the big choice?

Question

Ok, I have made some thought, and the only factor keeping me away is RECOIL...Which has more recoil

a marlin 336 30-30
OR
a marlin 1894 .44 magnum


thanks for reading, and hopefully awnsering!


P.S. mainly going to be used for target shooting, but cost / knockdown power isnt really an issue right now

DJ i think you may have misunderstood me, when i said what is keeping me away, i meant keeping me away from buying it for my 12 year old son, and im trying to figure out what is best for him, im not too interested in buying any new guns for myself, and the main thing is im trying to find out if HE can handle it, all i need to know is if he can handle the .44 magnum, or 30-30 easier...

and he is kinda small for his age, but not too too small, and growing!

dont think my son will want a revolver later on sawmill =\, but then again i could always "borrow" his ammo for my .44 revolver if i ever get one ;)

Johnny, i dont think you read any of this, BOTH ARE RIFLES...hes shot a .22, and hes shot a 20 gauge shotgun

Actually, theres a weird thing, he cannot STANd to fire a .357 magnum, it has a really loud snap, unlike the .44 of my buddys (which i am planning to let him shoot!) which makes a boom and not a snap like noise, the noise sounds more....errrr...blunt

Answer 1

I say this a lot, but unless you are very small or frail, you should not be afraid of recoil in a regular full powered rifle. I have many friends who are of small stature and my own wife is 5'3" and they handle rifles like .308s and .30-06s very well. My wife is a lefty, so she chose .270 for her left-handed deer rifle but will pick up and shoot my .30 calibers and even 8mm Mauser regularly and shoot well with them.

Now, when you get into magnums it becomes an issue and in my opinion too many people are getting .300 magnums for deer and that's just foolish.

Of the two choices you offer, get the 336 in .30-30. My grandfather had one of these for decades and was a remarkable shot and always brought home the deer and even an occasional feral pig.

He used a Lyman peep sight on the tang, never a scope. If you can't see the target at the 150 or so yard effective range of a .30-30, maybe you need to see the eye doctor, not the gun shop for a scope.

I strongly suggest that if you are going to be target shooting to get a bolt rifle in .308. Reduced recoil loads are readily available and they work well and will allow you time to get your confidence and get over your fear of recoil. That, or a .22 or even a .17hmr.

Answer 2

Does it absolutely HAVE to be a .30-30 or a .44 RemMag?

If not, why not consider a .357 Magnum lever-action carbine from Rossi, or Cimarron Arms?

Even with factory loads, from a 16" or 20" carbine, a .357 Magnum will cleanly harvest deer out to 100 yards or so. And if you take up handloading, you can load the .357 Magnum to equal or surpass the .30-30 WCF.

The advantage of the .357 Magnum carbine is that you can start him with standard velocity .38 SPL LRN ammo that will scarcely recoil more than a .22 rifle. Then as his confidence and expertise increase, you can step up in power until he is using full-power hunting ammo such as Cor-Bon's 180 gr. BCSP or 200 gr. HC.

Another important factor is, do you have a good .22 rifle for you young fellow to use for practice? If not, you need to get him a good .22 before you get him a centerfire rifle.

Doc

Answer 3

The Marlin 336 30-30 has a recoil similar to a 12 gauge Remington 870. I'm not sure about the 1894 in a .44 mag but would think that it would be more manageable because of it being a handgun cartridge being shot from a rifle. You may also want to look at the 1894C, its pretty much the same as the 1894 but in .357mag/.38spl

Answer 4

With both rifles weighing 7.5 lbs. the recoil is very close with the .30-30 having slightly less at 10.6 lbs. for the 150 grain bullet and 11.0 lbs. for the 170 grain bullet. The .44 Magnum has 11.2 lbs. of recoil shooting the standard 240 grain bullet.

The Marlin 336 .30-30 is going to shot a little further since it is properly chambered for a rifle bullet rather than a pistol bullet. Out of the longer rifle barrel the .44 has less of a 'crack' than the faster .30-30 so this also may be a factor for a young shooter.

Good luck.

H

Answer 5

Boy, it is a toss up.
If he is going hunting then get the 30-30. The recoil is not that bad for a 12yr. old.
But if he is just going to go to the range and shoot then get him the 44mag. It is more fun and you can shoot lightly loaded (44 spl .range) loads in it and have lots of fun knocking cans over and breaking clay pigeons on the back stop. Also the 44 mag. ammo would be cheaper and if you reload then it can be made with cast bullets REAL cheap.
And consider what the boy can tell him friends.
(I was out shooting my 44 mag. last weekend with my dad)
Yeah, get the 44 Mag. LOL

Answer 6

I don't think the youngster will have much trouble with either, but you can shoot 44 Special or reduced-power 44 Magnum loads in the 94 without having to handload.
When I was young (I killed my first deer at 8), and when my boys were young, none had any problems with recoil. The youngest was pretty insensitive even to the medium bores that I don't like to shoot more than twenty rounds a day from. If the stock fits, and your listed choices have fairly short LOP, there really shouldn't be much problem, but if you can have him fitted and don't mind changing again after growth spurts, you'll go a long way towards making things most enjoyable for him.

Answer 7

I would go with the .44 mag., simply because later on you could purchase a revolver that shoots the same ammo. I have several rifle/pistol pairs. Including .44 mag., .45 Long Colt and .357 mag. just to name a few. I hope this helps.
Happy hunting/shooting!!

Answer 8

a 44 for a 12 year old. No way. it'l come back and kick him in the face. get him the rifle. or neither. I'd rather have a .22lr by Savage. In fact I do. But both of those are not good for a 12 yeard olds.

Answer 9

The 30-30.*, however neither one is severe or unmanageable.*