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 | AC5ZO
Join Date: Jul 2003 Posts: 928 Rio Rancho, NM 87144 
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2003-06-25 58289
I hope this shortens the load time of the previous thread for a while.
Doc, I use a .44 Mag rifle and I like it. Mine is the old Ruger Carbine that is more like a shotgun action than a rifle. I also like the Marlin Levers. I also have the Marlin in .357 Mag and it is also a good gun. I know Browning and other make good .44 guns.
I had a Big Bore top manufactured for an AR15. It shoots one of my favorite calibers...10mm. It uses M3A greasegun magazines. 10mm does real well in a rifle, although you will probably not find many around.
These are guns that I love to take with me for general purpose use, especially when I am carrying a pistol of the same caliber.
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 | Misenplace
Join Date: Jul 2003 Posts: 875 Michigan
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2003-06-25 58303
A 10 mm in a lever gun now there is a capital idea. My dad used a ruger 44 mag carbine for years. I can not think of any thing I do not like about the cartridge with the exception of wanting another 50 yards. I like the 45-70 and have had a few over the years but I am not fond of the recoil and have thus far shyed away from the 444 although I admit to likeing it ballisticly. I do like the overall deseign of the Marlins and have had a few of the newer ones. The thing I really disslike about them is the trigger pull and the fact that it is not adjustable except with a lot of patience and a stone. The modern Winchsters certainly have their drawbacks as well. It sure seams like someone new wwould step up to the plate and make a high quality lever gun with a decent piece of wood, case colored options and a real trigger. ....
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 | DRankin
Join Date: Jan 2000 Posts: 5116 Northern Nevada 
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2003-06-25 58307
Doc, I have a Marlin 444S on consignment right now, asking $350, if you are interested. ....
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| Misenplace
Join Date: Jul 2003 Posts: 875 Michigan
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2003-06-25 58310
Mark, thanx but for all the reasons above I sold off the Marlins I had. The 444 is just too brutal for me. I am planning on picking up a model '94 trapper in 44 mag next week. I do like the Marlin concept/deseign but I really think they need to put more fit and finish in their product. On The other hand they have a huge following based on a very affordable price tag and that is more than a fair price. I do like the Case colored cowboy special they came out with all though I am not sure which pocket protector pencil pusher came up with the brilliant idea of only chambering it in 38 special. Good grief at least use an actual origional caliber like 44-40. ....
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| AC5ZO
Join Date: Jul 2003 Posts: 928 Rio Rancho, NM 87144
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2003-06-26 58348
There was a 44 Mag pump rifle imported from IMI a few years ago called the Timberwolf. A friend of mine had one and I really liked it, but they were in short supply and I was never able to find one. I haven't looked for one for a long time, especially after I acquired the Ruger Carbine.
Ruger is making a pump or lever action 44 Mag with a 4 round rotary mag like the 10-22 style magazines if I am not mistaken. I do like having a little more magazine capacity with the Marlins, Winchesters and other classic style lever guns. ....
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| Misenplace
Join Date: Jul 2003 Posts: 875 Michigan
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2003-06-26 58356
The new rugers I have seen are levers. I am certainly a 44 mag fan. I am getting the trapper for a couple of reasons, I like the cartridege, with a 16" barrel and a fixed 4 power scope it will be a great brush gun and very reliable plus it will weigh next to nothing. I really like this type of gun, for the connection to the past. Lever action trapper with the classic Winchester look. Dont let me sound like I am singing the praises of the USRAC as they could use a real shot in the quality cheek as well. I used to see a lot of old Winchester model 92's that had been converted to 44 mag in the late 60's but I haven't seem one in a long time. I remember reading a article about a fellow who I think was one of Elmer Keiths pards. He used the converted Model 92 in 44 mag almost exclusively includeing on safari for a succesful elephant hunt. ....
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| DRankin
Join Date: Jan 2000 Posts: 5116 Northern Nevada
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2003-06-26 58360
With the right loads, elephant can be on the menu.
Larry Kelly (of Magna-port fame) has shot factory soft-points completely through the chests of some very large Brown bears.
The Ruger 44 mangle-en rifles can be a little fussy about ammo because of the autoloading mechanism and the limited magazine length in the rotary magazine. The Marlins and Winchesters are more forgiving.
....
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| AC5ZO
Join Date: Jul 2003 Posts: 928 Rio Rancho, NM 87144
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2003-06-26 58363
My Ruger Carbine is very fussy about loads. It will only work the auto action with heavy loads. That is not a problem, because most of my handloads speak with authority. The old carbine has a tubular magazine with a floor trap door. It operates like an auto shotgun magazine and feed system. I did not put a scope on the carbine, but opted for a Williams peep sight instead.
