Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Deer Hunting experiences with 44 mag rifles and close range deer?

I am about to purchase a small and rather petite Marlin 1894P in 44 mag. My main reason to buy is I like the light and handy lil thing and think it'll be a lot of fun to hunt whitetail with my father back in Minnesota.

Most all of the work there that we do is from a stand, and the shots range from about 5 yards to 50 yards.

I/we have plenty of other firearms so this is not a question looking for what may be a better choice. However I am quite interested in comments from those that have used such a round for such applications.

Thoughts on bullets would be greatly apprecitiated as well.

Have a super weekend!

"GET TO THE HILL"

Dogz


oh yeah it would be grand fun to hunt lopes with it this fall as well.......

My Dad uses a .44 mag marlin in the whitetail woods of Wisconsin. He loves it, fast light, and just handy are his words. He has killed a couple deer with it. He was using Hornady's XTP bullet in 200 grains but found they were a little light and didn't give the penetration he wanted. So he switched to 240 grainers instead and likes those more, even though they come out a little slower. YMMV <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

I have a Marlin in 1894 that I use occasionally. I shoot Nosler's 240 partition bullet. I don't recall the load data, but its done the job well. I've only killed one deer with it, and she ran about 50 yds after being hit right behind the shoulder. Pretty clean wounds in and out, no mess. Its nice for a change up.

Mark,

My Dad and I have used the Ruger 44 mag carbines for many years. Dad has the old Ruger 44 Auto and one of the new lever action Rugers. He liked to carry the 44 Auto when he used to drive the dogs. I am currently using the Ruger M77/44 with a Leupold 2.5-8x VXIII in stainless synthetic. Good all weather gun. I went to the range earlier this fall and shot a 1" group at 100 yards with 240 grain Federal hydroshoks. Amazingly accurate for a 44. I have shot two bucks in the last 2 years and the hydroshoks have gone clear through the deer, shoulder to shoulder. Both deer were shot at about 20 yards and only ran a few feet. The 44 will effectively kill anything out to 150 yards. I think you will be surprised by the utility of the little gun. Good hunting.

Bob

Hey gang many thanks for your thoughts and input. I am gonna get the lil gun.
Mom and Dad gave me a bit of cash for x-mas as they don't get out and shop as well as they used to and this is a gun I've long wanted and it is a present that I'll have forever as opposed to something I'll wear out or grow out of (how is it it seems like it is just as easy to grow out of clothes as I get older as when I was younger?).

It is something I'll love to carry in the Minnesota woods for many years to come and will always remind me of my parents. Sort of a sentimental person I am.

Thx guys

Dogz

"GET TO THE HILL"

MRD:

The "is the 44 mag good for hunting" question pops up once or twice a year around here. The answer is always the same: "YES, out to 150 yards.

Have fun with the little Marlin.

BMT

I have an old Ruger 44 International that is currently mounted with a Leupold 1.5-5x. It is a nice, quick pointing, rifle and it shoots 240 grain Remingtons into nice 100 yard groups. Just find the factory load that your rifle shoots the best and head for the woods!

Jeff

Mark�

My eldest son used my old style .44 magnum Ruger semi-auto Carbine (20-inch barrel) a few years ago on a big Kentucky whitetail buck (about 200 lbs field dressed) that he shot through the shoulders at about 60 yards.

You might consider the 5� pound Ruger .44 Carbine, either a semi-auto or lever action� I would guess it�s lighter than any Marlin or Winchester rifle in .44 magnum

My hand-loaded Remington 240 grain jacketed hollow-point bullet in front of 24 grains of H-110 sparked by CCI#250 magnum large pistol primers in once-fired nickel-plated Remington cartridge cases passed through both sides of the big deer leaving a one-inch exit wound which would have let out a plenty of blood if a follow-up was necessary. However, no follow-up blood-trail was needed because the big deer dropped where he stood and never got up� it was a �bang/flop� shot.

Incidentally, this load is a MAXIMUM load of Hodgdon H-110� perhaps the most often used powder for heavy .44 magnum loads. However, Hodgdon cautions that its H-110 should NOT be REDUCED more than 3% (.72 grains) for a starting load because further reduction ��may cause inconsistent ignition. In some cases, it will lodge a bullet in the barrel, causing a hazardous situation (Barrel Obstruction). This may cause severe personal injury or death to users or bystanders. DO NOT REDUCE H110 LOADS BY MORE THAN 3%.� (Quoted from Hodgdon Basic Reloaders Manual-2003)

Therefore, a starting load of H-110 in a .44 Remington Magnum using a 240 grain bullet would be 23.28 or 23.3 grains.

According to my ballistics program, chronograph and reloading data records, the muzzle velocity of that bullet was 1788 fps (measured 15� from the carbine�s muzzle). My Ruger Carbine is, in my opinion, a 125 yard deer rifle because, beyond that range, bullet energy drops below the often-quoted and recognized �1,000 foot/pounds� needed for big game. (See the ballistics chart below)

Yes, it will kill deer further away than that, but here�s the data. You can decide for yourself. Incidentally, sighting my rifle in 2.6-inches high at 100 yards yields the following data according to the ballistics program I use:

Range/bullet strike/energy:

25 yards/+0.8�/1540 ft.lbs
50 yards/+2.2�/1395 ft.lbs
75 yards/+2.9�/1269 ft.lbs
100 yards/+2.6�/1145 ft.lbs
125 yards/+1.3�/1040 ft.lbs
140 yards/�0.0�/ 978 ft.lbs
150 yards/- 1.1�/ 941 ft.lbs
165 yards/- 3.0�/ 889 ft.lbs

As you can see, your �point-blank range� (the range at which the bullet never rises or falls above or below the line-of-sight more than 3-inches) is 165 yards, but beyond 125 yards, your bullet�s energy is less than 1,000 ft/lbs. However, from your rifle�s muzzle to 165 yards, you can hold �dead on� a deer�s kill zone and hit within 3-inches of it using a �dead on� hold.


