New member - Help me decide 41 vs. 44 Magnum Rifle

[twhman]

I have been reading the forum for a while, actually tried to register a while back but for some reason it did not get an activition e-mail. Yesterday I was able to register with no problem and got the activation e-mail in a couple of hours.

Anyway, I love lever action rifles they just seem right to me - I guess I watch to many westerns I am looking at getting a lever action rifle in either 41 or 44 mag- leaning toward a Marlin 1894. I would really like to have a pistol and rifle in the same caliber. I don't have a revolver in 41 or 44 so either caliber is open to me. (I also would like to get a Marlin 39 down the road - I have a Browning lever which I like a lot but it seems a little small for me.)

I would really like to try a 41 mag., however, at present I don't reload and ammo is less available. The great thing about the 44 mag ammo it is sold everywhere and there is 44 special ammo to. I looked at our small WM yersterday and they had 2 choices in 44 mag and nothing in 41 mag. I suspect the 41 mag ammo is more expensive too.

The 41 mag I believe is a flatter shooting rifle and can do anything the 44 mag can do. I do go to a large gun show about 3 times a year and could probably get 41 ammo there. But I suspect at a higher cost.

I guess what I am saying is while I want a 41 I suspect the 44 is the more practical choice give the availability of ammo and sheer number of guns available in the caliber. Also if I go with the 44 I could get the 1894SS which would be slightly more "durable" since I would not have to worry about scratching the blueing. However the 1894 Cowboy II with the 20" barrel is a looker (but less practical me thinks)!

I would use the gun for target shooting, general purpose gun around our small farm and if I wanted I could shoot white tail. would appreciate your thoughts on my choices between 41 or 44? And between the 94SS and CB II? I can find neither of the guns locally in VA - anyone have any leads of a shop that may have them at a fair price?

Appreciate your thoughs.

[Swampman]

"I want a 41 I suspect the 44 is the more practical choice give the availability of ammo"

I think that pretty much sums it up.

[Tycer]

I think the 41 Rem Mag is a really cool round! I do not care much for the recoil of a 44 mag.

I was just looking at prices and the good ammo is priced about the same. Plinking ammo does not seem to be available for the 41 based on my four minutes of searching.

$1 a round for good stuff .50 a round for plinking.

You really do need to reload you know....

[SmokeEater2]

Firstly, Welcome to the forum twhman! You would probably be happy with either caliber choice since both are excellent calibers. I have a Marlin Levergun and a Ruger Blackhawk in .41 magnum and 41 has become my pick over the .44 I have for several reasons.
The .41 will easily put the smackdown on Deer,hog and black bear with both factory ammo and handloads. recoil in a Marlin is nonexistent and noticeably less in the blackhawk than a .44 if thats important to you.
You are right in that .41mag is not as readily available as .44 in some places,but you can order it easily from Midwayusa,Graf's (free shipping) Natchez and others.
IF You decide to handload some day,Either the .41 or .44 is easy to load for with lots of good bullets available for both.
I load 170 gr. cast SWC's from Penn Bullets for plinking,coyotes,etc. and 210 grainers for hunting deer size game and they work great. The factory loads from Federal,Remington,Winchester,cor-bon,you name it will all do the job handily.
Whichever caliber you pick,Remember to post pictures.

[Knothead]

If you don't reload and your not wealthy then your done, its a 44. I've shot both for over 20 years, the 41 is a great pistol but if I did not cast and reload I could not afford to shoot it (either really) as much as I do.

Learn to cast and load, your shooting fun will go up exponentially.

[TedH]

I've had both, but currently I do not have a 41. Still have a couple 44s. If you want a 41, your looking at the Marlin. As far as I know, they are only offered with the pistol grip stock. I much prefer the straight stock on Marlin 1894's. Of course that is a matter of personal preference. You can always start with a 44 and add a 41 later.

[TedH]

By the way, welcome to the forum!

[wm]

I love the 41 mag in handgun and carbine. I would neot consider parting with mine however I think you said it best when you said....."I want a 41 I suspect the 44 is the more practical choice give the availability of ammo" .

I avoided the 44 mag for many years because EVERYONE around here was so enamored with it. Their BS about it turned me off.

