I have been hunting for years with a Ruger RedHawk in 44 Mag shooting H110 behind a 320 grain gas checked boolet for deer, and have been quite successful with that combination. Since I am getting less steady in my old age I am considering purchasing a rifle in 44 Mag that I can shoot the same ammo. Does anybody have a suggestion for rifles that are successful with gas checked lead boolits of about 320 grains for deer hunting at close ranges in woods?
Look at twist rates. See if any have 1 in 20" or the slowest 1 in 25". Stay far away from 1 in 38".
What you are probably going to find is that there isn't a lever action out there that will reliably feed those at the length you seat them for the Redhawk. The optimum COAL for the two is not compatible as the heavy boolits have to be seated very deep in the case to work in a lever gun.
I use a marlin with ranch dog 300 gr over h110 works great. Ymmv. You may look into a handi rifle they will shoot!
Not sure about OAL for the 320 gr. but I worked on the cartridge stop for my .44 mag. Marlin to allow longer COAL for SWC's... specifically for the H&G #503 which has a fairly long nose past the crimp groove
You can file that cartridge stop back quite a ways. Having said that my Marlin is 1:38" twist so not suitable for boolits over about 270 gr. (in my experience anyway). However, I think the cartridge stop can be modified enough to suit the COAL you need so with a faster twist barrel that should do it.
Seems to me someone said the Winchester levers had faster twist. There I am not sure about COAL capacity.
Not much but it's all I've got.
Longbow
I am definitely looking for a repeater of some sort, not a Handi-Rifle sort of single shot action I think. Sometimes the deer come in herds and I may need several shots close together. A lever action or bolt action I would favor. Since they don't toss the shell casings away when I am in the woods where I can't find them. The Ruger RedHawk works good for that since it is a 6 shot.
I currently have two 44 rifles and have had others and OAL is an issue... I currently have the Ruger 77/44 and a vintage Remington 788 and both have magazines that mandate OAL... I once had a Marlin 94 and found a link that showed how to do some home gunsmithing to increase OAL... My memory is fading, but I think I only took a few thousandth's off the carrier and it worked magic...I'm pretty you can do a search and find it either here or on a Marlin forum... I just never liked the lever gun.
TheMoose
Perhaps my learning skills have diminished in my senior years.. 50 years ago I could read something once and then "have it"... Now I read it about three times, do it a couple of times and then... "have it" only about half the time.
there is a stop on the lifter that can be filed back a little to let you use longer oal's.
I filed mine back a bit on my rossi so it would feed the 429241.
my Winchester 94 will feed some slightly longer rounds but it's barrel likes boolits in the 432+ diameter.
I shoot home swaged [jacketed] rounds in it at 250grs and at 430 and have gone up to 315 just fine, I tried some 350's but didn't push them hard enough to stabilize, and never followed through.
I can place the cannelure wherever I want, so I set the oal to work in the 94,the rossi 92, my 44-40, and my browning 92 [which demands nothing longer than 1.610]
unfortunately the scenario we face when dealing with revolver/lever gun combo's is you make the ammo work in the lever flawlessly then take what you get in the revolver or have two different rounds for each gun.
The 77/44 will feed 1.68" OAL. I load 300 gr paper patch bullets in that one, ~1,600 fps with Li'l Gun and it hovers around MOA @ 100 yards. YMMV.
Something died...
I have danced with the Devil. She had excellent attorneys.
My H&R Handi Rifle is 20" twist and is NOT limited by cartridge OAL. It loves the same liads as my Ruger Super Blackhawk and give me 2-1/2" five-shot groups at 100 yds. with a low power hunting scope.
The ENEMY is listening.
HE wants to know what YOU know.
Keep it to yourself.
Originally Posted by Outpost75
are you sure?
my info tells me:
44 Mag 1 in 38"
.444 Marlin 1 in 38" (original ejector)
.444 Marlin 1:20" (extractor 2007 and later)
this from Graybeards....
have you checked yours?
