Is there a way to make a 44 mag lever gun a 150 to 200 yd hunting rifle?

[chutestrate]

The Game Commission recently allowed straight walled cartridges in special regulation areas around philadelphia, bucks county, montgomery county and a few others. Gives an option that wasn't there before. I could continue with my 12 ga, but now I have a "solid' reason to get a new toy.

[NSB]

I’ll tell you what I got out of this thread: I need a new toy. I think I’m going to look for a .44mag lever gun. Gives me something to play with over the summer. I DO NOT need another gun, but “need” has never been my excuse. I’m getting one.

[chutestrate]

Hannibal and I had a little conflict earlier, but it was all good. I respect his opinion, and actually agree with him.

[chutestrate]

I’ll tell you what I got out of this thread: I need a new toy. I think I’m going to look for a .44mag lever gun. Gives me something to play with over the summer. I DO NOT need another gun, but “need” has never been my excuse. I’m getting one.

Maybe someday, but my sights are set on the legend or the buckhammer. 44 would be nice, but the slush fund isn't deep enough for both so the 44 will come later. So yeah, new toy this spring or summer to get ready for next year. I find the looking to be part of the fun. The savage axis is priced nicely, and that leaves cash for ammo and practice. If you get one share your thoughts on how it shoots.

[chutestrate]

It’s a big state, hunt somewhere else. Either way, you don’t need a 44mag to kill a deer (although I’ve killed many of them with a 44mag handgun). I’ve killed deer out to 168 yards with a 357mag handgun. Get a laser and know your bullet drop. Being able to shoot at a known distance off of a bench doesn’t make you a capable hunter. If you don’t know your ballistics you’re not doing due diligence in preparing to shoot a big game animal. If your mind’s set on a lever gun, get the 350 Legend. It’s more than adequate and will recoil a lot less than the 44mag. Surprisingly, the 44mag is more unpleasant to shoot in a rifle than it is in a handgun. The Legend is flatter shooting also.

I am really impressed with that shot. I took a nice doe at about 75 yds with m 357 rifle. Good placement and she went down. I don't think I'd try that long of a shot. Nice shooting!!

[Hannibal]

Hannibal and I had a little conflict earlier, but it was all good. I respect his opinion, and actually agree with him.

You have my respect Sir. I hope you find the perfect solution to your situation and I hope your hunt is both fruitful and satisfying.

[Froogal]

The thing that bothers me about threads like this is there are a whole bunch of 'hunters' who decend upon the hunting areas every year who won't even bother to spend enough time with a centerfire scoped rifle to reliably take a deer at 100 yards. And now someone even drug a .22lr story into it.

There's no substitute for practice and lots of it. There's no excuse for using a rifle that's marginal for the range expected and there's no excuse for making excuses.

Someone will read this thread and cherry pick a couple of answers because they already decided that's what they want to believe and bad results will ensue. Then people complain about game laws enacted due to the unprepared pushing the limits.

Congratulations. I hope you're happy.

Just to clarify, the .22 was with us for an entirely different reason. We were NOT hunting deer, but the deer presented itself and it was just too tempting.

[freakonaleash]

At least carry a range finder if you figure you'll be shooting that far. A little error in distance will mean a miss at that range. I always carry mine when I deer hunt.

[BamaNapper]

Maybe the OP doesn't need 200 yds, but he asked for the option.

You are dreaming of a 444.

What he said ^^^^

Is a 44 mag enough power? Then load it like one. Need a little more? Load it hotter. Got an oak tree or a tractor between you and that deer? Then load 'em hot and knock it out of the way.

A couple years ago I asked whether there was any reason to hang onto my 444 as opposed to trading it for a 44 mag lever. Y'all said to keep it and load for the power I wanted. Mild to wild, as some of you said. Good advice then, good advice now.

[Bigslug]

Between the Legend and the Buckhammer, the choice seems simple: the Buckhammer uses .358" bullets - WIN!