And then I got a sweetheart deal on a 44 mag SBH....and well it is a heckuva good cartridge once you get past some of the hype. And a lot of that has died down as the really manly guys now consider the 44 mag barely adequate and have moved onto 480 Ruger, 475 Linebaugh, & 500 S&W.

Get yourself a good quality 44 mag and I doubt you'll ever look back and think you should have done something different.

Wm

[Bigahh]

If I were to make the choice for you it would be an easy one. A .357 all the way. Much cheaper to shoot, and when you decide to hand load then get the 41 you really want. The 357 is by far the most fun to shoot in the pistol calibers, and with the heavier Buffalo Bore ammo, equals the 30-30 in power to handle the deer hunting part of things. For plinking around the farm you can use 38 special loads. Which ever you choose let us know, and welcome to the fire!

[Griff]

Welcome to the Forum. I couldn't possibly advise you about your choice, except to say: ".45 Colt!"

[JB]

I prefer the 44 magnum mostly because there's a much larger varity of ammo and loading components available.

[txpete]

first a big welcome.this is the place if your a levergunner .

on the 41 mag.first I'll tell you I got a bad one aka lemon.as a avid handloader and bullet caster that marlin about drove me nuts trying to find a load it liked.jacketed it was at best on a good day 4-5 inch groups at 100 yards.now cast man it was the pickest rifle I have ever owned.I played with alloys and even bullets .412-.413 and shotgun patterns were the best it did past 50 yards.

the 44 mag as above I think its the best way to go.they are G.I. proof and just for fun plinking the 44 specials are hard to beat.
pete

[SmokeEater2]

Welcome to the Forum. I couldn't possibly advise you about your choice, except to say: ".45 Colt!"

As much as I like the .41, Griff's got a point there. the .45 Colt is hard to beat in Rifle or Revolver.

[Jeff Pitts]

I would really like to try a 41 mag., however, at present I don't reload and ammo is less available. The great thing about the 44 mag ammo it is sold everywhere and there is 44 special ammo to.

I guess what I am saying is while I want a 41 I suspect the 44 is the more practical choice give the availability of ammo and sheer number of guns available in the caliber.

I guess you answered your own question

Welcome to the forum.

Jeff

[Nath]

I would be happy with any of those choices including the 45! But I bet alot of deer and other critters fell to 44 special. Tough choices and including the 357 but none of them would be wrong-right?

[Pete44ru]

However, should you decide on a new .41, you'd better act fast, since I believe Marlin's discontinued them, as of the 2008 catalog.

http://www.levergunscommunity.com/viewtopic.php?t=2706

[model55]

41 leaves just one choice-marlin-who seems to slip from time to time on quality lately just mho.You have more choices with the other calibers and I would not rule out a 92 clone they are smooth.

[twhman]

I have a 357 S&W PC revolver and it is very nice kinda want to go bigger.

Almost everyone that has a 41 likes it but I know I am more practical with a 44. Which is not being disputed much by your replies.

I don't know much about the 45 colt; to be honest never even thought about it. I will do a little research this evening on the web once things quite down for the evening. Never hurts to broaden ones knowledge base.

Model 55 what did you mean by a 92 clone? I did consider a B-92 but they are getting hard to find since they have been out of production for a long time. I have the Browning lever 22 and it is very nice - but it is a little small for my taste. Is there something else I should consider by way of a 92 clone? I had been advised by several individauls to buy a marlin over a Henry.

[horsesoldier03]

I have an 1894 in .44 mag. I love it! It is light and handy and is dead on at 50 yrds and will keep them all in a kill zone at 100 yrds. However, .44 SAA are a little hard to find these days. Only real options are the .44 mag in a ruger BH or the original Vaquero. You might consider the .45, it will accomplish everything that a .44 mag will and gives you more options when choosing a SAA side arm.

[Blaine]

I would use the gun for target shooting, general purpose gun around our small farm and if I wanted I could shoot white tail.

Another vote for the .357...... When I'm too lazy to reload, I can get .357 Blazers for 13$$ for fifty.....That whitetail will fall to a Federal 180gr Hardcast.....

