Home › Main Category › General Firearms
Lerchess
Senior MemberPosts: 550 Senior Member
Lever gun advice
Lerchess
Senior MemberPosts: 550 Senior Member
With the regulation change here in MI, we can now use straight wall "pistol caliber" rifles for deer in the lower half. This bumps up my need for another lever action. I'm a little torn between looking for a .44 Mag or a .45 Colt.
I have a revolver or three in .44 Mag so I would not need to stock a new ammo, but I don't want to quite rule out .45 either. But it would be my only .45 at this point. I am lazily looking for a S&W .45 for a good price so I'm sure I will end with one eventually. Decisions, decisions.
Oh and the new reg is that the rifle can fire a straight wall cartridge with a case length of something like 1.31" to 1.82". Those lengths might not be exact, but they're pretty close.
I have a revolver or three in .44 Mag so I would not need to stock a new ammo, but I don't want to quite rule out .45 either. But it would be my only .45 at this point. I am lazily looking for a S&W .45 for a good price so I'm sure I will end with one eventually. Decisions, decisions.
Oh and the new reg is that the rifle can fire a straight wall cartridge with a case length of something like 1.31" to 1.82". Those lengths might not be exact, but they're pretty close.
0
Replies
They own Marlin and NEF so they could churn out 1894's and Handi-rifles
hush you were working on the two birds one stone
With a 1911 and a 30-06
Life member of the American Legion, the VFW, the NRA and the Masonic Lodge, retired LEO
Either is more than adequate for deer.
That's my wife's first deer with a Marlin 1894P (44 mag - 16.25" barrel)
Luis
Our law change was rumored last January, and that's when I began looking. Every used lever gun in MI and OH is long gone, or way overpriced.
The 44s are much easier to find, but the 45s are just cool. Have you considered 45-70?
Reloading data is sometimes separate for handguns some say Ruger/TC handgun/Rifle only data. So you could probably find a happy place with a load that would work well in a Ruger sidearm and a lever rifle which is a bit more powerful than regular loads.
After making such loads mark the boxes clearly and maybe put a line on the head of the brass with a magic marker in red or black so there is no confusion later on if you swap to regular guns in .44 Mag or .45 Colt.
Words of wisdom from Big Chief: Flush twice, it's a long way to the Mess Hall
I'd rather have my sister work in a whorehouse than own another Taurus!
I think the 45-70 would be great, but I believe it is too long. If the 45-70 were an option that would be my first choice.
D
Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.... now who's bringing the hot wings? :jester:
"Nothing is safe from stupid." - Zee
I think I'm gonna see what I can get for a .44 Mag mainly due to the ammo I already have plus around here .45 Colt is having an extremely slow comeback from the barakolypse which is a bummer. But that will give me time to get a box or two here and there for when I find that model 25 I envision.
The .45-70 is also one I'd like, but the case length is too long to keep the wardens happy.
Bigslug, I really like the 77/44, but dang it lever guns are just plain sexy. Who knows though may end up with one if the lever gun market is dry. The 77/44's are easy to get.
I'll see what I can dig up. I have access to to a Ruger .44 carbine that I can borrow for this season if needs must, but next year I'll need my own.
No.
Just no.
"Nothing is safe from stupid." - Zee
Those will give you something to think about. That and the up and coming .452 Jerm.
Don't listen to the lever gun bigot.
I'd go with the 44mag. Get an older marlin, put a 1-4 scope on it, and start hunting!
-Mikhail Kalashnikov
This for back-up
Is it easier to shoot with the Magna's on ?
That looks like a nice set :up: thanks for posting it
Life member of the American Legion, the VFW, the NRA and the Masonic Lodge, retired LEO
Son that's somebody with nothing to do with his time but keep me in trouble with mom.
45/70 is 2.10" (no go)
.460 S&W is 1.8" (good to go)
44 mag is 1.285" (good to go)
44 Special is 1.16" (good)
45 Colt 1.285" (good)
.357 Magnum 1.29" (good)
.38 Special 1.155 (no go)
444 Marlin 2.25" (no go)
50 Beowulf 1.65" (good)
.500 S&W 1.6" (good)
.450 Bushmaster 1.7" (good)
.458 SOCOM (No good-- bottlenecked)
.452 Jerm 1.8" (good)
.30 M1 Carbine 1.29" (length good, but too small of a caliber)
.357 Maximum 1.605 (good)
???????????....did I miss sumthin
The .450 Bushmaster does the same thing as I envisioned for the .452 Jerm, has a .308 case head, but is .1" below the legal length. I wanted to go the full 1.8". So if you want a bolt rifle in the shotgun zone in Michigan, I would get a .308 donor action, buy a .454 barrel and have it chambered in .450 Bushmaster. Brass and dies are readily available. Butt-- There is still the option of the .430 Jerm-- A 30/06 case cut down to 1.8" and sized through .444 Marlin dies-- chambered in a .308 type action.
Did you know the .444 Marlin prototype cases were made from raw .30-06 brass (rims untrimmed, pre-bottleneck)?
Edit-- The .44 AMP was based on the .308 Winchester case.
Doing some checking around, the .45 might be a little more available. I checked the gunbroker and prices seem a tad higher than what I was hoping for. I put in a few bids but no luck.
I'm hesitant, too. That being said, I handled one a couple weeks ago. It was pretty nice. Fit and finish were decent, and the action was smooth. I couldn't find any major flaws. It seemed on par with Marlin quality, not quite Henry quality. They make one in 454.:devil::devil: