What is a good 44 mag lever action rifle?

[bigjake]

I'm in the market for a quality .44 mag lever action rifle. Rossi is out of the question. as is any brand of octagon barreled rifle.

[singleshot]

Sounds to me like Marlin, Uberti, and Winchester may be your only options. I personally like the Henry for quality vs price, but I think they only come with octagon barrels. I think Winchester is now the best quality $$ can buy but you pay for it to the tune of $1k each. The Uberti may be even more expensive, but I don't think there's ever been a smoother action than the 1873.

[DougGuy]

There is one rifle made with PROPER twist for heavy .44 cast boolits, it's a tad bit pricey and the maker doesn't have the best rep in the business, but the brand is the Chiappa. They have the 1x20 twist barrels. Check this feature on whatever rifle you are considering as it is a major factor in how you will load for it. Levergun barrel diameters and twist rates in .44 caliber are literally all over the map. Some won't hit a fattened hog in the *** with smaller than a .434" boolit, others won't cycle rounds with wide meplats and all of them can be finicky with COA measurements. There is no real common denominator with this caliber.

http://www.chiappafirearms.com/products/79

[Mica_Hiebert]

Ruger 96/44

[singleshot]

Also, I would put Rossi quality above Marlin at the moment...unless you buy a 1980s-1990s or older Marlin.

[DougGuy]

Although the Ruger might not look like a typical levergun, it is refreshing to read the comment about the twist rate. Wiki says this about it:

"The .44 Remington Magnum 96/44 feeds from a four-round rotary magazine. It does not share magazines with the Ruger 77/44 (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ruger_77/44). The action (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Action_%28firearms%29) of the 96/44 does not anchor itself directly to the stock with an action screw as almost all rifles do. There is a block on the underside of the barrel that is threaded for the action screw. The stock is attached to the barrel, and the barrel to the action. The rifled barrel has a twist rate of 1 turn in 20", allowing heavy hunting bullets to stabilize. This is relatively rare for .44 Magnum firearms, which usually are rifled at a rate of 1 turn in 38 inches. The 1:20" twist is appreciated by those wanting to fire 325gr ammunition for hunting large game."

It also has a rotary magazine which as seen in the photo, will handle the wide meplat boolits that so many of our .44 guys favor, and the COA is not an issue as long as it fits in the magazine..

Oregon Trail 310gr:

http://i1202.photobucket.com/albums/bb374/DougGuy/Reloading/OregonTrails310gr_zps9361c3a2.jpg (http://s1202.photobucket.com/user/DougGuy/media/Reloading/OregonTrails310gr_zps9361c3a2.jpg.html)

Edit: I admit that this is not my photo, I shamelessly "borrowed" it from google, there is another photo from someone else besides this photo, of the same WFN boolit in a Ruger rotary mag so I know it can be done.

[singleshot]

I have a Ruger 77/44 with a 1:20" twist. It's quite worthless. Why? Because boolits bigger than 240gr SWC won't chamber or fit in the mag! So in the end, a 1:38" twist would be more appropriate.

[Mica_Hiebert]

96/44 also isnt in production any more but would be cool to pick one up used. Singleshot have you tried heavier buets in a wide flat nose woth your 77/44? You can also.load long heavy bullets in 44 special brass at the cost of a little velocity but they will fit in the magazine.

[Artful]

I have a Ruger 77/44 with a 1:20" twist. It's quite worthless. Why? Because boolits bigger than 240gr SWC won't chamber or fit in the mag! So in the end, a 1:38" twist would be more appropriate.

Hmm, that's odd - my friend Dave was shooting Buffalo Bore 300 grain loads in his without a problem.
I even tried some in Marlin and was getting over 1700 fps w/ them - like a mini-45-70 load

[rondog]

This might explain my dismal results with cast boolits in my 1994 16" Winchester Trapper. It doesn't seem to like ANY bullet worth a damn so far. I need to check the twist rate.

OP - why the hate for Rossi's and octagonal barrels? The next gun I buy will be a Rossi R92 in .45 Colt with a 24" octagonal barrel.

[Mica_Hiebert]

Big jake my brother inlaw bought a like new pre freedom group marlin and it has been a good rifle I have used it to cap a few grouse but i think most of his cast loads have been 230 grain swc. I dont know how it would do with heavier bullets.

