Home Forums Lever Action Central Lever Actions - General Marlin 1894 .44magnum Accuracy and effective range?

I'm buying a marlin .44 today, and i'm putting a burris 3-9x33 timberline on it.

i've never handled a .44 lever gun before, but i'm familiar with 30-30's and 45/70's.

What can i expect performance wise? I plan to use it for hog killin. How far out would you expect it to be effective?

My old microgroove one will shoot 5 hardcast 300 gr in front of a max load of H110 into 1.5" @100 with a Leupold 1-4.
The Barnes bullet is also a good choice although the hard cast will out penetrate it.
I'd replace the 3-9 with a 1-4 especially for somthing that can bite (Hogs)
IMO it's a 200 yard rifle. (It would no doubt kill at 500 but the trajectory would be a rainbow)

Judging by the current prices for used ones, prople are catching on to what a great rifle/cartridge this is.

Yep....bought a coupole recently myself....prices are definatley sky rocketing.

Great 150 yrd gun IMO.

Yes, with the demise of cheap/available Win 94's and Remlin's wonderful new QA program, lever-lovers have decided now is the time.

Chalk me up as another big fan. I like the 45 Colt a tad bit more. But I also realy like the 44 magnum. 200 yards shots should be no problem for a guy who knows his rifle. I really like mine because I cast my own bullets and I can cast and load over 1,000 rounds for less than $100. How can you beat that?? Cast and load up a couple of thousand and put them down range. Then you will have no problem with a 200 yard shot. Tom.

As someone said before, put a 1-4 scope on it if you buy one. Despite all the glowing reports, look at the ballistics of this pistol round in a rifle and decide for yourself whether it is what you need for your hunting. Because of the rapid drop in velocity and subsequent drop in energy I wouldn't use one beyond 100 yards.

I bought a new 1894 years ago, made in the late '70's. Worst rifle I ever bought. It was an honorary shotgun at 100 yards with the myriad types of ammo used in it. The barrel was so thin where the sight dovetail cut was that there was a visable dent from the sight. Wouldn't feed anything reliably, either, till I saw the carrier was not going high enough, took the carrier out, bent it up in a vice and then it would finally feed the ammo, at least. I sold it, gladly and would obviously not get another. I replaced it with a Marlin 336RC Marauder in .35 Remington which is shorter and lighter and vastly more powerful and accurate. So that is my 1894 44 Magnum story, not pretty.

What do you shoot at 200 yards with cast bullets? Here are the ballistics:

http://www.rifleshootermag.com/ballistics/44_rem_mag.html

With a MAX. load JACKETED 240 gr bullet you have 660 ft/lbs of energy at 200 yards.

I really like mine and would still use the iron sights if I could see them. I ahve a cheap 1-4 zx scope on it because that scope is very short and looks/handles better than the std scopes.Mine will do better than 3" at 100 yds with std Speer flat nose semi jacketed bullet. It has dropped on elk so far at about 60 yards ( 1 shot, DRT).It sure isn't a 200 yd gun

I shoot the 250 Nosler Partition.....EASILY a 150 yd gun as I still have over 1000 lbs of energy. But, I am not hunting elk and stuff with it either. We have a doe season in Iowa that allows rifles and this is the fun lil gun to use at that time. I am probably in agreeance that 200 yds is pushing the envelope. I shot the heavy, long (24 inch) octagon cowboy bbl and that seems to help as well. Shoots lights out for a lever gun! It is just a plain fun gun to shoot, lil recoil in this heavier gun, plenty of gun for for all the small stuff and fun as heck to drop does with. I bought it for just something diffrernt then all my laser flat shooting stuff and I am having a blast with it, but respecting what it is as well.

With a 270 gr Speer over 21 grains of H110, using XS sights, my Marlin will keep them in a can of Copenhagen @ 100 yards. Milk Jugs @ 150-200 is no big trick. Only thing I've killed with it so far was a coyote @ 100 yards so far, but I'm taking it along for my spring bear hunt here in MT. I've all the confidence in the world in that combo.

I had my 1894S to the range this morning. The cloverleaf on target below was at 50 yards. At 100 yards, the carbine will keep a group under three inches, usually around 2.
Load was the Speer 270 grain GDSP over H110 powder.
Velocity, 10 shot average, was 1620 FPS. I use a Leupold fixed 2.5X 20mm tube.
I have killed 7 deer with this combination. Longest distance was less than 75 yards. This load kills hogs real dead.
I really don't think you need a high power scope on a short range lever gun.

Great speed along with a hog killing group.

