Which 44 mag levergun?

[bones37]

Since the demise of Marlin, what is the obvious choice for a 44 mag levergun? Is it a Rossi?? I've looked at several brand new Rossi rifles, and they seem to have improved the 'quality', i.e, fit and finish. However, my question is, can they be customized such as re-barreling, and who does that type of work on them?

FWIW, I never shoot 44 magnum ammunition in ANY of my 44s, therefore I am concerned with, #1 the 1-30" twist barrel, and #2 I've heard that many of the barrels are somewhat oversized compared to barrels made here in the U.S. I cast and roll my own, and I've found a perfect (for me) velocity of around 950-1000 fps. Do any of You have first hand knowledge that You'd be willing to share?

Thanks.
Bones37

[PacMan]

You need to check me on this but i beleive the Rossi 44 mag has a 1-20 twist. If so it will stablize the longer bullets better.

I have a Marlin but am thinking of getting a Rossi because of the faster twist. Not sure about the barrel grove dia. being oversized but unless it is over .432 or so it should not make much diffrence.I shoot .433 bullets in my Marlin 44.

[Ragnarok]

I bought a new Rossi M92 stainless last summer.

My only real issue with it was the rear sight didn't have enough elevation adjustment to get it on target. Could have fixed it by installing a taller front sight..but settled for re-working the rear sight. Not that big a deal. Mine had the plain old sights..I saw other Rossis at the gunstore with better iron sights for a few bucks more.

Minor issues; The funkey little bolt safety..I removed it and laborously machined a plug to fill the hole in the bolt. The buttstock could have been better fitted to the receiver on the left side.

Accuracy is very good...function is perfect...loads fairly easy...visually appealing...appears well made compared to earlier vintage Rossi M92 carbines I've seen.

[starmac]

Just curious, How does the rossi compare with the henry, I would think it would be one to look at too.

[Tom-ADC]

I have a Marlin 1894 in 44 mag made back in 1979, if I remember right I bought it at Kmart, still looks new & shoots great, I did add a Williams FP with target knobs for the steel chickens etc. Shoots both cast or jacketed fine.

[bones37]

You need to check me on this but i beleive the Rossi 44 mag has a 1-20 twist. If so it will stablize the longer bullets better.

I have a Marlin but am thinking of getting a Rossi because of the faster twist. Not sure about the barrel grove dia. being oversized but unless it is over .432 or so it should not make much diffrence.I shoot .433 bullets in my Marlin 44.

I sure hope You are right about the Rossi having a 1-20" twist, I have been under the impression that all calibers had the same 1-30" twist. As far as the oversize barrels are concerned, 432 or 433 is too big for me. Rather than beagleing the mold or having the bands enlarged, I would rather buy a barrel blank that is the 'correct' size, the same as my Smith 629, and have the rifle rebarreled with the twist and/or "size" that I prefer.

I would definetly like to have a Marlin, but they are scarce here and the example I've seen sellin' on the net are rough and commanding a price more like a modern Winchester 92.

[Ragnarok]

I'll take a crack at measuring the twist of my stainless Rossi's barrel here in a bit...and report back tonight..

[looseprojectile]

I have are rifled one turn in thirty inches.
An older saddle ring .357 magnum carbine and the newer twenty four inch .44 magnum. The .44 had the bolt safety. Doesn't now.
Years ago i owned several 92 Winchesters that were converted to .357 magnum
from 32 20 guns. Those guns had a lot faster twist and shot like target guns.
Especially target 38 special wadcutters.
The Marlin with it's one in thirty eight twist is more difficult to get to shoot boolits.
A man would think a gun manufacturer would know better than to make a great gun with the wrong twist. Remingtons fiasco with their 244/6mm comes to mind.

The best I can do with the .44 is with Ranch Dogs .432" 265 gas checked boolit
driven balls to the wall. If it had a groove of .428"and a one in twenty twist it would shoot .429" boolits like it should. If you use very light boolits shot really fast the Rossis can be made to shoot fairly well. I like HEAVY boolits though.

I had a Browning 92 .44 magnum carbine and the barrel was made by Marlin with a one in thirtyeight twist also. Was micro groove too. It shot factory jacketed loads just fine as it was bruising your shoulder. Someone else owns it now.

The .357 Rossi is dissapointing with most loads and really dismal with slower loads like 38 specials.

I would like to be able to re barrel both with faster twist barrels.
I think one in sixteen to twenty twist and the correct diameters would put both in the ballpark. In the meantime I will make do with these the best I can.

Life is good

[Ragnarok]

Yeh...The Rossi 20" carbine I bought new last summer is about a 1 turn in 30".....

[PacMan]

Thanks for letting me know i was wrong on the twist rate.I had been thinking about getting one but wont now.
Wish i could remember who told me or i read that they had a 1-20 twist.
Thanks again

[Ranch Dog]

Minor issues; The funkey little bolt safety..I removed it and laborously machined a plug to fill the hole in the bolt. The buttstock could have been better fitted to the receiver on the left side.

