44 mag rifle
 

I'm looking into purchasing a 44 mag rifle for tree stand deer hunting in PA. I like the idea of the Ruger bolt action with a rotery clip. My question is, what rifle between the Marlin 1894SS with 1:34 twist rate, or the Ruger with a 1:20 twist rate will give the best accuracy for the heavy bullets? Thanks in advance for any thoughts...

Latts

RE: 44 mag rifle
 

Good question. Maybe this search can help. Let us know what you figure out.
http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&c...ag&spell=1

RE: 44 mag rifle
 

The 1:38 twist of the Marlin wont stabilize the heavier, say 265,300 grain and up bullets AS WELL AS the 1:20 of the Ruger bolt gun.This is not to say that you can't shoot the heavier bullets in the Marlinwith some sort of comfort as to accuracy.
The Marlin is twisted for the 240 grain bulletprimarily.
If it were I, I should like to shoot the heavier bullets out of the Ruger.

RE: 44 mag rifle
 

I really like the Marlin lever gun with the octogon barrel in 45 LC. The +P loads slightly outperform the 44mag loads and Double Tap Ammo offerloads up to 335 Grains. For me there is something nostalgic about the lever gun in 45 LC. Also the 1:16 twist will stablize anything you want to shoot.

RE: 44 mag rifle
 

I don't understand why you need bullets heavier than 240 gr for deer hunting in the 1st place? my old Ruger semiauto .44 has killed many deer at close range (not all by me) with "standard" 240 gr jacketed bullet loads.

RE: 44 mag rifle
 

You are certainly correct 240+ grain bullets are not needed for deer.

RE: 44 mag rifle
 

By all means, get the 1/20" twist if you are going to shoot heavy bullets!

RE: 44 mag rifle
 

But the original lever guns were not made in 45 COLT! The rim was too small for positive extraction!

RE: 44 mag rifle
 

I had always thought the cowboys used 45 LC in both their revolvers and lever guns. Do you know if the modern lever guns (marlin in particular) have feeding problems with the 45 LC or have they found an engineeredsolution to thesmaller rim? I have been keeping my open for a good buy on this combo and may need to rethink this.

RE: 44 mag rifle
 

The 44/40,38/40, and 32/20 werethose rounds that the cowboys used in both revolvers and lever action rifles. If they had a .45 COLT revolver, there was no lever rifle in that caliber back then. The extraction problems were due mainly to using black powder. Look at how small the rim is on one of those cases.

RE: 44 mag rifle
 

+1

The old lever actions were never chambered in .45 Colt.

RE: 44 mag rifle
 

I have a couple of Marlin 1894's in 44 magnum. They are a fantastic rifle. However I have a problem with any bullets over 240 grains. I have had feeding problems with the 300 grain bullets. As long as I keep my bullets(that I cast) at 240 grains I do not have any feeding problems.

I have owned and shot a Ruger lever action in 44 magnum. I liked the magazine but the accuracy was terrible. The magazine in the 77/44 would be very nice, if the rifle shoots. I have read a couple of reviews on the 77/44 and the shooters were happy with the results.

I also like the 45 Colt. However mine is an 1885 Low Wall. Bullet length is no problem in an 1885 since it is a single shot.

If I were you and I wanted to shoot a heavier bullet than a 240 in a 44 magnum then I would go with a 45 Colt rifle. There are some good ones out there. The Marlin in 1894. The Winchester, and the Uberti in a Low Wall. All good rifles.

I like my pistol cartridge rifles. IMO they are highly effective weapons. And in the hands of a guy who knows how to use one, they are easily 200 yard rifles. Tom.