I got my first pistol carbine last year. A Marlin 1894C, .357 mag. It was so much fun to shoot, I had to get another one, which turned out to be a Ruger 96/44. I'm now hooked and at some point I'll pick up another one in .45 caliber.

I know that they don't pack the velocity or kinetic energy of pointy bullet centerfires, but there are several advantages to these fun little guns.

1. They are light and handy which is great in the thick woods where I hunt.

2. Low recoil when compared to most centerfire deer cartridges. The .357 is nominal and the .44 mag is about on par with a swedish mauser.

3. Cheap to shoot. For the cost of 20 pointy cartridges I can get 50 pistol rounds. The savings are even better if you handload as they require less powder than most centerfire deer cartridges. I can make 500 .357 mag cartridges for under $50. Double the savings for .38 spcl. This means I can afford to practice more, which is always a good thing.

I'm certainly not downtalking centerfire rifle rounds as these are the way to go if you hunt an areawhere shots could be further than 100 yards, but if you hunt the thick stuff where a 50 yard shot would be considered long I feel carbines might have an edge in manuverabilty.

Anyone agree/disagree? Any other pistol carbine fans out there?

Maybe I should get a .44 mag carbine for thick brush hog hunting? Or .45 colt?
okcmco

i have a winchester 94 trapper in 44 mag. i love it. i put a 2-7 simmons on it with see thru mounts. the thing is great. i'm gonna have to agree that nothing is better for close range fast action thana pistol caliber carbine. i'm very glad i bought it.

I agree. They are a fun gun to shoot and a very good close range big game getter. I have had the Marlins both in 357 and 44 Mag. I now have a 44 Mag and 357 Mag in the NEF rifles. They shoot very well and since the are rimmed cartridges, the eject very well from the Handi Rifles. The NEF rifles can also be reamed very easily to 357 Max and 445 Super Mag.

I would personally stay away from the .357 caliber for any sort of big game hunting. Not sure if it would even be a good coyote load.Definitely nothing to compare with a 6.5 Swedish Mauser. The .44 Mag and .45 LCshould work fine at reasonable distances.

I think pistol carbines are great for hunting brush when all your shots are going to be close.

With most factory loads I would be inclined to agree with you. However, Buffalo Bore is producing some incredibly hot ammo for the .357. Their 158 grain load clocks more than 2000 fps out of a carbine and a 180 grain load that clocks around 1800 fps. These both deliver more energy than a remington 240 grain .44 mag load when fired from a pistol. If shot placement was good and the range was 75 yards or less, I feel a hot loaded .357 mag round would be adequate for whitetails.

i have a ruger 96 44 , i love it . its not my go to gun but it will drop a deer in its tracks out to 100 yards or so , i hand load and use a 240 grain bullet that comes out of the barrel just under 2000 fps

I have always wanted a .357 lever gun myself. Not really for hunting though, just to have. I always thought it would be fun to shoot and make a decent defense weapon for the house. I figured it would be easier to shoot than a handgun for the women with less recoil than a shotgun.

Of course I want a 357 revolver to go with it though.

Paul