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Posted: 3/25/2007 1:42:26 PM EDT
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I'm in the market for a lever gun and I'm leaning towards a Marlin in .44 mag so I can later get a .44 mag revolver and cut down on logistical problems. My question is, how would .44 mag out of a rifle compare ballistically to a .30-30 at ranges of 50-100m? I'll primarily be using it as a bush gun for deer, and I also hunt and camp in bear country (NW AR). Any responses would be greatly appreciated, thanks in advance. |
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45LC is not as powerfull as the 44 mag. 44 Mag hits a bunch harder. Not sure on the 30-30. The 44 Mag might hit harder out to 100 yards but drops super fast from there. 30-30 would be a much better choice from 150 yards out. I have a 94 Trapper in 44mag and it is really a fun gun. Drops deer like a sledge hammer and some guys even take elk with it. |
The 45 Colt is limited by where you put it, In a 5 Shot conversion or one of the D/A Revolvers chambered for the 45/454 it can be loaded to 60K chamber pressures where it duplicates the 454 Casull loaded to the same 60K chamber pressures. The 44 Mag is loaded to around 44K PSI chamber pressures, it lacks the case capacity (around 5 grains less) of the 45 Colt, sorry but thats all there is. Even loaded at 40K PSI chamber pressures the 45 Colt can match the 44 Mag at slightly over 44K PSI chamber pressures with heavier bullets, shorter barrels, more frontal area and softer recoil. These 40 K PSI chamber pressure 45 Colt loads are good for the Rugers (with the exception of the "New Vaquero") and the Model 94 Marlin chambered for the 45 Colt (keep in mind the Marlin 94 chambered for the 44 Rem Mag will not reliably feed bullets of 300 gr. or greater and if it would it wouldn't stabalize them any way. If you wish maximum performance from the 45 Colt, simply pick up a Model 92 Puma chambered for the 454 Casull and a 45/454 SRH there you go. If you want more pick up a Model 92 Puma chambered for the 480 and a SRH chambered for the 480. You don't have to stop there, theres more if you wish to keep going. You can figure the power level of large bore bullets by useing John Taylors formula Bullet Weight X Bullet Diameter X Velocity divided by 7000 = There is a lot of good information on the 44 Mag and 45 Colt on Linebaughs web sight http://www.foxwebdesigns.com/Area51/JLSixGun/articles/gunnotes.html I really hope that link works as I am not a computer guy. 
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Thanks for the informative responses so far, guys. A poster recommended that maybe .45 Colt would be a better rifle/handgun combo. Maybe a stupid question but are there nice .45 Colt DA revolvers out there? I've got some weird lever gun/revolver combo disease right now, it's rivaling my acute case of EBRS (evil black rifle syndrome). FWIW, I've been looking at Marlins, but don't know anything about quality big-bore revolvers. |
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If you are looking for a double action revolver stay with the .44 mag. Get a Smith and Wesson 629 and then your Lever action in .44. Both are outstanding guns! Also I could not find 1 45LC loading in my reloading manuel that was on par or better then a .44 mag. Some were close but the hotter .44 mags were far and away more powerful then the 45LC.....thats wat my booksays anyway for what it's worth. Also 44 mag is cheeper. |
| I've got a Winchester 94 Wrangler in 44mag. I know it hits like a tank at close range. I took out an armadillo with it and there wasn't much left to look at afterwards. I doubt it would be very good past 100 yards though. It's pretty slow at anything over 50 yards. This is from shooting at milk jugs floating down the bayou. I shoot then look up and watch it hit. You could almost start counting before it hits. My Wrangler has a 16 inch barrel so maybe something a little longer will have better ballistics but not sure. |
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I have a Wincehster 94 trapper in .45 colt, as well as a bunch of single action pistols in same (old Clones mostly, as well as a couple modernized one, no Rugers) I can and do load my guns up to around the .454 casull range, they hit hard, adn have dropped anythign iA havce tried withthem. The .45 and .44 caliber leverguns with normal fodder are generally harder hitting than a 30-30 with factory fodder out to around the 100 yard mark (ish) after that the 30-30 does not drop as much, though it is always worth pointing out that even if a .44 or .45 projo is travelling slower than the 30 caliber one at the same distance, for a ways after the 100 yard mark inertia still helps a great deal, especially when one thinks about the fact that the bullets in the 44 and 45 are almost twice as heavy as the 30-30 one. I am goign to be using my .45 for Bear this spring, no fears on it working at all. I have even removed the ugly tang safety drilled it for a tang sight, it has increased my useable range quite a bit, I can hit a milk jug consistenlty at 200 yards with it (the local range is not any further than that, and shooting down cutlines is a no-no during hunting season) if you relaod, I woudl grab a modern relaoding manual for both cartridges (or whichever you buy, this being arfcom I figured you woudl just get both) Oh and Smith and Wesson used to make, and may still make a real nice .45 Colt revovler, and the 460 smith can fire .45 colt ammunition easily |
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Once again, if you are going to use the 45 Colt you must load it at pressures the firearm you are going to use it in can handle. There are some very nice D/A Revolvers chambered for the 45 Colt However most can not handle the pressures of the 45 Colt at mid level pressures let alone upper end pressures. If you are going to tax the 45 Colt in a D/A Revolver use one of the Rugers. I use a 335 Cast at 1325 fps in a 5.5" Redhaw, it will gain 200 to 300 fps in a levergun and is easily handled in the model 94 (as it is around a 35K chamber pressure load). I use a 320 cast at 1420fps in a 7.5" SRH (44 Mag) but it will not work reliaby in the Model 94, if it would the 1 in 32 twist would not stabalize it and it would be pushing the limits of the Model 94 (as it is a 44 K chamber pressure load). Unless you require bullet weight of 300 + grains you will be better served with a 44 Mag and Revolver selection will be a non issue.
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The 30-30 will give you better real world game getting performance at any range but it only gets really serious over 100 yards. Up to 100 yards the 44 mag, while not quite the same class as 30-30, should be completely adequate for whitetails. Chuck Hawks has a very good article comparing these two on his site at: http://www.chuckhawks.com/subscribers/rifle_cartridge_page/compared_30-30_44Mag.htm |
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You can't load the heaviest bullets into lever guns. Marlin barrels won't stabilize over 270 grs. I don't know about Winchester. Garret makes some awesome +P .44 loads, but you can only shoot them out of Ruger revos because they are loaded long and hot. The long seated bullet thing is to keep them out of Smith revos. You can't fit them into a levergun. If you want a .454, you can get a Brazilian levergun or a Wild West Guns Model 04. With the 30-30, you can now get LEVERevolution bullets that fly a shit ton flatter. I've always done my hunting with full caliber bolt actions, but inside 100m there isn't a deer alive that can withstand a properly placed hit from a good load in either caliber. |
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