Ruger 44 carbine for home defense

Status
Not open for further replies.

Isaac-1

Member
Joined
Apr 3, 2011
Messages
493
Location
SW Louisiana, not near N.O.
This may be an odd question, but if you had to pick a defensive load for home defense using an older tubular magazine style Ruger 44 carbine semi-auto, what would you pick? This is for a relative and the only guns they own (mostly inherited) are .22's (rifle and pistol), along with a questionable condition shotgun and the Ruger .44 Carbine. They don't have many near by neighbors, so over penetration is not too much of a concern.

thanks for your thoughts
 
Ditto.

A .44 Magnum is an impressive thing, especially from a rifle. It will no doubt stop anything coming in. And yes, just find a load that functions perfectly.

Deaf
 
Might I suggets

Unless the relative is handicapped,I strongly suggest that you go with a lever action in .357 with low recoil and LOW flash powder.

I would also say a .45 Colt lever gun with a good lighter bullet would be a good choice too.

More rounds in the tube, [ the Ruger.44 mag only holds 4 I believe ] the tube for a lever gun should hold a minimum of 10 rounds.

Take them out and make sure they practice and then GTG.
 
I would not be worried about having only four rounds of .44 Magnum from a carbine, in a self defense situation in my home... plus a standby .22 LR pistol. I'd bet a round or two would either put a bad guy down for the count, or running out of the house as fast as he could.

Two guys?? One or two for each. Accuracy counts. Spray and pray is no good no matter how many rounds in a magazine.

I sometimes think we fantasize a bit too much about multiple bad guys kicking down our door. :)

L.W.
 
4 rounds is plenty with that 44 carbine. I have a second year model and due to the size/weight/shape (nearly identical to a 10/22) its very easy to point shoot out to 30ft, so dark isnt a big issue (muzzle flash at night is bad with anything).
 
That's a sweet rifle and I'd love to own one.


Practice with it, find a load that makes it function, and be content. That's one hard-hitting round out of a carbine. And a carbine that handles extremely well and is quite handy in confined spaces to boot. No big magazine hanging off the bottom . . . sights close to the boreline. . .


Frankly I'm jealous.
 
if you had to pick a defensive load for home defense using an older tubular magazine style Ruger 44 carbine semi-auto, what would you pick?

The three most important factors for any load to be used in any defensive firearm are reliability, reliability and reliability. The gun MUST run reliably with the load chosen, even if that load doesn't offer the 'best' bullet available, or the highest velocity.
 
They will be fine with what they have. Reliability in ammo is most important and practicing with it. When they save some money a 12 or 20 gauge pump is a great cost effective home defense weapon.
 
I am unfamiliar with this type of gun, is it gas operated or recoil? I would guess gas, and I was reading about using bullets plated with mild steel in the semi auto 44 carbines back in the 70's, but that would go through everything. If it is gas I would suggest Winchester plated HP, maybe even the PDX1, just stay away from straight lead, as lead fowling can block the gas ports.
 
Yes it's gas operated. Sadly the system is set up so you can't add an extension tube like a 12 gauge (and if it had THAT it would be cool, 8 shot simi .44!)

I remember in collage a girl who hunted used one of those .44 Ruger semi-auto carbines to hunt. They are a bit of a collectors item now but they will shoot!

Deaf
 
As you can see these are out of stock, but if you can find them they run like greased snot thru my 1971 Carbine. You want nothing to catch, slippery plating helps and the lighter 210 grain weight lessens recoil a little. These really expand out of the carbine barrel, a little too much for deer hunting.My carbine once in a while hiccups on 180 grain spire points. It will NOT feed the polymer tipped Leverlution rounds at all. It likes 240 grain JSP and these 210 Silvertips
http://www.midwayusa.com/product/60...um-210-grain-silvertip-hollow-point-box-of-20
025-1.gif
 
Last edited:
If it's reliable, fits, and is paid for, go for it! When money allows pick up a good revolver for a back up--.44 special or .44 magnum would be sweet, but a .357 would probably be easier/cheaper to find.

If the rifle is old, it is probably overdue for a field stripping (per owners manual available online from Ruger I would think) and proper lubing.

Right now the gun market is nuts, better to hang on to what you have until it settles down.
 
I actually had one

But thought it had MORE felt recoil than the revolvers I shot the same round through.

And a .44 magnum on a house = really ?.

Of all the overpenetration rounds in a house I do believe this is one of THE worst choices.

I hope they do not live next door to any [ within a few hundred yards ].

The carbine will not function with .44 special as will a handgun,do as you so need.

But remember that after the shot is fired ---- comes the law,courts AND the lawsuits.
 
Basically anything in .44 Magnum, especially at carbine length barrel velocities, will exit the human body with minimal expansion, except for maybe the 180 Grainers. I would start with the 180 Grain JHPs, and if they aren't reliable go up to the 210 Grain or 240 Grain Bullets.

Back when I was doing alot of .44 Magnum shooting I loaded a 180 Grain Remington JHP with an almost max load of W296. This load would average 1800 fps from a 7.5 Inch Ruger Redhawk and 2050 fps from a Marlin 1894 Lever Action. It would split 2 or 3 Liter Coke Bottles filled with water completely in half on impact.

Just my .02,
LeonCarr
 
Last edited:
No a Ruger .44 carbine will NOT feed .44specials from the magazine!:rolleyes:
I took mine out today to the range because of this thread and fired 40 (10 mag loads) of the 225 grain silvertips and it fed like poop thru a goose. The recoil was a pleasant muted sensation that did not bounce my eyes off target. I got 4" at 100 yard groups off bags with the 2.5 post weaver and 2" 50 yard groups I yanked off the scope (Warne Lever rings) and used the opensights to get 6" 50 yard standing 4 round groups. Put the scope back on and fired from bags seemed centered.
A very fun gun and feels about twice as powerful as an M-1 carbine. The downside is it is damned hard to load the tube mag IMHO.Pigs and deer to 100 yards are OK but 50 is better. Humans to 50 yards are in big trouble and it will take off up to 5 zombie heads at 25 yards real quick, but better have a .44 revolver for a back up while you reload!:cool:
 
and it will take off up to 5 zombie heads at 25 yards real quick, but better have a .44 revolver for a back up while you reload!

Well we can all sleep well tonight knowing this is a Zombie-Rated rifle!! :p
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top