Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Ask The Gunwriters Death of the 44 Mag Autoloader, etc.

I have a question for y'all. I was over on Ruger's website this morning. I'm not really in the market for a new rifle, but I was just window shopping. A couple of things hit me:

1) Ruger is no longer selling the Deerfield 44 MAG auto. What killed it off?
2) Ditto for the first 44 Mag autoloading offering. Everyone said it was a great close-in deer killer.
3) Even the lever version is now gone.

I know one stock answer is going to be "They didn't sell enough of them." Why? What was there not to like? For me, a Deerfield was definitely on my list, but there were a few rifles that needed buying before and I never found a good deal on one.

I see they have re-introduced the bolt gun in the 44 magnum for 2009. I am thinking really hard on that one.

Shaman,
You know how it is, everybody that goes into the field during deer season wants to believe that he is Quigley. Even if he doesn't hunt in a spot that would offer a shot at more than 100 yards.

For at least 65% of the deer hunting I do, the .44 magnum is fine. A .30 WCF or .35 Remington would give me at least another 20%. A .270 WCF would knock the last 15% of my deer hunting needs in the head.

The problem is, the little devil on my shoulder says that if I can see it I want to be able to kill it. The implication is that I really need a .264 WM, or a .257 Wby.

Loonyism, I am sure.

Well i'm no writer gun or otherwise but all you ever hear or see is 400+ yard shots with this scope or that new caliber etc. We used to slip through a stand of oaks in January bordering a subdivision and i toted my 12 gauge slug and some the older fellows had original .44 autos.We never killed a Booner but it sure was fun jumpshooting whitetails.(Note:All game laws were followed nothing every got shot that wasn't supposed to get shot and i had a note signed by my mom.)

You killed it by not buying one.

I traded my M44 to a buddy for a crossbow so I can get closer.

jim

I'll show you what killed off the semi auto Ruger .44Mag Deerslayer.

Marlin 1894 lever gun. I believe it outsold the Ruger semi by about 25 to one.

they cannot be used in PA for Deer-- no semi-autos allowed.

Before long, used ones will probably double in price just like the 10/22 magnums did...

The top gun in the pic is a 16" Marlin 1894 .44. I would take it over the Ruger .44 auto any day. I suppose a lot of other people thought so too.

Those won't work . . .

But for a modest sum I will gladly take them off your hands . . . .

BMT

I've got a deerfield carbine and would gladly trade it for a marlin.

Mannlicher nailed it.

I had one of the new Ruger Deerfields when they first came out. It was... OK. Mine jammed about every 10th round with 3 different magazines, and the trigger kind of sucked, and it was only decently accurate...

So I traded it for one of those 1894 Marlins like the one in the pic, except stainless. Talk about SWEET!! A superior firearm in every way. Plus, given the significant recoil and muzzle jump of 44 mag in a carbine, I think the Marlin could keep up with the Ruger as far as rate of AIMED fire, anway. And it holds 10 rounds.

Amen, I suffer from this as well. In the last two years out of 9 deer/antelope taken only 3 were over 100 yards at the time of shot. None were over 200 yards and only one was over 150 yards, but yet every year I sight in my .270 wsm three inches high at 100 yards. Everyone laughs at me but I just want to be prepared for it when that shot needs to be made.

My father has a Ruger 44 mag. auto that he uses on prairie dogs. He thinks it's fun as hell. He damn near sold it years ago but then rediscovered why he bought it. He never had dreams of taking a whitey in thick cover with it. Just fun to screw around with is all.

I have 1 of the 1960s vintage mannlicher stocked 44 Internationals and think that it would be hard to beat for whitetails within 150+/- yards. Reasonably light, well balanced, points like a good upland game shotgun, shoots an honest 2 MOA with just about any factory ammo you feed it, so what more could you ask for in a woods hunting rifle?

Jeff

Don't know about jump'en deer with it but it made a fine black bear gun in the swamps and a great patrol carbine, had one in the boot for years

Thanks all for your opinions.

I still have my old .44 carbine (original, not Deerfield)with a four digit serial number. Shoots pretty well, I have killed some memorable deer with it. On the plus side, it is wonderful to carry and, for me anyway, comes up very fast, fits like a good shotgun, where I look is where it's aimed. What little recoil it produces is straight back: you can shoot aimed shots very quickly. On the minus side, they have a reputation for being a jamamatic. I think that comes from the fact that they do require a certain level of maintenance (read cleanliness and lubrication) to keep running flawlessly. I suspect that there's not a lot of excess energy directed toward working the action, thus the springs are probably kind of marginal. I have no problems, but I think a lot of the people who originally bought them may not have been so inclined to maintain them. IMHO, a great rifle, but not for everyone.

I have one of the old late 60's 44 carbines. It is fantastic. The recoil is minimal at best. I have used it as a starter gun for kids and as a backup gun in case of problems during a hunt. It has accounted for many deer over the years and has never ever jammed or failed to go bang. You couldn't ask for a better gun to utilize on deer drives. It is so small, light, and handy. Accuracy is just under 1.5" at 50 yards with just about any type of ammo. I understand that cost of manufacturing had caught up to it and forced the Deerfield into production. I never liked the "cheaper" look of the Deerfield as well as the utilization of the magazine. I understand that the magazine may be safer to load and unload, but with the tubular magazine of the original, I never had to worry about lost parts. All this talk of the 44 has got me excited about trying some of the Hornady Leverevolution ammo.

I don't know, one issue with the old ones was a twist too slow to stabilize anything bigger than 240 bullets.

Thats another consideration cra1948, tue bullet weight that the Ruger will handle.
Even the Marlin 1894, with a 1:38 twist won't stabalize really heavy bullets, but it does a fine job with the Speer 270 grain SP Gold Dots.
I have always felt that a heavy for caliber bullet works best on deer and hogs when using a lever gun.