44 mag self-defense round for 1894 carbine?

[Mattole]

Living in bear / mountain lion / meth addict country I have decided to have a Marlin 1894 44 mag carbine as the home-ranch defense tool. For home defense against the 2-legged my initial thoughts are to go with something like 44 special+p or 44 mag Magsafe frangible rounds. Any suggestions? I am looking for good performance and low recoil ammo so that my wife can use it if necessary. Thank you.

 

[roo_ster]

When we had my wife's .44 mag Rossi 92 set up for personal defense, I stoked it with 240gr LSWC on top of the max book load of Trail Boss in .44mag cases. The recoil was very mild.

If you must use commercial, I would suggest a .44mag cowboy load with a LRN-FP in 240gr. Still effective & still low recoil.

Good luck.

 

[roscoe]

Have you tried some .44 Special rounds? Almost no recoil, and they are plenty for defense against humans.

Read here:
http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?t=153737

 

[CPLofMARINES]

Recoil from a .44 carbine should'nt be that bad. I would go with 185
grn. JHP, Magnum that is.



Semper Fi!!

 

[gunnerh]

I like the Norma carbine load (240gr. SP at 1700fps) out my Ruger carbine. Mild recoil and super stopping power. It has killed a fair number of feral hogs. I have tried to reload to factory spec's. Have not gotten them to print as well as I would like. You may want to try a few differant loadings. The 44 carbines as a rule like heavier bullets. Good Luck with the new gun.

 

[Gustav]

Federal Hi Shock 180 grain JHPs seem to do well as they are going over 2100 fps in most carbines.

The 240 grainers tend to penetrate more from what I have seen that is great for hunting but not always the case for other purposes IMO.