Best 44 Mag Lever Gun?

[MovedWest]

I was in the same position. I own several Ruger Super Blackhawks and reload. A lever action was my logical next step. I've heard good things about the Marlins and might pick one up later, but the one I decided on was the Winchester 92 in 44mag.

It's made by Miroku and the workmanship is super nice. Its more accurate than I am, and the action is slicker than snot on a doorknob. This is one of those rifles that I plan on making a family heirloom - and a mighty fine hunter as well.

Although they might require some searching to track one down, they're out there. It took almost 2 years for me to find mine, but it was well worth the wait.

-MW

 

[Hanzerik]

Upon asking the local gunsmith he told me that the standard .44 mag factory loads will burn up all their powder in the 1st 14" of barrel after that it starts to slow down. I did some velocity testing with my redhawk and my marlin with the chrono. set at 60 yds from the bench and the results were: redhawk w/ 240 gr. sp. was 1575fps. 4 round average. The marlin w/ 240gr. sp. was at 1004fps. so this confirmed what the gunsmith told me. So now its just a plinker and purchased a .444 marlin and has dropped everything i shot with it.

Maybe your Marlin suffered from an over-sized bore like a lot of them did. Not sure if an over-sized bore would make a gun lose that much velocity though. A lot of folks shoot over-sized cast bullets (.432+) because they work better then a normally sized cast bullet at .429-.430.

I just shot some Ranch Dog 265gr Gas Checked bullets yesterday and was impressed with the accuracy of the .432 bullets. All of the other cast bullets I had been shooting were .430 and leaded my barrels pretty bad, and accuracy was ok, but not what I would call nail-driving. I'm going to place an order for the RD mold when funds become available.

Most leverguns in the magnum pistol calibers gain a few hundred FPS out of a carbine/rifle length barrel, then what the do out of a pistol.

 

[bluetopper]

Aren't the oversize bore Marlins the ones with the old "microgroove" barrels?

 

[CraigC]

Definitely something weird going on there, NO .44Mag load that hits 1500fps in a sixgun is gonna lose 500fps out of a rifle. Unless the barrel is 20ft long.

 

[Cocked & Locked]

This Winchester .44 magnum is the only one I have...never owned another one. I like it with its 16" barrel and large loop lever. Shoots great with Hornady XTP bullets in reloads.

 

[vaupet]

@ cocked and locked: very nice.
curious about the sling, looks like the one target shooters use. Do you have the make and model available?
curious about the big lever: is it original or aftermarket
curious about the saddle ring: is it original as well?

looks like my ideal lever: short barrel, straight stock, big lever, adjustable peepsight and saddle ring

TIA

Peter

 

[Cocked & Locked]

Winchester 94AE "Wrangler" .44 magnum

Thanks for your comments. The sling is an old worn one I bought for $5. I can't make myself drill a hole in a previously not drilled Winchester stock. Instead, I removed the butt plate and put a piece of leather under it to attach the sling and swivel to.

The saddle ring and large loop lever are original to the gun. I did wrap the lever. I also replaced the front sight with a gold bead one...also removed factory rear sight and filled the dovetail with a blank. The Williams receiver sight has a large diameter "Twilight aperture" in it...Large hole surrounded by a thin brass ring.

 

[T.R.]

I agree that RUGER 96 is the best lever design ever for the 44 MAG.

I'll add to the previous list of reasons:

1:20 twist to stabilize heavy bullets of 300 grains and more.

- High level of accuracy with these heavy bullets.

- High level of accuracy with the slower 44 Special ammo.

Excellent trigger right from the box.

I owned a Marlin 1894 model with slo-o-o-ow twist and microgroove rifling. This carbine with its ridiculous twist 1:38 shot it's very best (just OK) with 200 grain Hornady (.430) hollow tip bullet. I killed 11 blacktail deer with it when I was stationed with USAF in northern California. My shots never exceeded 80 yards with the Hornady bullet. But this carbine shot horrible 7 inch groups at 100 yards with Remington or Winchester ammo. I sold this Marlin when the Ruger 96 came out and never looked back.

TR

 

[JNewell]

Browning B92 repro of the 1892. Best made, sweetest shooting .44M levergun made.

 

[bluetopper]

Anybody had any experience with the Puma/Chiappa or any other of the Italian made reproductions?

 

[Gordon]

Browning B92 !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I have used mine for 25 years and it never acted up in any way. I got rid of my Marlin Cowboy .44 about 5 years ago, It was rough as a cob IMHO.
http://www.gunbroker.com/Auction/ViewItem.aspx?Item=206307715

 

[Kernel]

I can't make myself drill a hole in a previously not drilled Winchester stock. Instead, I removed the butt plate and put a piece of leather under it to attach the sling and swivel to.

That's a great idea.

 

[Cocked & Locked]

I agree that RUGER 96 is the best lever design ever for the 44 MAG.

I'll add to the previous list of reasons:

1:20 twist to stabilize heavy bullets of 300 grains and more.

- High level of accuracy with these heavy bullets.