[singleshot]

I've not shot factory ammo in it. I've tried to load Lee 310's. The problem is the OAL that will fit in the mag is 1.585". To get the boolit to stay off the rifling upon chambering a single-loaded boolit, the boolit has to be seated to the beginning of the ogive. This leaves so little room for powder, 44 Spec velocities are near max. I could throat the barrel but it would be a single load only proposition. As it is, 240gr SWC's shoot fine as fast as I can push them given the OAL contraint, but I could push them a little faster with a 1:38" twist.

[singleshot]

Rondog, how big are you casting boolits? Most of the 44mag rifles need .432" to .434" boolits....429" is typically too small.

[rondog]

Rondog, how big are you casting boolits? Most of the 44mag rifles need .432" to .434" boolits....429" is typically too small.
I'd have to check, but probably .431. My Lee push-through sizer is .430, don't think they come any bigger. But if that's the problem, I'll Beagle my molds and hone out that sizer in a heartbeat!

[DougGuy]

They come .432" from Lee, I have one that size. You can also custom order any size from Lee but an Acro lap will have your .430" out to where you like it in literally no time. I did one in a lathe, with Meguiars #2 compound which is made for polishing automotive paint but it works a charm for lapping out a sizer where you want the end result very smooth.

[bikerbeans]

Find a presafety 336 30-30 and have JES rebore it to 44 cal in whatever twist rate you like. FWIW I have rebarreled two 336 30-30s to 44 cal and both will feed, cycle and eject a 44 mag without modifications.

BB

[runfiverun]

Henry.

[HANDYMAN]

They were able to cut a 44mag barrel from the 30-30? How much did this cost you to have done and did they rechamber as well?


Find a presafety 336 30-30 and have JES rebore it to 44 cal in whatever twist rate you like. FWIW I have rebarreled two 336 30-30s to 44 cal and both will feed, cycle and eject a 44 mag without modifications.

BB

[skeettx]

I like my old Marlin with a 4X Widefield Redfield

[bikerbeans]

They were able to cut a 44mag barrel from the 30-30? How much did this cost you to have done and did they rechamber as well?

Both of my 44 cal 336s I rebarreled with 1894 44 mag takeoff barrels. JES will rebore a 336 30-30 to 44 cal for IIRC a bit less than 300 bucks. They will do rechambers as well, normally they rechamber to 444 marlin, but a 44mag or 445sm would work as well.

BB

[FergusonTO35]

Henry now makes a .44 with round barrel and steel receiver. Costs not much more than a Remlin and is a very well made rifle.

[Nicholas]

Ruger 96/44

I had one of those for a while and seriously regret letting it go.

[bigjake]

I'm thinking on getting the henry big boy steel w/ a round bbl. for $683

question is; what length barrel is best for shooting cast boolits, 16.5" or 20"

[nagantguy]

Love my winchester 94 "trapper" shoots the big 318 grain Lee's like a bolt of lighting. I gave it to my daughter after she took her first deer with it this fall. My shooting mentor and owner of Dieball Defense just picked up a brand new rossi 92 in .44 mag, one of the prettiest, slickest and accurate factory rifle I've played with in a long time. I've read mixed reviews on them, bad out weighting the good but this example is very very smooth, nice wood very nice deep bluing, great wood to metal fit, my only dislike was the buckhorn sights but all my lever guns ware apature sights any why so it's a small thing. I was very surprised by just how nice this rifle was, and at the price I'd buy one in a heart beat.

[Win94ae]

I got a used made by Marlin 1894S 44mag. Mine was in 99% condition and cost pretty much since Ohio just allowed deer hunting with rifles last year.
If you are in a state where the demand isn't so great, you should be able to get one for a good price.

[Shuz]

To answer your question........any .44 mag rifle that is accurate,...as many of them are not.
If you can find one with a 1:20" or 1:26" twist, your quest for accuracy will be much easier.
I've owned several Marlin 1894's in .44 mag that would not group well with cast boolits in their 1:38" twist.
I presently have 2/ea Winchester 1894AE's in .44 mag and they have 1:20" or 1:26" twists and they meet my accuracy standard.

