.44 or .357 rifle?
I put in a pretty good day's work around here today. The wife has this theory that if she brags on me, I'll bust my butt even harder. So she was laying it on pretty thick, and I figured she was in a good mood, so I said "You should buy me a pistol". Well, you could have knocked me over with a hammer, but she said "OK". So, I said "How bout I kick in a couple of bucks and get a rifle". She said "whatever".
I'm thinking I want a Marlin stainless steel lever action but I can't decide if I want a .44 or a .357. What are the pros and cons for each?
I'm thinking I want a Marlin stainless steel lever action but I can't decide if I want a .44 or a .357. What are the pros and cons for each?
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quote:quote:
Originally posted by JamesRK
I doubt if it will ever go hunting, but if it does, it'll be in the thickets and woods or just shoot a deer in the back yard.
I'll use it to poke holes in paper and tin cans mostly. I have a bunch of volunteer pumpkins come up in my compost every year. Somebody has to shoot them.
I was poking around on the internet last night looking at the Marlin Stainless Steel .44 Magnum. Wal-Mart has it for almost a $100 less than everybody else. I wonder if it's the same rifle.
No they are lesser quality
Mr Gunz...why would you say that???
Look at a box when you get a chance...same model #...same stock # from Marlin (or Remington or whoever).
Wal-Mart buys in QUANTITY from Jerrys or Mid-South or whoever...that is how they can sell for less.
Their overhead expenses are not solely taken care of by the firearms sales either (unlike gun stores)...clothing and foods help cover the majority of their expenses.0 -
Hay, I didn't mean to start a fight. [:D]
Anyhow, I'd rather do business with Mark Cole at Cole's Gun shop if I can. I swung by his place this afternoon and he had a sign on the door "CLOSED FOR VACATION, WILL REOPEN MAY 29. Today being 31 MAY and with all the trouble he's had with Mayor Bloomberg lately, I'm concerned he may not reopen.
The wife went to Wal-Mart this afternoon. I had her check the price while she was there. They don't carry them in stock, but will order it for $474.88. I hope Bloomberg don't get me for an "attempted straw purchase". [:D]0 -
quote:Originally posted by cubslover
FWIW....My Marlin 1894 in 44mag is quickly becoming one of my favoites.
This is one thing we agree on...
Marlin if it was good enough for Annie Oakley it is good enough for Me!!!
I simply love Marlin lever Action Rifles....0 -
I don't have anything against Winchester in general, but I don't care much for their lever actions. I bought a Winchester 94 .30/30 at the NAS Memphis Navy Exchange in 1965. It was a genuine "MADE IN USA" pre '64 and it was a piece of junk the day I bought it, and me and a half dozen gunsmiths couldn't improve on it. It finally aggravated me so much I gave it to my brother-in-law. I know I probably shouldn't let that one rifle sour me on Winchester lever actions, but I just haven't been able to warm up to them since then. 0 -
I have both. Either will do what you ask. Don 0 -
quote:Originally posted by JamesRK
I don't have anything against Winchester in general, but I don't care much for their lever actions. I bought a Winchester 94 .30/30 at the NAS Memphis Navy Exchange in 1965. It was a genuine "MADE IN USA" pre '64 and it was a piece of junk the day I bought it, and me and a half dozen gunsmiths couldn't improve on it. It finally aggravated me so much I gave it to my brother-in-law. I know I probably shouldn't let that one rifle sour me on Winchester lever actions, but I just haven't been able to warm up to them since then.
...and now its worth about 10 times what you paid for it. the marlin is a better gun, but the winny is a better collector piece.0 -
quote:Originally posted by zipperzap
quote:Doug Wilson:
I have never seen the justification for a scope on a 150 yard max, pistol round, lever gun.
The Old West does not live with a scoped rifle.
Doug
LOL ... the Old West ain't got nothin to do with it! The NOW NORTH is where I
spend part of my summers. What you think can a little problem - for you and
your fantasy Wild West Cowboys - has little to do with me!
Well, unless you've been in Alaska during the summer and seen a brownie charging
at a full head of steam - they reportedly can run at 45 Mph. - I know they can/and do
at least 40Mph. because we've had them run along side of us before when we were
Jeeping through their territory - and I doubt you've ever seen moose up close in a
thicket not more than 30 yards away. We have them all over the place in Talkeetna,
and given the choice of a ghost sight or a 2x scope ... ain't no two ways about it ...
scope, every time, old feller.
