Nick87
Well-known member
All depends how far I push the ruler into my belly.
Straight walled cartridges
- Thread starter Nick87
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Not if you use the metric side of the ruler
Use a plastic tape measure. Increases score. mtmuley
BackofBeyond
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Industry standard is from the pubic bone. Everybody knows that.
Keep on
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My first deer rifle was a 444 marlin. Used it for years and on many whitetails. It is a real meat waster if you hit a shoulder or hind quarter. Leaves a half dollar size hole if you go through the rib cage. Always used core lokt 240 grain loads.
My dad was a big bore guy and I followed in his interest, but I think there are other straight wall cartridges I'd choose before a 444 or 45-70 for deer.
My dad was a big bore guy and I followed in his interest, but I think there are other straight wall cartridges I'd choose before a 444 or 45-70 for deer.
Nick87
Well-known member
I dont know why I thought of this but my old man's buddy who was like an uncle to us as kids always told us practice safe sex. Fold it in half and point the snotty end back towards ya. Waiting for my forum ban now...
Southern Elk
Well-known member
I’ve killed deer with a .444 and 45-70. Can’t go wrong with either. If they don’t fall where they are standing, they are not hard to track. Best blood trails I’ve ever seen.
BackofBeyond
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You mean there’s another way to do it?
Nick87
Well-known member
Yes but it's not always welcomed.
OntarioHunter
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How about 40-60 Marlin? Necked down 45-70. Good luck finding a set of dies. They stopped making ammo in the thirties I think. Great cartridge. I lucked out and found an Ideal tong tool with bullet mold and loading die. I understand the tool is now worth almost as much as the gun. It was tapped for flip up tang mounted peep sight but they're also difficult to find.
elkduds
Well-known member
I had a Marlin 444, wanted a lever action for elk that could use some reloading components from 44 mag revolver and the underrated Ruger 44 mag carbine, particularly the newer Deerfield version.Seeing as I am still breathing, I have an experience and opinion, of course. My apologies in advance. Not sure how useful it is to you, but from my perspective, there are really only two serious "rifle" caliber choices, and if there are special write-ins for "pistol" cartridges like the .38-40 and .44-40, those would be fine too. But back to the "rifle" cartridges. Unless you are looking for an "also elk/moose rifle", I would opt for the .38-55. It is a wonderfully efficient round with all the punch you need, relatively low recoil, lighter rifle, and more abundant as a vintage rifle. Also easily made by reboring from a .30-30 or .32 Sp, .32-40 (another very good choice as a straight-walled deer cartridge). The .38-55 will be a fine 200+ yd deer rifle with black or smokeless. Lots of brass, lots of bullets and molds, and great with the One True Black (or that other, pale powder). Marlin 1893s and 93s don't grow on trees, but they are plenty abundant. I've used my .38-55 1893 Marlin to kill a few antelope. It's an excellent choice for that and somehow extra appropriate when roaming around the West.
I can't see any reason to consider a .444. I also don't know much about them, but why they even exist in the presence of the .45-70 is lost on me. With a .45-70, what more could you possibly want? I rebuilt a badly bubba'ed 1895 Marlin to make mine. There is some confusion about 1895 Marlins - there are two, and they are fairly different. The original (only about 5000 made) has a square bolt, and it is a fairly large and heavy rifle. It can also handle a .45-90, if you want to go that way. The modern Marlin 1895 is really just a relabled 336 Marlin. At one time, there was a fair bit of noise on the interweb that in .45-70 caliber, they could crack their frames between the barrel channel and the magazine tube channel. I don't know how big of a deal this really is, but you might want to research it, if looking at a "modern" 1895.
So far, I've used my 1895 to shoot a doe antelope, and I've taken it for Alaskan bbears, but never uncased it. Punching big holes lets lots of air in and lots of blood out. Always a good thing. A bit overkill for deer, but why not? Does need a bit more space down range though (I think Iowa may have reconsidered its legality in our 'straight wall' rifle list, for this reason). Brass and bullets for the .45-70 nearly grows on trees. You can find anything you need with ease. It's a great hunting rifle for as far out as you are skilled to shoot, and big enough for anything you will hunt on this continent. Its only down side is that it is a bit heavy and vintage 1895s are hard to find (thus often costly).
