Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Rifles Ruger .44 Carbine OK for deer/bear?

You'll be fine. Go make meat with it.

Bingo. After you fill your freezer try the 240 gr XTP or 270 gr GD. Or not...

Just got back with my new Ruger 77/44, and had about the same results. The center of the groups are 1" high at 50 yards, and I'm gonna do my best to burn fur with it in November.

My buddies old Ruger 44 mag semiauto (with receiver sight) could keep its shots on a clay pigeon at 100 yards, but that was about it for "long range accuracy".

I borrowed the rifle for a few hunting seasons, and (being a bit of a rifle looney), I tried to tune it up a bit for my friend. I tested 3 or 4 brands of ammo, I polished up the trigger slightly, and I tried several bedding methods, but I could never improve on that accuracy. Just the nature of the beast, I guess!

Still, in the dense forest my friend usually hunted, I doubted he ever saw a deer past 50 yards. The accuracy of the rifle was sure more than good enough, and the rifle (with only a receiver sight, no scope) was a joy to carry and very fast to bring on target.

I think he has been happily using the rifle since about 1972 or so... most years his .30-06 stays in the gun cabinet and the light little Ruger goes hunting.

John

Ive never printed a very good group on game anyhow....

In the terrain I hunt in most of the time, 50 yards is a very typical shot. If my little Ruger won't do but a 3 to 4 inch group, then that will still be more than adequate.

The trigger is heavy, but seems to break clean, so I may work on it to lighten it up. Another thing is that the scope has a heavy reticle (FX-II 2.5X20 Ultralight), and it subtends quite a bit more than a standard reticle, so I may not be aiming the rifle in exactly the same spot each time.

Nonetheless, I felt like that after I zeroed the rifle, every shot I fired would have given a Whitetail one, if not two, extra holes.

I think I'll hunt it as it is, but immediate post season may find me working loads with a couple of 300 grain bullets, and maybe the 265 Hornady FP.

Dad's got one of those in lever action. I know he bought it primarily for hogs, wanted something short and light with a little better reach than his revolver. He was carrying a 44 revolver at the time so he wanted something that used the same cartridges. I know he got a few hogs and IIRC a deer with it. I know he didn't use it for bear as there's no season for it here. He was in a crash that messed up his leg several years back, and since he hasn't been able to walk as well he doesn't use it much. Most of it's use since then is as a camper gun (if that makes any sense), intended more for wild/rabid animals that are causing problems. So far he hasn't had need to use it but better to be prepared.

I just scored a nice one today at the Palmer gun show. Included was a Leupold VX II 1-4x. Gun looks like brand new. I am excited to get to the range to try it out. I'm thinking the Hornady 265 FP might be a good bullet to try. Don't know that it will see much use in Alaska but I've always wanted one. One of my mentors growing up had one and he killed a fair pile of deer with it. He was a great still hunter and would go in the heavy cover one step at a time looking all the time. He usually shot deer pretty close. Should be a fun gun to play with this winter getting loads worked up for it. I am headed out for a few days but will post some pics of it when I get back.

Mart

Since the .44 Magnum handgun has harvested every huntable species on the planet, I believe it will work fine on deer and bear from a rifle.

I have owned and hunted with Ruger Carbines for more than 40 years. It is a near perfect gun for really thick brush country. In East Texas, that means most shots will be 25 yards or less, with a "possible" (though unlikely) long shot of 100 yards or so. Since the trajectory of the .44 Magnum out of a rifle allows for a 150 yard range....this is just right.

Maybe I've been "blessed" with outstanding rifles, but the two Ruger Carbines I've owned would both group 240 grain soft points into a 2" group at 100 yards the few times I actually shot from that distance. I seldom shot many 100 yard groups, but could hit a bottle-cap size target EVERY tine at 50 yards or less. I keep hearing of 4" groups at 100 yards from others, so maybe I've been "lucky" but that's my experience with two different rifles.

