My first rifle was a Winchester 30-30 and it still resides in a place of honor in my gun cabinet. After owning several .44 Mag revolvers I bought a Marlin 1894 with the octagon barrel and it was fun to play with but I never got it to shoot to Rick Spec so it went away in a trade. Years later I found this site and read a bit about boolit fit. Now I have a standard Marlin 1894 and it's a one hole gun at 50 yards and 2" gun at 100 with peep sights. Really fun to shoot, easy to load for and shoots cast up to 270gr just fine. It and my SBH can dine out of the same box when at the range and both are happy. I think the .30-30 and .44Mag are pretty equal for game East of the Mississippi and like them both. If your heart wants a .44 rifle the 2nd Amendment says you can have one.
Unfortunately I believe my little .44 lever gun is unlucky because I never see any game when carrying it afield. Maybe I need to get it blessed by an Native American shaman or something.