Marlin 1894 lever or Ruger Deerfield semi for .44mag?

[DHart]

I'm thinking I might like to add a .44 mag carbine/short rifle to my rifle assortment. The potential use would possibly be defensive, really, since I'm not a hunter. And though one of my 12 gauge shotguns would probably make a much better defense long arm for a homeowner on 5 acres, the idea of having a .44 mag. short rifle just sounds appealing to me. I might use it for plinking... but, I know, that's a pretty costly caliber to "plink" with.

Anyway, I have several Marlin lever rifles (1894's all of them) one in .38 spl., one in .357 mag., and one in .45 Colt. Certainly I could just stock my Marlin .45 Colt with CorBon .45 Colt ammo and call it good, but the .44 mag. has been calling me for years and I'll probably yield to itsooner or later. I like the Marlin levers a lot. But I am also drawn to the Ruger Deerfield semi-auto .44 mag. Rifle caliber rifles don't really appeal to me, especially since I'm not a hunter.

Does anyone have any data on which of these two rifles might prove to be more reliable in a defense situation? If it came down to it and I had to use the rifle for defense, reliability is, of course, the #1 factor. I'm pretty confident in the lever rifle, but not sure how reliable the Ruger Deerfield is, being an auto-loader. The ammo used would probably be defense-oriented softpoint or hollow point.

So, for a .44 mag. defense rifle, which would it be: Marlin 1894 or Ruger Deerfield, and why?

 

[jem375]

I had a 1894 44 mag carbine which I ended up giving to my grandson and it was a really nice rifle....I would buy another in a heartbeat, but have a couple of 308's, so didn't need it.....the one thing about the Marlin 1894 is that it will hold 10 44 Mags and that is a lot..I haven't really checked out a semi-auto in 44 because I really don't need one.....

 

[George Hill]

An 1894 44 mag carbine would make for an excellent deer/home defense/SHTF rifle.

 

[Mannlicher]

I can recommend the Marlin 1894for hunting, having used one for whitetail for the past 8 years now. 7 one shot kills, at under 75 yards. Pretty consistant. Pretty effective on feral hogs also.
I do not recommend lever guns for SD. You cannot reload them quickly, and frankly, there are much better platforms than lever guns for that.

 

[sumpnz]

Well, just as a piece of info to chew on, keep in mind that the Ruger Deerfield uses their rotary magazine. That will allow you to use spitzer type bullets that would not be OK in a tube mag, but it also restricts you to 4 rounds (+1 in the chamber). The Marlins, from what I understand, give you 10+1 capacity. Slower to reload the tube mags, but really, how many of us are likely to ever be a situation where we'd need more than 11 rounds anyway?

Now I've been wondering why Ruger doesn't also make the Deerfield able to take box mags so that you could easily increase the capacity, but then again they don't seem to think we peons rate higher capacity mags anyway.

 

[DHart]

The actual likelihood of me having to use the .44 mag for self defense is really slim. And if I did, I think I'd prefer 10+1=11 over 4+1 = 5. If I fired 11 shots from the Marlin, I seriously douubt there would be much need for a fast reload. Plus, if it was a protracted shoot out, one can always feed the tube any time there is a spare moment. I think I would lean toward the Marlin, actually. Of course, I'd be most likely to grab my Mossberg 500 Defender... six shells of buckshot gives some serious defensive power. I can't see really using the .44 mag unless we had a serious breakdown of law and order and self defense became a much bigger issue than is is currently. Not that I'm expecting such a thing to occur, but it's nice to know that there are a variety of potent long arms, shotguns, and pistols close at hand if the SHIF.

 

[Lobotomy Boy]

The older Deerfields had a different type of magazine. You can tell them because they had a rectangular magazine well and a single-stack magazine. I believe the magazine stuck down below the frame, but can't remember how many rounds the magazine held. I think Ruger went with the rotary mag when it brought the deerfield back because they didn't want the gun to have any "evil" visual characteristics.

I also think the older models generally seemed to be of higher quality than the current version.

Personally, I'd go with the Marlin. I bet I could cycle five rounds through the Marlin almost as fast I could with the Ruger, and the Marlin is much less likely to have feeding problems. Plus it is a dang good looking gun.

 

[DHart]

Yep... I think Marlin is the choice here...

 

[Scoob]

With the lever gun, you can reload WHILE your shooting it

You can pop a round in in a heartbeat. This is one thing that I love about mine. I seldom ever fully load and fully empty it. Fun guns to shoot in my opinion and very capable in defensive applications.

 

[MrMurphy]

Especially since you have other 1894s, I'd go with the levergun.

The Deerfield doesn't like some weights of .44 Mag rounds, apparently doesn't like .44 Specials, and as noted only hold four rounds in the magazine.

