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'!

Just mount a Leupold 2.5x or 1-4X in Weaver low rings and Warne one piece base and it will be nice and low, not much higher than iron sights. Marlin stocks work quite well with this setup.

I have a Ruger 77/44 All-Weather and like it quite a bit.

I chose it over the Marlin lever due to 1/20 twist in the Ruger vs 1/38 for the Marlin, and I prefer a 300 grain bullet.

It has a free-floated barrel, Volquartson trigger kit, and shimmed bolt. Accuracy is now a reliable 2 MOA with round groups and sometimes it does better. I really haven't done a lot of load development, just simply shooting Lil 'gun and 300 grain Beartooth Bullets 300 grain WFNs. OAL is a 1.6" proposition ONLY, no latitude in the mag for seating out and increasing performance, but a 300 grain WFN at 1600 fps is nothing to sneeze at anyway.

I tried a Leupold FX-II 2.5X20 on it for a while, then changed to a VX-2 1-4X20, and prefer that scope, mainly due to the field of view on 1X.

Here is a pic with the FX-II

If you don't mind single shot rifle, T/C pro-hunter with recoil reducing stock is a nice platform for my 445Supermag or 44mag. 445SM will outrun 44mag velocity wise + accuracy will be improved. Range will definitely be extended some. You can still shoot 44mag rounds thru barrel, (recommended cleaning before shooting 445SM again though), not sure if I'll ever want to after seeing what the 445SM can do.

Seven to ten years ago, every gun show went to had lots of Ruger carbines for sale cheap. I bought one of the early ones with an integral rear peep for $300. After spending another $100 getting it functioning right, I stuck it in my closet.

That crappy carbine stock causes the apparent recoil to be real. I wish they had been manufactured with shotgun style buttstocks and a raised comb. The comb is too low even for irons.

As a boy, I wanted one of those in the worse way. The ads said they were perfect for "brush country deer".

Seen a lot of complaints about them over the years, but don't know how much of it's true. I was hopeful about the new version, but it died young too. Not sure why.

My current dream is that Lipseys orders up some 77/44 RSIs to go with my RSI .22. That would get my wallet throbbing.

Sweet gun Vic in VA. I am thinking that exact setup.

Another option would be a Ruger 96/44 lever gun. Have used one the past couple years with good results. Unfortunately not made any longer so you would have to go the used market.

Thank you, sir.

I do recommend the 1-4 over the fixed 2.5 for field of view purposes, given the intended usage, and the other changes I made were to suit my tastes but not really necessary.

It's not for long range, but is a nice, light woods rifle.

I have a Ruger 96/44 and the semi-auto Ruger 44 Carbine. And I did have a Marlin 1894 44 mag lever action. Last week I sold the Marlin because it would not feed the 310 & 320 gr cast bullets I wanted to shoot. The 96/44 magazine had to be altered to feed the bullets but there was no way to make the Marlin feed them. I like the 96 the best. It handles and shoots better than the other two did. My youngest brother keeps the Carbine for me at his house. He calls it is his home defense gun. I pity anyone breaking into his home!

Not ever owning a bolt action Ruger 44, I can't advise you about them. But I don't think they would be as handy as the 96. Today there are 30 Ruger 96/44 mags for sale on GB. Prices start around $500. Get you one, you will love it.

I have had to Rossi Model 92, and now have a Marlin 94.Only because I have to use optics due to poor old eyes. Mine is the one with the cross bolt safety ,which I overrode with an O ring. I really hate those fat forearms on Marlins, so I carved a new stock and forearm and have a cheaper little NcStar 2-6 x scope on it. I have killed one elk with it. Shooting semi jacket Speers 240 gr FP will shoot 2&1/2 " groups at 100 yards.

I'm right behind you.
Nice work on that Marlin.

Nice job!

Dont need it now.

Problem solved

yea.....I like them Marlin 44's......

here's another......

just call me a 'Marlin Slut'

45 Colt will throw heavier slug.......

RAS,
Congratulations on the Wife! The Present! Taking Command!
You obviously make wise choices in life.

I have 2.

Which one do you wanna buy?





Marlin Limited 16" Trapper 44 mag



336-44 20" 44 mag

MacKay,

If I didnt get the pistol, I would have picked the 16' Trapper. Nice little gun.