newbie lever .44 mag

[Sun_and_Steel_77]

Like this?
The scope is mounted with QD rings so as not to upset the purists too much.

Now that's just pure ###!

 

[BCRider]

There's no doubt that a .44Mag lever gun will do a fine job on deer out to a pretty reasonable range. And if you're after a fun plinker more than a light duty hunting rifle then the .44Mag out of a lever rifle is a nice option if you have or want to get a .44Mag handgun as a companion. And again if you're looking at trying to keep down the ammo inventory and want to shoot a cartridge in both handgun and rifle then this would be a great way to go in my own opinion.

But if you're not already or plan on shooting .44Mag then a lever rifle in 30-30 would be a decent way to go.

I went with .38/.357 for my own lever rifle for shooting cowboy events since I already shoot and reload for .38/.357 for my S&W revolvers. But there's no doubt that even a .357Mag out of this rifle is a bit weak if you're after some giggles. Meanwhile that .44Mag didn't feel that far off my .30-30 lever rifle for kick. Something to think about if plinking is your game since when punching paper a huge part is how the gun feels when it shoots.

I'm not a hunter but I seriously doubt a lever rifle shooting .44Mag would have anything to apoligise for out to at least 100 yards over a .30-30. And with the .30-30 being a well known deer round that's saying something.

I've shot a buddy's .44Mag Marlin and it was a SWEET gun to shoot. JUST the right amount of kick while still being useable at a handgun range depending on the rules. So again that's another plus if you'll be facing the same issue at the range.

 

[masterduckmaster]

well, i am going to be reloading those .44mag so guess ammo shouldnt be that bad..i hope...
Acutally, anyone who reload .44 mag, how much does it cost anyhow?

 

[Brutus]

Virtually everyone has a horror story about 1 or more firearms that they have owned. He's my lever horror story;

In '94 I was looking for a lever in .357 because I was doing alot of .357 shooting out of my M66 and wanted a cheap and easy round that I could reload in abundance. After looking around for about 6-8 months I couldn't find one, I even phoned Winchester! The nice lady said that they didn't have enough calls to start manufacturing them again. Remember this was before Cowboy Action got bigger.

I finally gave up on .357 and found a Winchester Wrangler in .44 Magnum. Shades of John Wayne that large loop lever was kewl! Little did I realize that with 2 years, I'd start shooting Cowboy Action. I did lots of testing and came up 7.2 grains of Unique pushing a 240 grain LSWC bullet as an accurate target load.

Within the first 20 rds down range, the pot metal feed ramp broke. Off for warranty work! Eight months later I get the rifle back. After every 50 rds the rear sight elevator would fall off. So we have to install a Williams rear sight! Shooting again after every 50 rds the screws in the receiver would work loose. Locktite!! After 1,500 rds the tubular magazine spring gave up the ghost! Wolfe Gunsprings to the rescue. After this the Lever Link broke, 3 months and 5 nasty letters later, Winchester told me they would sell me the part but without warranty! They wanted me to send the gun to the warranty centre again! Post 64 Winchester Levers are junk!!!!

That was the last straw, I found a sucker to buy the Winchester and bought a Marlin M1894S, after 8,000 rds through it, it broke a firing pin. I love the quality Marlin builds in. At 9,500 rds the back portion of the firing pin broke and I replaced it with a 1 piece firing pin. If your are a high volume shooter, Marlin is the only gun for you. Mind you I have a 1906 manufactured Winchester 92 re barrelled in .44 mag that is fantastic.

P.S. My Wrangler was one of 4 Wranglers in town with the same problems.

As long as you advocate your issues, I will respond with mine and say:

My Winchester 44 Magnum Trapper is trouble free.

In your defence however, I have found mention on other websites, that the Wrangler model had problems mostly due to inferior materials used on this Winchester. I have a 1967 made Winchester, and it's link lever is cr@p.