Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Rifles Ruger 44 MAG

Never had a problem with mine. Only ever shot factory JSP's.

Always minute of 12 pack beer box.

I've had a couple. One was a standard and it worked well for short distance hunting. Never had any problem with it. Somebody came along and wanted to give me silly money for it, so I sold it and got a like new, rare peep sight model. Now that one is worth so much I don't hunt with it any more and use a beat up Marlin 1894 instead. Great little guns.

The Ruger is a fine little carbine, and I have owned one. I switched to the Marlin 1894 though, because I wanted to use heavier bullets. With the 270 grain Speer GD SP, it's a killing machine for Southern swamp deer.

What is their twist? will 300 gr fly well?

Oh!! My baby!! A few years ago I was a friggin' nice guy to a so called friend. Loaned him my Ruger 44 carbine so he could hunt. Turns out he loans it to his buddy to use. Dropped it. Busted the rear sight off it. Cracked the stock. I called Ruger and they sent me a replacement sight for free. An exact replacement. I went to shoot it and.... It doesn't work. A part is missing. Thanks 260Remguy, I am gonna call that gun shop and send them the rifle to figure it out. Who makes replacement wood stocks? Don't EVER be that nice guy when it comes to loaning a backup rifle out. I hope that scumbag gets cancer.

I bought one new when they came out, seem to remember it cost $150, which was quite a bit of cash then. Reloaded for it with a old Lee Loader, using Speer half-jacket bullets. It was light and handy, accurate enough, and mild mannered. Forgot what happened with it, but probably traded it in on something completely forgettable. Too bad they don't figure a way to bring them back, I'd pop for another.

Have any of y'all ever used a suppressor with one of these, I think that would be neat.

Depends on the length of the bullet and the velocity you push it to. With Max charge of H110 under a 300 gr. XTP, mine does OK out to about 75 yards. Beyond that there was obvious keyholing on the paper target.

I bought my wife one several years ago to hog hunt with, as she wasn't doing to well with her .243 on the pigs. She killed two the first weekend we tried the Ruger .44, and I shot another that was father than she wanted to try. Wonderful hog rifle for thick woods, never had a problem with ours. I have only shot factory ammo, but thought about trying sub sonic hand loads to see if it would cycle to possibly consider suppressor use.

Mike

My dad has had a few, still has one.........a '66 fingergroove that's minty.
I filled a bonus tag when IN first allowed PCR.
236gr Norma factory load.
65 yards, iron sights.........saw a white flash above the gun. Was the deer doing a backflip.
DRT (angled down and quartering too..........nuked spine and off shoulder).

Cool rifle!

But I was hunting a rough place and I was constantly worrying about putting a scratch or dent on the stock.

Put 2 little dings in my #1 RSI last yr pushing a creek bottom. Eh, it's got crap wood anyway, plus it's MY rifle so don't care (most boring stock ever seen on a #1).
The .44 fingergroove isn't figured, but it's spotless...........and not mine.

He offered it for use last deer season, and I declined. It;s just too nice!
Accuracy? Not all that great. Trigger? Sucks.
But usable within 75 yards as is and the cool factor is super high IMHO.

Fetch a good penny in these parts, since PCR was allowed.

If I end up with that rifle, will put in a new aftermarket stock.
Would not run over 240gr even then.
Supposedly they split stocks pretty easily, dunno if shrinkage over time, some buffer a prob, design flaw evidenced by heavy shooting?
Not gonna chance it.

I have the Ruger 44 mag lever. Great rifle, never fails to bring home the meat at 100 YDS.

Got one as well.
I really want to load up some hot 300 grainers and take it elk hunting.

Picked up one last week from a widow selling off her husbands collection! Working in a scope and rings for it now. Has always been on my bucket list.

I keep mine stoked with Hornady 265 grain flat points over 21 grains of H110 and topped with a Leuold 2.5x. It shoots right at 1.5 inches at 50 yards with that load. I tried everything from 180 to 300 grain bullets when I first had it and it shot them all from very well to reasonably well - one inch on the small end to 2.5 inches on the large side. The 300 grain Hornady and Sierra bullets both ran right two inches.

We keep it in the camper for bears and I still hunt with it occasionally in heavy timber for moose. Haven't gotten a shot at a legal moose with it yet but have no doubt it will do the job.

Mart
It ought to shoot better than that... mine will group 2" at 100 with IRON sights. Try another load.

I had one in the late 70's/early 80's that I bought from a kook at work for $75. That little bugger would tear my thumb up pushing shells into the loading gate. Another guy offered me $150 for it so I sold it. If only I'd known....

Yep, on my Bucket List too. Had a #3 but let it get away. Another I'd like to find is a Rem 788 44Mag.


DMc : )