Jack O'Conner
New member
This carbine went out of production but is still a reliable deer killer.
TR
TR
Ruger 44 mag
- Thread starter Jack O'Conner
- Start date
disseminator
New member
Nice. I killed my first two deer with one of those when I was a kid.
I recently saw a few used ones at Cabelas and I can't believe what they are going for, $999 !!!
I recently saw a few used ones at Cabelas and I can't believe what they are going for, $999 !!!
Last one I saw had an asking price of $600 a few years ago. I think I got my first new in 1966 when I was 16. My mom worked for the department store and with her discount I thing including tax it was $120 and I repaid my parents at $30 a month over 4 months. 
I later sold that one and eventually ended up with the one I have today. They really were a great little rifle. Wow, hard to imagine $999 today for one.
Ron
I later sold that one and eventually ended up with the one I have today. They really were a great little rifle. Wow, hard to imagine $999 today for one. Ron
Following my love of the gun and my younger days came 9 years of the Marine Corps and another 11 years working for DoD. Those years had me living globally and really nowhere to keep my guns and actually between a family and work little time to enjoy them. Life just had other priorities so my love of the gun took a lesser spot. Today I have replaced what I had and enjoy my collection. While I don't hunt anymore I still have my hunting rifles. There is one rifle which survived it all and that was a Remington Model 510P which was given to me by a friend of my uncle in 1958 when I was 8 years old. That little 22 was the gun which started it all.
Thank goodness for dad & mom's house.Anyway there are times when we get separated from the things we like including our guns.
Ron
44caliberkid
New member
Iowa is going to allow rifles in straight wall cartridges approved for handgun hunting. So my brother found one of these on GunBroker and bought it.
Ohio and several other Midwestern states did similar a few years ago which was a big improvement and so far it is going well. The no rifle rule is why I always went to W VA in the past. Figures now that I really don't hunt anymore Ohio changed their laws.
Your brother did well finding himself one, they are a sweet little rifle.Ron
bamaranger
New member
Ruger .44
Oh yeah, they sure will kill deer!!!!! I've got two of those little gems, one scoped, the other wears an XS peep set. I hunt the scoped rifle every year, this year it killed a 5pt at about 75 ds. A 200 gr HP tight behind the shoulder, yielded a pass through, and a short death sprint, much like other deer shot with other "real" deer calibers and hit similarly, This most recent .44 buck was just as dead as if I'd shot him with something "big".
Big typically means heavy too, and often long. I doubt my scoped .44 weighs much over 6 pounds, and the peep rifle likely 6 or less. Length is one inch over 3 feet.....37"!!! Toting a climbing stand, on grades, with no trail, much any distance, the tidy light rifle is much appreciated these days. My Dad's rifles all seemed to get shorter and lighter when I was a kid, now I realize why!!!!! Too, no need to go big if you don't have to, all my .44 kills, in fact most of my rifle kills period, have been well under 100 yds, many half that, and some half again, or less.
My only criticisms of the old Ruger .44 carbines was the slow twist rate (1-38") yielding sketchy accuracy in both my rifles, and the miserable trigger. Aside from that, both have been brick like reliable, using a variety of ammo and bullet weights.
Oh yeah, they sure will kill deer!!!!! I've got two of those little gems, one scoped, the other wears an XS peep set. I hunt the scoped rifle every year, this year it killed a 5pt at about 75 ds. A 200 gr HP tight behind the shoulder, yielded a pass through, and a short death sprint, much like other deer shot with other "real" deer calibers and hit similarly, This most recent .44 buck was just as dead as if I'd shot him with something "big".
Big typically means heavy too, and often long. I doubt my scoped .44 weighs much over 6 pounds, and the peep rifle likely 6 or less. Length is one inch over 3 feet.....37"!!! Toting a climbing stand, on grades, with no trail, much any distance, the tidy light rifle is much appreciated these days. My Dad's rifles all seemed to get shorter and lighter when I was a kid, now I realize why!!!!! Too, no need to go big if you don't have to, all my .44 kills, in fact most of my rifle kills period, have been well under 100 yds, many half that, and some half again, or less.
My only criticisms of the old Ruger .44 carbines was the slow twist rate (1-38") yielding sketchy accuracy in both my rifles, and the miserable trigger. Aside from that, both have been brick like reliable, using a variety of ammo and bullet weights.
bamaranger
New member
also
Hey Jack,
Sorry to hear that PA will not allow semi rifles in PA for deer next year, despite the hope that they would. Too bad. Your .44 could have seen some more use!!!
Hey Jack,
Sorry to hear that PA will not allow semi rifles in PA for deer next year, despite the hope that they would. Too bad. Your .44 could have seen some more use!!!
stagpanther
New member
Hard not to love anything in 44 mag. As a reloader it's one of my all-around favorites--doesn't get much simpler or more versatile.
As a reloader it's one of my all-around favorites--doesn't get much simpler or more versatile.Reloadron-Why would allowing handguns cartridges, make you want to hunt some where you wouldn't before? Nothing wrong with a scope shotgun.
As for PA, they are sad Unamerican people, that think they are special. People have been hunting with semi auto 30-06s since WW2. Bodies are not stacking up like cord wood. I know of no injuries that are a result of semi auto vs bolt. Poor handling and not identifying your target are the problem.
As for PA, they are sad Unamerican people, that think they are special. People have been hunting with semi auto 30-06s since WW2. Bodies are not stacking up like cord wood. I know of no injuries that are a result of semi auto vs bolt. Poor handling and not identifying your target are the problem.
stagpanther
New member
As long as you're willing to pound your shoulder to a pulp--I'd take 44 mag any day over my deer-grade 12 gauge shotshells/slugs.
I drive through PA frequently--I'd say it's one of the top roadkill states in the country.
Add to that was the sometimes firing while out of battery. If I remember correctly, that is why Ruger originally stopped making them.
I owned a couple of them and did not experience the problem of firing while out of battery. The plus side was that they were very light and as such easy to carry. But, if I remember correctly, they did not come with sling swivels...a sling was something that comes very handy after killing a deer and having to use both hands to drag the deer out. In all, they were such handy little guns that they fit a natural niche for Michigan Whitetail hunting.
I have often posted about my opinion that Ruger has been most successful at copying (with small modifications, Single Action revolver, Mauser actions, Farquharson, etc.), rather than completely proprietary designs. My point being, when they re-introduced their .44 Carbine, the action was similar to that of the M1 Carbine (what they should have done in the first place)...a departure from their original, faulty design.