[model55]

Guess I need a lesson in manners so I'll back up.I forgot to welcome you here .By 92 clone I meant the copies of the Winchester 1892.I have a 1894 marlin in 41 which I have found to be picky in it's use of ammo.I think it is over all case length that gets me in trouble and to be fair it doesn't have many rounds thru it.My understanding is that Marlin recommends the Federal 210 load for these but I can not back that up.I also came acrossed a Interarms ( Rossi )1892 rifle which has no such problems and shoots everything I've tried.So that is what I've based my replies on.Marlin is made here in the US and you do get better wood.They are known to back the product and you can mount a scope when you decide.Others will be able to tell about their 1892's-there are a lot of choices there!Hope I did more then just muddy the water.

[Rusty]

When I was a LEO back in the late 70's there were a lot of officers, myself included who carried .41's. I was the only one in my dept. that reloaded .41. At that time I could reload any bullet I wanted to as long as it was 210 grains.
Frankly, things haven't changed all that much. If you don't reload it's even worse. My duty round was a factory loaded 210 gr. lead SWC loaded to 1050 FPS. At that time Remington sold them and called it their Mid Range Load. I'm not sure if they still make it or not. It was a joy to shoot and gave great preformance. I gave up on the .41 because of the lack of vesitiliy. The .41 could be a really great round if it got the same support from the industry that the .44's get.
That said today I would and have switched over to the .44. I too have a .44 Cowboy and I love it.

Rusty <><

[twhman]

Did a little reading in my reloading manual (I bought one even though I don't yet reload. I really like reading it there is a ton of information in there about the history of the load as well as the ballistics). I am not sure that a 45 Colt gets me anything more than a 44 Special load - unless you use a load rated only for Ruger and Freedom Arms revolvers and even then does not approach the 44 mag. I think if I were going to Cowboy Action shoot this maybe an excellent choice since I could get some cool SA revolvers in 45LC, however, I don't see me having time to pursue that.

I guess the best choice is a 44 mag. Many choices in 44 mag revolvers. Much as I would like the 41 - Rusty and the rest of you have echoed what I already know in my head - the ammo is just not out there and the 44 mag is very common.) Kind of sad - but I do have my 10mm which is pretty close to 41 mag. Wish I could get a 1894 in that - 10mm 1894 rifle (modern day meet old west) - way cool . At one point SW did make a few 10mm SS revolvers but like a dumby I did not buy one and now they are a little pricey.

Thanks for the thoughts - now I just need to find a good deal on the 44 mag and decide between the 1894SS and 94 Cowboy 2. The SS is probably better for me but the Cowboy is neat with the octegon barrel.

[jbm1968]

What a question! You really cant make a bad choice, If you want the 41 get the 41. Deal with the ammo thing... If you are truly feel the need to walk in anywhere to pick up ammo at any time then you ought to get the 44, but is that really necessary??? I say it sounds like you want the .41 Mag, so whats keeping you?

My choice was a .357 Mag and if I need more power than that, I carry my 375 Winchester.

[Modoc ED]

For you guys that want a Marlin Model 94 in .41 Magunum, you'd better have your local gunshop dealer call his distributor and put one on order for you while they are still in circulation because Marlin has dropped the Model 94 in .41 Magunum from their 2008 Catalog.

[stretch]

I love the 41 Magnum, but you've got to reload or go broke shooting it.

That said, what a great excuse to get into reloading AND order a
matching revolver!

[Dastook]

Welcome to the Forum. I couldn't possibly advise you about your choice, except to say: ".45 Colt!"

Dittos

[gon2shoot]

Not to stir the pot, but noticed the comment about the 45.
In a strong gun (Ruger, 94,92, etc) the 45colt will stand with the 44mag any day and more. Generally with more bullet choices and operate at lower pressure.
I have both in multiple copies, the 45 just has more THUMP.
my 2 cents

[LeverBar]

You can get the 10mm in a rifle and handgun--it's called a .38 WCF--aka--.38-40.

That's what I have and love.

[Ravenman]

Welcome
Love the 41 Magnum but would not buy it in a levergun. I read many articles but never found one with good things about the Marlin 1894 in 41 Magnum. Bob Milek tested once a Marlin 41 Magnum with straight stock. But he was not impressed with the results. Accuracy was about 2" at 50 yards with a scope.
You can get more infos about the 41 cartridge and the different Marlin leverguns on www.marlinowners.com.
With the 44 Magnum cartridge you have a much greater choice of guns; Winchester 94, Marlin 1894, Browning 92, Rossi, Henry, Ruger etc.