The iron sights on the Deerfield suck. The 1894 with a XSS Ghost Ring is excellent for close range contact. Wild West Guns also makes a good ghost ring.

You could also consider a .30 Carbine (one of the new Kahr ones). 15 shots, with JSP loads, equivalent to a .357 Magnum, will hit as far out as you want, semiauto and it's low recoil and handy.

They will cost about as much as a 1894.

 

[ChristopherG]

I love my 357 marlin, and would think seriously about getting a bigbore brother to it. However, since you have the 357 and the 45 colt, I'd say you already have the bases totally covered--if you reload. I would absolutely recommend taking the money you're thinking of plugging into another gun and use it instead to buy a quality reloading rig. You'll shoot your current guns more, and more accurately, and with greater satisfaction; and the 45 colt out of a Marlin will do everything a 44 mag would and a little bit more.

 

[roo_ster]

You have the big-bore lever gun angle with your Marlin 94 in .45 Colt.

I think I would listen to the siren song of the Deerfield, just to add a little semi-auto spice to your life.

 

[DHart]

In all honesty, I don't really want to get into reloading at this time for a variety of reasons.... but perhaps someday I will.

So .45 Colt is as potent as .44 magnum? I guess the more difficult part is finding enough good loads in factory ammo in .45 Colt.

I do have some CorBon in .45 Colt which I haven't shot yet, but I would imaginebeing from CorBon that those suckers are hot, hot, hot. No idea how they compare to .44 mag, though. They're huge honkin cartridges though and the hollow point is like a flying ashtray in size.

 

[DHart]

Just found out that the CorBon 200 gr. .45 Colt is 1100 fps and 537 ft. lbs. energy - that's about what I can get from .357 magnum... no where near the 725+ energy available from a number of .44 mag loads. And my 1894 Marlin is a Cowboy Competition with no rubber in the butt pad and heavy octagon barrel, not quite as comfy to shoot nor quite as nimble as the 1894 standard .44 mag. But I may be splitting hairs here regarding the shootability difference. Defense performance wise, it seems that .44 mag may have quite an advantage as far as factory loads goes... right?

 

[pauli]

seems to me that if you've already got leverguns in 357 and 45colt, a pump in 12ga... you don't need a 44magnum. you need a 45/70.

(granted, you'll *definately* want a reloading rig at that point...)

 

[DHart]

For some strange reason, the rifle calibers have no appeal to me. Could be in part because I'm not a hunter, nor do I intend to be. Could also have something to do with having an injured shoulder and not enjoying the kick of heavy rifle calibers.

So the .44 magnum still tickles my fancy.

In perusing the Marlin catalog I see that they've got an 1894 lever rifle chambered in .480 Ruger, again a handgun caliber, but a very potent one at that. Cool thing is that the rifle has a really short, 18.5", barrel, just like my 1894C .357 carbine. The difference between 18.5" and 20" may not sound like much, but in handling it feels like a big difference. The .480 would be pretty cool to have. But then again, it would be a lot more expensive to shoot, I'm sure. And the kick would probably be worse than .44 mag. And the magazine only holds 6 rounds.

So that brings me back around yet again to the .44 mag with a 10 round magazine... that's a pretty danged appealing rifle any way you look at it.

You guys are definitely right about one thhing... with the long arms I already have I don't really NEED the .44 magnum any more than my girlfriend needs more clothes... sheesh. Of course thinking with that logic would eliminate most of the guns I already have!

 

[FullClip]

I have one of each, because I "needed" them!! I love the pistol caliber carbines.

Would be a hard choice if I had to part with one. For strickly a home defense unit, I'd have to go with the Ruger though and pick up a few extra magazines. Can't change them out as fast as an AR type, but the semi-auto only requires one hand, can be shot prone much easier and in very informal tests at the gravel pit, the Ruger edges out my Marlin a little bit. (Both units scoped and zeroed at 75 yards.)

Heck, buy both and post your results here!!

 

[DHart]

Hey thanks a lot FullClip... I sure didn't need any encouragement to buy both. Now I'm considering it. Dang! :banghead:

 

[Gunrunner]

Back in the '70s I had the Ruger. About all I can remember of it was it was a lot of fun to shoot. Wish I'd never sold it. 11 years ago I bought the Marlin. Never fired much factory ammo in it, as thats when I was getting into reloading.

I'm thinkin' since you already like Marlins go for another one. You can always get the Ruger later if you find you still have a desire for it.

I've been meaning to get the Marlin 357 and just haven't done so yet. To many other rifle purchases keep getting in the way.

And get into reloading. For pistol calibers it's quite easy to do. My friends kept buggin' me to do it and I finally did. Been having fun with it ever since.