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Big Bore II
A 10 mm in a lever gun now there is a capital idea. My dad used a ruger 44 mag carbine for years. I can not think of any thing I do not like about the cartridge with the exception of wanting another 50 yards. I like the 45-70 and have had a few over the years but I am not fond of the recoil and have thus far shyed away from the 444 although I admit to likeing it ballisticly. I do like the overall deseign of the Marlins and have had a few of the newer ones. The thing I really disslike about them is the trigger pull and the fact that it is not adjustable except with a lot of patience and a stone. The modern Winchsters certainly have their drawbacks as well. It sure seams like someone new wwould step up to the plate and make a high quality lever gun with a decent piece of wood, case colored options and a real trigger.
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Big Bore II
Mark, thanx but for all the reasons above I sold off the Marlins I had. The 444 is just too brutal for me. I am planning on picking up a model '94 trapper in 44 mag next week. I do like the Marlin concept/deseign but I really think they need to put more fit and finish in their product. On The other hand they have a huge following based on a very affordable price tag and that is more than a fair price. I do like the Case colored cowboy special they came out with all though I am not sure which pocket protector pencil pusher came up with the brilliant idea of only chambering it in 38 special. Good grief at least use an actual origional caliber like 44-40.
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Big Bore II
The new rugers I have seen are levers. I am certainly a 44 mag fan. I am getting the trapper for a couple of reasons, I like the cartridege, with a 16" barrel and a fixed 4 power scope it will be a great brush gun and very reliable plus it will weigh next to nothing. I really like this type of gun, for the connection to the past. Lever action trapper with the classic Winchester look. Dont let me sound like I am singing the praises of the USRAC as they could use a real shot in the quality cheek as well. I used to see a lot of old Winchester model 92's that had been converted to 44 mag in the late 60's but I haven't seem one in a long time. I remember reading a article about a fellow who I think was one of Elmer Keiths pards. He used the converted Model 92 in 44 mag almost exclusively includeing on safari for a succesful elephant hunt.
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Big Bore II
I think I have also read his input on bullet selection for the 44 mag in the Nosler reloading manual but I am not positive. Magna Port is just a few miles away from my wifes office. They are just outside the Selfridge ANG base. When it comes to lever guns I probably am a bit of a snob or at least I have pretty strong opinions. I do prefer the Winchesters but for me the Marlins can come a pretty close second especially on some of the older ones with the case colored frames. If its case colored I like it !
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Big Bore II
After the movie "Quigly Down Under" came out the sharps got really popular. Add to that the the long range side bets at SASS and cowboy action shoots they came up with a pretty good demand. Some of theese have some pretty hefty price tags but are truely custom rifles. A bit stout in weight for anthing much other than target shooting. Dave Pedersoli does some nice work but there are several fellows makeing theese now. Have you ever seen any of the custom work done by Doug Turnbull ? You should check out his web site if not. It is top notch but so are the prices.
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Big Bore II
I think maybe you are talking about the deerfield carbine by Ruger. The action looks more like a ranch rifle or mini thirty than like the origional carbine. The origionals are getting tough to come by in good shape.
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Big Bore II
I dont usually see too many of theese but I think they are a pretty slick cartridge. For some reason lately I have seen a lot of 375 '94's out for sale. Any cartridge that tosses a 200 grain slug over 2400 fps is at least a Big bore contender in my book. The beefed up '94 XTR was a nice improvement with the ability to mount a scope on a lever Winchester in the traditional fashion. I think Marlin brough out the 336ER about the same time. Maybe ER stands for Emergency Room because anything that gets smacked with one of theese bad bays is going to be in need of a quick trip there. I think Speer makes bullets for theese still and as far as I know winchester is still the only Factory load. A really nice pick for a Big Bore.
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Big Bore II
Mark, I thought I would post this for you as I know you are a Marlin Fan. I went up north earlier this week to pick up my new 44 mag trapper. A shop I had never been to before. When I got there all they had was a '92 trapper not a '94. So The search went on. I went to Jays Sporting goods and started to look at the lever guns. I noticed that on all the new USRAC there was (No Joke) about 1/2" of trigger creep. YUK! Well I was pretty dissapointed and decided to fondle the marlins for a bit. Now the last marlin I had was about 3 years ago when the 45-70 guide guns first came out and it was not exactly top quality especially the trigger and wood. I looked at a marlin model '94 SS in 44 mag. Marlin REALLY has improved in the last few years. The trigger was crisp without any creep, wood to metal finish was pretty darn good as well. Sadly this one had some blemishes so I decided to keep looking. I also looked at a Cowboy special with a 24" Octagon barrel, very nice but a bit heavy for my needs. I grabbed a Marlin catalog and I noticed they are makeing a shorter (20" barrel Cowboy special this year with the Octagon. I love the Octagon barrel for that "old West" feel. They also have added a 45 colt to the Custom Cowboy action shooter instead of just the 38 special. It seems they have stepped up to the plate. I will never stop collecting antique Winchester Lever guns but for a modern shooter it appears to me that Marlin has USRAC outgunned at the moment. I am leaning towards the Model '94 SS in 44 mag, 20" barrel, sling swivels decent wood and a very nice trigger pull. I also have found SS barrels much easier to clean than Carbon.
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Big Bore II
I am not a fan of stainless rifles. I have a Weatherby Acumark that has a SS barrel but is fluted with a flat black. I find the SS barrel is easier to remove any copper out of compared to carbon. Don't like silver scopes either. The other thing I noticed on the new "blued" Marlins is that many of the parts like the bottom of the receivor are not actually blued but a sort of flat black. The metal does not seem the same. I did not really care for that But I do like the new Cowboy Short Rifle with the 20" Octagon barrel. I was leaning towards the SS because it was so much lighter and I do not want anything longer than the 20".
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Big Bore II
I saw the coolest Big Bore of all today. A 50 Alaskan built up on a 1886 Winchester P/G takedown case colored by Doug Turnbull. $3,500 ! The price tag hurts almost as much as the recoil !  Dave
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