Marlin 1894 44 Magnum rifle for Elk?
 

I am not planning on using the said rifle for elk hunting, but rather I just want to know peoples opinion on it. The thought has crossed my mind though since it is the most comforatable rifle to carry for extended periods that I have. Where we will be hunting elk next weekend is very brushy and has little open terrain, so a brush gun would be ideal. Does it have enough power to take down an elk out to 100 yards? Or should I just stick with my .270 Winchester and use the 140 gr. Nosler ballistic tips that I worked up?

RE: Marlin 1894 44 Magnum rifle for Elk?
 

I wouldn't say it is too light, but it is limited on range. People do shoot elk with the 44 mag in handguns. In the brush in that gun it may be the right match. Go with a 240 grain or heavier bullet.

RE: Marlin 1894 44 Magnum rifle for Elk?
 

I have about 100 Hornady 240gr hollow points worked up, would those work the best or should I use a lead cast 240gr bullet or the Winchester Platinum tips that I have?

RE: Marlin 1894 44 Magnum rifle for Elk?
 

With-in 100 yards, a 44mag from a rifle barrel will DRT any elk that walks the earth, with proper bullet placement.

I would prefer 240gr SJFP's over HP's..

Shoot till' they fall over.

early

RE: Marlin 1894 44 Magnum rifle for Elk?
 

I wouldnt worry about any well placed shot out to 75-100 yards. I wouldnt use hollow point bullets in it though. Ive found that jacketed soft points are very good hunting ammo for a 44 mag. We tryed hollow points on deer for a few years and they didnt perform too well. I use my 44 mag handgun as bear protection when hunting so i want a bullet thats going to do its job.

RE: Marlin 1894 44 Magnum rifle for Elk?
 

Well, people have killed elk, and much larger game as well, with a .44 Mag. handgun, so I see no reason why you can't do the same with a rifle firing the same load! In such a case, bullet placement is extremely critical! So try to get as close as you can. Pretend you are bow-hunting, and call him in to 30 yards or less. Then put the bullet behind the shoulder, where it won't hit a heavy bone like the shoulder joint, and try to shoot thru both lungs with the first shot! Usea hard-cast flatnose or one of those Nosler Partition pistol bullets, but not one that will bust up before it penetrates deeply! Avoid any relatively frangible jacketed softnose or hollowpoint.

I would NOT use a .270-caliber Ballistic Tip on elk-it tends to break up too quickly. It is a good deer bullet, but it is not tough enough for a bull elk, especially if you are close, where the bullet doesn't have a chance to slow down much before it hits! I'd use a Nosler Partition 150-grainer on elk in the .270 Win.

RE: Marlin 1894 44 Magnum rifle for Elk?
 

Thanks for all of the advice. Actually, on the hollow point bullets for the 44, I listed them wrong, they are JHC, or jacketed hollow cast bullets. I think that I will just use the Winchester Platinum tips. They are designed for large game. I suppose that a Core Lokt bullet would break up too fast out of the .270 too?

RE: Marlin 1894 44 Magnum rifle for Elk?
 

A 150gr corelock from a 270win was used by me to take a small 4x3 bull elk. The shot was through the chest and lodged in the spine. IMO they are good big game bullets and will be just fine for elk.

early

RE: Marlin 1894 44 Magnum rifle for Elk?
 

That is probably what I am going to have to hunt with then, since I wasted all my extra ammo money on those Nosler Ballistic tips lol. I will waite to use the 1894 for that type of hunting till after I throw some peep sites on it and get it grouping descently out to 100 yards. At least with the .270 I am confident in being able to hit where I am aiming out to about 200 yards.

RE: Marlin 1894 44 Magnum rifle for Elk?
 

RE: the Remington Corelokt bullet. These are "controlled expansion" bullets, designed to hold together. They may not be as tough as some of the premiums that cost twice as much, but IMO they are NOT as prone to blowing up as the ballistic Tip. If you want a Remington bullet that will definitely hold together, get the new bonded-core Corelokts. I'll bet there is one being loaded in .270 Win. ammo. ChecK the Remington web site..... looks like a good bullet for bigger game than deer.....