Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Rifles .44 mag carbines and big deer?

One thing to remember is that the 44 mag is a whole different animal in a carbine than it is in a revolver in which it is most familiar to most hunters. For example, average, white box Win 240-gr loads that leave my Smith 329 4” at 1200 fps exit my Marlin 94 at 1750 fps, a whole 500+ fps increase.

44 Mag Buffalo Bore Deer Grenades do even better at 1950 fps. They are loaded hotter, as they say, ~ 1500 fps from a revolver. And that’s not to mention other BB or Grizzly ammo loads, not to mention hand-loads if your carbine shoots them well. And we make a great distinction between a180 30-06 and that from a 300 Win Mag, a difference of maybe ~ 200 fps +/-.

So, yeah, for a woods’ deer cartridge, and paying attention to your bullet, the 44 mag out of any carbine, is really a very good choice and not at all a barely sufficient one assuming correct placement per usual. Compare for instance to the new Win 350 Legend load which gives a 150/180-gr bullet 2300/2100 +/- fps. And it was created primarily for deer/hogs. It’s basically just 357 Mag “Long”. Not that there is anything wrong with that.