Here is a easy fix: Steve Gunz Button Style Safety Replacement Plug (http://store.stevesgunz.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=2&products_id=4)

[Ragnarok]

Yes I saw those little safety hole plugs from Steve Gunz...but I'm not using my credit card...so I made my own.

[Moondawg]

The Marlin 1894 is not dead. I purchased a 2008 model, in 44 mag, a few weeks ago. The rifle was "used" but in perfect condition. From the lack of wear marks, I doubt it had more than a box of factory through it. The price was very reasonable, and it shoots and handles like a dream. There are a lot of well made used marlins out there. As for a slow twist, the marlins will stabalize most 44 bullets up to 300 grains, and bullet placement is much more important than an additional 30 or 40 grains of weight.

[Reload3006]

I had a browning m92 Gosh I loved that gun it ate anything i fed it hps cast you name it it just gobbled them up was very accurate using the RCBS-255-K 9gr herco WW lp ... after lots of pushing from my now exwife ... I gave it to her father for a Christmas present. LOL I still like Ed but cant say that about his daughter. But Still miss my 92 :(

[Budmen]

Im confused MArlins demise? You can still buy a 1894 in most options. Are you referring to the fact that remington bought them out? They are now being made in Illion NY not to far from me. I was told by a friend who works at remington they are using the majority of MArlins machines and they are still using the same ballard rifling tools and design Marlind did? I only know one person who bought a new 1894 since the move of the plant and he says it shoots like a bear and believe it or not he believes the guns fit and finish is better now.

[Budmen]

O and by the way I too own the rossi carbine in 44 mag I got a great load for cast bullets bout 2 inches at 100 all touching at 50 in 44mag. I have not messed with the spec load yet but I will and Im sure with a little work the rossi will perform with specs too. It is a 1:30 twist compared to the 1:38 of marlins but on 240g bullets i see no problems

[Ed in North Texas]

Im confused MArlins demise? You can still buy a 1894 in most options. Are you referring to the fact that remington bought them out? They are now being made in Illion NY not to far from me. I was told by a friend who works at remington they are using the majority of MArlins machines and they are still using the same ballard rifling tools and design Marlind did? I only know one person who bought a new 1894 since the move of the plant and he says it shoots like a bear and believe it or not he believes the guns fit and finish is better now.

I guess your friend missed the report in this forum that a Remington rep at the SHOT show told the poster that Remington is not producing any Marlins (leverguns anyway).

Ed

[beagle]

I beleive that you'll find a 1-30" twist more useful than a 1-20" in the .44 Magnum. I educated myself about ten years ago to the tune of about $500 by rebarrelling a Marlin .44 with a 1-20" twist and it shot bullets in the range of 275-320 grains just fine but wouldn't shoot the lighter bullets.

I did a lot of measuring and mathmatical modeling and talking to Felix one winter and we finally computed out that 1-25 3/4" was the proper twist for the wide weight range of .44 Mag cast bullets available.

Winchester came out with a 1-26" in their Legacy and I bought one and it shot well. I think Ruger makes a 1-26" twist as well.

The 1-30" on the Rossi woul probably be better than the slower 1-38" twists normally available on the Marlins./beagle

[robertbank]

I have found my Rossi .44Mag far more accurate than I can shoot using the 429431 Lyman boolits. That said I had to put a recoil pad on mine. Shooting the .44mag with loads resembling factory was painful in the extreme. with a decent recoil pad the gun is much more fun to shoot.

Take Care

Bob

[Sixgun Symphony]

I would go pawnshopping for an older Marlin.

[looseprojectile]

Beagle. And thanks to Felix also.
With that information filed in my old bald hat rack I will forge on with more enthusiasm. I was thinking that the one in thirty was way off. Not so much evidently.
I still believe that the Marlin is too much to deal with though.

Thanks for spending the money on a project that I won't have to duplicate.

The .44 magnum loads made for the old three screw SBH don't shoot so well in the Rossi and I know to tune them for the rifle now.


Life is good

[bones37]

I beleive that you'll find a 1-30" twist more useful than a 1-20" in the .44 Magnum. I educated myself about ten years ago to the tune of about $500 by rebarrelling a Marlin .44 with a 1-20" twist and it shot bullets in the range of 275-320 grains just fine but wouldn't shoot the lighter bullets.

I did a lot of measuring and mathmatical modeling and talking to Felix one winter and we finally computed out that 1-25 3/4" was the proper twist for the wide weight range of .44 Mag cast bullets available.

Winchester came out with a 1-26" in their Legacy and I bought one and it shot well. I think Ruger makes a 1-26" twist as well.

The 1-30" on the Rossi woul probably be better than the slower 1-38" twists normally available on the Marlins./beagle

I was wondering, were You using ammo loaded to factory velocity? Because I load my own to about 1000 fps tops, and was curious if it would stabilze at this velocity. I personally wouldn't shoot anything over a 240/250 grain anyhow as I have no need for anything heavier.

I have often wondered about the Winchesters with their 1-26" twist, but was unable to confirm it till now.