Home Forums Lever Action Central Lever Actions - General 357 vs 44 mag in carbines

I love that gun and have a Marlin Cowboy 45LC myself so I get very tempted to chop it whenever I see yours! Where could I go to get that done right?

A .357 Magnum rifle will be slightly more accurate than a .44 Magnum. however the .44 Magnum would be a better killer on Deer sized game. The recoil level of the .44 Magnum is slightly more than a .30-30 and about like a light single barreled 20 gauge shotgun

I picked this Model 1894 up back in the late nineties. Scope is a Nikon 1-4X. The only load I have used is the Speer 270 grain Gold Dot SP over a lot of H110. Velocity is a bit over 1600 fps, and the accuracy is very good. The hunting here in my part of Florida is short range, and in heavy cover. The 270 grain bullet kills quickly.

Not so fast there. The carbines are twisted a bit slow for light loads. Neither my Rossie or Marlin 44 magnum carbines would shoot well enough to hit a five gallon bucket every time at 50 yards with regular working handgun loads like a 270 cast flat nose at 900-1000fps. Why I went to a 45 Long Colt carbine. Shoots Cowboy action loads just fine and the upper end is plenty. Full power loads shot great in both using the same bullets.

I had good accuracy with a R92 in using 255 grain factory duplication loads in 45 Colt and what I'd call OK accuracy from 38 level loads, in 357 cases from another R92 in that caliber. But either of them, with any load, would stay on beer can at 50 yards; and if I missed one I knew it was my fault.

The two worst shooting rifles I ever owned were a Lee–Enfield No 5 Mk I Jungle Carbine and an early 80s 1894 Marlin in 44 Magnum. All I ever shot through them was factory loads. With their respective favorites, the Marlin was minute-of-cantaloupe and the No 5 was minute-of-softball.

I wouldn't keep a pistol that won't stay on a five gallon bucket at 50 yards.

I've had three Rossi .44 magnum M92 carbines, one Browning, and one Winchester Miroku made. The Mirokus are so much better made than the Rossis there is no comparison. The Winchester is a keeper. Also had a Marlin 94 ( the rare Stainless model) , and didn't like it much at all. Clunky and inaccurate. I kept one of the Rossi carbines, it is stainless steel and 16" "trapper" configuration. Wonderful to keep handy "just in case" at our Northern BC bush camp with so many bears in the area and near the cabin. And it's cheap and tough and I don't have to baby it. The Browning Miroku made M92 was just as good as my new Winchester, but the barrel was twisted slow and had an oversized bore and didn't shoot anything but jacketed bullets very well.
I got rid of a nice stainless 20" Rossi .357 mag that had a variety of problems that I kept fixing, but eventually it developed a loose lock up. That was the last straw. My new Winchester/Miroku M92 .357 is accurate, the action is slick and tight, and I'm keeping that one too.

What is the basis for such a claim as to inherit accuracy of one caliber over another?

Some calibers are more inherently than others. I've read some that say the 357 is more accurate than the 44, but in my own 44s' and 357's it's varied more by individual gun than caliber over the years.

I've killed one doe with a Marlin 94 in 357 mag. The deer didn't react much at the shot, actually trotted off, crossed a dry creek bed, started up the other side and collapsed. Went about about 75 yds. I foolishly traded it off, but my current lever guns are 45 colt. No game yet, but I'd stand with the others here who like the more smack of a 44

It is likely to do with SAAMI specs for the 44 mag. SAAMI has different specs for 44 rifle and 44 pistol, so much so you’d think they were two different cartridges. Loose chamber specs, slow twist, larger groove diameter and a long throat. I believe in recent years some manufacturers have deviated from SAAMI and have adopted tighter specs for their 44 mag rifles.

What he said.^^^

I've killed several with my 1894c .357 and couldn't tell much difference between it and my .30-30. One doe double lunged from 200 yards only went 40 yards. Another shot high shoulder from about 50 yards dropped in a heap. 158 gr. hp factory loads on both.