It might be a real good idea to look at the Ohio list since he lives in Ohio.
http://wildlife.ohiodnr.gov/portals/wildlife/PDFs/hunting/Cartridges.pdf
Might be a real good idea to read the original post since he stated that he hunts both Ohio and Indiana.
Sorry for the snark, but if you're gonna dish it out...
Anyway, .44 mag works very well for deer. I took two deer with my Marlin 1894 last year, the first year I had it. Side eject on the Marlin lets you use optics if you wish. I mounted a Burris FF3 on mine. Works very nicely and IMHO doesn't bugger up the aesthetic too much since the FF3 is so small.