100 Yard Bush gun Shoot Out: 44mag vs 30-30

Of the two suggested, including moose, the 30-30. I have hunted with both the 44 and the 30-30, and although I like the 44 a lot for close range deer, etc...., I don't believe it has the carries energy or penetration for larger game.

All that being said, get a 45-70 Marlin and have at it!!!
 
I sold my 30-30 Marlin and now have just a .44 lever. The .44 leaves a devastating wound channel and starts using up its energy from the moment it punches the skin. It doesn't need to travel a ways in order to expand. In fact, there's no need for it to expand at all! A double lung shot is like punching big holes in a tire... they deflate and the animal goes maybe 20 yards, leaving a massive blood trail out both sides that's easy to track. I love the .44 Mag and the .444 Marlin. If you know your shot range will be limited as in heavy brush hunting, they're superb!

Also, the .44 is a super-fun plinker. It blast rocks to pieces and is a riot at longer ranges with slower bullets. I like figuring out trajectories and estimating ranges with a not-so-flat shooting chunk 'o lead. And throw some #7 1/2 shot in a Speer shot cup over some Bullseye and you have a fine grouse and squirrel gun. I'll never be without the .44
 
Actually the 44mag is equivalent to a 30-30 at 100 yards beyond that the 30-30 due to its higher BC's is a far better choice.

I went 45 Colt with top loads it's equivalent to a 30-30 out to 150 yards before the higher BC's once again leave it in the dust.

So I sold the 45 Colt and bought a 454 Casull I call it my 45-70 light now this is a thumping round matches the 30-30 out to 200 yards.

But as stated earlier its not just velocity those big flat heavy wide meplat bullets kill way beyond what they should.

If your not a reloader go 30-30... :)
 
My buddy and me both have 94 trappers. Mine is 30-30 his is 44mag.

Last summer we were shooting steel plates at 60 yards and my 30-30 was putting a way bigger dent in them.

I was happy with my 30-30, I thought his would've done more damage at 60y than mine.
 
I was out shooting with a feller CGN'r and he had a Savage bolt 30-30 and the Marlin in 44m.
At 110 yards measured with a range finder, the terdie-turdy poked a hole in a steel plate
and the 44 bounced off.
I'd pick the 30-30 for hundred yards and past.
 
Lots of fellow 30-30 fans coming out of the woods :) I do love them too. I have always found the 30-30 to be reliable if not spectacular a killer. I don't remember ever getting a true bang flop but they never run very far either maybe 30 or 40 yards at the very most that I can recall.

I run two 30-30s already a Marlin with a 4x scope for general purpose hunting and a Win 94 with a peep sight in the timber or as a camp gun. My Marlin 44 mag wears a peep too. It's just a little hard to find a place in the hunting rotation for it. I wish factory 44 mag ammo wasn't so much $$$ it would be much more fun to shoot if it was cheaper. I might try reloading it I have some brass saved just need dies etc. Maybe some hot reloads with heavy cast bullets would breath some life into the old 44 ... :redface:
 
I shot a good buck at 70 yards with a leverevelution ammo and it looked like I smoked it with a varmint bullet, shot one more with handloads and then chalked it up as okay tried it, didn't like it and moved on, accurate as heck though, but not my style of meat damage
 
Larger ammo capacity in the .44 mag

I also know 3 black bears who'll tell you it's pretty darn lethal inside of 100 yds (more like 50yds).
 
The 30-30 is the better gun in general. The .44 needs a Cor-Bon or Buffalo Bore factory rounds to work on the same level, and the trajectory isn't great. If we were getting into more specific types of hunting, say 50yds or less, I'd change my tune.

300gr Sierra JHPs at 1650fps are very effective though..:..
 
Of the two choices ; the 30-30 would be the best all around hunting rifle with a proven track record . With that being said , I would keep both of them ; after all , a rifle does not take up much storage space....and their value is usually always increasing with time .
 
I hunt with my Rossi 92 in .44 mag with 24" octagon barrel, I load 265 grain jacketed soft points, with a full load of 296 I get close to 1800 fps and it shoots pretty flat out to 100 yards, I hold right on at the 50 yards and just below the spine at 100 yards. I think that it would be sufficient for moose at 100 yards with a lung or heart shot. I also load a Barnes 225 grain solid copper also with a full load of 296, this is a newer load that I haven't shot too much but I am hoping to hunt with it next year. I also carry a few cast lead cowboy loads for small game, and I occasionally load some .44 shot loads for squirrel and grouse. So it makes a fairly versatile gun for the woods near Algonquin where I hunt.
 
Here is an interesting and fairly comprehensive bullet test done on the 30-30 by gun writer Mic McPherson a few years back

https://www.levergun.com/articles/one-hundred-years-and-still-going-strong/


Most of the factory 170 loads ran 13" or so penetration into wet newsprint with the nosler 170 gr partition going 15.75" which is actually pretty decent and compares very favorably for expansion and penetration with some 308/30-06 180 gr loads. It's worth a read for any 30-30 fans. I'm still looking around for some comparable testing for the 44 mag in a rifle.
 
skokie said:
I hunt with my Rossi 92 in .44 mag with 24" octagon barrel, I load 265 grain jacketed soft points, with a full load of 296 I get close to 1800 fps and it shoots pretty flat out to 100 yards, I hold right on at the 50 yards and just below the spine at 100 yards. I think that it would be sufficient for moose at 100 yards with a lung or heart shot. I also load a Barnes 225 grain solid copper also with a full load of 296, this is a newer load that I haven't shot too much but I am hoping to hunt with it next year. I also carry a few cast lead cowboy loads for small game, and I occasionally load some .44 shot loads for squirrel and grouse. So it makes a fairly versatile gun for the woods near Algonquin where I hunt.
Click to expand...

I like what I am reading here^^ VERSATILE! I had not thought of carrying three different loads for handling whatever comes your way with the .44!:wave:
 
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