own an 1895 45-70, great deer gun, drps em where they stand, no walking or running, just drops. I love this 45-70 but am thinking about buying a 44-40, never shot one, how are they, pretty accurate?? About the same weight as the 45-70?? Some one please tell me how this rifle is, really appreciate it. Thanks a million!!, really hope to hear from some one soon. Jeff costigan.
Jeff, welcome to the forum! i have no dealings with a rifle chambered in 44-40, but shot a couple of pistols chambered in it many years ago. i know that it will be somewhat more accurate in a rifle vs. a pistol. i would think that the rifle might be a little lighter in one in 44-40 vs. 45-70. have you found a rifle in 44-40 that you are interested in? maybe someone who has a rifle in that caliber will offer some input.
I know of at least a few guys on another forum who swear by their 44-40's. It's just a guess, but that chambering seems a bit easier to handload for since it is a bottle-neck case. A similar cartridge, 45LC, suffers from some sooting issues on occasion unless you get the right combination of powder/charge weight/crimp. Speaking from experience of course....... The 44-40 would surely be lighter than an 1895 model since I believe most or all of the Marlins chambered in that caliber are 1894 models. They typically have 20" or less barrels and smaller, lighter receivers. They may also all be straight stocks rather than pistol grips.
200 grain bullet is accurate to over 400 yards. I have shot and killed deer with this caliber 1 shot kill. Not at 400 yards though.
If you reload, the 44 magnum is easier to reload for. You can use carbide dies and you don't have to lubricate them and the brass is tough. The 44-40 requires that you lube the cases and the brass is thin and easily mangled but its no harder than loading 30-30 brass. The bullet may be accurate to 400 yards but its probably got a 20 foot drop at that distance. You can reload the 44-40 to almost equal the 44 magnum but using a 200gr bullet and in a modern made rifle only or at least a Winchester 1892 rifle. You can also buy full power loads for the 44 mag over the counter whereas 44-40 ammo is loaded to lower velocities that almost equal the 44mag in a pistol when shot out of rifle. Say a 200gr bullet at 1200fps. You can push a 200gr bullet to 2000fps and maybe more in a 44 mag rifle. I get 1750 fps with a 240gr bullet out of my Marlin 1894P with a 16" barrel.
