wanderinwalker
Member
Just wanted to share my excitement for this new rig. It's a basic, box-stock Marlin 1894PG in .44 Remington Magnum. Already it has earned a secure place in my safe and I've only put 30 rounds through it! Pure happiness and bliss in a rifle.
At 50 yards it grouped exactly as I expected it to and better than it needed to. 25-yard pistol targets are easy game at that range and standard paper dinner plates stand no chance. Did I mention that this is offhand and with the supplied iron sights? And I haven't even started to try to work up an accuracy load for it. Just standard 240gr JSP Winchesters from Wal-Mart, $20.96/50.
Recoil is mild, muzzle blast is tolerable and even my girlfriend doesn't fear this rifle. She fired a few .44 Specials through it and said it kicks less than an M-1 Carbine using that load (240gr SWC, CCI-300 primer, 5.7gr of W231, MAXIMUM, NOT RECOMMENDED, THOUGH SAFE IN .44 MAGNUM CHAMBERED FIREARMS ). The .44 Magnum has plenty of punch for woods-country deer hunting or black bear and I'd happily take it moose hunting and pick my shots carefully, the rifle's low weight and short length make it easy to carry and the action is smooth and lever-throw short. Easy to stay on target when reloading between rounds and for my hands this short rifle balances and handles like a dream.
All I can find to nitpick is the fact that the u-notch in the rear sight is a little shallow and hard to define in poor light (like I had today). Otherwise, fun and entertaining little big-bore boomer. highly recommended. If somebody offers you a chance to fire one, take it!
And the obligatory picture:
Edited to add: So far it has fed .44 Special SWCs, .44 Magnum SWCs and the aforementioned Winchester JSPs without issue. I see no reason it won't also feed some Hornady XTPs, 265gr Interlocks and probably a 255 or 275gr LBT hardcast. Going to find a load I like in both the Smith and Marlin. It's handy being able to feed 2 guns from one bucket of ammo!
At 50 yards it grouped exactly as I expected it to and better than it needed to. 25-yard pistol targets are easy game at that range and standard paper dinner plates stand no chance. Did I mention that this is offhand and with the supplied iron sights? And I haven't even started to try to work up an accuracy load for it. Just standard 240gr JSP Winchesters from Wal-Mart, $20.96/50.
Recoil is mild, muzzle blast is tolerable and even my girlfriend doesn't fear this rifle. She fired a few .44 Specials through it and said it kicks less than an M-1 Carbine using that load (240gr SWC, CCI-300 primer, 5.7gr of W231, MAXIMUM, NOT RECOMMENDED, THOUGH SAFE IN .44 MAGNUM CHAMBERED FIREARMS ). The .44 Magnum has plenty of punch for woods-country deer hunting or black bear and I'd happily take it moose hunting and pick my shots carefully, the rifle's low weight and short length make it easy to carry and the action is smooth and lever-throw short. Easy to stay on target when reloading between rounds and for my hands this short rifle balances and handles like a dream.
All I can find to nitpick is the fact that the u-notch in the rear sight is a little shallow and hard to define in poor light (like I had today). Otherwise, fun and entertaining little big-bore boomer. highly recommended. If somebody offers you a chance to fire one, take it!
And the obligatory picture:
Edited to add: So far it has fed .44 Special SWCs, .44 Magnum SWCs and the aforementioned Winchester JSPs without issue. I see no reason it won't also feed some Hornady XTPs, 265gr Interlocks and probably a 255 or 275gr LBT hardcast. Going to find a load I like in both the Smith and Marlin. It's handy being able to feed 2 guns from one bucket of ammo!
