What caliber is best?

[crazy.kayaker]

Looking for some information on calibers. I'm looking at getting some lever action rifles. I'm looking at .44 Rem Mag but I'm wondering what the .454 Casull and .480 Ruger are like compared to the .44 Rem Mag for shooting/hunting. The Puma Rifles come in all of the above calibers and a few more but I'm not interested in them. Any help you can give me on figuring out which one is the best caliber for hunting.

Thanks CK

 

[R.W.Dale]

All the calibers you list will kill deer deader than a box of rocks. Ammunition for the other two will probably cost you twice what it will for a 44mag

 

[jgo296]

and a 44 mag can use 44 spec

 

[Z71]

The tried and true .30-30 is hard to beat in a lever carbine. Next choice would be .44 mag.

These two calibers are common and ammo is easy to find.

I've done quite a bit of deer hunting with a .44 mag in a Ruger carbine(semi-auto). Plenty effective up to 100 meters or so. Probably further than that with a scoped gun.

I inherited a beautiful Marlin 1894 Cowboy in .45 Colt. A fine rifle, but I do wish it were .44 magnum chambered.

 

[stellarpod]

454 Casull can also use 45LC, but I agree that .44 Mag would be the most cost-effective option from a caliber standpoint.

.44 Mag also gives you substantantially more factory-loaded ammo choices.

stellarpod

 

[Rifleman 173]

I have a .44 magnum lever action saddle carbine that I dearly love. It's not the perfect rifle but it'll do until the perfect one comes along.

 

[jrfoxx]

All the calibers you list will kill deer deader than a box of rocks. Ammunition for the other two will probably cost you twice what it will for a 44mag

and

454 Casull can also use 45LC, but I agree that .44 Mag would be the most cost-effective option from a caliber standpoint.

.44 Mag also gives you substantantially more factory-loaded ammo choices

Precisely the reasons I choose .44mag out of the 3 you list, If I were getting a lever gun specifically for deer hunting. Just no reason to get the other 2, other than "neatness", or "because I want one". for deer, .44mag will do it fine, and be significantly cheaper, and with better factory ammo options.

 

[Colt46]

Puma rifles are great

Not really much for longer ranges though. They are all a '92 action that was built for handgun cartridges. Probably 150 yards is about the max kind of range you should expect. Factory .45 stuff will lose steam before that and maybe your max should be 100 yards. If you're doing anything around water(your handle would imply that) I'd get the stainless carbine models. Really handy, pretty accurate and big bullets realy carry downrange authority.
I'm not a fan of the .357, but in a 20" or longer barrel it is quite capable as a woods deer cartridge.
A couple of complaints on the puma line are the factory sights are kinda basic but easy to replace/improve and the godawful safety atop the reciever. Most semi-competant smiths could remove and plug that abomination for you for little cost.

 

[Dr. Tad Hussein Winslow]

.30-30 win
.45 colt

My two favorites in levers.

 

[Fumbler]

You'd really have to define "best."

The 44 mag will have the advantage in ammo availability and ammo cost. It should be plenty of gun for north american game.

The 454 will have an advantage in effective range and can carry heavier bullets than 44 mag. Ammo will cost almost twice as much and will be harder to find, but 45 Long Colt is easy to find.

The only advantage the 480 Ruger will have is heavier and fatter bullets than the other two. Penetration should be better than the 454, but not by much. The trajectory will be similar to the 44 mag (but with a much larger bullet). Ammo will cost as much as 454, but may be even harder to find than 454.

If you handload then go for the 454 or the 480.
If penetration is a big factor in your hunting then go with the 454 or 480.
If you don't handload then definately go with the 44 mag...unless you have piles of money.

I have a Super Redhawk in 480 and I love the cartridge. But, it just doesn't make sense for many shooters to choose the 480.

 

[jbech123]

depends on your exact application....

and if you really want one of those 3 calibers. I would have to say a 30-30 would be a better option than any of them. It will do what any of them will do at short range, and with the new hornady ammo you can reach out to 300 yds under the right conditions.

 

[crazy.kayaker]

Thanks guys for your help so far. I do kayaking as my name says but I'll not be hunting or anything like that from one, at least not for some time. I know Pumas come with the safety on top of the Bolt but if you get one shipped directly from Brazil it doesn't come with the safety just the half cock.

I'm having trouble with one thing I held the 20" bbl carbine, light, smooth action, light trigger pull 2-3lb, NO SAFETY SWITCH just the half cock, cheap sights, but I really want the octagonal barreled rifle. There are none available here with out ordering them so I can't actually see the differences but can't be much other then weight so would it be worth getting the octagonal barrel in the 20" or 24" The 20" bbl carbine is light 6.1 lb, the 24" bbl rifle is 7.7 lbs, so figure the 20" bbl rifle is about half way between around 6.9-7.1 lbs no actual information on its weight.