On a scale of 1 to 10 how do you rate a 44 mag in a rifle as a good brush gun ?

[Hunter007]

On a scale of 1 to 10 how do you rate a 44 mag in a rifle as a good brush gun ?

 

Edited November 9, 2019 by Hunter007

[Nytracker]

Good question .... awaiting the answers.

[Pygmy]

A good brush gun is  light, fairly short  and fits you well enough to make fast, accurate off hand shots through fairly small openings in the brush at ranges of less than 100 yards with a bullet capable of reaching the vitals of a deer from less than ideal angles...

Chambering is irrelevant as long as it fits the  aforementioned criteria...

NO  cartridge shoots accurately if you hit brush or saplings...Even 12 gauge slugs deflect if they hit anything more substantial than a small twig...You have to shoot through openings in the brush, unless the target is VERY close to the cause of deflection...

 

[rob-c]

 There is no such caliber that will shoot through brush. Back when it was slug gun only I hunted with my 870 -12 with 385 grain copper solids. Opening morning  of southern zone had a doe at 60 yards pulled up shot,  she dropped in her tracks.

Since she dropped I decided to sit and wait the rest of the morning. 3-4 hrs later I climbed down walked over to her and no hole in the side of her. Started checking her over and that slug basically cut her throat. Couldn’t believe  it , I knew I was dead on she was broadside. Turn around to get the sight line from the stand and low and behold a branch the size of a pencil about 10 ft from her was broke . Yep that little branch deflected that 385 grain slug. 

[Hunter007]

Well when I said brush gun what I mean or should have said places that you can only see under say 75  or less yards  not necessary that you are going to actually shoot through brush   thick woods gun .  Generally speaking I would avoid shooting through brush because as you said its a crap shoot that it's not going to get deflected in some way .

 

[LongWayFromHome]

the .44 mag with the proper bullet, proper shot placement, out to 100 yards will kill deer just fine. there are alot better cartridges. it depends on you the shooter, how much practice you invest along with picking your shots. unless you are willing to invest the time, ammo, and effort to learn this round, choose a cartridge with more energy. only you know your capabilities and skills.  good luck hunting.

[rob-c]

I hunt with a Super red hawk in 44 mag with a 9.5 inch barrel and have killed numerous deer at 60+ yards . So yes a rifle  chambered  in 44 would work for a short range gun . 

[LongWayFromHome]

a few thoughts to consider. are you interested in a .44 mag rifle, or handgun? in a rifle the 240 grain jsp/jhp bullets are manageable with respect to recoil. in a handgun, depending on weight, barrel length, and your skill with a handgun, recoil can be severe.

[Uncle Nicky]

2 out of 10

[LongWayFromHome]

i won't assign a numerical value. too subjective and infinite variables. keep in mind that even a 500 nitro with poor shot placement does not buy you a win. i will say it is best used by shooters with alot of experience, and the desire to burn powder learning the round.

[rob-c]

Just another thought,  but a nice lever action in 30-30 has been a proven performer for years. That’s what I bought my son. 

Edited November 9, 2019 by rob-c

[Hunter007]

40 minutes ago, LongWayFromHome said:

a few thoughts to consider. are you interested in a .44 mag rifle, or handgun? in a rifle the 240 grain jsp/jhp bullets are manageable with respect to recoil. in a handgun, depending on weight, barrel length, and your skill with a handgun, recoil can be severe.

44 mag Lever action carbine  16 inch barrel.  I have know interest in hand gun hunting. 

Specifically this 1892 Alaskan Takedown 16" .44Mag 

Why? just because I like light compact rifles.. and where I hunt I see deer at usually under 60 yards 90%  percent of the time .

 

 

 

 

[Hunter007]

6 minutes ago, rob-c said:

Just another thought,  but a nice lever action in 30-30 has been a proven performer for years. That’s what I bought my son. 

They don't chamber what I want in that model or I definitely look at that . 

 

[LongWayFromHome]

30-30 win., how can you ever go wrong with it in ny? too many guys over think it, all those years growing up shooting a shotgun with slugs. we made that work, it's all we had, how fortunate you guys are now

[LongWayFromHome]

browning blr, .358 win., just can't wait to get back to western ny, hopefully next year

[Hunter007]

Just now, LongWayFromHome said:

browning blr, .358 win., just can't wait to get back to western ny, hopefully next year

There nice to but no  16 inch barrel option.   

 

 

 

[wolc123]

1

[Rattler]

The .44 round is more than adequate for ranges under 100 yards.  The firearm it's fired from varies, but most are well designed for thick cover work.  Short barreled, lightweight and quick on target.  I've used a Marlin lever in .44 mag as well as the old original Ruger semi auto in .44 mag.  Never felt handicapped in the woods with either of them and both did a fine job of dropping deer with authority.  I preferred the Marlin lever because it's trimmer, lighter and holds more ammo.