I have the typical problem with eyes that are over 40, and I have trouble using open sights in many cases. Peep sights work well for me as well as scopes. I can use open sights, but they are more than just a little blurry even with my glasses and so my precision is not as good. ....
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| Misenplace
Join Date: Jul 2003 Posts: 875 Michigan
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2003-06-26 58365
I think I have also read his input on bullet selection for the 44 mag in the Nosler reloading manual but I am not positive. Magna Port is just a few miles away from my wifes office. They are just outside the Selfridge ANG base. When it comes to lever guns I probably am a bit of a snob or at least I have pretty strong opinions. I do prefer the Winchesters but for me the Marlins can come a pretty close second especially on some of the older ones with the case colored frames. If its case colored I like it ! ....
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| AC5ZO
Join Date: Jul 2003 Posts: 928 Rio Rancho, NM 87144
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2003-06-26 58366
They are a little expensive and I have never bought one, but I really like some of the high quality Sharps rifles with the long barrels in 45-70. I have seen some beautiful case hardening/coloration on some of those guns. The workmanship from some of the guns coming from South Dakota or somewhere in that area is outstanding. I don't remember who the manufacturer is. ....
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| AC5ZO
Join Date: Jul 2003 Posts: 928 Rio Rancho, NM 87144
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2003-06-26 58369
After I posted previously, I got my interest up. The rifle that I was referring to is the Shiloh Sharps made in Montana. ....
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| Misenplace
Join Date: Jul 2003 Posts: 875 Michigan
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2003-06-26 58370
After the movie "Quigly Down Under" came out the sharps got really popular. Add to that the the long range side bets at SASS and cowboy action shoots they came up with a pretty good demand. Some of theese have some pretty hefty price tags but are truely custom rifles. A bit stout in weight for anthing much other than target shooting. Dave Pedersoli does some nice work but there are several fellows makeing theese now. Have you ever seen any of the custom work done by Doug Turnbull ? You should check out his web site if not. It is top notch but so are the prices. ....
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 | Billy
Join Date: Oct 1999 Posts: 975 Southeast Oklahoma
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2003-06-26 58377
AC5ZO, Ruger is making the 44MAG auto carbine again. They have been for a couple years now. Also, they have the 44MAG in the model 77. ....
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| Misenplace
Join Date: Jul 2003 Posts: 875 Michigan
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2003-06-26 58379
I think maybe you are talking about the deerfield carbine by Ruger. The action looks more like a ranch rifle or mini thirty than like the origional carbine. The origionals are getting tough to come by in good shape. ....
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| AC5ZO
Join Date: Jul 2003 Posts: 928 Rio Rancho, NM 87144
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2003-06-26 58383
Billy,
I haven't looked at these in some time. After Ruger discontinued the original carbine I was interested to see them reintroducing the 44 in some of their new guns. The other problem here is that I must be letting work seriously interfere with my gun research. :-} ....
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 | TimB
Join Date: Jul 2003 Posts: 31 Southwest PA 
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2003-06-27 58430
Just caught up with this thread. No one has mentioned my (almost big bore) favorite (to date) - Winchester 94 in 356 Winchester. (Take that .308 necked to a 35 caliber (358 Winch) and put a rim on it so it works in a 94 action). Has been great all around in PA whitetail work with the factory 200 grain. Have a store of factory 250 grain if I ever get a chance to go out after bear. Don't think I've ever seen another 356-chambered 94, although you see a lot of 307's and 375's at the shows.
Tim ....
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| DRankin
Join Date: Jan 2000 Posts: 5116 Northern Nevada
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2003-06-27 58431
No, it is solidly in the big bore category. I have a Marlin in that caliber and wouldn't hesitate to carry it on Kodiak Island.
Do you reload? There are some interesting data that will launch a 180 grain Speer flat point at 2700 fps.
Assuming the bullet will hold together, that would make a dandy whitetail load. ....
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| Misenplace
Join Date: Jul 2003 Posts: 875 Michigan
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2003-06-27 58434
I dont usually see too many of theese but I think they are a pretty slick cartridge. For some reason lately I have seen a lot of 375 '94's out for sale. Any cartridge that tosses a 200 grain slug over 2400 fps is at least a Big bore contender in my book. The beefed up '94 XTR was a nice improvement with the ability to mount a scope on a lever Winchester in the traditional fashion. I think Marlin brough out the 336ER about the same time. Maybe ER stands for Emergency Room because anything that gets smacked with one of theese bad bays is going to be in need of a quick trip there. I think Speer makes bullets for theese still and as far as I know winchester is still the only Factory load. A really nice pick for a Big Bore. ....