Strength & Honor...

Ron T.

buy it, sight in with some full powered 240gr JSP or JHP facotry round. Shoot deer, clean deer. At least that's how it worked for my grandfather since the original Ruger 44 auto came out. Add a "few" taken with revovlers (and a black bear & hog). It works out of proportion to it's size.

Mark My dad used a Ruger 44 mag auto loader back in the 60's to hunt sitka deer on Maryland's eastern shore with good results.On a more recent note a friend uses the Sierra 180 and Horn. XTPs out of his MarlinGood luck <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

I shot a blacktail with my 1894 a few years ago. It was fine, but I stupidly used Federal�s American Eagle 44 load, and it destroyed more meat than a hot 270. It might be OK in a handgun, but at 300 fps faster it�s a varmint load. Use a hard cast bullet or a Partition. Also, the magazine holds ten, but you only need two or three. Any more just makes it heavy.

Hope this helps, Okie John

I would use this gun with confidence. I like the little Marlin, and no buck's gonna walk away from it. Plus there's a wealth of jacketed and hard cast bullets out there. It was a favorite "100 yard gun" for the best deer hunter I know and the last one I saw killed with one was clean, in and out through the heart.

I killed my first whitetail buck with a .44 magnum out of an old style Ruger semi-auto rifle at a little less than 50yards. It was also my first and only "Texas heart shot" ever. I honestly wasn't aiming at the deer's a$$ but just above the base of it's white tail as it was stepping down into an erosion ditch after it had spotted me. The .44 mag. put his rear half out of commission then a quick second shot to the lungs finished off the front half. Best I remember it was a semi-hollow point 240gr. Win. factory load, that mushroomed nicely and seemed to be fairly intact. The first bullet had traveled the entire length of the deer's body and stopped just under the hide between it's neck and front of the shoulder, the second shot was a complete pass-thru.

That same year two of my friends took a nice buck apiece while using Marlin lever rifles in 44 mag. and Rem. hollow point factory loads. Their recovered Rem. bullets had mushroomed like daisy petals and seemed about 60-70% intact. One of my friends buck was a huge old non typical that had most of one hoof missing for apparently a long time because a tough ugly callous had formed in its place, giving it a sort of club footed appearance.

Start with 270 Speer Gold Dot ammo if you aren't a handloader. They are accurate in most everything it seems. My 44 hunting has always been with revolvers and the heavy bullets carried better and hit harder. I used a cast bullet from NEI that weighed in at 330 grains and it grouped like a dream at 100 yards with a scoped Ruger 7 1/2" S Blackhawk. If you handload, something like this would be great and you will not have any problems with penetration. You should have a good time with the 44.

Good shooting,
Dave

Sharps made the west safe for Winchester.

Go for it. One of my best whitetails ever was taken with a .44 mag.
It was a Ruger 77/44 SS using factory Win. Partition Gold 250gr.
A little over 90 yards and centered the shoulder.

J Scott

Thanks Guys, you just answered some questions I was about to post about the .44 Magnum and deer.

I just bought a Rossi lever gun(supposed to be a repro of the Win. 92). I could not pass up this neat little carbine. It looks new, has nice wood(if a little dark), no safety, and a wide fold-over crescent butt plate.

It cycles smoothly, and ejection is VERY positive(almost gave myself a concussion with a snap cap).

I believe this could be the ultimate slipping through the woods gun as you can carry and point it almost like a pistol, and from what I hear here, the .44 Mag will do the job.

One complant- the rear sight is a perfect rectangle slot. I dont care for this. Any suggestions/feedback?

Thanks again,
Gator

I shoot better with peep sights than I do with open sights. I doubt that your Rossi is factory d&t for a receiver sight, but it doesn't cost much to d&t a couple of holes.

Jeff

If you decide you don't like it I've got dibs on it! Like a retard I sold mine when we moved (don't ask me why I still hunt where 100yds is a LOOOOONG shot.

Feed it 240gr JHP's and stand by. Put a Williams peep sight on the gun and pull the aperture making a semi-ghost ring. It's super fast, very accurate and nearly impossible to screw up in bad weather.

Mark, thanks for giving me another effective reason to buy a gun......it will last forever, and unlike clothes, I wont wear it out. Man, I love that line, I am already formulating a plan of attack. A man just cant possibly have enough guns, wranglers, I can get by with about 4 pairs....................

I think you will have some fun playing with your new toy. Sounds like a good "up close and personal" weapon, good brush gun, stand gun, etc. I can think of some other things it would be real effective on other than deer also.

got a marlin 44 mag i'm having some trouble with. first 2 shots at 50 yards are in the bullseye. next 2 shots are 8 inches high and 3 inches right. i find it hard to believe the heating of the barrel has that much effect. any ideas