I am ONLY responsible for what I Say!
I am NOT responsible for what You THINK I Said!
====
If numbers killed I'd hunt with a Calculator!
one of the reasons I have never bought a Handi in 44Mag.
now, if it came with 1/20, or 1/16, I'd have one, and ream it to 445SuperMag. or a 44-2" based on the 303Brit brass.
I am ONLY responsible for what I Say!
I am NOT responsible for what You THINK I Said!
====
If numbers killed I'd hunt with a Calculator!
My dad's Marlin 1894 SS has the faster twist and feeds well up to a 310 gr. SWC, but it doesn't like to feed .44 Spl. It tries to put more than one cartridge on the lifter.
It sounds like you want my rossi's brother....because you can't have mine!
http://castboolits.gunloads.com/show...0-RF-on-IN-DOE
let me know if you have any questions.
The road less traveled ain't for the faint of heart
I've got the same rifle. It was a gift from Felix's family.
Positively one of the funnest lever guns I own. I know for a fact it's able to hold about 2.5" at 75 yards with 429421s and 19gr of 2400. It's not a precision rifle, but it's not meant to be. It's a rifle you can carry all day long and never get tired of holding it, and when the moment of truth arrives, it allows you to put the hurting on deer or hogs at intermediate ranges. I do a pretty good CAS action job if I do say so myself which makes it to where you can send bullets downrange at an alarming rate of fire, and unlike my Marlin 1895s, it holds a lot more ammo, so like a broken pop machine, you just keep mashing that button till it quits giving you free soda pop. The one drawback to the 92 or the 1895 Marlin is it's ability to make you lead poor. LOL!
Regardless, you'll get best accuracy out of short semiwadcutters going pretty fast. Not bad things on either count!
I loaned my 92 to a friend here who had nothing to hunt with last year. He was between jobs, and had a pregnant wife and three little mouths to feed. He called me up with his hat in his hand asking if he could borrow a rifle. I told him I had just the thing, and to come by one Sunday afternoon, and make sure he has a few hours. When he came over, I taught him how to cast bullets and he made his own. Then I taught him how to reload and he made the ammunition for the 92 under my watchful eye. When we were finished, I told him that the ammo he made will knock over anything he shoots at 100 yards and closer. I shook his hand and told him the rifle must come back. He gave me his word, thanked me, and left. About a month later he told me he had shot a nice little buck 75 yards away. Said it was a bang flop DRT. I think he may have shot another deer later as well, but he kept his word and returned the rifle to me.
I thought that was pretty awesome.
Precision in the wrong place is only a placebo.
GoodSteel,
That is an awesome deed! I've loaned rifles and provided ammo to a couple of buddies for years who don't seem to have the time to reload or even sight in their rifles before the hunt..Distance prevents me from using your approach as the closest one lives 500 miles distant and the other double that....but, if I have the same opportunity with someone local I will use it... My grandson is just coming to shooting age... he has already had sessions at the loading bench, but never casting, but he will...thanks for sharing.
TheMoose
Perhaps my learning skills have diminished in my senior years.. 50 years ago I could read something once and then "have it"... Now I read it about three times, do it a couple of times and then... "have it" only about half the time.
I believe it was Runfiverun that brought up bullet diameter above. I have a SBH and a H&R, the SBH slugs at .429", the H&R at .4325", and they both shoot great, but do not like each others ammo just due to diameter. And I am feeding both from the same mold, a Lyman 429421 that casts at .435", the SBH gets them sized to .430", and the H&R gets them sized to .434", and the same powder charge. This is a SAAMI spec issue, so while I hope your plan works out, you need to be aware that it may not. If it doesn't, you may need to reconsider the size of the boolit you're using.
I passed my last psych eval, how bout you?
Ruger 77/44 that is the exact load I use for grandson that Boolit and load shoots very very accurately from the 77/44.
Ruger 44 Carbine ?
Ruger carbine also uses a rotary magazine so there would be length limitation for it too.
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