indiana deer hunter

I'm looking for as much info as possible from guys who hunt with them. How accurate, max range, knock down power which guns and ammo you use ?

Nomercy448

THE 44mag rifle is the Marlin 1894. The unicorn 44mag rifle is the Ruger Deerfield carbine.

In the Marlin, I prefer the 44mag over the 30-30, less powder, similar range, and more impact.

Hard to complain about the Hornady 225grn Leverevolution FTX for a factory load. Winchester White Box does just fine on deer too.

Depending upon the rifle, load, and shooter, 200-250yrds is comfortable for the 44mag.

d80hunter

I haven't seen you around in a while. The 44 magnum rifle with the exception of the 12 gauge shotgun is the most popular deer hunting firearm in this state. The Marlin 1894, the Ruger 77/44, and the Rossi 92 are the most common guns I see people using. The bullet weight and velocities are around what I get from my muzzleloader with 100 grains on power if that comparison helps or slightly less power than a 20 gauge sabot slug from a rifled barrel. I can shoot 200-250 yards at targets if I aim high enough but I keep hunting shots at 150 yards to keep from too much bullet drop. There is lots of ammo available everywhere so you will easily find a good round. You will not regret getting one if you do. The recoil is way less than a 12 gauge so you can be shooting a lot more and that equates to being a better shot.

t.shaffer

can you hunt with a 45/70 marlin makes a great gun in the big loop & it's realy nice to use i've got one & does a number on deer i use the hornady leverlution 325 gr bullet

Game Stalker

Just out of curiosity, I noticed the rate of twist on the Marlin and Henry Big Boy Steel as being 1:38. Not that it's necessary, but bullets for the .44 Mag can exceed 300+ grains. Wonder if that rate of twist would stabilize heavier loads. Obviously there's a barrel length difference and therefore a velocity difference between a carbine and handgun, but the rate of twist for a Ruger revolver, for example, is usually 1:20 for .44 mag.

GOOD OLE BOY

What are the ballistic differences and experiences you all have had comparing the .357 and .44 mag in rifles for deer?We own already a .357 mag revolver so that,s why I ask cause I,d prefer to keep em both the same cal.How does the .45 LC preform compared to the other 2?

d80hunter

Rifle velocties out of my reloading book and energies and Taylor KO calculated online.
.357 158 grain bullet 1650 fps/954 ft.lbs./14 Taylor KO
.44 240 grain bullet 1800 fps/1726 ft.lbs./26 Taylor KO
.45 225 grain bullet 1150 fps/660 ft.lbs./16 Taylor KO

Hands down the 44 mag is superior to the others but the others will get the job done.

super_hunt54

d80, that load data you have in your books is for a pistol load and seriously anemic. My loads for my 1894 .45 marlin with a 20" barrel gets me an average of 1690 fps with my casted 265 gr bullets and right at 1735 with the 225gr FTX's. Pretty much the same results that I used to get with my .44mag rounds in my old .44mag Marlin. The only real advantage someone would get with a .44mag rifle over a .45c rifle would be factory ammo choices if they didn't reload since factory .45lc is pretty weak. They both perform very well and pretty much equally on deer and hogs.

flags

I always had a hankering for a lever action in 44 mag. Don't know why since I have one in 450 marlin.

d80hunter

It should be stated that any of these three calibers can be handloaded to exceed anything bought from a store, especially the 45 lc. I pulled the data out of a Hornady book, 45 long colt rifle section, 20" barreled Rossi 92 levergun. Since that frame can handle .454 casul it can handle any 45 lc handload but I think their point was to keep it close to factory ammo power, which proved useful for cartridge comparison. I think most store bought ammo would be consistent the data.