Good Choice
I have a Ruger Deerfield and my hunting partner uses a Marlin 1894 both in the 44 mag and we hunt in Indiana. I reload 240 grn. Hornaday full metal jacket bullets with 24.5 grns of W 296 or Hogden 110 powder for the Marlin. My partner is 10 for 10 with his Marlin with shots on a field that have ranged from 100 to 200 yrds. All deer have well placed shots and in all cases the bullets has passed through the deer utilizing all the available energy. Penetration is why I chose the FMJ. This yea'rs buck was shot at 200 yrds hit in the kill zone and traveled 25 yrds. The internal damage was impressive. The Deerfield has difficulty extracting the heavy loads and I load them down to about 23.5 grns. with 240 grn jacketed hollow points. I generally hunt in a woods with shots ranging only out to 100 yards. We are extremely pleased with the 44 mag and it has demonstrated effective range to 200 yards. The K77 should be able to handle the full load as the Marlin and I expect the performance to be similar. I have read many accounts of the effective range being 100 yrds. If you are an experienced hunter that chooses good shots, 200 yrds. is no issue.