These days I use a Rossi .357 mag lever gun for woods work under 50 yards.  I find that to be more than enough to kill a deer at close range.

On a 1 to 10 scale, a good .44 mag woods rifle is a 10 when used the way it was designed to be used.

Edited November 9, 2019 by Rattler

[Hunter007]

3 hours ago, wolc123 said:

1

No offense wolc123  but for some reason  you just don't seem   as the type of guy that shoots at deer with a 44 mag lever gun 

There pricey and the really good hunting ammo is not cheap .

 

You seem to be more of the Walmart ammo guy  what ever is on the shelf and shoot it once a year .     I read you posts about not wanting to waist ammo . 

So is the 1 rating from personal experience or just here say ?  Usually your posts have a story attached. 

[airedale]

I have killed a half dozen Deer with the 44 mag cartridge, 5 out of the 6 with a S&W model 29 revolver and one with a light weight Marlin 94 lever action with a 16 inch ported barrel. The 44 mag is a proven cartridge and with proper shot placement it will take Deer with no problem. My old eyes don't do as well with handgun open sights as they once did and that is the reason I purchased the light weight fast handling Marlin to use as a woods gun in the early part of the Deer season when the leaves are still on and ranges relatively short say out to 100 yards.

I shoot 300 gr Nosler HP handloads out of the Marlin and it's accuracy with those loads is very good, the bullet performance is typical first rate Nosler, you do your part and they will do theirs.

For the way it is used by me the 44 mag Marlin 94 it fit the bill exactly and gets a 10 ranking

Al

Edited November 9, 2019 by airedale

[LongWayFromHome]

15 hours ago, LongWayFromHome said:

the .44 mag with the proper bullet, proper shot placement, out to 100 yards will kill deer just fine. there are alot better cartridges. it depends on you the shooter, how much practice you invest along with picking your shots. unless you are willing to invest the time, ammo, and effort to learn this round, choose a cartridge with more energy. only you know your capabilities and skills.  good luck hunting.

Amat Victoria Curam

[wolc123]

11 hours ago, Hunter007 said:

No offense wolc123  but for some reason  you just don't seem   as the type of guy that shoots at deer with a 44 mag lever gun 

There pricey and the really good hunting ammo is not cheap .

 

You seem to be more of the Walmart ammo guy  what ever is on the shelf and shoot it once a year .     I read you posts about not wanting to waist ammo . 

So is the 1 rating from personal experience or just here say ?  Usually your posts have a story attached. 

I only shot a .44 mag twice and never at deer (Ruger single-action pistol).  Remembering "Dirty Harry", I was a little scared the first time and missed the 8-1/2" x 11" target paper clean at 50 yards, due to anticipation of a big recoil.   I was surprised at how tame it was, compared to one time when I fired a 12 gauge pistol-grip shotgun with a magnum slug load from the hip (my wrist was sore for a few weeks after that).   My second shot with the .44 mag struck the edge of the bull.

I gave it a 1, because I can easily come up with (9) better rifle calibers for deer (the whole "brush-gun deal is a fallacy as others have already explained).  Here they are: 1.) 30/06 (only one that I have killed a few deer with so the rest are based on "hear-say", ammo cost and availability, and various other factors.) 2.) 30/30 3) 308 4.) .270 5) .308  6.) 7 mm mag 7.) .35 Rem  8.) 25/06 9.) .243

I put the .243 near the bottom of the list due to a horrific amount of "meat-damage" caused by that caliber on a buck that was given to me by a neighbor last year.   If you are just looking to kill deer, and not necessarily eat them, it is a pretty good choice however.     Pistol calibers are best left in pistols.

[LongWayFromHome]

Rule #1, never tell a man he has an ugly wife. Rule #2, never tell a man he can not shoot, till you have have seen him handle a weapon. Rule # 3, a weapon in the hands of one man can be accurate and deadly, in the hands of another man, not so accomplished. As a pilot, I will offer this bit of wisdom:: " It's never the plane, it's always the pilot". ☺

[LongWayFromHome]

1 minute ago, LongWayFromHome said:

Rule #1, never tell a man he has an ugly wife. Rule #2, never tell a man he can not shoot, till you have have seen him handle a weapon. Rule # 3, a weapon in the hands of one man can be accurate and deadly, in the hands of another man, not so accomplished. As a pilot, I will offer this bit of wisdom:: " It's never the plane, it's always the pilot". ☺

Amat Victoria Curam

[steve863]

There are scores of better cartridges out there why would one limit themselves to something like a .44 mag??  I would rate a .44 mag down near the bottom no higher than a 2.  If I choose a .30-06, .270, .308, etc. I could kill a deer at short range, long range and everything in between, so why limit oneself to a pistol cartridge?  Makes very little sense to me.