[bangerjim]

I have several Rossi levers in several cals and they are some of the most accurate long guns I have. Especially the 38/357 in SST. It will hit darn near anything I get in the iron sites at 100 yards easy. Smooth action, easy shooting.

Don't bash Rossi so fast. Lots of good arms out there.

As with any product, you never hear the GOOD stuff, only the be-aching and moaning.

banger

[sghart3578]

"Don't bash Rossi so fast. Lots of good arms out there.

As with any product, you never hear the GOOD stuff, only the be-aching and moaning."


Bangerjim,

You are right about the complainers getting attention. And I have to admit that I am/was one of them. The first Rossi I bought was junk. Rossi customer service was beyond horrible.

After that disaster I swore off Rossis. Just recently I took the plunge again with a '92 24" octagon barrel in 45 Colt. Love that gun! Accurate as heck and just plain fun.

[44man]

A 1 in 38" twist will drive you up a wall. I figure it is a RB gun. The Marlin sucked past 50 yards with ANY boolit.
The Ruger auto magazine would not take a long boolit. Neither will the 77-44 or the lever gun.

[Friends call me Pac]

I am biased when it comes to the best 44 lever action. I've only shot one and it is the one I bought last month. It's a Winchester AE.

It has one tiny ding in the butt stock. Other than that it looks brand new. I love the fact that it doesn't have the stupid cross bolt safety on it.
This is it with the 1st three shots I took with it. All I had at the time was some 240gr LSWC but I think it did pretty well for not ever touching the sights before.

154694



NOE 311165 rf with 17.5 gr of 2400 does great for me at 100 yards with this 8" bull's eye. Worked great on the doe I got with it last week too. I did tap the rear sight over a tiny bit and brought the POI to center but forgot to take a pic before leaving the range.

154693

[Shuz]

I am biased when it comes to the best 44 lever action. I've only shot one and it is the one I bought last month. It's a Winchester AE.

It has one tiny ding in the butt stock. Other than that it looks brand new. I love the fact that it doesn't have the stupid cross bolt safety on it.
This is it with the 1st three shots I took with it. All I had at the time was some 240gr LSWC but I think it did pretty well for not ever touching the sights before.

154694



NOE 311165 rf with 17.5 gr of 2400 does great for me at 100 yards with this 8" bull's eye. Worked great on the doe I got with it last week too. I did tap the rear sight over a tiny bit and brought the POI to center but forgot to take a pic before leaving the range.

154693
Pac--the 311165RF is a .30 cal boolit! If I can read your target info, it looks like you used a Ranch Dog 44-265 in your .44 AE.

[michael.birdsley]

I don't have a 44 mag but, do own a Henry. Henry's slogan is "made in America or not at all" the big bore Henry's are made in Wisconsin.

[Ragnarok]

I own a stainless Rossi M92 .44 mag carbine. I really like it. Accurate and smooth from the box...easy to load(unlike some side-loading tube feeders)

[Friends call me Pac]

Pac--the 311165RF is a .30 cal boolit! If I can read your target info, it looks like you used a Ranch Dog 44-265 in your .44 AE.

You are right. I typed in the mold number. I do load a NOE 311165 in my 30.30 & 30.06 with great success. Must of had it on my mind when I was typing.

[35 Whelen]

Bought this one about a year ago. To me, it is the sexiest lever rifle I've ever seen with its plain, blued receiver and the trim round barrel. Plenty accurate too and feeds the Keith SWC's pictured absolutely flawlessly. I bought it as a companion to my .44 Specials. I wanted a rifle that could take the pressures of the loads I sometimes hunt with in my Flat Top Blackhawk.

http://i60.photobucket.com/albums/h6/308Scout/Uberti%2044%20Mag%20Carbine/UbertiCarbine-3_zps8d3f73e0.jpg (http://s60.photobucket.com/user/308Scout/media/Uberti%2044%20Mag%20Carbine/UbertiCarbine-3_zps8d3f73e0.jpg.html)

http://i60.photobucket.com/albums/h6/308Scout/Uberti%2044%20Mag%20Carbine/UbertiCarbine_zps76990426.jpg (http://s60.photobucket.com/user/308Scout/media/Uberti%2044%20Mag%20Carbine/UbertiCarbine_zps76990426.jpg.html)

Bud's has them for a hair over $1000, delivered. This one came from Kygunco and was a little under $1000, shipped.

