I see on Indiana's regulations that we can use a rifle that shoots a pistol cartrige this year. It says it has to be .357 or larger with a case length min of 1.16" and max of 1.625".

Does it take a special rifle to fire these bullets, or is an off the shelf rifle ok?

What rifles would fire a 357 mag or a 44 mag?

Marlin haslever guns (Model 336) that shoot 44Mag and 357

Winchesters Model 94 has both the 357 and 44 models

Actually, I think the Marlins are the Model 1894's. Unless I'm mistaken, I think the 336 is only chambered in rifle cartridges.

Marlin 1894 in .44 is the perfect candidate

I shoot one and will be trying it on deer next year. I know that with a little practice and the right load worked up it is plenty accurate out to 100 yards and packs a heckuva wallup out to that distance. I think that 357/38 is a bit light for deer past about 50 yards, but with the right shot a guy might get away with taking a deer out to 100 yards with one. There is also the 45LC, it should be able to do everything that the 44 Magnum does but with just a bit more bullet drop. If a guy handloads you can get pretty close to the same performance as with a 44 Magnum. Both are just a blast to shoot and very easy to handload for.

.44 is a bit underrated as a Deer cartridge. I used to own a Ruger semi-auto(Deerslayer) in that caliber and it laid the smack down on Bucks ..it was like they ran into a brick wall. That would be a good gun as well but I think I heard that Ruger doesn't service them anymore and some of their rifles( not all) are prone to jamming. I never had a bit of a problem with mine.

Mine works very well too... I keep saying, "one of these days" i'm going to get it out and harvest a deer with it as i haven't for a long time now...

DM

I have a Marlin 1984 in 357mag. I installed the Ghost ring sight and have the Scout scope qwick disconnect mount. I have a 2x eer Leupold scope with Warne qwick detach rings.This gun is quite accrurate with Federal American Eagle 158gr. soft point ammo. I am getting a chronographed 1835fps. with an 18" barrel.

Thanks for the info guys! I went to Basspro after work last night, and they showed me a Henry in 44 mag. It was a nice peice but had no provisions for mounting any type of scope. The open sights on it were ok, but something just didn't feel right with those sights.

I really appreciate all you guys sharing your knowledge with me!

Tim

Go with the 1894 Marlin then, it is already tapped and drilled for a top mount scope and the open sights on it are good enough to get you by out to about 70 yards, maybe farther if your eyes are good enough. They also sell aftermarket peep sights for it that mount right to the top, or you can get a set that mount to the side.