Doc

Our experience with the .44mag in a Carbine rifle was 1-inch groups with our handloads and around 1.5 with factory ammo at 50 yards. Now at 100 yards I shot 2.5 to 3.5 inch groups using iron sights and factory ammo was closer to 4 to 5 inch groups.
We never shot at any deer futher away than 75 yards and at that range and less, they died quickly using our handloads.

I agree with you on your observations Tonk. When I went to a scope on the .44 mag, my groups shrunk. At 100 yards, with the factory irons, I just could not see the aiming point clearly enough to keep the groups tight.
The Leupold fixed 2.5X made the difference

I had a crossbolt safety marlin 44 mag with a leup 1-4 on it I could produce 3 shot 2 inch groups with it off the bags. I sold it and now have a 357 mag because that's the caliber my revolvers use. I don't have a scope on it but I can bust tennis ball chunks of concrete at 40 yards with it using the Remington 180 grain magnum ammo it seems to like those cartridges.

The new Marlins I don't know, I am wondering the same thing about what will happen to them.

Did you miss the part about putting a couple of thousand rounds down range and learning your rifle?? For about$200?? I can shoot a FL with PRB to 150 yards with no problem and open sights.

But if you must know. I cast a 240 grain bullet from straight WW. And push it with 21.0 grains of 2400.

Only problem with me is I do not read ballistic charts. And internet posts. I shoot my rifle. and I can guarantee you that a 240 grain bullet cast from straight WW will completely penetrate a deer(through and through) at 200 yards with no problem. And if you are the least bit concerned about mushrooming the bullet then add 50% pure lead to the mix to improve mushrooming.

You need to remember that a 44 magnum is a hole .429 going in. so 25% expansion on each side yields almost a one inch hole coming out. I am not sure what deer could walk away from that. If you only received 1/4" expansion on each side that is a 3/4" hole coming out. That is the idea behind a big bore. They do not depend on shock to kill, the big hole does the job. That is why I am constantly dropping the velocity on my 45-70. Speed in that ifle does not kill. The mass of the bullet kills, regardless of velocity. 1200 fps can be real deadly. You do not want to be hit by one going 1200 fps.

However I did not learn that from a chart. I learned that from picking up dead deer. Charts are useless to me. Except for fire starting kindling to fry deer steak on.

Heck I shoot ground hogs with my lever actions and FL rifles. You have to practice and know your weapon. If not then limit yourself to 75 yards and read some more charts.

However I will admit that I like the 45 Colt better than the 44 magnum. For two reasons. First the 45 Colt is an even bigger hole going in. And second I believe the recoil on a 44 magnum is a little more snappy than on the 45 Colt. I seem to have a tad bit more rifle control. And alot more revolver control with the 45 Colt. And you definitely do not want to be standing 200 yards out in front of my 45 Colt. Tom.

I have had several .44 magnum rifles from five different manufacturers and absolutely cannot get what I deem acceptable hunting accuracy from the caliber in a rifle.Those who claim 1" groups or anything less than 4" groups at 100 yards are using a much different ruler than I have.
I so desperately wanted a .44 magnum rifle as a mate to my Ruger Super Redhawk so I didn't enter into the search with less than high expectations.
Factory ammunition nor my handloads would give me what I want in accuracy from a rifle.My pistol is great at 100 yards.
I disbelieve any consistent close accuracy claims from a .44 magnum rifle at range of 100 yards.

Stan in SC

Then either you've got some terrible luck, or maybe you need to learn how to shoot a rifle. First load I tried in my marlin is the only one I've used so far, and like I said earlier, it'll keep them in a copenhagen can @100.

Yeah sure.If you say so.

Stan in SC

I have target hanging on my wall here that is a solid 1 1/4" group at 100yards using 22 &1/2gr of H110 with a speer Jacketed Flat Point,240 gr. This has been duplicated several times.I use a cheap $50 NcStar 2-6x scope as I wanted the small size.Iron sights, best my old eyes can do is about 3"

I have shot several 1.75 inch groups at 100 yds this past week. I am new to teh lever gun world, but the Cowboy Limitied in .44 with the 24 inch octagon bbl is a shooter! I have a 1-4x20 luepold on it to help with such accuracy and it shoots great.

To be honest...i wanted it to shoot the winchester supereme 250 partitions, and it does ok with those... but it REALLLY likes the hornady leveroultion 225 ftx. Thats what is shoots best with! Any expereince going on out there with that bullet on animals??? I just posted a thread in the marlin talk asking too.

257wthbylover,

I have used the hornady 250 gr. "FTX" in my T/C 20 gauge slug gun with complete penetration at speeds 400FPS slower than the bullet is designed for.

Doc

Thanks Doc.....

