Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Rifles Ideal .44 MAG rifle barrel length?

I am thinking about ordering a .44 MAG custom barrel for my Encore. However, I particularly don't know what the best barrel length would be. I have seen some of the factory actions offered in 20"-24". I'll be using this for deer hunting and most certainly shooting factory loads.

Any suggestions? Thanks in advance.

16". Really, it was meant to be shot from a 5" barrel, and you gain perhaps 400 fps from the extra 11 inches. Why would anything longer be worth it?

That's why I am asking. It has to be 16" for legal purposes. I'm just looking for suggestions from experienced folks as to why 16", or 20" or even 24" is or isn't better. I appreciate your suggestion.

You'll gain approximately 100 fps for each additional 4" of barrel length. So if velocity is important to you, go longer. Or if you find the longer barrels balance better.

That said, I just can't understand the appeal of a 44 mag single shot rifle. A 44 mag levergun, absolutely.

1 shot. 1 KILL.
Doesn't really matter what the platform is. Am I right?
In this case, the OP is wanting to put a .44 MAG bbl. on an Encore.
Depending on what's offered for that gun, he now knows what'll work with factory loaded ammo.

I do, however, concur with the option of getting a lever-action...!
Stoke it and smoke it.

Different strokes for different folks. I've got plenty of experience with levers, thanks. However, T/C doesn't do a .44 chambering outside of their custom shop, which means you pick the finish, contour, and length. Sure, I want to get all I can out of the .44, who doesn't? But I don't want such a long barrel that performance starts to fizzle. I think ideal balance and weight would be somewhere around 21-22", but I've never shot .44 out of a rifle, through a chrony or experimented with barrel lengths to identify the sweet spot. Thought others might have. Thanks for the help fellas.

As the .44 Mag uses relatively fast burning powders, you'll probably achieve maximum velocity in a 16 to 18 inch barrel. A much longer barrel may actually add drag to the bullet and slow it down. A .22 RF maxes out in 14 inches of barrel, the longer barrels are required by law and to achieve a suitable sight radius.

...I would think because of th fast powders required by the 44 mag's limited case capacity and the very quick expansion ratio created by a 44 caliber bore diameter, a 16" barrel would be plenty sufficent to extract maximum velocity with suitable powders and maximum loads..A longer barrel would likely serve no useful purpose so far as boosting velocity, and a shorter barrel would run into trouble with federal law on barrel lengths for rifles...This is of course just a surmise, exhaustive testing would have to be preformed for the rock solid data..

I'm
Building a custom Ruger #1 in 44mag with a heavy d weight barrel and a longer throat
For those Garrett-Buffalo Bore & Cor bon wide flat big game killers. I'm
Torn between 16&18inch barrel length.


What did you choose?

Years ago I bought a 16 1/4" SSK barrel in .358 JDJ for a Contender. My thinking at the time was, it could be used legally as a handgun for deer hunting where I lived, although it was NOT legal to be used as a rifle for deer hunting; but I had the option of putting on a shoulder stock on if I wanted for accuracy testing or whatever.

What I learned was, I couldn't shoot the handgun without a benchrest worth a darn, and it was WAY too muzzle light as a carbine for my taste. If I were doing a break open rifle now, (remember that you're already 4" or so shorter than a gun with an action) I'd be using a longer barrel just for the balance. Don't know the exact length I'd use, and I wish I could experiment, but I'd go at least 20".

Never mind, I just noticed this was an old thread.

If handloading, the powder is easily changed.

That said, I use identical loads for both my 7-1/2" Ruger Super Redhawk and 20" Browning B92. 24.0g H110 pushes a 240g XTP to 1529fps and 1881fps respectively. 20.0g H110 pushes a 300g Speer JSP to 1213fps and 1531fps.

16” be about right. Be good pig gun

I have a few custom Ruger #1's with 16 and 18 inch barrels and I think the 44mag will be a thumper

The maximum length barrel is a myth. If you got to over 30", you might possibly see a slow down (or no more gain in velocity) with faster powder and certain loads.

But, a 24" barrel will most certainly be faster than a 16". The increase might start to taper off a little after 20", but it is still going to be going up as length increases.

But, ideally, you don't really need a 24" barrel on a 44 mag. 20" would work. If it was custom, I'd go 19 1/2", just because.

Maybe I'll go 18 then

Aso what's the best twist for a 44mag shooting 300 grainers ???

If you're going to be using irons, a longer barrel might be worth your while. My little Browning LW has a 24" barrel and is a dandy with irons. If you can get hold of a Katadhin (?) carbine, you might get an idea about balance with a short tube on the Encore.

Brian Pearce has been nagging gunmakers for years about putting faster twists in .44 and .45 caliber rifles. He seems to be okay with 20", but put an 18" twist on his custom Marlin 1894 TD.

1-20'is the standard twist right??

Yes some older rifles had 1-38tw and didn't shoot heavies - 1-20tw will shoot them all .

Slight drift but I saw Lipsey's or TALO has a special run Ruger No. 1 Sporter 20-in. .460 S&W.

Cute as a speckled pup!