Pulled mine out of my safe. Have not hunted with it in over 40 years. Has anyone used this little carbine on deer? What brand, type and weight ammo would you recommend on deer? Last time I bought ammo for it was the old Federal red box 240 grain.

Short, light and handy little rifles. Parts for them are non existent. Some were very prone to jamming right out of the box, others could operate with a handful of sand inside.

Wish they still made this rifle.

.44 doesnt make for an awesome deer rifle by my standards. But they were a neat utility rifle !

I would try Hornady leverevolution 225 gr ammo and 300 gr xtp

I thought that ammo was made for lever action

We have killed dozens of deer with a .240 grain .44. Never shot one over 100 yards. My wife has taken three wall hangers with one.

I have one of them. I use the lever evolution hornady rounds mentioned above and have taken deer @150 yards. It’s been a great little rifle.

I’d love to have one, I have a 77/44 though. I like it

The Leverevolution ammo sucked for me. Zero expansion and just like shooting deer with field points on an arrow. Poked a small hole, very little blood and no visable sign you even hit the deer if you miss the big bones.

240 HP is much better in a carbine rifle. We love the Sig Sauer, but they were discontinued so if we ever run out, I'll try other brands with the same 240gr. HP bullets and see which shoots best out of our rifle.

We've shot a lot of deer with the hornady 225ftx. The nose of the bullet seems to break into shrapnel and the base stays together.

I had a 788 Remington and that is what I shot in it. The old, 20 round boxes of Remington's were made for rifles, the 50 round boxes were loaded down for handguns. In my experience, 44 mag makes a pretty poor deer rifle. The deer always ran and blood trails were usually not great. They normally only ran 100 yards but rarely left a blood trail that Stevie Wonder could see.

When I get my inheritance, I'll switch.

I've never been a fan of Ruger ever since Bill Ruger lobbied for a law in California that would have banned nearly all semi auto rifles that accepted a detachable magazine.....with the exception of his mini 14 ranch rifle. He was a sell-out for profit.

You just keep sending that homemade jerky laced with rat poison......

I'm waiting to be sure the will has been changed.....

I had a 788 Remington and that is what I shot in it. The old, 20 round boxes of Remington's were made for rifles, the 50 round boxes were loaded down for handguns. In my experience, 44 mag makes a pretty poor deer rifle. The deer always ran and blood trails were usually not great. They normally only ran 100 yards but rarely left a blood trail that Stevie Wonder could see.
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Curious what you mean a blood trail for Stevie Wonder

240gr hollow points…killed a pile of deer in my youth with one. Heck, my oldest took his first deer with the very same gun!

Some of the Ruger 44 carbines don't like to cycle with new manufactured ammo.Gunsmith once said to try 300 gr factory ammo. I have the Ruger 44 carbine and 77/44. Mine was made in 1964 and cycles everything I've tried but my dad's we haven't got to cycle more than 2 round if your lucky .

Mine really likes MagTech 240 gr HPs

Have shot dozens of deer with a Ruger 44 carbine. Short and easy to maneuver. 240 gr hollow points work well. I have a lifetime supply of the discontinued 250 gr nosler partition hp that I am using now.

I've heard that you should only use jacketed and semi jacketed bullets as shooting unjacketed lead bullets can allow lead to build up in the gas system and cause cycling issues. I've been around several over the years and never had cycling issues with any of them

Find something with a hornady xtp loaded in it. I have always had great luck with them expanding in every caliber I have tested. It's my go to in about everything handgun cartridge chambered.

Yes he was a sell out but he is dead. They now make 25 round factory mags for the 10 22 and even suppressors among other thing Bill would not have done. It's no longer the same company.

But I understand how you feel. I have refused to buy anything from Smith and Wesson since they were going to work with the Clinton administration on gun control crap back in the 90s. I think they have been bought and sold maybe more than once since then. But I still don't own one.

It would appear that you have some pretty high standards if that is the case.
Have you shot many deer with a 44 magnum carbine?
Granted, the practical range for whitetails is within 150 yards, but if you can do your part, that round will clearly do its part in my experience.