As far as killing power within 100 yards.....you couldn't ask for more. I have no experience with shooting bears with this rifle, but have taken a number of 250-300 pound hogs with it....as well as many, many whitetails. Never a problem and anything other than a pass-through was an oddity.

The original reason for purchasing this rifle was when it was legal to hunt deer with dogs. The shooting tended to be fast and close and an animal that ran more than a few yards without a GREAT blood trail was sometimes very hard to find (even though dead).

The typical gun used at that time was a shotgun and buckshot. This "killed" well, but did NOT normally stop the animal quickly and blood trails were a sometimes thing. The rifles used were mostly .30-30 lever actions which also often failed to "stop" the deer and left an inconsistant blood trail.

The .44 Magnum solved those problems. This round seems to hit harder than it "should" (according to ballistics tables)....often knocking the deer down at the shot. Even when the deer didn't go down, it was rare that it didn't stumble or react to the hit. Even if the deer DID get out of sight, the blood trail was always heavy making recovery much easier.

I think the Ruger 44 Carbine will be much to your liking for deer and bears (judging by the way it handles hoigs, bears should be no problem).

When I had one, and I have had three, the best load was a 180 grain Sierra JHC behind 30 grains of H110. It would stay around around 1.5" at 100. Found the same load worked well in a Ruger Redhawk also...much better than heavier bullets.

Some think that the 180s are too light for deer but they expand well and pass through...what else does one want. The Sierra is designed as a hunting bullet and expands slowly.


Bob

Edm- funny- you must ahve a B92 because those are the two best shooting things in mine.

Are there any reloading pitfalls to be aware with these little rifles? I suspect they are sensitive to over all length. I would imagine cast bullets would play havoc with the gas system. Any thoughts?

Mart

Yep, you'll ruin it.

DMc

Mine is a pretty old one, four-digit serial number, that I bought while home on leave in 1968. It's got a number of deer to it's credit. My best load is 240 grain XTP over 23 grains of H-110. That load works well in my .44 revolvers also and in a couple of friends' .44 carbines.

Accuracy fell off at one time, found out the through-bolt in the stock had loosened up. I glass bedded the rear end and also the gas block, tightened it down and everything's been good for years now. Killed my two biggest bucks with it, one of which was at 200 yards.

Wanted one ever since I was a kid and saw those old Ruger ads in the magazines with the guy who had a gorilla hanging up... can you imagine those ads running today?

I've got a 1970 version. I shoot 240gr XTP.

I wouldn't trust it on a deer....:D

I first found this after the shot...



Then looked up, about 3-4ft off of the ground and saw this....



Not too far (25-30yds later[I knew she was down, she went down about 10yds from me]) I found this...




I LOVE LOVE LOVE this gun. I wish I had 2. This one is one I inheritted from my grandfather after he passed away. It's spotless. I would love to have a "beater" for every day use.

That's some pretty serious bloodletting!

I've yet to shoot a deer with mine, though I carry it whenever I go sneaking through the woods or sit in the pucker-brush.

Mine is an older one that I bought from a co-worker close to 15 years ago. He had committed one of the cardinal gun storage sins by keeping it stored in a gun case. Of course it rusted a bit, mostly just surface rust, but a couple shallow pits, too.

I had it re-blued and put a new scope on it, but kept the somewhat unique Weaver pivot rings. I stripped the remaining finish off the stock a few years ago and sprayed several coats of poly on it. It didn't come out too shabby.

verrrry interesting. Looks like a nice gun. I wish I had another. I'm sure I would catch the devil from my dad if I used my gun more than I have (one day, one deer and put back up). He prides himsself in the fact that it's in such good condition. I'm sure my grandpaw would have wanted it hunted. Oh well, one of my son's will get it one day, just gotta flip a coin on which one lol

There is an article about the 77/44 in Rifle a couple of months ago about polishing the barrel. After this was done I think he was getting an inch.

No problem within it's range and quite a handy little rig to have around for many purposes. I need one myself, I have always liked them and wished Ruger would have kept producing them.

Just think of how handy a take down stainless synthetic like the new 10/22 would be in the 44 mag.