.44 magnum lever action?

Question

Okay, i am thinking of buying my son a marlin 1894 .44 magnum lever action carbine for his christmas! Would he be able to handle the recoil of the .44 magnum or even the .44 special? He is 12 years old, and has past gun experience, but has never actually owned his gun or shot anything this powerful. From what i have heard this gun/caliber doesnt put out much recoil when in a rifle, compared to when in it is a revolver. So can he handle it, recoil-wise that is? Also, will a 44 magnum or 44 special be enough to kill a deer (cleanly, of course...we dont want it to suffer.....)?

Ah JD, i meant to say his first rifle, he owns a 20 gauge shotgun, but he cant go hunting with that unless i buy a whole other slug barrel which im having a crap load of trouble finding

And the main reason is target shooting, and just shooting down at the range for fun

Answer 1

I think you are making a good choice. The .30/30 is a great cartridge, but the .44 is its equal within 150 yards, and a better plinker in the off season. Also, if he has any issues with recoil, there are medium-power loads available for the .44 Magnum; they are about like the hot +P .44 Special loads that have been popular since the days of Elmer Keith. A 240 grain bullet at 1000 fps from a typical revolver, probably 1200 from a rifle. That equals full-power .44 Magnum loads from a revolver (still fine for deer to 100 yards), with very little recoil and noise.
The .44 also lends itself to bulk reloading for lots of offseason practice, plinking and varmints. Holds more ammo than a .30/30, too.
As for outgrowing it, I'm in my mid-40s and haven't outgrown mine!

Answer 2

.44 Magnum in the model '94 Winchester which was uncatalogued in 1968, and I don't know how many were made. I have seen 2. Sometime in the '90s they came out in .38/.357 and .44/.44 Magnum. There were a lot of 1892 Winchesters converted to .44 Magnum. At present, Winchester is not making lever guns. The 1894 Marlin can be bought new in .44 Magnum.

Answer 3

I gave my 14 year old nephew an 1892 .44 Magnum as his first deer gun. He likes it and doesn't complain about the recoil which is only about 11 lbs.

You son should do fine recoil wise. The .44 Magnum out of a carbine length barrel is ballistically similar to the old .30-30 Winchester. I wouldn't use the .44 Special on deer but the Mag. should do fine up to about a hundred yards.

Best.

H

Answer 4

If you handload, a .44 RemMag levergun will be perfect for your son. He can probably manage the recoil of standard velocity .44 RemMag ammo, but I'd suggest starting him with .44 S&W Spl ammo until he gets accustomed to the rifle. Don't count on .44 Spl ammo for hunting. Even from a rifle, factory .44 Spl ammo does not have the power needed for deer hunting.

Now, for your rifle choice. I like Marlin rifles a lot. I think the Marlin Model 39 is the best lever-action .22 ever to hit the market. And in my opinion, the Marlin M-336 is a better .30-30 than the Winchester M-94. And I dearly love the Marlin M-1895 .45-70's. However, I will never again have a Marlin M-1894 pistol caliber carbine in my collection!

Over the years, I've owned two Marlin M-1894 .44 RemMag rifles. Both had severe feeding problems. A fault in the cartridge lifter allows a cartridge to come part way out of the magazine and jam the action. After spending lots of effort, and more than a little money, the problem remained unchanged. I traded off both at a loss just to be rid of them.

When it comes to pistol caliber leverguns, I am a strong proponent of Rossi M-92 SRC carbines. They are near copies of the Winchester M-92 action and are much stronger than the Marlin M-1894 action. They feed more reliably, and generally have smoother actions and better triggers.

Navy Arms, and EMF also imported an Italian made version of the Model 1892 chambered in .44 RemMag, and Cimarron Arms still imports them.

From a reliability standpoint, I consider the Rossi, Cimarron Arms, Navy Arms or EMF to be a better buy.

Doc

Answer 5

Marlin Lever Action 44 Mag

Answer 6

As a Gun Shop Owner-Dealer and Hunter with over 40 years experience, I can't help but feel you are making a mistake buying your son such a rifle for his "first" gun and introduction to the sport of Hunting.
You would be much better off buying him a Marlin Model 336 Lever Action 30-30 caliber rifle that he can grow into, but will never outgrow....The 30-30 Winchester caliber has the honor of being the cartridge that has killed more Deer than any other caliber in United States history, and that popularity continues even today..I don't know of many 12 year olds that can handle a 44 Magnum's recoil easily,especially if multiple shots are required to put down a Deer. The 44 Special on the other hand he could in all likelihood handle fairly easily, but it lacks sufficient knockdown power for Deer. The 44 Magnum ammunition is expensive and limited as far as bullet designs and weights, not to mention limited range, with the 30-30 caliber having many different bullet weights and designs available, and a longer effective range.. There are also the 243,308,22-250 calibers that are available in any number of bolt action, pump action and semi-automatic rifles available. The ranges of these calibers exceed the 44 Magnum and 44 Special easily, and they have all of the knockdown power and accuracy to make a clean shot on a Whitetail or Mule Deer with power to spare. Good Luck with whatever you choose, but choose wisely...

Answer 7

Two things, first, because of it's stock design and weight, the Marlin lever gun had less felt recoil than the winchester '94 with it's straight stock. Second, the .44 mag in a carbine is very easy on the shoulder, and he should really enjoy shooting that cartridge. If for any reason he was gun shy about the .44 mag, you can switch him to the .44 special like you thought. The .44 mag is sufficient to take deer sized game, I've taken mule deer with a .44 mag handgun on many occasions. But, as I'm sure you already know, it has a very limited range for taking game. In fact, your gonna limit him to under 90 yards for a clean kill. If that is the kind of range you generally hunt, then by all means go for it. But if you're going to expect shots of 150-200 yards, you need to go to a rifle caliber. I can recomend from first hand experience with all three of my kids as well as my wife, who is small in stature, that a rifle like the Winchester model 70 featherweight or the Remington "mountain rifle" chambered in .270 winchester with a muzzle break is an ideal combination for him for game out to 350 yards (400 with practice). Without the muzzle brake, it is a bit too stout in recoil for him. I have hunted with a lot of calibers in a lot of rifles over the years. I settled on .270 winchester for myself as well. With a 150 grain bullet, it shoots farther, flater and faster than a 30.06 with a 165 grain bullet. I have taken everything from antelope (with the 130 grn bullet) to mule deer, elk, black bear and wild hog. Other good choices for a smaller hunter would be the 7mm-08, the 25-06 and the 257 roberts.
just my 2 cents worth

Answer 8

A .44 lever gun should be fine. I believe it's a Winchester my father in law owns but when we had it out a few months ago my 9 year old shot it with little trouble. He liked it better than the .243 Remington. I have taken deer at 25 or 30 yards with a Ruger Redhawk and it drops them very nicely.

Answer 9

He should be able to handle the recoil unless he is very small for his age, and 44 specials would be a great way to let him work up to it. The round is certainly adaquet for deer at ranges up to 100 yards but since most deer are shot at ranges closer than that there is no issue.

Answer 10

Yes, he will be able to handle 44's with this rifle. The 44 Magnum will kill a dear cleanly.