35W

[koger]

Lots of good older Marlin 1894s out there, fine as they get in my book! Mine, 1980 model, shoots like a house afire with everything tried, cast or jacketed, and I regularly see these for $500 or so!

[HamGunner]

I took a little 8-point with my 94 Win. (older model) nickle plated receiver with saddle ring. I stopped using it for years because I could not see with open sights anymore. I am 64 years old. Put in a Firesight front sight and a peep sight insert replaced the original rear sight blade insert and I can see with it again and decided to hunt with it this year and certainly glad that I did.

I only had a small opening in heavy brush and could see his head was in the clear so took a head shot at 50 yards. I nailed the little buck half way between the nose and his eyes with a Lyman 429215gc using 23.5 gr. WC-820 (AA-#9) for 1,900 fps. It is very accurate with that cast bullet sized at .431 dia.

Most jacketed bullets not so great. Best jacketed bullet I found was the old Speer 225gr. half jacket HP. The rifling grooves are numberous and shallow and it likes larger diameter bullets. Have not tried heavy weight bullets, sorry.

By the way, I recovered the bullet in the hide a couple of inches below the back of his head. The estimated 15 BHN air cooled cast 222 gr. bullet had shed down to 160gr. to include my own aluminum gas check which was still attached to the base of what was left of the bullet.

155221

[Steve77]

Sounds to me like Marlin, Uberti, and Winchester may be your only options. I personally like the Henry for quality vs price, but I think they only come with octagon barrels. I think Winchester is now the best quality $$ can buy but you pay for it to the tune of $1k each. The Uberti may be even more expensive, but I don't think there's ever been a smoother action than the 1873.
Seen a Henry today at the LGS. It had a round barrel. My only gripe was it had a tube feed like the marlin model 60 22 LR. The long brass tube slides out the front and you load and reinsert. I prefer a loading gate on the side. Far less fragile, and you can reload on the fly.

[Treetop]

OP - why the hate for Rossi's and octagonal barrels? The next gun I buy will be a Rossi R92 in .45 Colt with a 24" octagonal barrel.

rondog, I have one of those. I bought it on a whim one day several years ago brand new in the box, at the LGS. One of the best "whims" I've ever had! Mine was slick and crisp and feeds Keith type boolits without a bobble.

I now own three Braztech Rossis. A 20" .44 magnum and a 20" .357 magnum, along with the 24" .45 Colt. All 3 of mine have performed flawlessly with cast boolits. When our grandkids come up to the ranch, their favorite guns to shoot are the Rossi .357 and my Ruger .357 OM Blackhawk! Go figure...

Here's a picture of me and our middle grandson with his first buck. .44 Mag Rossi, 240 gr. Keith, 20.0 gr. 4227:

http://i119.photobucket.com/albums/o146/RMAJR/IMG_0361_zpsf3fc1107.jpg

[Gunor]

I hate reading these forums. The LGS has a Ruger 99/44 for about $325 or $350.

was thinking about the last few days, xmas money and ....

[35 Whelen]

I think Rossi's should be viewed through the same lens as a Lee mould; you get what you pay for, and that's coming from a Rossi owner. I went through my '92 Rossi .357 and it's now slick enough for CAS. I haven't done tons of load development, but found a 170 gr. jacketed HP running 1700 fps was way more than accurate enough for deer to 100 yds.

Regarding octagon barrels, I don't really have anything against them, but they add quite a bit of weight to a rifle. Not a problem if you just shoot it at the range or sit in a deer stand, but I love traipsing pastures and bottoms with a short, handy rifle. That's why I bought the above pictured Uberti.

35W

[C A Plater]

I am fortunate enough to own 2 .44 lever guns. The first one I got was the little Marlin 94 "guide" carbine with a 16" ported barrel. It's a great carry in the wood rifle. There is only thing I would like to do is to replace the 1-38 twist barrel with a 1-20 one. That would let me get better accuracy with heavy cast and loose those annoying ports. The other one is a Miroku made 92 Winchester/Browning. It's action is like butter and it locks up like a bank vault. It has spoiled me so that I will have to save big money to get a new lever gun that measures up.