Marlins have some advantages over Winchesters in my opinion. They are drop-dead simple rifles that take down in seconds with just a screwdriver. That makes them easy to clean from the breech (nice when shooting The One True Black) and replace parts in seconds. They have very simple and tunable trigger groups (especially the vintage rifles). Marlins are also a titch cheaper.
Down either path, I would opt for a 26" barrel (very common) but shorter and a few longer barrels exist in vintage rifles. Expect to pay more for the extra longs. Lots of guys like carbines. I'm not one of them.
Tang sights are ideal on these rifles. If you choose the proper, safe, tang sight, you can set it for something like 180 or 200 yds and leave the barrel sights set for 100. A flick of your thumb is all that it takes to switch from one to the other with the rifle on your shoulder.
1895 Marlin. Not mine - yet .
And then there are the singleshots.... Have you considered going there? They are the finest rifles ever made in America.
okay, I'll be quiet now...
.444 is more than is necessary for deer IME. Magnums in .44, .357 are more available, more affordable and handier.
Unless you have a Ruger semiauto .44 mag stashed away, sounds like this rule change lets you add a modern lever gun in the pistol caliber of your choice, or a vintage straight wall chambering. You could go single shot (Sharps!) or bolt but why, pilgrim?
elkduds
Well-known member
Never mind: (Illinois) Limits legal handguns and rifles to centerfire handguns that are either single shot or revolvers and centerfire rifles that are single shot. No idea if a magazine block would legally convert a repeater to a single shot.
Nick87
Well-known member
I believe that is changing.
SFC B
Well-known member
Yes....they have established that through a position paper that made it clear AR pistols in appropriate calibers are/were legal with them
After my brand new AR 10 pistol become unusable following this season
I will be using my son's Handi rifle in 44 mag...it is plenty of medicine and a good shooter out to 150.Attachments
Boarmaster
Well-known member
I been doing a hunt with family for 30 years in Ohio. They were a shotgun state for many years. When they went straightwall rifle I bought a .444 marlin. Lever gun.
Fun to shoot but a lot of gun for Ohio whitetails. I hunted with it for a few years but always wanted a lighter weight bolt action scoped rifle that had low recoil. Just like
i use in the other states I hunt In I do a walk in hunt there in big timber and wanted a rifle that would be easier to pack in.
When the 350 legend came out I snagged a bolt rifle in a Winchester XPR model. Finally got what I been wanting to hunt with in Ohio. Quite a few of the guys
i hunt with up there are switching to it as well or planning to switch to it. I normally shy from budget rifles but I bought the XPR as it was as close to what
i wanted as I could find. I only hunt about 3 days a year up there and will not likely use it in Alabama where primarily I hunt deer all season. I have better options for there. So It works for the reason I bought it.
Fun to shoot but a lot of gun for Ohio whitetails. I hunted with it for a few years but always wanted a lighter weight bolt action scoped rifle that had low recoil. Just like
i use in the other states I hunt In I do a walk in hunt there in big timber and wanted a rifle that would be easier to pack in.
When the 350 legend came out I snagged a bolt rifle in a Winchester XPR model. Finally got what I been wanting to hunt with in Ohio. Quite a few of the guys
i hunt with up there are switching to it as well or planning to switch to it. I normally shy from budget rifles but I bought the XPR as it was as close to what
i wanted as I could find. I only hunt about 3 days a year up there and will not likely use it in Alabama where primarily I hunt deer all season. I have better options for there. So It works for the reason I bought it.
The law is too vague. It does mention the rifle needs to be a "single" shot but also mentions you cannot have a magazine on you while hunting. I have asked law enforcement about using a bob sled magazine and they "think" that would ok since its use is to load one round into the chamber via the magazine. Tube magazines on leverguns would be a no. I'm hoping IDNR clarifies all this for the regulation change coming for 2023.
Thats good to hear as its one of the rifles I have been looking at. Reviews of the rifles from regular folks are hard to find and I take reviews from media guys with a grain of salt.
BrentD
Well-known member
Plug the tube mag like a duck gun? Easy to do.
One would think. One would also think the folks that sponsored this law would have had input from guys that know how guns work. Specifically mentions magazines but no mention of bolt actions with hinged floor plates or leverguns with tube style magazines.
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