Winchester 44mag
Does anyone own a Winchester in 44mag lever action? How do you like it, what you use it for? How is the recoil on the gun? I'm looking to buy one this week, a short 16 inch barrel.
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I like the 44mag calber in a rifle it works great for a brush gun for pigs and deer. If you plan on scopeing this gun I'd go with a Marlin instead of Winchester cause of the top eject. Even if you don't buy a Marlin.[:D][}:)]
Guns kill people like spoons made Rosie O'Donnell fat0 -
While I do not own one, I've shot several so far this year and find them to be nice guns. The recoil in the "16 barrel will be more noticeable than the"20, but will not prove to be uncontrollable except for the smallest/lightest shooters...somewhere in the area of recoil one would expect from a 30-30 lever gun of about the same weight. Couple this with the fact that you are shooting a pill of much larger diameter, and you will see that it makes a good combination for a short range woods carbine.
Having said all this, I will give my traditional thumbs up to the Marlin action and gun. It basically comes down to a matter of tastes, but I feel the Marlin is marginally stronger and more reliable; again, this is strictly my opinion! There is nothing at all wrong with the Winchester, I just like the loks and feel of the Marlin better! Have fun choosing your new toy!
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I have had a 20" for about 30 years. They are a nice rifle to shoot. I have found the recoil to be less than the .30-30. I have one of those as well, so I have compared them. I load a lot of lead leads for mine and have found it to be fairly accurate. I also have a Winchester 92 replica in 44 mag and I would rather shoot it. It is a shorter action and more suited to the 44 mag cartridge. 0 -
I have a Browning B92 which is a Japanese copy of the Win 92.
Mine wont feed the shorter 44 Special or a 44 Mag having greater overall length than a factory round. To do so will require modification of the feed guides.0 -
I have a Win 94 Trapper 16" barrel old model (pre-crossbolt safety) in .44mag. It was acquired NIB a couple of months ago. A neat gun and a blast to shoot. I haven't scoped it because I want to use it in thick timber. Shooting it offhand isn't bad, but when I sighted it in off sandbags it put a bruise on me before I was done. (maybe I'm just a wuss?)[B)] Anyway, I have had no problems with it in a couple hundred rounds ie: no feed failures, no misfires, etc. Didn't try .44 specials in it though you can supposedly mix 'em with the mags. If you get one be sure and wear your muffs when you shoot it.[;)] -Don 
When they pry it from my cold dead fingers.0 -
You might want to wander over to www.sassnet.com and post your question there. They shoot Winchesters, Marlins, and clones every weekend and I am sure you will get a lot of informed opinions. 0 -
Kaos, I picked up two for my twelve year old boys to use deer hunting last year. Using factory 240 grain soft points, they bang away happily at the range till they're out of ammo (they disliked the 30-30's recoil, and I didn't have them try the .300 mag [:)]). Both boys are recoil sensitive, and love the low recoil of the .44 mag carbine. One son took his first deer with it last year and it really did the job at 50 yards. Haven't tried the .44 special loads thru them.
When your only tool is a hammer, all problems begin to resemble nails.0 -
regarding Winchester or Marlin.....
I have had both in 30-30 and 44 mag and preferred the Marlin for several reasons. I preferred the fit & finish of the Marlins I had, and the actions were smoother and tighter on the Marlins. The Winchesters were similar group-wise, and had no operational problems, but I still preferred the Marlins. Recoil in 44 was a little different than in 30-30, but not much. I am not a cowboy action guy, but I like having the rifle or handgun option with the same load (44). You don't say if you reload, but doing so has made me much happier with the 44 mag rounds. Most of my hunts are in fairly brushy areas, so shots will be 100 yds or less. The ballistics are not terribly different at 100 yds, but you can throw 240+ grain bullets with your 44 (folks with the 'brush buster' line of thinking would want the heavier bullet). I will always want to keep the 30-30 though, just one of those things.
Enjoy - Nothing like a lever gun.
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