- High level of accuracy with the slower 44 Special ammo.

That's great to hear! I wondered how the 96/44 was for accuracy. Off topic, but I had a Ruger 77/44 bolt action. It was the most inaccurate rifle I ever owned. Looked great but it was a loser.

I never could work up a accurate handload with any weight bullet for it. Winchester white box 240 grain was the most accurate ammo in...12" groups at 100 yards. Not good.

 

[Black Frog]

That's great to hear! I wondered how the 96/44 was for accuracy.

Just a note about that... I've played with a LOT of Ruger 44's over the years.
Original 44 Carbine, 77/44, 96/44, and Deefields. And multiples of each model.

Some Rugers are shooters, others are not. Don't know why or what causes it, but be aware that sometimes you will run into a rifle that just does not group well no matter what ammo you put through it. I have several 96/44's now, and one of the guns just will not cooperate. Plenty good enough for 100yd whitetail hunting, but 6" groups outta that particular gun are common no matter what ammo weight or make I put through it. My other 96/44's behave much better.

 

[CraigC]

Unfortunately, the Ruger's magazine will be the limiting factor. There's simply not enough room to take advantage of its faster twist rate.

 

[Cocked & Locked]

Unfortunately, the Ruger's magazine will be the limiting factor. There's simply not enough room to take advantage of its faster twist rate.

I don't understand the connection between magazine and barrel twist. I'm guessing you're referring to overall cartridge length in the magazine when using 300 grain bullets?

 

[68wj]

Now I am in the same pickle. I am wanting to trade the Winny .30-30 for a .44. Unfortunately I plan to shoot a lot of cast bullets through it and am concerned about the Marlin complaints.

 

[OldRook]

I have owned two marlin 1894's in 44 mag, reasonably accurate guns, 2" at 100 yards for what they are

have a winchester 94 AE saddle ring carbine in 44 magnum, maybe a bit better shooting rifle, but could be my wishes...

have 2 ruger 77 44 magnum stainless/synthetic rifles.. shoot about the same as the marlins...

fine gun for white tails up to 150 yards.. after that you better just watch them...

shoot hornady 240 gr XTP's and H110... can ring the metal gong at 200 regularly, but get enough flyers (some of it is the shooter i'm sure) that it would have to be a tremendously tempting target at 200..

 

[Dr.Rob]

Marlin 1894 is a hell of a rifle, but unless you reallllllllllly want that octagon barrel don't buy the cowboy limited model. Also I've found some of my handloaded 300gr xtp's that fit in my Super BlackHawk Hunter won't work in the Marlin. They are too long to operate properly.

However, Prvi factory 300 gr jsp's work just fine. And that's one heck of a bullet.

(This user has the cowboy limited model and it's fantastic, just saying that it's about $200 more than a standard model)

 

[CraigC]

I don't understand the connection between magazine and barrel twist. I'm guessing you're referring to overall cartridge length in the magazine when using 300 grain bullets?

Correct. The twist is fast enough to stabilize the heavyweights, up to and including 355gr but the magazine is too short to contain them.

This user has the cowboy limited model and it's fantastic, just saying that it's about $200 more than a standard model

That's because the octagon barrels are supplied by Badger.

 

[chasw44]

I have two Marlins, an M1894 in .44 mag and a M444 with a custom 1in24 twist Douglas barrel. The .444 is a tack driver with 300 grain cast bullets, the M1894 has the factory Ballard tube, with the 1in48 twist, which I had cut back to 18.5 inches so I could mount the front sight behind the front band, carbine style. It does OK with the short 240 grainers. Modern shooters don't usually carry their Marlin carbines in saddle scabbards, so Marlin long ago moved the front band back a few inches and put the front sight at the very end of the barrel, for more sight radius I guess.

In any event, both rifles have trouble feeding SWC bullets, so I load LBT style cast bullets instead, with a taper crimp. These have a smooth ogive all the way back to the mouth of the case and feed without a hitch. Ditto the comments about the Marlin design -simple, foolproof, easy to disassemble and clean. Detail stripping and reassembling a Winchester lever action requires 3 days of pray and fasting, or so they say. - CW

 

[270]

As about 3 other guys have said: Browning B-92 saddle ring carbine. The best gun for the handgun cartridges ever made. Quality all the way. I've looked at about all and had some others mentioned here. The Browning B-92 is the very best.

Good one for around 700 to 1000. A case where you pay more and get more.

270

 

[FredT]

That's great to hear! I wondered how the 96/44 was for accuracy. Off topic, but I had a Ruger 77/44 bolt action. It was the most inaccurate rifle I ever owned. Looked great but it was a loser.

I never could work up a accurate handload with any weight bullet for it. Winchester white box 240 grain was the most accurate ammo in...12" groups at 100 yards. Not good.

I too have one of these 77/44s, one of the most disgustingly inaccurate rifles I ever owned. I had Bullberry rebarrel it with a varmint weight barrel and now it shoots OK, not the one inch they guarantee. It is now one of the most expensive rifles I own and can not afford to sell it, but I like it now.