44 mag or 45-70

Good choice, 100 yards is well within the 44 magnum range from a nice light lever action. And if you get a longer shot to 150 yards or so, you are still in business.

I just picked up a Marlin 1894 44 mag, now to decide on factory ammo until I start to reload
 
I have had both and while the 44mag is a great cartridge it s the 45/70 for me.I ve been a fan of the 45/70 since I was 18 and my first one was an H&R trapdoor carbine.My favourite hunting 45/70 is my Browning 86 carbine,
 
My fun light weight plinking/hunting combo's are single shot stainless T/C Contender carbines with 14" barrels OAL is appr 29.5" have them chambered in 45 Colt - 375JDJ (444 Marlin necked down) - 45-70.

I take the 375JDJ far more than the other two.

I also have a blued 16" barreled Puma M92 in 44 mag for my 10 year old son but it now sits in the safe he grabs my 20" barreled Puma M92 in 454 Casull when he wants to plink fast with a lever this rifle also accepts 45 Colt.

I'm not much of a 44 mag guy prefer the heavier thump that 45 Colt - 454 Casull gives and if there is a choice I grab the 45-70 far more than the 45 Colt /454 Casull.
 
I need a .22-cal rifle for plinking/varmints. I'm torn between the .22lr and the .220 Swift...hmmmm...I dunno...the Swift is more capable, but there is all that recoil to consider...:)

Okay, maybe that's an exaggeration, but it's pretty much the way I look at the .44Mag vs .45-70 "question". Hoyt has set it down perfectly: the .44 is a perfect fun gun; the .45-70 is a hunting rifle. Sure, if all I had was just a .44Mag it wouldn't stop me from hunting deer...but with the two of them side by side in the safe, and a hunt in the offing, I would grab the .45-70 every time.

If there were a coyote in the yard, or a skunk under the shed, or a woodchuck in the garden...well, I'd still probably grab the .45, but the .44 would at least be in the running. :)
 
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