[MBTcustom]

I have a Ruger 77/44 with a 1:20" twist. It's quite worthless. Why? Because boolits bigger than 240gr SWC won't chamber or fit in the mag! So in the end, a 1:38" twist would be more appropriate.

Your comment is really really really uneducated and backward. (no offense. Just stating the truth).
1-38 twist will not stabilize the lightest bullets past about 75 yards. 1-18 is the correct twist for all occasions in that caliber. 1-20 is suitable for the light weight bullets and 1-16 would be truly excellent for long heavy bullets.

[ironhead7544]

I have a Marlin 1894 24" octagon barrel in 44 Magnum. It is a bit fussy about what it will shoot. The basic 240 gr factory loads shoot very well and so do equivalent handloads. For boolits, you need about .433 or so. I just tried some 200 gr RNFPs at 1325 fps and was very pleased with the accuracy. After 100 shots, there was no leading in the Ballard type rifling.

Today, I would go with the Henry. The Big Boy Steel looks about right. It has a lighter round barrel and is about 7 lbs.

[6pt-sika]

Your comment is really really really uneducated and backward. (no offense. Just stating the truth).
1-38 twist will not stabilize the lightest bullets past about 75 yards. Shows what you know , I've taken more then one Marlin 336-44 and shot very nice groups with cast bullets up to 300 grains at 100 yards with no yaw . Also shot some 325's in one of the guns at 100 yards and I will admit they were starting to yaw but accuracy was within 2" so I wouldn't have been afraid to shoot deer with them inside 100 yards . And of course a highly uhm intelligent person like yourself knows the Marlin 336-44 had the 1-38 twist . And to further enlighten you Ranchdog used a Marlin 336-44 1-38 gun to work up his beginning 44 MAG loads with his 265 and 300 grain loads .

[Crawdaddy]

I will second the 96/44 if you can find one. I love mine. IIRC the largest boolit I could get to cycle was a 300 gr.

[aHFo3]

I've owned a Winchester 94ae trapper and a Marlin 1894. I still have the Marlin. I like the 1894 action better than the Winchester. The Marlin is simple to take down for cleaning.

[Shuz]

I've owned a Winchester 94ae trapper and a Marlin 1894. I still have the Marlin. I like the 1894 action better than the Winchester. The Marlin is simple to take down for cleaning.

aHFo3--I agree, to a point! The Marlin 1894 is much easier to take down than the Winnies. However, in my experience with 2/ea Marlin 1894's in .44mag, my Winnie 94AE Trapper and my Winnie 20"AE, both in .44 mag, outshot the Marlins accuracy wise by a wide margin, so I sold the Marlins! The Winnies are also not so finickey in type of boolit ie swc and OAL as my Marlins were.
By no means am I a Marlin basher, as I have a couple of 336's in .30-30 and 1/ea .444 Marlin XLR with a 1:20" twist, and I love them all, and they all shoot great. The problem with Marlin 1894's in .44mag IMHO, is that the twist rate at 1:38" is not the best twist for a .44 round. Some guys have got them to shoot "OK" with super fat boolits, but I don't believe any of them have achieved the accuracy that I have out of my Winchester 1894AE's in .44 mag.

[44man]

I would love to see groups at 100 with a 300 gr or over from a marlin .44. Not going to happen. Minute of a 4'x4' board.
The problem with the Ruger was the magazine but single shot did well with heavy boolits. I did not know twist rates. Seems to be 1 in 20".

[rking22]

Any thoughts on the 1978 Browning repro of the Win 92? I shot mine a lot up into the 80s but really don't remember details about how it shot or what I was using. I know it was cast and from 22 backstop lead and 240is gr, but that's about all. This thread has me wound up about digging it out and doing some shooting! I don't have any heavy .430 molds, 220 to 265 gr. I have an NOE 230 gr RF that I use in my 696, thinking that may be useful as I think the 92 has a 1 in 38 , but not really sure. Have not pulled the trigger on that little rifle in over 20 years,,, gotta fix that!

[nicodiesel]

i own a old marlin, a winchester trapper and a henry big boy. they all shoot good with cast and jacketed up to 310gr. i personly would not buy the newer marlin.

[6pt-sika]

I would love to see groups at 100 with a 300 gr or over from a marlin .44. Not going to happen.

Wow I must have had two MIRACLE rifles then !