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| TimB
Join Date: Jul 2003 Posts: 31 Southwest PA
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2003-06-30 58555
The 180 Speer sounds interesting, only think I had ever seen was the 220 (which I thought I had read at one time was actually designed for this cartridge - so the jacket style/thickness and tip were all set up correctly). Wonder what the ballistics of that "short" 180 would be?
I call my 356 "almost" big bore since it's "only" 35 caliber. Now that .411-356 mentioned sounds interesting! ....
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| Misenplace
Join Date: Jul 2003 Posts: 875 Michigan
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2003-07-04 58820
Mark, I thought I would post this for you as I know you are a Marlin Fan. I went up north earlier this week to pick up my new 44 mag trapper. A shop I had never been to before. When I got there all they had was a '92 trapper not a '94. So The search went on. I went to Jays Sporting goods and started to look at the lever guns. I noticed that on all the new USRAC there was (No Joke) about 1/2" of trigger creep. YUK! Well I was pretty dissapointed and decided to fondle the marlins for a bit. Now the last marlin I had was about 3 years ago when the 45-70 guide guns first came out and it was not exactly top quality especially the trigger and wood. I looked at a marlin model '94 SS in 44 mag. Marlin REALLY has improved in the last few years. The trigger was crisp without any creep, wood to metal finish was pretty darn good as well. Sadly this one had some blemishes so I decided to keep looking. I also looked at a Cowboy special with a 24" Octagon barrel, very nice but a bit heavy for my needs. I grabbed a Marlin catalog and I noticed they are makeing a shorter (20") barrel Cowboy special this year with the Octagon. I love the Octagon barrel for that "old West" feel. They also have added a 45 colt to the Custom Cowboy action shooter instead of just the 38 special. It seems they have stepped up to the plate. I will never stop collecting antique Winchester Lever guns but for a modern shooter it appears to me that Marlin has USRAC outgunned at the moment. I am leaning towards the Model '94 SS in 44 mag, 20" barrel, sling swivels decent wood and a very nice trigger pull. I also have found SS barrels much easier to clean than Carbon. ....
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| DRankin
Join Date: Jan 2000 Posts: 5116 Northern Nevada
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2003-07-04 58846
For some reason I don't mind stainless handguns. Stainless rifles hurt my eyeballs.
I have hunted in miserable Alaskan seacoast conditions and always managed to keep my more traditional looking rifles mostly rust free with daily applications of WD-40. ....
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| AC5ZO
Join Date: Jul 2003 Posts: 928 Rio Rancho, NM 87144
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2003-07-05 58876
Mark, I also prefer conventional barrels to the SS, but I have a couple of Ruger 77 Varmit/Target guns that have a medium gray finish on the SS rather than the bright. I don't know what the finish is or if it is available on other guns.
The only other SS rifles that I have are a couple of the Winchester 70 rifles that they did to try to recapture some of the Pre 64 market. They used a similar Mauser action as in the Pre 64, but with some modern materials like SS and black plastic composite stocks. These are my all weather hunting guns in .308 and 7mm Mag and the SS parts get camoflaged before they go to the field.
All of my SS rifles get flat black scopes. I know that this is just a matter of style, but I just cannot stand a silver metalic sight/scope on a rifle. ....
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| Misenplace
Join Date: Jul 2003 Posts: 875 Michigan
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2003-07-05 58879
I am not a fan of stainless rifles. I have a Weatherby Acumark that has a SS barrel but is fluted with a flat black. I find the SS barrel is easier to remove any copper out of compared to carbon. Don't like silver scopes either. The other thing I noticed on the new "blued" Marlins is that many of the parts like the bottom of the receivor are not actually blued but a sort of flat black. The metal does not seem the same. I did not really care for that But I do like the new Cowboy Short Rifle with the 20" Octagon barrel. I was leaning towards the SS because it was so much lighter and I do not want anything longer than the 20". ....
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| DRankin
Join Date: Jan 2000 Posts: 5116 Northern Nevada
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2003-07-05 58892
The best SS rifles I have seen are the New Winchester Model 70's in safari calibers.
They have a nicer walnut stock and a set of blued open sights that tone down the flashy look.
I do agree that the grey finish Ruger uses looks nice too. ....
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| Misenplace
Join Date: Jul 2003 Posts: 875 Michigan
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2003-09-02 63099
I saw the coolest Big Bore of all today. A 50 Alaskan built up on a 1886 Winchester P/G takedown case colored by Doug Turnbull. $3,500 ! The price tag hurts almost as much as the recoil ! lol Dave ....
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