I seem to find about 95% postive results on the bullet, but yet a lil suprised how lil true information is out there for this bullet which has been around a few yrs. Everyone says it shoots GREAT. Which is my findings as well....but the 3 negative results i found had to do with possible no expansion or serperation. I am usually a bullet snob , meaning i like Barnes X and prem stuff, but this ammo sure likes my gun and so i would like to have that confidence in this 225 gr FTX. Thanks for your info.

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Hogghead said,
"Only problem with me is I do not read ballistic charts. And internet posts. I shoot my rifle. and I can guarantee you that a 240 grain bullet cast from straight WW will completely penetrate a deer(through and through) at 200 yards with no problem. And if you are the least bit concerned about mushrooming the bullet then add 50% pure lead to the mix to improve mushrooming."

Hogghead is right on, the charts show foot pounds of energy which is meaningless in the real world, it is simply a comparison. One foot pound is the energy required to move one pound one foot. Therefore, 1000 foot pounds should move one pound 1000 feet or 1000 pounds one foot. A bullet will do neither. A bullet with 3000 foot pounds of energy will not even knock over a 200 pound deer. Just another shooing myth. The proof of any caliber/cartridge combo is in the shooting. The effective range of the 44 mag is limited by rifle accuracy and shooter, not power.

Just because several on here brag on the Barnes bullet ,does not mean you need it ,especially in a 44 mag at 1600-1800fps, and darn sure not for any deer on the Norh American continent. I have successfully killed elk with the Speer 240 gr FP ,so it will sure as heck kill deer and hogs.
Quit reading and believing all this gack,go buy some Speer or Hornady bullets ,load them up with H110 and go kill something.

I wish I had put it that eloquently. You nailed it perfetly. It is a shame that guys sit around and read charts. When they should be out practicing. Personally I have never seen a chart kill a single thing?? I can tell you how far my ground hog rifle drops at 800 yards, because I have shot it at 800 yards. Not because some charts said it should drop so much. Same as my 44 magnum and 45 Colt rifles. I have shot them at 200 yards, so I know exactly what they do. Tom.

I have always enjoyed reading your replys, its no nonsence in the woods use of what you shoot.

Doc

I would not start a fight with any of you guys armed even with a 4 MOA .429 bore! If my FA 454 revolver will go 1.5 MOA, (it does) I bet some carbines will also. Not 94s of course but Marlins especially if the locking lug beards evenly...yes this matters...and a good long bearing surface, balanced bullet (LBT) just might cut close to minute.

M94 Winchesters can be accurate, too. But, the Marlins, in my experience, are more likely to be so.

no 1894-.44 here, i have the browning 92' with a old red feild peep site, 11 shots of 270gr shells in a 4" group from a rest

Same setup here with the exception of 1894ss. 19gr of H110, win brass and WLP primer under a hornady 300 xtp and a stout crimp will do 3 shots under an inch if'n I ain't got the shakes...

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That's a fine looking setup.

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I have a tang safety Win94 trapper 357 that shoots 1.5" groups with iron sights and 3 different handloads at 50 yards. With better sights and load tweeking I think that I can obtain my goal of 2" groups or less at 100 yards. The 357 should be good on deer to around 100 yards.

But it is a 357 not a 44...

I bought it to start young kids, but I personally really like it and I would like a 44 just like it or another brand.

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I know a couple of local hunters who routinely take deer out to around 200 yards with 357 Mag rifles. But, of course, first you have to hit them.

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My older Marlin will shoot 1.5" @ 100 with 23 grn of H110 and the Beartooth 250 hard cast.
My newer SS Marlin will shoot the same load about 2" @ 100.
Still working on aload for the SS rifle.

Coach

The Marlin 44 mag. is at it's best 125 yardish and under and a peep site,IMO.

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We all have different abilities. Every shooter should know his limitations. I consider my limit to be about 150 yards.

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My hunting buddy has a late 70's 1894, last season his 8 year old granddaughter took a little buck at about 100 yards. Same carbine taught her mom and her uncle to hunt a couple of decades ago, I don't have any idea how many deer it's taken, but the best thing is it's provided us with 3 more hunters.

P.S. Little brother is waiting in the wings, chances are he'll be #4.

While I can't boast having shot thousands of rounds thru my Marlin I would feel safe in stating hundreds and yes, I can hit what I'm shooting at at 200 yards. I think the question then should be: Should you attempt it while hunting?

My load is a 240 grn. Hornady XTP with 23 grn. of H-110 and this combo drops around 2 feet between 100 and 200 yards. I hunted and been around hunters all my life and many, if not all, myself included, have a story about missing an animal due to radically misjudging its actually distance from them.

Guessing that an animal is "about 175 yards" when it is actually 215 yards is not that critical when one is using a .30-06 but is a clean miss, or worse, a wounded animal when using a .44 mag.

If you have confidence in your abilities AND are absolutely sure of your range at 200 yards, then bang away. But if you "think its around 175 or 180" you should probably pass.

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Good post, Gray Rider.

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There's an article in "Precision Shooting", April or May relating to accurizing leverguns. Biggest issue seems to relate to the bearing of the locking bolts. If they bear unevenly as in Winchesters(family; 92'ss, 94's, etc) with 2 lugs/bolts. The Marlins with only one bolt seem to be more consistantly accurate. The Winnys can be so tuned to good accuracy, by bringing the bolts into even bearing.

Of all the Marlins I've had over the years the 1894 in 44 Mag is my least favorite. Seems like the bores on this particular model are oversized more than other calibers. I ownd a couple and never could get either to shoot a group of less than 1.5" @50 yards with jacketed bullets.

Since I own a 444 & 45-70 both of which will shoot a 3 shot group less than an inch @100 yds the 44's departed my company.

Marlingtons are getting spendy!

Northeast Texas, 240gr Nosler JSP over 24gr H110 with a CCI mag primer. Blew through both sides at 70 yds and splattered pink blood and lung tissue for a 5ft behind the sow. I estimate the weight at 325lbs. That's my 1894 leaned up against her.

currently i own three .44 mag rifles, 1 win 94 AE and two ruger 77/44 bolt guns.

I have owned two different marlin 94's in 44 mag.. all were/are reasonably accurate at 100 yards.

Probably killed a dozen white tails with them, mostly at 50-80 yards, but one at just over 150 yds and a 140 class at 193 yards.. All broad side rib cage shots, and i was particular about that shot.

Never had to follow a blood trail, DRT.. H110 Max load 240 gr Hornady JHP..

Shot a lot of practice rounds at 100-300 yards.. 150 is my max without a rest, 200 with a rest.. 300 yards i just plain couldn't make it happen with any consistency.. The gun will do everything you are capable of.

my .02 worth

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Effective range is limited by shooter ability. The 44 mag will kill game out beyond 500 yards but most of us can not control the rainbow trajectory at more than 200 yards. My range limit is about 150 yards.

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I had a marlin 1894 in 44mag and at 50 yds it would would make almost 1 ragged hole.I never shot it at 100yds,but I imagine it would have shot atleast a 2 inch group.That was with the winchester 240gr JHP.Only shot 1 deer with it at 60 yds,spined it complete pass thru.I regret getting rid of it,im in the process of trying to buy another,thats why im in the "lever action" forum..LOL

I clobbered this coastal blacktail and many others with my Marlin 44 MAG. Longest shot was about 90 yards or so. Hornady XTP bullets in 44 MAG make BIG HOLES in deer and I'm not exaggerating.

This ugly scope was an antique Weaver K4 but replaced it with a Bushnell 1.5X - 5X. The old Weaver used to fog up occasionally although it retained its zero perfectly.

Sherwood

I read an article yesterday from Handloader magazine that had a load using 2400 that actually outperforms the classic H110 load for the 240gr bullet. This would cut about 1-2" of drop at 200yds and add another 150fpe at impact.

In all my experience with the 44mag rifle except one large boar shot at 10yds, the Nosler 240gr JSP fully penetrates deer and hogs even when both shoulders are hit. Although it's only got about 700fpe left at 200yds, there's no question in my mind that a hit to the shoulders or boiler room will drop the deer/hog in place. Hell it's still traveling at nearly 1200fps. If you stuck the barrel of a 4" Model 29 in a deer's ribs and pulled the trigger, would you expect it to die? That's essentially the same thing the rifle does at 200yds.

Yes, hitting the target is the key, but if you know your rifle and can learn to judge distance, 200yds for the 1894 is a no brainer.

5 shots @ 100 yds

18 gr 'LIL GUN, 270 gr Gold Dot @ 1455 fps.



Got a nice 5 point with it @ 60 yards last year...

No doubt!

Anyway I agree 150 yards for deer with a good load is fair...

I've taken whitetails and hogs with mine using nothing but Winchester White Box Value Pack 240 grain jacketed soft points. IMHO they are the best all around load for most 44 leverguns.

Effective range is probably more than 100 meters but since I use open sights and my eyes are getting older I limit my shots on whitetails to inside of 80 meters ... I may stretch that for pigs but I rare have to around here. They usually like to come in close and that 44 will knock them down in a hurry.

My little Marlin shoots great. I've shot several deer with it mostly with plain old Nosler JHP, and the occasional 240 XTP. Never over 75 yds, but I wouldn't hesitate to jack any critter to speak of at 150 yds.

I hit the jackpot on some 200 Nosler HP a couple years ago, but haven't had the opp to kill anything with them yet.