Ruger 44 auto carbine

they might not cycle the action.gun is designed for 240 grain jacketed
http://rugerforum.net/ruger-semi-auto/69616-44-spec-44-mag.html

That rifle is designed and chambered for .44mag only, not .44spl. Its not like a wheel gun or lever rifle. The action will not cycle and the chamber will become fouled preventing 44mags from cycling. Better of just lightly downloading magnums.

If you have a .308, do like I did and buy some of the German made plastic tipped practice ammo. With 7gr plastic bullets, there's virtually no recoil and they cost under 10 cents a round. Pretty accurate to 50yds. The kiddos love to shoot them at frogs from grandpas lever action .308.

I've had one for years.

* Don't try lead bullets, even at the same weight. Fouls gas port.
* Don't try .44 Specials. The feed mechanism won't feed the shorter length.
* Don't try .44 Magnum WNFP. The feed mechanism likes SAAMI length cartridges with a rounded bullet profile. JHP's or JSP's are OK.
* Don't try downloading .44 Magnum. The gas mechanism is designed for "full-up" loads and they action won't work reliably, or at all.

Other than that, it's a nice, light carbine.

But the limitations make me like my Marlin 1894 better.

I have an early model 44 carbine and I can shoot specials, tho since I reload I can load 44 mags to lower levels...you have to cycle the action yourself. I have shot lots of lead in mine with no problems, tho easy to take apart and fix if it ever does cause any hiccups. I shoot flat nosed lead and jacketed bullets accurately with mine. I would recommend to the OP if you want the kiddies to shoot lighter loads(this carbine has decent amount of recoil) try the specials to see if they will cycle in your gun and if so and you don't mind manually cycling the action than go for it. Better choice again you will need to cycle the action roll your own target duty ammo or have some oldtimer that reloads do it for you. JMHO

Just because a 44 Special has a shorter case, it does not mean that it is less expensive to shoot . My question: If you handloaded a 44 magnum to lower velocities, could you use the rifle like a straight line bolt action and just manually cycle the bolt?

I have wanted one of these for years, but have never come across one in the configuration I wanted.

I can't offer anything except the results I got. When I tried reduced loads, I got FTF's or FTE's. Maybe I didn't go light enough, I don't know.

IMO, if you want to mess around with the great versatility the .44 Magnum is capable of, you don't want to use the Ruger .44 Carbine as the base.

I shot hundreds of rounds of cast 240 SWC gas check rounds with a moderate load of 20.0 of 2400 from one without a hitch and great accuracy. The recoil was very mild and it was fun to shoot. The only problem I had was when I tried a 240 non gas check round the accuracy was terrible but the rifle still cycled. Well maybe that was not the only problem, I also wish now I would have kept the rifle...