Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Deer Hunting Searching for a .44 carbine

Fellow fire keepers,

I have the opportunity to hunt a 100+ acer parcel in the restricted rifle zone here in MI. This area is typically known for outstanding bucks. Without going through all the case length crap it has to be a straight wall case, so I'm leaning toward the .44 mag. I am typically an old school guy so I don't want to go the AR or handgun route. I'm leaning toward the Ruger .44 carbine or a Marlin, My eyes aren't what they used to be and cant shoot the iron sights out to 100yds like I used to. I would like to have at least a good fixed 4 power.

Im looking at a few Ruger autos and levers, but have heard that the levers do not cycle reliably and that the newer Deerfield autos will not cycle unless you are feeding very hot loads. I would really like to find a Marlin 336 in .44 with the short tube. I see one on gunsinternational but the discerption does not match the pics. I'm not sure they even made one in .44, I would go with an old school Marlin 94 if the price was right.

SO the topics out there are...

The old out of production Winchester Timber was always a favorite but I think it was only chambered in .450 mag which does not qualify. did they make it in .44??

Reliability of the Ruger .model 44, model 86 lever action and the Ruger Deerfield.

The advantage of 20" over the 18" barrel out to 100yds on deer.



Thanks for any input

Yes they did make the 336 in 44 mag but it was a brief run in the 60's. They're scarce, command a premium, and do not handle near as well as an 1894 Marlin nor are they as aesthetically pleasing. The only advantage in the longer barrel is smoother swinging and longer sight radius but with a scope that becomes a non starter. I like longer barrels but I don't scope my levers. The Winchester Timber came in 444 but not 44 mag. Winchester has made some nice 44 mags in the model 94 Trails End and Trapper. I'd get an 1894 Marlin myself.

77/44

I like 44 mag carbines too; have one.. You might also consider the Ruger American Ranch coming out in the next month or two (?) in 350 Legend and it will be legal in Mich. It’s also to be chambered in the Win XPR Rifles but with 22” barrels and a pound heavier than the Ranch. Presumably it’ll extend the practical range of the 44 by a bit — say, a 200 yd cartridge.

The RAR has a 16 1/2” barrel and is right at 6lbs. It has a Picatinny rail so you can pick any short, light fixed power scope and be sure you can get it placed correctly for you.

Anyway, FYI.

Don't know where in the mitten you are, but this MI dealer has a good selection of used lever .44s from Henry, Marlin and Winchester.

My wife's '94 Marlin in .44 functions flawlessly. Just a case of one.

I've owned several through the years. Original Ruger Deerfield ( and one of the new ones) both had horrible triggers, but shot OK. I've had 2 Mod 1894 Marlins in .44 Mag, one in .41 Mag and 2 in 45 colt. I recommend the Marlin 1894 in the 20 inch range. If you like bolt guns, the 77/44 is very nice. Many folks like the Ruger American. If you just want a "tool", any of the NEFs/H&R single shots work just fine and you are not out a lot of money.

I have one of the best carbines ever made. A Browning model 92 that is nearly mint. If that is something you would consider, let me know...

Add my vote. I haven't shot the .44 version but I owned a .357 version for a year or two. Accurate, reliable. The other option, IMHO, is a Marlin 1894 "cowboy" version with the octagonal barrel. Or a Winchester '92, but they're more expensive and a trigger job on one of those is beyond my skills where the Ruger bolt and Marlin lever are fairly easy.

Tom

why not a 45-70? Though offically a tapered wall case every state I have ever known considers it a straight wall case for restricted hunting. Put a straight 2.5X scope on it with heavy wires and you can shoot out to 300 yards or more.

Also there are several lever action rifles chambered in 45LC which out performs the .44 mag every day without the pressure. My 45 LC loads of 250 gr shoot MOA at 100 yds out of a Puma.

Marlin.

ruger 77/44. Has 1:20 twist vs 1:38 of marlin. Mine shoots 3 shots touching at 100. Dropped a 5 point last year with it. Prob my new favorite

Some years ago I did some extensive testing on a Marlin 44mag rifle with a 1-38 twist. It is clear to me that a 1-38 twist is a carryover from the 44-40 which shot bullets in the 200 grain class. I fired full charge 180 grain, 200's, 225's, 240's, 265's and 300's.

Accuracy was very good with the 180's, 200's and 225's. It began to degrade with the 240's, worse with the 265's and the 300's where actually better than the 265's. But still all of them were sufficiently accurate to kill a deer at 125 yards.

1:20-1:24 is the way to go.

I've had at least 1 Ruger 44 Carbine for last 50 years and have found them to be reliable if kept clean and if shot with jacketed bullets. Soft lead bullets can plug the gas port. I've shot a pile of whitetails with the 44 International that I got when I first started deer hunting. I've always shot 240 grain JSP or JHP factory ammo, mostly Remington brand, and found it to be an accurate sure killer when the deer were shot through the lungs at reasonable ranges. It isn't an bang/flop killer, but the soft bullets expand well and typically penetrate through and through leaving an obvious blood trail in its wake if they don't hit a major bone.

I have no need for one, but I also would love to have one. The 2 that I like the best are the Ruger M96 lever action and the Ruger Deerfield auto.

The stupid 1-38 twist is not as big a deal to me in the Rugers because the rotary mags will not allow me to use the 320 grain LBT bullets I like anyway, but for deer and antelope a 240-265 grain soft points are fine. There is NO reason Ruger (and Marlin too) should not twist their rifle barrels the same as revolver barrels. 1-20 is a far better way to go. But trying to get them to listen is like trying to get Obama to admit he's a Muslim or that he is born in Mombasa.

Maybe someday I can find one of them at the same time I have some money to spend, or in the hands of someone who likes the work I do and would like to make a trade.
I have killed a lot of deer and pronghorns with handguns, (357s, 44s 45s and 454s) so the "lack of range" that we hear about so often with the 44 mag and 357 mag rifles do not bother me at all. I like to hunt. I like getting close. Simply killing game at distances that don't require me to do anything but shoot is very anti-climatic for me.

Oh...I just learned something
According to a post on Wikipedia on the M96 "the barrel has a twist rate of 1 turn in 20", allowing heavy hunting bullets to stabilize."

Is this true?
Can anyone confirm this for me?
The slow 1-38 twist was the only misgiving I ever had against the Ruger M96. I may have been wrong all the time.

Were they introduced with 1-20" ?
Were they changed in mid production?
Or is this a bogus piece of info?

My aunt's Deerfield Carbine is her favorite rifle, which holds more weight than most of my uncles' choices. To throw in an additional name, you might compare the Marlins in .44 to a Henry Big Boy. If you can get over the price tag, and current lack of a loading gate, it's well built.

Though, side by side by side, i'll still vote for any nice Marlin you find.

I have a ‘94 in 44 mag. It’s a circa ‘79 piece in nice condition and with a Leupold 2.5x on it, it’s a superb little carbine that I hope to use this year. The only problem I’ve had with it is thus far is with Win white box 240-gr soft points; it tends to hiccoup feeding them up from the magazine.

Other soft points feed fine. It must be in the bullet ogive differences.

I have 4 of them a first year ruger deer stalker/ 1984 marlin /ruger 77/44 / h&r handi rifle/ any of them work well with in there range