With all the talk on the board about how well/poor a choice the 45/70 is for big game I thought I might get educated in how foolish I am to use a 44 Mag against bear and the supertough white tailed deer. I use a Ruger 96/44 and load it typically with 310gr. WFN hard cast bullets.

We used Ruger .44 Mag carbines for many years, just across your border, in northern Maine and found the 240's to be ideal on the big bucks and black bear in the thick woods and swamps, regularly exhibiting exit holes the size of footballs. Paper ballistics be damned. Anyone who hasn't before used weapons of this ilk is in for a pleasant surprise.

I haven't use the 44 but I do have a TC carbine in 357 max and a marlin 94 in 357 mag both have taken more then one deer with out trouble. I use 158 gr jsp at 2150 out of the max and 1850 out of the mag.

My great grandfather used a Model 92 Winchester rifle (24" octagonal barrel) in .44-40 for everything from deer to elk to wolves, plus self-defense. All short range shooting from what I've been told. It was his only rifle from 1903 to 1953, and he was supposed to have been an excellent shot with it. Light recoil, and a handy, well-built, durable rifle of high-quality design and construction surely didn't hurt his ability to use it well for fifty years. I own a Model 92 saddle ring carbine in .44-40 (built in 1928), and one of my personal goals is to take it to Texas for whitetail hunting some year, maybe next season.

So a .44 magnum should work even better at reasonable ranges than a .44-40 on light big game. I wouldn't hunt anything bigger than deer with it, but then again, I refuse to hunt dangerous game in Africa with a .45-70.......

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[ 10-29-2002, 17:01: Message edited by: allen day ]

Wish Ruger would chamber it in 480 Ruger.

I hunt deer, black bear, and boar with my Contender 44 mag with a 14" barrel. I use Speer 270 grain Gold Dot soft-points at about 1600 fps and everything I've shot with them has died on the spot.

I shoot plenty of aussie stuff with my marlin 1894 p .44 rem mag with the nosler 240 gr or win 240 gr bulk projectiles the .44 rem mag is a great killer within it's range.

I have some Hornady 300 gr XTP's I have loaded which I have not tried yet.

So I reckon it is a great round.

Nickudu said it all!

Joe

NBHunter,

I also own a Ruger 96/44 but have been unable to get any 310gr. bullets to fit into the magazine. It's just too short. I've tried seating the bullet a bit farther down as one solution.

Would it be possible to get your load recipe?

I'm also a bit worried as to what (if any) damage I'd do to the action with a beefed up "bear load". I don't know if the action on this gun can take big loads.

Fedaeral 300 grain castcores are pretty amazing too. Anyone who hasn't tried them here should.

Tom,
My bullet is the 310gr Gas checked from a Lee mould. It has 2 crimping grooves and I use the top one for the carbine, feeds absolutely perfect. In fact a lot of times if I work the action fast, I'll open it back up just to see if I did chamber a round. I seat them over 20.5gr of H110 and a WLPM primer for 1565 fps. I cast them of wheel weights and drop them right from the mould into ice water. You may notice though after about 12-15 shots the fun is over if you shoot them in the carbine with only a Tshirt on.( learned that practicing this summer)

well,how much does 44 mag. carbine kick?

I do not really notice it at all myself, with 240 gr bullets at 1650 fps I think it's less than a 12 gauge.

It isn't so much the amount of recoil, but the mixture of a light gun, a light shirt, and that cresant shaped but plate with the 90 degree edges on it. Kinda like the old winchester butplate only squared off.

I have a .44 Mag Contender 21" barrel for which I load the Hornady 300 grain XTP at about 1650 fps. I once had a Marlin 1894 (w/o that d@^* crossbolt safety) in which I used the Remington 240 grain SJHP factory load.

Mathematically, the recoil is practically the same as the .30-30, .35 Rem, .38-55 High Velocity, etc. being about 17 ft lbs in a 6.5 pound gun. It doesn't seem bad at all even from the bench. In contrast a .30-06 with the 150 grain at 2800 fps in the typical 8.5 pound rifle generates the same 17 ft lbs recoil energy.

The big difference is in the stock design. You know, you can change the sharp edges with a file or judicious grinding. You can also cut the stock to the correct pitch and install an appropriate recoil pad.

The cartridge is an excellent performer and, in my guns, very accurate. I would not use it at ranges in excess of 150 meters due to trajectory and my ability to judge range.

I do not believe anyone has made an argument against the use of a 45-70s effectiveness on thin skinned game.

The opponents have been critisizing its use on thick skinned game, and some critisize the use of a lever action for DG, even lions, which perhaps pose less of a threat than a 1200 lbs coastal Kodiak bruin in both speed and agility.

The difference in using a 44 Mag in lieu of a 444 Marlin or 45-70 on black bear and whitetail is all range related. One is a 100 yard (if that) chambering, the other two are 200 yard chamberings. The 444 Marlin pushes a 300 grain bullet close to 700 fps faster and makes 3/4 ton more enregy at the muzzle and simply trounces the 44 Mag in performance. There really is no comparing the 44 Mag with a 444 Marlin or 45-70 Gov., they are both out of it's league.

A 44 Mag will work for the hunter who shoots black bear and deer at 75 yards as opposed to 200 yards. However, I would never consider it's use for bull elk, moose and the big hump back bears. But hey, thats just me.

Take Care,
rossi

The 44 mag carbines are a blast to shoot, cheap to load for and as easy to carry as anything you will find. I think that with a good load they are ok for anything that won't bite back that weighs 500lbs or less and can be stalked to within 100 yards.

NBHunter Thanks a lot for your help!! I pretty much gave up and figured I was screwed until now. I'm new to reloading and have learned tons over the past year.

I, have been using my ruger .44 mag. deerslayer.(semi-auto) since 1969 and thing is a blast, have shot numerous whitetail's and 2 bull moose, a lot of my buddy's are now using them, 240 gr. hollow point's, I would not shoot over 100 yds. with them, but my buddy bagged a cow and calf moose at 119 pace's with his.Good wood's and swamp gun. don't underestimate it. good luck .Rick.

i've thought about getting one of tose ruger 99/44 deerfields,but the damn things have went up to $529 at bass pro shops and very rarely see them at the gun shows,read they shoot real good.see alot of the older ruger 44's at gun show but everybody wants in excess of 500 bucks for them...hhmmmm,i guess i got a problem with the price,plus the damn ruger mini-14's and 30's are running at or well over 500 bucks,everyone says its the effects of 9/11 last year,but you can still buy a semi auto 308 cetme for $299 or a fn copy for around $400 or a romanian ak for $289 in all three calibers offered.dunno,and all the ar types are well over$650..guess if i had my op's i'd get a marlin 1895 45/70 for around$357 bucks which i've seen new ones at the gun show this price....who knows,love to have that ruger99/44 but the price is steep...

hell,even these days wal-mart is going up on there prices on its guns,anyone cared to look at their special order catalog,you'd have better chance at finding most of their guns at a regular gun dealer or bass pro at a lower price...