.44m ruger levergun

[dws]

I'm new to the forum so these may be new guy question. I just acquired my 2nd lever gun (the first, which I've had for years is a BLR in the wildcat that became the Rme 260)

I'm looking for handloading tips and gunsmithing hints. I'm assuming that since it doesn't have the gas-port issues of the semi-auto variations it will handle cast bullet loads OK and have minusculy better ballistics. If anyone has any pet loads to share I'd be interested.

However I'm less than pleased with the trigger action. ('m an active ASSRA shooter and have been spoiled by schuetzen rifle grade triggers. I've only put about 40 or 50 rounds through it since I got it. I don't think it had ever been fired since the scope was not tight enough and way off the paper. I finally got it so its shooting about 4" @100yds, shooting off my elbows on a wobbly bench. the long takeup and heavy draggy break is not conducive to good accuracy.

I contacted PowerCustom to see if they'd worked with the Ruger carbines since I figure they might share small components with the 10-22--no luck they've never worked with the 97/44s or the semi-autos--though they thought that maybe the trigger groups might be similar.

I'm also looking for a better grade stock. the ruger stained birch is-----er---er---functional. I need a longer pull and hope for something a bit better looking. somewhere on one site or another late last night I saw a nice looking walnut international stock someone had made for the levergun that looked REAL good to me, but I guess I didn't hit the "save" button hard enough.
If anyone has a source for aftermarket stocks for the 97/44 I'd appreciate that too.

I'm also wondering if anyone has tinkered with a little higher capacity magazine? I don't need a 20 round cowboy assault rifle. the factory magazine'll do fine for hunting, but ejecting and reloading every 4 or 5 rounds is a pain for bench shooting------ and Midway is out-of-stock on more magazines right now

[J Miller]

dws,

I don't know anything about the Ruger lever guns, but let me take this opportunity to welcome you to the forum. There will be others who do know something come along in a bit.

Joe

[AJMD429]

I bought my 96/44 from "Stan in SC" on this forum, and he had it shooting very well (search for 'Ruger' and his user-name and you may find some of his posts on the gun).

Here's some .44 Mag reloading 'tips' if you can call them that, that I just posted. Not specific to that gun, but it happens to be one of my favorites of my .44's.

Early tests of crimping - http://www.levergunscommunity.com/viewt ... =1&t=21325

Range report during initial load development - http://www.levergunscommunity.com/viewt ... =1&t=21695

The trigger on mine isn't 'great' but I've gotten 2-3" 3-shot groups from it now at 100 yards when I switch to a higher-power scope than I use for hunting (found out I gotta seat the bullets out farther than I'd been seating them) which is plenty good for deer hunting, and I don't own any other carbines that shoot that well, Ruger, Marlin, Puma, or otherwise. I think some judicious 'stoning' could help the trigger, though, but I've not personally seen the need to bother with it.

The stock is not pretty, but I have a Puma that is my 'pretty' gun. I just got the Ruger to hunt deer, and as a general utility farm-gun. You can stain and re-finish even birch to look nicer than the factory finish, but again, I've not had the desire. I don't like the 'barrel band' but haven't removed it, as it doesn't seem to hurt accuracy, and I don't want to bother re-shaping the front of the stock, which would look even funnier (if possible ) without the band yet with the step-off. I just call my 94/44 my 'Ugly Duckling Ruger' - but so far none of the whitetails who've seen it have lived long enough to voice any derision...

The magazines are hard come-by, but I picked up a couple from Stan in SC, and a gun show. I've never needed more than two shots when deer hunting, but it is kind of nice to have a magazine in the pocket full of 'hunting' loads, and another of 'coyote' ones or cheaper 'plinking' ones and such. There was a guy listed on the internet who made extended magazines for the 96/44 using a Desert Eagle .44 Mag body and the top of a Ruger magazine - the video posted showed them functioning fast and well. Personally, I prefer several flush magazines to one protruding one, even off the bench, but if you can't find the guy selling extended ones, you could just get one spare Ruger one, a Desert-Eagle one, and probably make one fairly easily.

As far as other parts, MidwayUSA and Brownell's list many extractors and so on for them, but they are not all compatible between the 44 semi-auto, 96/44 lever-gun, and 77/44 bolt-guns. The 77/44 and 77/22 Hornet have a few common parts I think, though.

Hope that helps.

If I wanted a 'tack-driving' .44 Mag, I'd buy back the .44 Mag Handi-rifle I used to have, but the 96/44 shows good practical 'hunting' accuracy, and the 77/44 seems to show a bit more, even, as I progress with load development (which isn't happening now, as for a few weeks, 'deer' have replaced 'paper' as the desired targets).

One advantage if you like heavy bullets in the .44's is that all the Ruger's have a 1:20 twist rate.

I don't mess with the heavier bullets, but what I like for hunting is that I can quickly unload if crossing a road, coming in the house, or whatever. The tradeoff for the flush box-magazine is less capacity than a tubular one or a protruding box one, of course...so if I anticipate a raid on the wagon-train, I'll probably suit-up with the Puma, since it holds more, and you can load/unload through the magazine tube port, just like a .22 LR.

