Lever action .44 mag

[Hunt]

Thinking about getting a lever action in .44 mag for 2 legged varmints with evil intentions that may enter my home or camp and messing around with "cat sneeze loads", 18" bbl would be nice if works for purpose. Accuracy and reliability a must, so what model / make would you guys suggest considering those two applications,

[rromeo]

I'd say Marlin, but they're mostly unobtainium these days. My co-worker has a Rossi, and it has been good so far.

[tonelar]

I've owned 94 Winchesters, M94 Marlins, 92 Winchester (Miroku) and a Rossi M92.

If my life would depend on it;
1st Winchester 92
2nd Marlin M94
3rd Rossi 92

The 94 Winchester was originally designed for longer cartridges so I've experienced a 1% FTF rate which the others don't (so long as you do your part).

There's a Ruger 44 lever action, but I have zero experience with it. Also, if you could find a Deerfield carbine, you just might forget all about lever guns.

[TMB 1]

I have Marlin 94, Browning 92 44mags & Rossi 92 45 Colt.

If my life depended on one. It would be which ever one I got my hands on first, but my favorite is the Browning.

[Gleedaniel13]

I'd say Marlin, but they're mostly unobtainium these days. My co-worker has a Rossi, and it has been good so far.

Is there no online trading for this Marlin? This would be the better gun to look for me now.

[JH66]

I have both the Ruger lever action 44 and semi-auto. Both shoot very well though the semi doesn't care for my lead reloads. The lever action will handle all my reloads as long as the OAL is correct. Nice thing about the lever gun is it uses detachable box magazines. Nice for quick reloading if you carry extra mags.

[44fred]

JM stamped Marlin 1894. You'll pay a premium for it but it will only increase in value.

[zoid52]

Look for older Marlin or Winchester. 10 years ago you could get a Win 94 in 44 mag with a 16 in barrel all day long for 379 at Big 5!

[44fred]

20 or so years ago when i bought the Winchester new, I went with the name.
I was not happy with it so I traded it in for the Marlin. Very good decision on my part.

[Cowboy T]

I'd suggest the Ruger 96/44 or a Rossi 92. If you can find one, the Ruger is by far the slicker of the actions, even over an original Winchester 94 from back in the day. For those of you who haven't seen one, imagine a 10/22 with a lever. That's what it looks like. The magazines are similar as well, just for a bigger-bore cartridge, so it holds 4 rounds. Combined with one in the chamber, that makes it a 4+1.

Here's what one looks like.



On top is a 10/22, for reference. Below that is the 96/44 and its Redhawk buddy-pal, both chambered for .44M. Note that the 96/44 is machined for Ruger-style rings. The ones on this rifle are from a buddy's Mini-14; he was going to just toss the rings and instead gave 'em to me. The scope is an inexpensive Simmons 3-9x40, which works very well at 44M hunting ranges of 125 yards or less. I've shot .44 Special loads through it as a nice li'l gallery round. However, with this rifle, my 200gr LRNFP .44M loads will safely exceed 2,000 FPS.

Here's a direct comparison between the Rossi 92 and the Ruger 96/44.



Both guns shoot very well. If I had to pick? I'm not sure, actually. Both are very good rifles and I enjoy 'em both.

[jeffrice6]

Marlin all the way! If Marlington, just make sure to inspect before purchase. I hear their quality is back up where it use to be. I love my little .44 ~ I have never felt under-guned in respect to 2 or 4 legged predators........

[1badjack68]

The Rossi is surprisingly a very good gun , got one in .44 and it's dead on . Only paid 350 new at big5

[MasterChief]

Some of the early .44M 1892s would not feed heavy/long Keith-type cast bullets from the magazine due to OAL problems. Not a problem if you use factory ammo, only.

[SCAR Face]

My favorite is the Chiappa 1892 Alaskan Scout with the 16" barrel (http://www.chiappafirearms.com/product/2451). Convenient to store, assembles in seconds, easy to clean and the Skinner sights from the factory are very nice.

[raygun5000]

+1 on Chiappa 1892 Alaskan Scout

Agree with all of SCAR Face's points, the Alaskan Scout is nice! I got one (though, it's in .357 magnum) and it's my favorite carbine.





Love the Skinner sights over the buckhorn sites.

However, the Rossi R92 is pretty nice too. Way cheaper, but the quality is lower. The one I have functions well and is very fun. Pretty accurate up to 100 yards. Nice bang for the buck.