... and just as a post script ... when brownies charge ... and they do ... they have a
shovel-shaped skull, which they keep low, close to the ground (protecting their chest)
... at 40Mph! The only thing you've got to stop them is a head shot - skull's an inch
to an inch and a half inches thick!
... THAT, Virginia, is why *I* insist on an big bore scoped carbine AND a S&W .500
4" on my hip ... if all else fails.
The Alaskan Tourist Bureau does NOT like to publicise accounts of grizzly/human
kills up there. ... and THAT'S a fact!
[8D]
Tourist[:o)]0 -
quote:Originally posted by dcon12
I have both. Either will do what you ask. Don
Paint my house?0 -
.44 mag. I like the idea of using/loading .44 special loads for plinking and target and .44 mag for full round house loads for hunting etc. 0 -
Well, I've decided to get the Marlin 1894SS Stainless Steel in .44 Magnum. Actually getting one is turning out to be a little complicated though. I don't think I've ever done this much research before buying a gun.
I really want to buy it from Mark Cole at Cole's Gun Shop in South Boston even if it costs me a little more. Partly to support my local gun shop and partly for the pleasure of tweaking Bloomberg just a little bit. I went by his place Friday and he still had his "On Vacation" sign up. Yesterday (Monday) the sign was gone, but the store was closed. I called the store and got a recorded message that he has a sickness in the family and expects to open on 12 June. I guess I'll wait and check with him before I do anything.
I had the wife check the price at South Boston Wal-Mart last Friday. Their price was $474.88. I figured all Wal-Mart prices would be about the same, but I check the price at Roxboro, NC Wal-Mart and they wanted $474.92.
I checked with Abbott Farm Supplies and he gave me an out the door price of $579.29.
I had the wife check with South Boston Wal-Mart again yesterday. They told her they just got a price change. Now their out the door price is $592.64. I can tolerate a price increase from time to time, but that is a one day increase of $117.76! It makes it a little easier to decide who to buy from.
By the way, I called Marlin and asked them if Wal-Mart has the same rifle. The lady told me the 1894SS is definitely the same rifle, but Marlin does do some special runs for Wal-Mart, but when they do that they use a different model number.0 -
quote:Originally posted by JamesRK
Well, I've decided to get the Marlin 1894SS Stainless Steel in .44 Magnum. Actually getting one is turning out to be a little complicated though. I don't think I've ever done this much research before buying a gun.
I really want to buy it from Mark Cole at Cole's Gun Shop in South Boston even if it costs me a little more. Partly to support my local gun shop and partly for the pleasure of tweaking Bloomberg just a little bit. I went by his place Friday and he still had his "On Vacation" sign up. Yesterday (Monday) the sign was gone, but the store was closed. I called the store and got a recorded message that he has a sickness in the family and expects to open on 12 June. I guess I'll wait and check with him before I do anything.
I had the wife check the price at South Boston Wal-Mart last Friday. Their price was $474.88. I figured all Wal-Mart prices would be about the same, but I check the price at Roxboro, NC Wal-Mart and they wanted $474.92.
I checked with Abbott Farm Supplies and he gave me an out the door price of $579.29.
I had the wife check with South Boston Wal-Mart again yesterday. They told her they just got a price change. Now their out the door price is $592.64. I can tolerate a price increase from time to time, but that is a one day increase of $117.76! It makes it a little easier to decide who to buy from.
By the way, I called Marlin and asked them if Wal-Mart has the same rifle. The lady told me the 1894SS is definitely the same rifle, but Marlin does do some special runs for Wal-Mart, but when they do that they use a different model number.
Five words.
You.
Will.
Love.
That.
Gun.
[:D]0 -
from Colonel Plink
quote:Five words.
You.
Will.
Love.
That.
Gun.
What he said! [:D]
Big Al (love those Marlin lever-actions!)0 -
I found out today you don't just walk into the Gun Shop and buy a Marlin 1894SS. My plan was to wait for Mark Cole to open up his shop again and buy it from him, but today I was told he has been closed for five weeks and will be closed for at least another week. His answering machine says he has a serious illness, and with all the other problems he's been having (Mayor Bloomberg), I'm afraid he might be out of business.