The Ruger is definitely the least 'traditionally beautiful' of the three lever .44's below, but afield I like it. I thought the 1894SS stainless would be a better 'rain' gun, but the forend is a real pain to remove if you truly get soaked in rain or snow, and even with the stainless guns I've seen rust start under forends; the one-piece-but-ugly 96/44 stock is easy to take off quickly, and let the action warm and dry out in the furnace room when coming inside wet. (Of course, the 77/44 SS bolt-gun with synthetic one-piece stock may prove even better... ).

[Pete44ru]

Welcome to the fire, dws !

In regards to restocking your 96/44, there's a stockmaker over on http://www.rimfirecentral.com named Claude Gatewood , IIRC, who - although advertizes mostly 10/22 custom stocks in the sponser section there - has also done some very nice 96/22 & 96/44 walnut replacement classic-styled stocks, w/cheekpiece/etc, that I've seen pictured over there.

.

[Ysabel Kid]

dws,

I don't know anything about the Ruger lever guns, but let me take this opportunity to welcome you to the forum. There will be others who do know something come along in a bit.

Joe

+1 on both counts!

[dws]

I spent some more range time with it today. I tried a mix of my handloaded stuff and some factory ammo --- American Eagle 240s, and some "Winchester Platinum tips" The factory stuff shot tighter and considerable higher than my castbullet handloads-----I gotta work on my handloads obviously. LOL The factory ammo was grouping abut 3 or 4 inches, but the trigger pull is real bad and my rest was improvised; AND it was only my second outing with the gun--those are my excuses and I'm stick'n to them.

[pokey]

dws,

I don't know anything about the Ruger lever guns, but let me take this opportunity to welcome you to the forum. There will be others who do know something come along in a bit.

Joe

+1 on both counts!

me 2.

[dws]

I just found a box of the Rem 180 gr loads to try, but I'm splitting my time between 2 other new toys, wondering how it'll handle the lighter and shorter bullets.

Yesterday I picked up a real fine original percussion, Schuetzen target rifle. (I do a whole bunch of schuetzen with ASSRA using various other "lever" single shots. Ruger #1&3, Win high-walls, original German and Swiss rifles, all in 45-70/8.16x46R, 38-55, 220 swift, and 22rf) I'm trying to research it and figure out what loads to use, its a fast twist for a ML so I'm guessing its for conical bullets rather than patched round balls. Plus a new-to-me recurve bow arrived last week (I'm also seriously into traditional archery)

It looks like info on the 96/44s is fairly thin on the ground. Most of the guys who do have'em seem to be perfectly happy with minute-of-deer groups and view the rifle as a light compact short range brush gun and are pretty well satisfied with it out of the box. I hope the gun is improvable.

[AJMD429]

It looks like info on the 96/44s is fairly thin on the ground. Most of the guys who do have'em seem to be perfectly happy with minute-of-deer groups and view the rifle as a light compact short range brush gun and are pretty well satisfied with it out of the box. I hope the gun is improvable.

I've found 'enough' accuracy (2 MOA) just by fiddling with loads, but the first thing I'd do if I wanted to accurize one is simply free-float the barrel. One of the advantages of a one-piece stock is just that - you can more easily take the various pressures off the barrel by glass-bedding such guns, and opening up the barrel channel. Next time I have my stock off I'll have to see what changes to the attachment point would be needed, if any.

Addendum - I just looked, and the stock-bolt fastens to a lug, dovetailed into the lower barrel surface, a couple inches in front of the receiver. Definitely not the way to set up a 'match' gun probably could be worked with or even a new attachment point worked out altogether, but that should be 'interesting' to deal with, to say the least. Still, if 'out of the box' they do 2 MOA, it does leave some room for hope/improvement.

I'd do the first testing without the barrel band just to see how much the free-floating helped (in fact, you might find that just removing the band helps significantly), and I might consider just leaving it off. If you really want to keep the front barrel band, just thin the upper arch of it down with sandpaper on a dowel, until it doesn't contact the barrel. If the wood needs thinned to give you the extra height that's simple, as well.

Given the better twist rate vs. the Marlins it should shoot heavier bullets well, which also means shoot the same weight ones at a slower velocity well, which translates to shooting non-max-loads (the ones usually inherently a bit more accurate than full-house ones) pretty well.

If you look around for 'accurizing' tips on that series of guns, I'd bet most of it will be on the .22 LR and .22 magnum models, but much of it would apply.

You may find the other brands, or just other individual guns, will be more accurate for you. Keep us posted on what you find and what works for you. I, for one, really like the .44 Mag cartridge alot, and even though 'minute of deer' is good enough for my needs, I'm always looking for ways to improve accuracy (I'm usually the limiting factor, though... ...not the guns). A pinpoint .44 Mag levergun would be pretty nice. That Handi-Rifle served as a good 'reference' point for me.