Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Rifles Need suggestions on getting a 44 Mag rifle.

All:

Michigan allows you to use rifles in the southern part of the state for hunting now. Though it has to be a straight wall case under a certain length. The 44 Mag fits that category. I am looking at the Ruger 77 SS Black composite stock in 44 Mag. Is there others that I am not thinking of that would be a good choice as well? Doesnt have to be a bolt but probably would want one.

Thanks,
RAS

A NEF makes a great .44 for this country!

Tikkanut posted pics of a kickass Marlin lever gun in the last few days over in the fence post thread.

Here it is...

I think Ruger is it for a bolt gun in 44 Magnum.
There are many good levers depending upon what you want.

Winchester 1892 - Produced in Japan, but nice!

Henry - US made. Purists hate them because they are not really the historically known Henry company nor true clones therof.

Marlin - US made. Easily scoped but, do you need a scope at 44 Magnum ranges?

Rossi 92 - Would be my choice to drag around the woods or for a truck gun because of good reliability at low price. Oh, it is my choice ha ha. Spurned by "Buy American" devotees. Not the old "Puma" with the painted black stock anymore! Polish and blue are good and mechanically very reliable. Mine has never misfed or had a single glitch, even in rapid fire "Rifleman" contests. Accurate enough to hunt rabbits with it.

1873s, Italian or Spanish clones in 44 Mag. Nice looking but leave the 1873 to the CAS crowd if you seriously want a hunting rifle. Winchester's ""New" 73 doesn't come in 44 Mag.

Thanks Deflagrate!!

Guys like you make the 24 great.

Don't forget the Ruger autoloaders. They look and handle like a big 10/22 and are lots of fun to shoot.

I've owned both the Ruger 77/44 SS and a Marlin 1894. For me, I liked the Ruger better. The reasons are: I prefer the detachable mag and the 1/20 twist on the Ruger compared to the side-loading mag and 1/38 twist on the Marlin. The Ruger also comes with rings if you decide to mount a scope.

If you reload may want to consider 445 supermag if legal in MI.

I'm quite fond of the Ruger 44 International.

I'd go Ruger 77/44 and I'd have it suppressed if you can hunt suppressed in your state.

You only live once...





Dave

Ruger 77/44 would be the only way I'd go if it were a strait up hunting rifle.

A lever would be fun if so inclined but I think the bolt action Ruger makes more sense

Get a 77/44 and mount a cute little scope with generous eye relief on it. They come in SS and blued/walnut. Also, spend $7 on a trigger spring from Ernie the Gunsmith.

I've got this one in .44 but you can't have it.

Only you would take a handy little carbine and hang a big hunk of crap on the end of the barrel.

Makes it too hard to switch from the driver's side window to the passenger side.

150-200yards?

1894 Marlin for me, a bolt gun is overkill.

I like the Marlins, but they are hard to find at a reasonable price. They also still have, I believe, a 1-38" twist which may not stabilize heavier bullets, if that's important. For deer, probably not so much.

The Ruger bolt is a good gun, but seriously needs a trigger job to make it shoot good. Way too light of a gun to shoot accurately with the 6-7 pound factory trigger. But, good news is- two companies make spring/sear kits for it, that take the pull to 2-3 pounds in about 10 minutes of work.

The accuracy still probably won't be super impressive, but certainly adequate for most shots out to 150 yards or so. Beyond that the bullet fades pretty quickly.

The MSRP on these is crazy now. $1000. But, occasionally a deal can be found for around $600 or so. Still quite a bit of money, considering the new Ruger American line, and how good they shoot right out of the box with a good trigger for $350. But, no legal Michigan calibers in that line.

Another option would be the T/C pro hunter. The 460 S&W and 500 S&W are both legal in Michigan, and are available in the Katahdin short barrel. But I have heard, the accuracy and recoil in those can be bad.

Don't overlook a good slug gun either. The Savage 220 will shoot touching shots at 100 yards.

I put a Timney kit in a 77/22, but the Ernie spring will lighten the pull up a good bit. Actually, a spring of the right size from the hardware store would work too.

Henry - US made. Purists hate them because they are not really the historically known Henry company nor true clones therof.

Actually, I hate them because they're butt-ugly.

Can't comment on the CF's reliability, but when my son worked at Gander, the Henry RF guns were the ones most often brought back with problems.

A low powered scope is a big help in the woods especially for people of a certain vintage. Leupold 2.5 or even the 4X Rimfire scopes have great eye-relief and are very light. The Marlin stock is a bit low for scopes and even the 77/series guns could use a bit more comb height.

Very nice.

For what I paid, it'd better be.

An old man's got to get his kicks while he's kickin'!