.44 Carbine...trying to decide between 1894 and 77/44

J

Jeff/1911

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Hi Guys,

Sometime in the not so distant future I'd like to acquire a rifle that I can use to fire both .44 Magnum and the .44 Special cartridges.

I'm trying to decide between the Marlin 1894 lever, and the Ruger 77/44 bolt action. Just looking for opinions and experience with each...whichever I end up going with will likely be used with open sights.

Your thoughts, esteemed shooting brethren? :)
 
From my understanding the 77/44 does not feed 44special really well out of the mag, other than that it is a great gun I am also looking at getting one as well, I have had a modle 94 in 44 mag and a couple others that there names elluid me right now and they worked great as well feeding both special and full mag loads just fine, The 77/44 is a nice bolt gun though and that is what interested me the most, The factory sights on all the above have sucked royally and I have changed out mine on every pistol cal rifle I have ever owned, I get my sights out of the states from Buffalo Arms out of Idaho they are great to deal with and have a great selection of open sights that fit just about every style of gun.
 
Depends on what your purpose will be. I have a Marlin 94 in 44 mag, handload for it, in a bad situation you can't go wrong with 10 rounds in a lever gun. Makes quite a bang with 300 gr Hornady slugs. Leverevolution are a bit milder but will do the trick. Handy little camp gun. Probably will get a Skinner sight, buckhorns really do bite. My two bits worth.
 
I had a Marlin 44 I got talked into selling it for more than I payed for it, it was a great little rifle and I am sorry I sold it, I never had a single problem with it, I presently have a Rossi 92 in 44 and I will not part with it.
 
Have you considered the new Win 92 in 44 RM I bought one a few months back and I am truly impressed with the quality of this little sweetheart. It is more money but man it is a real beauty and shoots outstanding, function is flawless and it's smooth as silk. I'm an old gun nut and it takes a lot to impress me but I'm telling you this little gun is as smooth or smoother than any of the 6 or 7 originals I have.
 
My oldest son has a Browning 92 in 44Mag (a real sweetheart) and I have a custom built heavy barrel lever action Ruger and I recently picked up an M77 in blued/walnut, both in 44Mag. We have only shot the Hornady LEVERevolution. Hope to reload for them someday soon.
 
you DO know that a 44 special is just a "light" 44 mag?- they even use the same dies- all you do is take off about 1/10inch of case offthe 44 mag ( use a trim die) to make 44 special if you must; the other caveat is that if you fire specials in a mag chamber you get a 'CRUD RING" at the mouth of the chamber-what a lot of us do is just load 44 specals in 44 mag cases, seeing as 44 specails are very expensive
 
Love my 77/44.....if you trim the brass just slightly short, you can use the 250 grain Keiths easily. Getting 1600 fps out of them is not a problem....they're handy mini version of a 45-70 with a rotary mag. I ended up putting a skinner peep on mine with a fibre optic front sight...great combo.

I ordered a mold from Accurate Bullet molds....one is a 250 very wide meplate and the second cavity is a 300 grain wide meplat round...should be a hammer in that gun.
 
I've had, hunted with and enjoyed both.
Without question, the 77/44 is a more accurate rifle. Cloverleaf groups at 50m and 1.5" groups at 100 were surprisingly easy, with factory Hornady Leverevolution ammo.
The 1894s are fun and cool. Fit and finish of the Remlins was not impressive but it didn't detract from the fun. Don't expect great accuracy.
The 77/44 is lighter. The 1894 feels a little more healthy in the hands due to wider stock and weight. Eats up the recoil better.
The open sight on both are adequate at best; Crappy at worst. Upgrade them with peeps for sure.
The 1894 offers way faster follow up shots and a higher capacity magazine.
But the Ruger has the detachable mag which is super handy.
Stock trigger on the 1894 is horrible. Floppy and sloppy. Perhaps Ruger will improve that now that they own them.
Trigger on the 77/44 isn't awesome, but its fine.
For hunting, I'd use the 77/44. Simpler, rugged, more accurate, super light and easy to carry.
For fun I'd take the 1894 but I'd be sure to work that lever first and inspect the fit and finish before I'd buy.
Can't go wrong with either.
Cheers!
 
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