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

Thinking on my next purchase, anyone done a bunch of hunting/killing big NE white tail with these? Been wanting a companion cal rifle for my .44 mag revolver. Been wanting another lever. Been wanting a big bore lever. Been wanting an 1894 Marlin, I think.... opinions? For hunting and just schitts n grins. Would be a still hunting piece in Northern New England woods. Probably the thick stuff. Probably a snow tracking specialty purpose. Probably shots inside 75 yards. Think it would fill a hole in the short distance end of my spectrum. I know it’s “old school”. I know a 30-30 is a more versatile choice. I prefer to make the jump to .308

They perform/kill well on Big bucks inside 100 yards?

Thanks for your input. And any commercial ammo suggestions are welcome too as I don’t load my own.

Sadly, the .44 Mag will only kill a critter once per shot.

Don't know if you hand load or not, but if you do and like cast bullets.. They do have Ballard rifling, but the twist is a bit slow for my liking at 38:1 It will work well enough for most .44 bullets but is iffy when they start reaching up to the 300 grain range.

Mine is a Ruger 77/44 plastic and stainless w/20" twist. Thor's hammer on deer and pigs.

I had a 77/44, and with 300 grain LBTs, big deer were not a concern. It handily shot through any deer I shot with it.

Is there a better lever option you’d recommend, perhaps with a faster twist? Like maybe a BLR or something? Not really wanting to hunt (and pay) for an old Winchester.

My wife's Marlin does very well with 300 grain jacketed bullets and lead bullets. Surprised me a bit with all that I had read.

I would imagine a 240 grain bullet would not bounce off a deer if a Marlin would not work well with the 300 grain bullets.

Poachers use 22’s , I think 🤔 a 44 would suffice!

Hornady ammo loaded with a 240 grain XTP ought to do the trick.

Opinions vary widely on whether they are better or even as good as Marlin but the Henry Big Boy .44 Magnum has a 1:20 twist. They also make a 16" carbine model. Had a Marlin 1894 with a 16" barrel which was extremely fast handling, and 16" will still get you all the usable velocity you could want from a straight walled pistol case like that.

There's been a Ruger semi auto used for exactly your purposes in our hunting camp since the early '80s. It's fed with 240 jhps and works well on WI bambis.

Never killed anything huge, but if you can shoot the heavies (300), they don’t stop easy.

Ruger carbines are the ticket. Stop [bleep] NOW

I personally prefer a Win 94 Trapper in .44 caliber.
Mine has worked well on numerous big deer and feral hogs here at the Ranch with a 280 gr WFN LBT Hard Cast bullets over a stout load of WW 296. I’ve yet to catch a bullet in any of them.
Although I could easily live with a Marlin or Ruger LA rifle.
Personally, I don’t care for the Henry’s.

Thanks guys. I’m hearing a lot of the same from someone close to me who has them all. Put it up for question to see. The Fire confirms.

Back in the mid-1960's my Father and Bearrr264's Father killed several big ME whitetail bucks in the area between Lake Umbagog and Lower Richardson Lake and a couple of big NH whitetails in the back country around Dummer, NH, with Ruger .44 carbines. I've hunted off and on with a .44 International over the past 50 years using 240 grain semi-jacketed HPs and SPs with good success.

Thank you. I troll up in there. Love Richardson. And Rangely.
I’ve been told the Win Trapper (from a guy who is an unabashed win hater) and the Henry (which I don’t want either) both. Sounds like the Early eighties Marlin is what i’m Looking for. This site is great. Thanks all.

I guess you cannot read.

This bullet is any deer’s worst nightmare inside 75 yds out of a long gun.

Can't thank you enough for the kind words.

Yes indeed, I hunted the Pine Ridge area for several years. My BIL was the District Ranger. I used a CZ550 in 9.3X62. All shots were in the "woods" 50 yards was a long one. Now if you get towards the fields then some long shots can present themselves. In a carbine the 44Mag can hold it own, but not a longer range proposition. Ideal as a woods gun.

Big deer? Hell, I know a guy who killed a Moose with one. 240 JSP's to boot. Marlin 1894 rifle.