Ruger .44 mag carbine

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TexasPatriot.308

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I know these are hard to find but I got couple leads on a couple, price will be about $700 or more depending on what shape they are in. I really don't need any more rifles, but I hunt hogs every day and this rifle seems to fit what I need, I would prefer it to a shotgun with buckshot or slugs. do any of yall have one and how do yall like it? I wished I would have bought a Deerfield years ago....damn Ruger keep discontinuing trusty firearms like this.
 
I assume you're referring to the semi auto and not the bolt action 77/44.

I have zero experience with one. But when I was a kid, I remember when it was featured in Guns&Ammo on the cover, and I wanted one so badly. Then they stopped making them. Those that have them will never part with them and those that use them swear by them. I searched high and low for a good one about a year ago for deer hunting, and my search yeilded no results. If you can get one, buy it, keep it, never get rid of it. Because if you don't, someone else will
 
I two have long looked for one you won't regret it and if you do someone will gladly buy it from you I assure you
 
One of the local forums had both the semiauto and lever versions listed recently for sale. I'll check and see if they're still listed.

BOTH SOLD
 
I bought Ruger's lever action model 96 to replace a Marlin 1894. Troubles with the Marlin were related to the shallow rifling and slow twist. Accuracy was quite poor with the heavier bullets I wanted to shoot. In contrast, the Ruger shoots all bullet weights very well indeed.

TR

Ruger_96.jpg
 
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I was in a similar situation a few years ago. Wanting a discontinued model badly can be a recipe for financial disaster but I got lucky, came across a NIB 99/44 Deerfield that had been gathering dust at a gun store and bought it on the spot. It's a fantastic little carbine for hogs and deer, especially in thick bush. Accurate enough (2MOA w/ factory loads), lighweight, handles great, very reliable and hard-hitting .44 leaves a good entry/exit wound in case you need to track a blood trail later on. The trajectory is anything but flat, but point blank range extends to about 100yd which is plenty for its intended use.

On the other hand, a Mini 30 might be a bit more versatile in some situations. My Deerfield has a Zeiss 1.8-5.5x38 shotgun scope which would be ideal for 7.62x39, considering the limited range of .44Mag. Still, I love the combination and the idea of it sharing the caliber with my back up revolver.
 
I bought one MANY years ago, I sold it to my dad back then. Then MANY years later he sold it back to me, and it's still here...

I shot a deer or 3 with it, and dad shot even more...they ARE light/handy rifles that work really well where something like that is needed... I haven't fired mine in years...

I shot the biggest (heaviest) buck I've ever shot, with it waaaaay back when I was young, 18 I think... It took my brother and me forever to drag it out, after I gutted it we "together", could only pull it about 25 or 30 feet at a time! That thing was a real hoss! I wish we had weighed it!

I think dad had a second 44 carbine around here for a few years too??

DM
 
I have one and it is okay for what it is, a short range carbine in a pistol caliber. I would be interested in selling it PM me.
 
It's worthy of note that the original .44 carbines were some of the finest manufactured rifles Ruger has ever produced. They were terribly expensive to produce, the receivers being milled from a solid billet of steel. They were discontinued until investment casting technology advanced to the point that a compatible design could be drawn up.
 
$700 is a little high. I have owned and sold them, the last being just a few months ago. Could not even get a nibble at $700...finally sold for $550 and it was in VG condition. Nice rifle w/out a doubt...I wanted another lever gun at the time so let it go.

They can be finicky. You'll want to run hot ammo and keep it clean. Full takedown is a b!tch...there are some decent youtube videos on it.

Edit: oh yea, don't put lead bullets through it
 
Great little gun.

I had one back in the early 70's and shot one of my best bucks with it. I jumped the buck and shot him running at about 35 or 40 yards. He went about 30 yards and piled up. The 240gr CorLokt worked swell on him and several others. They are a handy little rifle. I would like to get another and deck it out with reddot.

Most of the ones at our local shows run from $600 and up. If you find one for $500 here it looks like it was dragged behind a truck. If you find a nice one grab it. They are are pretty cool.
 
I have never gotten a 4 shot group much under 4" ,rested, with any ammo in my 1968 version with a good 1-4x scope. Also be advised these don't like lead bullets at all and are quite picky feeders. They won't feed the pointy flex tip rounds, at least mine won't. The like the Remington Corelokts and the Winchester rounded ammo not over 260 grains and only some light bullet hollow points feed well in it. The most accurate load in mine is Old IMI 240 grain soft points and go about 3.5" at 100 yards. Most loads that feed do shoot 2" or less at 50 yards tho, I have a suspicion that the twist is slow in them and 100 yards some bullets have stability issues.I know 300 grain ammo fed one at a time into it , as they don't feed well, are very wild ; over 6" groups !
 
Odd about not using lead boolits, friend of mine has been shooting cast in his for decades. With the today's polymer coated boolits, they are in effect jacketed.
 
The square shoulder and soft original Winchester 240 grain SWC would not climb the ramp in mine. Also there was a factory warning that lead could clog the gas piston or somesuch enough to scare me out of useing the tons of homebrew cast .44 loads I have/had . Come to think of it it did like most of the 180 hollow points with a tapered profile and alot of Winchester 296. Unfortunatly that load blows up on deer from long barrel pistols and badly in 18+" barrels. I still have my gun and it is loaded in a safe with quick access for thumping something close in around the shop area.
 
Here's mine, a Ruger Carbine that dates from 1970:

44mag_zps4758e16a.jpg

I bought it 3 years ago from my LGS for 365 bucks OTD.

The exceptional price I got was due to some creative carving that had been done on the stock.

The previous owner had mounted some coins in the stock (either French or Canadian) and did a rather poor job,

The coins fell out after I fired about 3 rounds so I decided to cover the divots in the stock with a Galco 44 caliber stock mounted cartridge carrier.

Looks fine with the cartridge carrier in place and the divots can't be seen.

Mine will shoot into 2.5 to 3.5 inches for 5 shots at 100 yards using IMI soft points, CCI standard primers and a healthy dose of WC297 powder.

I will be taking it on a Texas Hog hunt next month as a back up to my Marlin Guide Gun and if I take any game with it I will be sure to follow up with pics.
 
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Price seems to vary a lot depending on location. If I go up into Michigan, you can find them pretty cheap. One pawn shop had three last season. But, in rifle areas of Michigan you can use any caliber AFAIK. In Indiana, you have to use something like a pistol caliber. That's why they bring a premium here.

My friend used a Deerfield to take a 180 class deer off our farm two years ago
 
The ones I have seen around here are far and few between. Typically in the $500 to $600 range for a really nice clean one in a local gun shop. You may turn a lower price on a private sale. I used mine in W. Va. for deer and it is among my favorite rifles. I like them because they are short (carbine) and handy making the rifle easy to come up on target.

Pictured below as compared to a Ruger 10/22:
22%20and%2044.png

Ron
 
I've been offered $600.00 for mine which I wouldn't sell for twice that amount. It is a very accurate woods gun and is extremely handy in tight quarters.
 
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