I believe the 44 is better than the 357. The 45 Colt can be loaded close to the 44 Mag. It is just personal preference. If your shooting is limited to 75 yards, and you want to shoot alot of less expensive ammo, then the 357 is better. If you would like a little more range, and knockdown(I am gonna catch it for using that word), and you reload(keep ammo cost down), then go with the 44. I would not feel under gunned with either. And what do they say "beware of the man with one gun, for he surely knows how to use it". Tom.

And dont forget that with the .44, if you just want to shoot, and shoot it on the cheap you can use the .44 specials. I am not sure how much cheaper they are, but they are cheaper. Like .38's through the .357.

guys i have a 1894 in 41 mag, mainly because i have a S&W pistol in the same caliber, when i was shopping for the 1894 i questioned which caliber also, several people told me that shooting the 38/44 specials that i would experience cycling problems so i opted for the 41 (love it BTW) just thought i'd mention this since it was mentioned to me, i'll try to find the post, because i had more than a few people tell me this...

http://www.huntingnet.com/forum/tm.aspx?m=1308854&mpage=1&key=&#130885 4

it may have been on levergun forums or somewhere, just thought i'd throw that out there, BTW like i mentioned, i love mine, even bought a 22 lever

Do you guys know if theres a significant deference in muzzle jump
between the 44 and 357? I don't want something that may cause
me to start flinching. Some brands may not be as bad as others
about this. But I'd like to go witha caliber and Mfg that would be
comfortable to shoot. Sorry to seem so picky but I'm curious.

Thanks

neither will not bother you at all, my wife will shoot the 44 i've got in a ruger auto, and the 41 lever, shes 5'3" 125, she also shoots a model 7 in .260 rem

you'll be fine, keith

I agree with m.t. hands about the 41 Magnum. It is a fine cartridge. IMHO it is extremely close to the 44. The only shortcoming is the slightly smaller diameter bullet, which is no big deal.

However I disagree about the recoil. I believe the 357 rifle recoil is noticably less than the 44 magnum recoil. And when practicing with 38's there would barely be any noticable recoil. 44 Special's for a light (cheaper?) load would also have more recoil than your 357's. Tom.

whoops[:-]failed to mention my 44 mag rifle is the ruger auto, and recoil on it is minimal at best, great brush gun, but i have a friend that shoots CAS and the lever guns have always been cool for me

thats why i bought the 1894 and the 22 lever gun, sorry for the confusion[&:]

The recoil with my 44 levergun is about on par with a .223 centrfire in a bolt action. Which is to say that it is hardly noticeable at all. I have had 2 shoulder surgeries and my neck is badly messed up as well and the 44 is probably the easiest gun to shoot that I own. I can run a box of 50 through it and only be about as sore as I would be if I shot 5-10 out of my .270. Thats why I bought my 44 Magnum is because I was looking for an easy to pack, and easy to shoot rifle that I can kill deer with.

Sounds like either caliber would sufficiently fulfill my needs.
Our sportsmans warehouse has a few on hand. I'm going up
there and put a few to my shoulder, and decide from there.
Iwanted to getsomeinformation from hands on shooters
rather than a sales clerk prior to purchase.
I'm much obliged to you fellas for the help.

Thanks,

Well thank you for giving us the opportunity to help. I sure wish that I would have found this forum before a couple of gun purchases that I have made in the past. Have fun, I dont think that you will go wrong with any of the lever gun calibers.