Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Rifles Has Ruger quit making that little bolt action .44 magnum?

A friend is looking for one for his kid, and I don't find it in the Ruger online catalog. Don't even see one on Gunbroker. What's the deal?

it's the 77/44, and they stopped making them in november of '05.

there's a stainless one on gunbroker, starting for--well, let's just say way the hell too much.

I'll bet his kid would love the Marlin 1894 lever gun in 44 Mag.

I was lucky enough to find two of them over the last two years, one I kept and the other a friend got...both had scopes on them, one Leupold VX-II 1-4, for in the $400 range.

They just never sold when they were being made but now everyone has discovered what a joy they are to shoot and hunt with. The All-Weather version can be taken out in any weather and a nice stainless .44 Magnum handgun makes a great pair...

Prices are now in the $550-650.00 range.

Bob

can't understand why anyone would want a 44mag or 357 mag in a rifle, just use a 30-30

With the right loads out of a rifle a .357 will equal a 30-30 at 100 yards and a .44 mag will better it. The 30-30 will extend the useful range quite a bit. For close range work the leverguns in pistol calibers are even lighter and more handy than the 30-30 and hold a lot more rounds. Cheaper ammo is another plus

Now I don't understand the appeal to a bolt rifle in those calibers. Guess that is why they make so many different types.

Sorry, double post!

JMR is right, for short ranges the .44 Mag is at least as effective as the .30-30 is. In fact, IME deer hit with the .44 or .45 rifle bullets show a greater reaction than those hit with a .30-30 or .35 Remington....under 100 yards anyway. The exit holes are usually larger too unless bone is hit.

If fpe tells you anything about killing power:

.30-30/170/2200fps/1827fpe
.44 Mag/240/1760fps/1651fpe


I sold a stainless .44/77 and regretted it the moment the money changed hands.....


.

+1,I've got a Marlin and it's one of the handiest little rifles I've ever carried in the woods.

WB.

I havent seen a Ruger 77/44 in a very long time, at least
3 years. But I do see a fair amount of Ruger 44 Carbines
lately. Those used to seldom if ever seen, but now I see
about 2 or 3 a month. Also saw a Ruger 9mm and a 40S&W in
the same pawnshop, the carbine versions, not the pistols.

An absolute max .357 load ala 158 grain Buffalo Bore advertised at 2150fps comes pretty close to 30-30 at the muzzle.

But at 100 yards that stubby pistol bullet will have shed half its energy heating air. 150 grain 30-30 is retaining about 50% more energy.

Even at just 50 yards the 30-30 is up by more than 20%.

True, but if you move up to Buffalo bores 180 grain or the Double Tap 200 grain .357 you are only 200-300 fps behind the .35 rem. with the same bullets. Assuming a standard .35 loading, not Buffalo Bores .35.

At 100 yards or less I don't think any deer will be able to tell the difference.

FWIW:

I shoot 44 mag in a revolver and done wnat to add more brass dies, etc.

The 44 mag is SWEET in a lever, cheaper to shoot and a LOT of fun.

BMT

That 180 grain .357 is running 1850 at the muzzle, around 1450 at 100 yards.

A 170 grain 30-30 hits as hard - and faster - at 100 yards than the .357 does at the muzzle.

To say a heavy hardcast .357 hitting at 1400+ will drop deer (and hogs and bears and goblins besides) just fine is stating the obvious. Just as obvious, a 170 grain softpoint running 400+ fps quicker is going to drop them too and make a lot more of a mess inside doing it.

A little more margin of error might help, might not, might not even want it. But it's not the same.

Big plus one. 44 mag is also a hoot in a semi-auto- I had one of the more recent Deerfields for a while. But it's more fun through a sweet little lever gun like the Marlin IMHO. The lever also handles 44 Specials which just make me grin like a kid.

I have, and hunt with lever guns in .30-30, .357 Mag, .35 Remington, and .44 Mag.
Of those four, I find the .44 Mag to be the more consistant killer of deer and hogs, at ranges out to about 75 yards. Past that, the 30-30 and .35 Remington seem to be more reliable.
I never understood the appeal of a bolt gun chmabered in a pistol caliber cartridge, but to each his own

Well I must be the strange one. I have one of each, 77/44 and a Deer Stalker. Both are fun to shoot and best of all the recoil was calm enough that my daughter enbraced shooting by starting her out on something easy to shoot. Either rifle is one of her favorites. I also have a Freedom Arms in 44 Mag so I just load one load that shoots in everything,

Lets not leave out the ruger 44 lever gun.

Steve:

Is there a reason you left that out of consideration? You must have seen it on the web site.

- tom