I have the Ruger .44 purchased in the mid 80's. I have only shot 1 deer and a bear with it, however my s-i-l has used it extensively. She has taken 6 very nice bucks with it along with 2 bear, one almost #300. We have always fed it Federal ammo in the 240 grain offering.

Are they a deer machine?, probably not. Then again all her shots were under 75 yards and nothing ever went over 100 yards after being shot. We put a red dot on it last year and she really likes that. She will be going after bear #3 this fall.

WS

I don’t feel a 30-30 is a deer rifle either. I heard hundreds of stories of deer and bear killed with marginal cartridges. They are popular stories !

The stories of the animals not recovered are just as plentiful. But seldom repeated !

So a 44 mag is bad medicine in a hunting revolver, but so-so in a rifle?....ok, sure...

If the .44 isn’t a deer rifle, then try it in the swamps on hogs. Granted, all my shots as a kid were all less than 100yds, most likely less than 75yds. If they didn’t drop on the spot, they left a great learning blood trail. That peep sight was the bomb! Someone mentioned a red dot and now you got me thinking that would’ve been the ticket back in the day!

Good close range gun.

Mine works good, hornady cartridges are way better than the old Remington shells. I have some reloads that Gerry made me I haven’t tried em yet. This gun works just as good as a cannon if you aim it.

Cool rifles. Known a couple friends and family who used them as their "swamp guns" where you couldn't shoot over 100 yds if you wanted to. The ones I handled and shot weren't tack drivers but definitely minute of deer. Peep or a low power scope they were bad news on deer.

All the ones I've been around were old and well used/abused and had cycling issues. From the guys who owned them, they said they functioned well new, but once they got worn they had issues. Otherwise, I agree with whoever up above said to use something loaded with XTP bullets. I've had excellent luck with 240 XTPS.

2poor, I would argue with you on the 30/30 being a good bear gun. I own and use a 45/70 but I've killed a few bear with the 30/30 and 32 special and have seen a ton shot with them. In my opinion they are an excellent bear rifle. Now bear in mind that I am dog hunting, all shots are at close range, the shots I usually take are under 10 feet. So a short, handy rifle that is easy to pack through the brush and quick and easy to operate is paramount. They are obviously not a long range rifle, but under the conditions I hunt they fit the bill nicely, and they are very effective.

I didn’t say the 30-30 wasn’t a Bear rifle. It’s fine in the conditions you mentioned. Over bait it would get you an exit wound a very important component.

I use a .243 on black bears, 200 yard max. A .30-30 is more than adequate under the same circumstances. I’ve even shot a few with 5.56/.223, more of a deer gun but if you focus on the first 2 vertebrae below the skull, they roll right over

Couldn't help but notice that you didn't answer my question.

52Carl , yes I shot deer with a .44. I personally felt the cartridge performance was dismal. Concept sounded good at the time.

I want my deer to spin 180 degrees and drop into a pile. True deer rifles perform like that in my opinion. I don’t want a blood trail, I want a puddle.

Anybody have the stock crack? I have my dad's carbine and the stock cracked the last time I shot it. Was told it was a common problem with them.

Yes - stock cracked on ours. We lost one deer with it out of dozens. Poor shot placement - gut shot. We got very good blood trails on most we shot - and short blood trails for the most part. Over the forty years we have used ours - me and my family, it has killed more deer than any other single weapon except my bow. If you are having difficulty killing deer with this rifle under 100 yards - you need to spend a little more time at the shooting bench and hone your shooting skills.

I had a master Woodsmith Repair the stock on mine

I use hollow points that open up to double the diameter of the bullet like a star. I do my part and they go in a pile right there. More times than not I find the bullet just under the skin on the opposite side which means that the deer received the entire energy of the round rather than just a portion of it like with a clean passthrough shot.

X2 =

A friend of mine has one, he has both repaired and replaced the stock twice. Granted once was because he hit it on a tree when strapped to a fourwheeler, but the other replacement and at least two repairs were from it cracking, not direct abuse.