The answer to this question of shooting distance with a cartridge with a rainbow trajectory is fairly straightforward - learn the drop on your ammo; get a laser rangefinder; spend some quality time where you'll be sitting; start drawing up sniper's range cards - 75 yards to the white rock; 123 to the fallen log; 182 to the rotted fence.

Next, figure out a "point blank" zero distance that gives you no more than three inches high on the way out, drops to zero, and learn where it drops three inches below that. That six inch vertical space represents how far out you can put one in a deer's boiler room before you need to hold over.

Once you've got that figured out, learn how to use the duplex, hash marks, or whatever else your scope has as gauges for your holdover for longer ranges.

Finally, after you have all that down, start drinking a lot of milk and OJ, then practice killing the jugs.

[Teddy (punchie)]

Gone are the old first days of gun hunting in PA

Your lucky to see more then a few hunters.

They changed all that and now they are harvesting what they changed.

Don't forget 10 to 25 percent of hunters hunted deer once a year. Get a way to get out with the boys.

Back when they changed a lot of this was because someone shot a person in Ohioville Twp. Ended up being a fight not a hunting accident. At that time they wanted the whole state shotgun only. Took years to find out the true story but the Game Commission lead everyone to believe different and only reason I recall is I had just got a 20 gauge to test slugs with. 30 years ago almost. If you recall they all shut up around the same time for shotgun only. I'm only saying they should have made the straight wall, archery 50 yds, and shotgun only at the same time if they were thinking this through.

I used to hunt the PA area he talks about. You're lucky to get a 50-yard shot. The new rule is to allow this straight wall rifle as a replacement to shotguns in populated areas. Why did PA come out with the shotgun rules in the first place? It wasn't to make it harder. It was to decrease reciprical damage where someone shoots holes in your home from a long way away. I lived in one of these zones, and opening day sounded like a war zone. Once they switched where I lived in western Chester county to shotgun, it became safer.
I think it's a good thing what they are doing. But I would not expect to make shots further than you could with a shotgun. I would carry my Colt 45 lever gun. They do make a 454 casull version of my lever gun

[Teddy (punchie)]

If find the old rule of thumb for maximum distance to be spot on. Use a 9" paper plate as a target setup under realistic hunting conditions at various yardages. Once you get to the yardage that you can no longer hit the plate 100% of the time you have your answer as to what your maximum distance should be.

Some can't hit a 9" paper plate at 200 yards with a scope and a very flat shooting cartridge under hunting conditions. Others can do it well past 200 yards with irons and a 44 Mag levergun.

Sound about right

[Teddy (punchie)]

One last thing he is hunting in an area where he would like the deer to go down asap. Not wanting to have it run and make more trouble tracking it in someones yard.

[NSB]

Between the Legend and the Buckhammer, the choice seems simple: the Buckhammer uses .358" bullets - WIN!

The answer to this question of shooting distance with a cartridge with a rainbow trajectory is fairly straightforward - learn the drop on your ammo; get a laser rangefinder; spend some quality time where you'll be sitting; start drawing up sniper's range cards - 75 yards to the white rock; 123 to the fallen log; 182 to the rotted fence.

Next, figure out a "point blank" zero distance that gives you no more than three inches high on the way out, drops to zero, and learn where it drops three inches below that. That six inch vertical space represents how far out you can put one in a deer's boiler room before you need to hold over.

Once you've got that figured out, learn how to use the duplex, hash marks, or whatever else your scope has as gauges for your holdover for longer ranges.

Finally, after you have all that down, start drinking a lot of milk and OJ, then practice killing the jugs.

A very good answer. There is a distinct difference between a bench shooter (most only a couple of times a year even doing that) and a hunter/marksman. The percentage of true hunters in the woods is definitely in the minority. If you really want to be a hunter and put some effort into it you’ll find you can do very well with calibers such as the 44mag if you learn the ballistics of it and understand that bullet placement kills, not muzzle energy. Most successful bow hunters learned all about kill areas early on. Successful handgun hunters also figured it out, and some rifle have taken the time to get it right also. The NSSF says that the average deer hunter shoots less than two boxes of ammo a year and spends less than seven days a year hunting deer. Those average hunters buy 98% of all guns and ammunition! Serious target shooters/competitors are a small minority of the gun owning public.