Abbott's Farm Supply isn't really a Gun Shop, but he does sell guns. He doesn't have a Marlin 1894SS, but says he can get one. Wal-Mart South Boston says the 1894SS is hard to get, but they are willing to try to get me one. Wal-Mart Roxboro, NC doesn't have any and don't know what the lead time is.
I drove the fifty miles to the next closest Gun Shop, Old Dominion Guns & Tackle, the other side of Danville. He called every wholesaler he could find a phone number for, but nobody ain't got none.
He took a deposit and told me I should have it by July - - or August - - or September. I figure I'll probably have it by Christmas. [:D]0 -
Good choice ... I imagine it'll be just a matter of time before you have a
1895GS, too. That happened to me - twice! They'll both be around
generations after me! Four of my grandsons have their eyes on them
already.0 -
I thought I was exaggerating when I said maybe I'd have it by Christmas. Now it looks like that might have been a little optimistic. I called Marlin again about a week ago to ask them how they were coming with their backorders. The lady told me I could probably expect it around February. I told her I ordered it in June and asked her what happened to all the guns they were supposed to make in September and October. She said "Oh, they were for the backorders from January."
If anybody wants a Marlin 1894SS .44 for next year's deer season, you'd better order it now. I'm hoping to have mine before Christmas of 2008. [:D]0 -
Hey James - I have the .357 in a Marlin carbine. This is one accurate and fun shooting gun. If I were going to a bigger caliber it would either be a .41 mag or the .45 Colt. The only problem with the .44 mag is the slow twist rate. It will not stabilize the heavy buddits. As I recall the .44 mag rifles have a 1:38 rate of twist. The .357 mag, .41 mag, and the .45 Colt have much faster (1:16 to 1:20) rate of twist to shoot the heavier buddits. I never had much luck with my heavy .44 mag buddits in these rifles. 0 -
quote:Originally posted by Sperry
44mag
You can shoot 44 Colt and mags, and reloading options out the wazoo.
Wouldn't that be .44 Smith & Wesson Special ???
Doug0 -
i would go with a 44, been wanting a deerslayer for some time now. my .02 0 -
I have a blast with the 38/357 Rossi I won here a couple years ago, light, fast handling.......
Thank you again Juju, where ever you are...[:D][;)]
Don0 -
quote:Originally posted by eboydell
Have you considered the .444 Marlin? If you have and decided against it, I like the .44mag. The .357mag. is great;however, it is a little light.[;)]
go with the 444 over the 44 mag...bigger lead, more manageable, and stopping/brush power like no other...plus, Marlin's are gorgeous! also with the new polymer tipped ammo, actually some range with the same knockdown power.....
did I mention that Marlins are beautiful?0 -
Another option to consider is the Ruger 77/44.
44 Mag. bolt action. They are discontinued, but there is still a few floating around. I bought one a few years back and like it a lot.0 -
quote:Originally posted by Boomerang
Hey James - I have the .357 in a Marlin carbine. This is one accurate and fun shooting gun. If I were going to a bigger caliber it would either be a .41 mag or the .45 Colt. The only problem with the .44 mag is the slow twist rate. It will not stabilize the heavy buddits. As I recall the .44 mag rifles have a 1:38 rate of twist. The .357 mag, .41 mag, and the .45 Colt have much faster (1:16 to 1:20) rate of twist to shoot the heavier buddits. I never had much luck with my heavy .44 mag buddits in these rifles.
What the hell is a "buddit"?0 -
Well, it came in today. It only took eight months and twelve days. I guess he was right when he said it could take over a month. [:D] 0 -
Wow congratulations.
(wish I had one)0 -
It may be that .38 Specials in .357s & .44 specials in .44 mags may not feed well. The question came up recently about .45 LCs in a .454
& I tried it in mine. They do not feed well at all.
I have a .44 Ruger lever action but I don't think I have any .44 specials to try in in. It may work better though because it feeds from the magazine instead of the lifter.0 -
I think I might have some .44 Special someplace. If I run across them I'll try it and see how it works. I think I have some .44 Cowboy too. If it will handle them it should handle any .44.
For a better picture, click on this picture.0
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