I recently place an order for a Winchester 94 Trapper in 44 mag along with two other guns. As of today the two other firearms have arrived, but it seems that the Winchester Trapper 44's are a bit harder to find. My dealer had placed an order for one, but none of his distributers had any available currently. This goes for another dealer I spoke with also. As a result (I hope I don't regret it) I went with a Winchester Ranger Compact in 357mag. I figure the benefits will be affordable plinking & less recoil. Also I now have a matching rifle/revolver caliber. Would appreciate any reviews from Ranger Compact owners. Also what do you think of the 357 as a short range deer gun.
Winchester Ranger Compact in 357?
- Thread starter Doug S
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I have the Trapper in .357 with a Williams peep on it. It definitely prefers heavier bullets. The 125 grainers and below give less than wonderful accuracy. It really likes most flavors of 158 grain rounds. I loaned it to a friend this past deer season along with some older Samson 158gr loads. He took a spike at about 60 yards with one shot.
I've taken a few squirrels with 158gr .38 specials and chucks don't walk away from the magnums. It's a real keeper of a rifle.
I've taken a few squirrels with 158gr .38 specials and chucks don't walk away from the magnums. It's a real keeper of a rifle.
I own the '94 Trapper in 44 magnum and it makes for a very handy rifle.
I don't own a Winchester in 357, but I do own a Marlin 1894 in .357 magnum. I've never hunted deer with it--I live in a 'shotgun only' state--but based upon what the .357 does to coyotes, I'd have no doubts that a well placed shot from 100 yards or less would bust through whatever it needed to and drop a white tail. Mine definitely prefers 357 to 38 specials but I don't see a whole lot of accuracy difference between 125's and 158 grain bullets.
As for the Trapper '94, I gotta tell you that off of the shooting bench it is one mule-kicking sonuvagun. With 240 grain loads, you won't want to go through a full magazine without a good shoulder pad.
I own a 30-06 Remington 700BDL, a 7mm magnum Browning, and a couple of slug guns and the recoil from that little Trapper ON THE BENCH is substantially more noticeable than the others. It must be something about how it transfers the energy relative to the shape of the stock. However, from a standing shooting position, it's a much more enjoyable gun to shoot.
I don't own a Winchester in 357, but I do own a Marlin 1894 in .357 magnum. I've never hunted deer with it--I live in a 'shotgun only' state--but based upon what the .357 does to coyotes, I'd have no doubts that a well placed shot from 100 yards or less would bust through whatever it needed to and drop a white tail. Mine definitely prefers 357 to 38 specials but I don't see a whole lot of accuracy difference between 125's and 158 grain bullets.
As for the Trapper '94, I gotta tell you that off of the shooting bench it is one mule-kicking sonuvagun. With 240 grain loads, you won't want to go through a full magazine without a good shoulder pad.
I own a 30-06 Remington 700BDL, a 7mm magnum Browning, and a couple of slug guns and the recoil from that little Trapper ON THE BENCH is substantially more noticeable than the others. It must be something about how it transfers the energy relative to the shape of the stock. However, from a standing shooting position, it's a much more enjoyable gun to shoot.
Thanks for the responses. I'll admit I am a little disappointed that I couldn't get hold of a trapper in 44, but it seems that the 357 will be pretty nice. A friend has a Marlin in 357 & one of the things I really liked about it is virtually no recoil. I also picked up a CZ 527 Carbine in 7.62x39 & will probably use it for deer, but I like the idea of using the trapper also.
.Pumpkinheaver
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My stepdad just bought one, it's a pretty accurate little rig. One problem we've had is that the rear sight has to be moved way over to the right to get it sighted in.
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