[FergusonTO35]

It's hard to estimate the number of casual hunters out there who don't buy licenses due to being exempt or just breakin' the law. There are still many places in this state where the game warden would have a heckuva time accessing even if they wanted to due to terrain, vegetation, and unfriendly landowners. The places I hunt, the warden can't see anything from the nearest public street and there are numerous locked fences surrounding it. My family has always been rural, and hunting was usually just a means to get some extra meat without paying for it. I really, really doubt most of them paid incredibly close attention to seasons and licensing laws. See some wabbits while weeding the garden, grab your shotgun and have 'em for dinner. I do buy my license and tag every year, but there is an infinitesimal chance I would ever get in trouble for not having it..

[Rapier]

The 44 Mag will work just fine at 200 yards. Load is a 240 gr Lyman GC SWC with 23 grains H-110/296. You can use a Ruger Super Blackhawk, but the Marlin with a 3x7 duplex reticle scope works a lot better. Zero with the cross hairs, use the steps to do 150 and 200. Suggest you get a recoil pad, as the recoil can be substantial with a 94. Had a lot of 44 mag shooters with 94s quit after 20 rounds in the Cowboy Silhouette matches, a real beat down.

[BadgerShooter]

One thing to maybe mess with is some of the lehigh bullets. They have some interesting properties and the couple I have tried have been phenomenal in the accuracy department. The internet says they are good on game, but I haven't killed anything with them yet. The right bullet might give you the velocity and flatness to work while their shape might perform adequately at the longer range for terminal ballistics. A bit pricy but interesting.

[P Flados]

The most important element for 150 to 200 yard hunting with any of the current 35 cal or bigger deer guns is field accuracy.

Field accuracy is usually not as good as shooting off of a nice bench at a known distance using sandbags. For all of the rounds being considered, wind drift can be the hardest variable to address. It can add a good bit to your "off of the bench" groups size and be a real problem at 200 yards. I would much prefer group sizes well under 2 MOA under nice conditions to ensure ethical accuracy at 200 yards in a field setting.

I know some lever guns shoot under 2 MOA. I also know that the probability of getting the desired accuracy is going to be better with a single shot or a bolt action.

Of the three rounds mentioned in the OP, a 350L bolt action looks like the best bet. Lots of folks have gone this path and many have reported excellent accuracy with minimal effort. There is still a chance that a bolt gun will be less accurate than desired from the factory. However, tuning a bolt action is usually more straightforward than a lever.

I like the potential of the 360 BH. A really good shooting 360 BH would do just fine. However, to get "good shooting", my bet would be leaning toward a single shot.

[shtur]

An older fellow in Idaho with a big hat and cigar shot a deer 600 yards ways with a 4" 44 Magnum revolver. I think Brian Williams witnessed it.

[FergusonTO35]

The most important element for 150 to 200 yard hunting with any of the current 35 cal or bigger deer guns is field accuracy.

Field accuracy is usually not as good as shooting off of a nice bench at a known distance using sandbags. For all of the rounds being considered, wind drift can be the hardest variable to address. It can add a good bit to your "off of the bench" groups size and be a real problem at 200 yards. I would much prefer group sizes well under 2 MOA under nice conditions to ensure ethical accuracy at 200 yards in a field setting.

I know some lever guns shoot under 2 MOA. I also know that the probability of getting the desired accuracy is going to be better with a single shot or a bolt action.

Of the three rounds mentioned in the OP, a 350L bolt action looks like the best bet. Lots of folks have gone this path and many have reported excellent accuracy with minimal effort. There is still a chance that a bolt gun will be less accurate than desired from the factory. However, tuning a bolt action is usually more straightforward than a lever.

I like the potential of the 360 BH. A really good shooting 360 BH would do just fine. However, to get "good shooting", my bet would be leaning toward a single shot.

Strangely, my actual hunting accuracy is usually alot better than on the range!