-autos because of the above reasons. The Marlin and Winchester lever actions feel so much more balanced user friendly. From what I hear, they tend to be more accurate also.

Maybe we just have a bad Ruger .44mag but I also had a Ruger 10/22 that jammed and was not very accurate either (1 1/2" groups at 25 yards with a good scope).

[Badger Arms]

While I agree that the Marlin and Winchester are better guns, my Ruger Semi-Auto groups under 3" at 100 yards all day long. A 10/22 that jams is somewhat of a misleading statement. Every 22 semi-auto will jam with some ammo. 22lr ammo just comes in too many variations to reliably feed. Accuracy is also a very subjective thing. Growing around gun-nuts in another generation, the majority would complain about their guns, their loads, their scope, the wind, etc. to explain why the gun wasn't accurate. The problem was, the vast majority of these guns were as accurate as they should have been, but the owners were inaccurate. Pride surely cost them lots of money.

These days, mediocre shots will spend hundreds and even thousands getting target actions trued and lapped, free-float glass bedded on Kevlar stocks, buy match grade ammunition, put the best scopes money can buy on a gun that only knows how to shoot from a sandbag and then NEVER WORK ON THEIR FLINCH. I've shot a few 'inaccurate' guns only to find out I'm a better shot than I thought.

[Hutch]

Picking up on your question regarding cast bullets and Marlin Microgroove rifling, I offer the following. My 1894C in .44 shoots lead bullets just fine w/ Ugroove. Current production on all pistol caliber Marlin levers is with standard Ballard cut rifling. Hope this helps...

[TN-popo]

I love my Marlin 1894P 16" .44mag. I added Ashley Express Sights to make it even better. Mine happens to prefer the 240gr. weight bullet.
When I compared it to the Winchester, Marlin's smoother action was the main deciding factor for me (I like the side ejection, too).
Best

[keano44]

Shooting lead bullets is not recommended in the Ruger semi-auto carbines. My old model .44 Carbine is plenty accurate for deer hunting. All the current Ruger .44's use the same removable rotary magazine, which holds, IIRC, 4 rounds. As was stated above, there are cartridge length limitations with this magazine.

[Quartus]

Doesn't Rossi also make a .44 Mag. lever rifle?




Hmmm. I think they used to, aimed at the cowboy shooting market.


Uh, well, not AIMED at them, I mean, uh....



:D

[magnumjim]

I have a Ruger Sporter model semiauto in 44 mag.
I bought it for my wife back in the sixtys.
At fifty yards it shoots one hole groups but at one
hundred yards off sand bags it groups about a foot.
Strictly a very short range rifle. This one anyway.

[Abominable No-Man]

Wasn't the original .44 magnum Ruger carbine called the "Deerslayer"?

I don't think it's the same one as the one they make now.

ANM

[magnumjim]

Hey Abominable No Man:
I think they were and they came in three models.
The standerd model (looks like the M1 Carbine),
the Sporter and the International? a full length
Mannlicher stock.

[tex_n_cal]

a tip on the Rugers...they can be accurized - a subtle trick is get one of the steel buttplates, or else add some rubber sheet to the original.

The plastic buttplates are too slick - slide all over your shoulder in recoil, and throw off a lot of shots as a result.

[magnumjim]

I don't worry about the accuarcy of this one anymore.
I watched my wife slam a nice Buck to the ground with
it (never saw a deer hit the deck any harder) and after
she calmed down we walked up there and he was gone.
It was pouring rain and we never did find that buck.
We looked for 4 hours and even got some help looking.
That was the last day of the season and when I was
cleaning her rifle that night she told me to clean it good
because it was retired. She was going to shoot something
with a lot more punch. She now shoots a 30/06 and loves it.

[Badger Arms]

While I agree that more power will make cleaner kills, I don't think it was the 44's fault. It killed the deer and any deer that can walk away from a clean 44 hit, well, let's just say it probably had the last laugh.