I have been offered a Marlin .44mag. in new condition for a very reasonable price.

I shoot an old Marlin 336 30-30 made in 1959 not a lot, but a few times a year.

Is the .44 mag Marlin fun to shoot?
How does it compare to the 30-30?
Thanks

I like shooting mine !
It Has almost no recoil , yet packs a hell of a punch up close !
Its accurate too. I think of it as a versatile weapon great for defense against anything short of a grizzly and light and handy to boot enjoy it !
...tj3006

My first centerfire rifle was a Ruger in 44 Magnum.
Since then I have owned a Marlin 44 Mag, and currently own a Winchester 44 Mag 16" Trapper.
I really like 44 Mag rifles, I have killed a lot of deer and a few pigs with them.
I have found them most useful and a lot of fun.

quote:

Is the .44 mag Marlin fun to shoot?

Pistol caliber carbines are very fun to shoot.

Very accurate with 300gr Nosler HP bullets too. Great on large hogs!

Yes, fun to shoot, but the 44 mag is not a very light kicker; not heavy either. I tell you what is much more fun; a Winchester 73 or 66 (repro is fine) in any caliber. The old toggle actions are more fun that a modern Marlin to me.

I shot one to the tune of 800 rounds a month in CAS. With full power loads, it offers a bit less recoil than a 30-30 to my shoulder. Which means basically none! My Marlin shoots nice small groups and its light and easy to carry. Lots of fun.

Here are the numbers;
44 mag; 8.6 ft pounds of recoil
30-=30 10.6

It all depends on what you consider no recoil. Most guys here do not use full power 44 mag loads for CAS.
I still like the older lever actions although I own a few Marlins too. The best caliber in those is the 45-70.

Depending on what you mean by "reasonable price", you can hardly go wrong by buying it, even if you want to resell/trade it.

quote:

Originally posted by dpcd:
Here are the numbers;
44 mag; 8.6 ft pounds of recoil
30-=30 10.6

It all depends on what you consider no recoil. Most guys here do not use full power 44 mag loads for CAS.
I still like the older lever actions although I own a few Marlins too. The best caliber in those is the 45-70.

I have never thought either the full power 44M or the 30-30 kicked enough to notice. When you start shooting full power 250 Grain .338WM, I start to notice.

I don't notice recoil until I hit 450 Nitro.

They are fun and fairly cheap to shoot too. And very deadly on deer within their range limitation.

I sure like mine, I shoot targets with 44 specials and carry it with magnums when I am out and about. Its accurate with both. I load the specials near the maximum listed and the magnums loaded at the starting level.

A 44mag carbine/rifle kicks EXACTLY like a 30-30 carbine/rifle of similar weight and stock shape...

loaded with 44 specials it's a lighter of course

When my brother got a marlin 1894 in 44mag I was doing all his loading and I loaded 44specials in 44mag brass...

No I don't believe there are issues with "chamber erosion", but I do believe in SCRs (Stubborn Crud Rings) and the ugly things they do when you switch back to the longer mag brass cased loads after firing a bunch of shorter specials.

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