.44 Mag Carbine inquiry

[Fumbles]

Hello all, new guy here. Long time shooter and Ruger owner (and many other firearms)......Super Blackhawk, P85 and MarkII...... and now a 1964 .44 Mag carbine which I am excited about and yet to shoot.......just got it out of jail 2 days ago. I also have a nice 1980 10/22 in jail. Very excited about that too.

Questions.

Reloading for the .44 mag Carbine. I'm probably going to shoot for fun with this but don't rule it out as a defensive weapon. I've never hunted (animals) but am curious about pig hunting sometime.

What bullet weight is recommended in a FP or HP? Also what powder works best?

Everything I have read talks about enough energy to cycle properly, wanting as much MV as possible and of course flat point to avoid discharges in the tube magazine.

Scope mounting.

I see the 2 holes on the receiver and barrel are different spacing. If I go with a red dot I will use the rearmost two holes.

What picatinny rail mount or adaptor can you recommend?

What scope mounts if I go with a regular optic? Either picatinny or rings.

Stock

I've heard about stocks cracking.

Should I look into an aftermarket stock? I have seen one available but there is some confusion as to whether the metal receiver catch is provided or if the stock OEM catch will fit or if it is even removable.

I'd also like your thoughts as to whether I should just shoot this gun a lot and enjoy it or if it is something I should save for it's collector value. I've heard parts are extremely hard to source (Numrich) and I'm even afraid to drill into the stock to add sling studs.

What say you folks?

Thanks so much!

 

[gramps]

Welcome to the forum! I can't answer all of your questions, but did some research prior to buying a model 77 in .44 mag. Powders-2400, and Win 296/H110 are what I use. 240 grain plated or jacketed bullets will work best in your gun. The carbine is gas operated, and unless your are good at cleaning/tuning the gas operated system, you might wish to stay away from lead cast boolits. Whatever you load up for your SBH sans lead cast should work well in the carbine also. I have heard of some using .44 spcl also. Be careful of OAL issues. Good luck! 8)
gramps

 

[phonejack]

I use a 240 Hornady xtphp with a max charge of H110. In mine, best accuracy comes with a max powder charge.

 

[Fumbles]

Okay great. I'll stick with 240gr bullets and start looking for H110 and Win 296. These are powders I have not used before.

In my powder keg I have Bullseye, Power Pistol, Blue Dot, TiteGroup, Unique, H335, Varget, Reloder 15, Viht-150, IMR 4320, 2400 and 2000 MR. Everything I need except H110. Although I see you use 2400 gramps....so that's good. That is what I was using for my revolver loads.

I'm curious about using the same loads for the carbine and the SBH though. That will be great....I won't have to separate my .44 Mag loads. But I was under the impression I should load hot for the carbine......and the manual lists different powders. 2400, H110 and Win 296 are the only powders that cross reference between rifle and carbine but 1400fps is max for the revolver.....whereas 1700-1800 is max for the carbine.

I'll do some loads with 2400 but will be sure and look out for the H110 and Win 296 which are the only two powders in the Hornady manual that push 1800fps.

Thanks guys.

 

[pete44ru]

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The tube-magazine .44 Carbine was designed around a 240gr jacketed boolit, so it's most like best not to stray very far outside the design parameters.

Not all the screws atop the receiver are for a scope base, because the forward two screws secure cartridge guide plate inside the ceiling of the receiver.

The rear scope base utilizes the two rearmost receiver holes, the front scope base uses the two factory hole drilled, tapped & plugged atop the rearmost part of the barrel.
I always used Weaver two-piece bases on my .44 Carbines, or a Williams WGRS-44 receiver sight in the two rear receiver scope base prep holes.

The only cracked .44 Carbine stocks I've seen damaged in the past 45 years were all damaged by mistake, while the barreled action was out of the stock for a thorough cleaning.


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[Fumbles]

Thanks pete44ru.

Yessir I was aware of the two front holes on the receiver not being for scope bases and not to be removed.

Let me ask you this....which Weaver 2-piece bases? Is there a part number or specific name....do I just look up under Ruger .44? I ask because the profile of the receiver top and the barrel top are different right? The receiver is much flatter.

I like the idea of the Williams. I might pick one up.

I'm totally sold on the idea of a RDS on this gun for fast target acquisition/snap shooting. Or like a 1-6 AR type scope. I mean one probably won't often use this rifle much past 100Y anyway.

Thanks. I'll go look up Weaver bases but if you remember that part name or number please let me know.

Appreciate it.

 

[Fumbles]

I have ordered Weaver bases #68 and #47. In the meantime I might have a solution sitting around in my parts bins. I found an old 0 MOA picatinny rail base from my .308 that I replaced with a 20 MOA pic rail.

From what I see the front holes of the base line up perfectly with the rear holes in the receiver. I could turn the whole base around and by drilling one (stepped) hole in the new front of the base, to match one of the holes in the barrel, I could get it to somewhat work. But there would be a slope because of the uneven heights...... and it would have to be shimmed at the rear.

However......for a RDS I do not need the whole length of the rail. So I don't have to worry about front and rear mounts and this only requires three easy things to get it to work.

1. Cut the base off at the silver line I marked on it. (see the pic)

2. Lap the curvature of the aluminum base to better match the curve on the receiver

3. Find the right screws and fit them with Loctite®.

These screws are 1.34" in diameter. What is that......a #4 fine thread? I am still better with metric.

Here's the pic. I'll cut it at the silver pencil line and keep the portion to the right of that. With a little filing and clean-up, plus a new coat of flat black it should look dandy.


I'll try source screws tomorrow. I'm excited about this. Doesn't take much anymore........ :lol:

Edit: Hmm.....with a #5 screw at .125" and a #6 screw at .138".......my screw measured at .134". Somewhere in the middle. Maybe I should call it a #6 since that is closer and I only used a vernier caliper...not a mic.

 

[gramps]

Fumbles, be aware that H110, and Winchester 296 are the same powder under different names. Whatever gives 1400 fps in your SBH should give even more from your carbine. Try the 2400 since you already have that. I find 296 to be very easy to find. No 2400 in 9 months. Good luck.
gramps

 

[wwb]

2400 is a GREAT powder for the .44 mag, and will, as noted, give higher velocity in the carbine than in a revolver with the same load. Another powder I've tried and have been very satisfied with (since I was short on 2400, but could find this one) is Li'l Gun from Hodgdon. They have load data on line.

 

[Fumbles]

Yeah I had a jug of 2400 and just recently bought another, forgetting I had one already. Got home and was "ah crap!" But now I'm glad I got a second jug.

I will keep a beady eye out for the H110/Win296 because it is the only powder that gets 1800fps. The max load for 2400 gets 1700fps. These figures for the carbine. Of course that extra 100fps is not gonna make or break anything.......just would be nice. Then I could use the 2400 for the SBH.

Got an E mail from Optics Planet saying they're sorry but the #47 and #68 bases are backordered. It said nothing when I bought them about not in stock. I sent a snotty reply back and asked for a refund.

Seems like for now my modded pic rail is gonna be the ticket.

Any idea what the receiver screw sizes are? #6, #5.........metric?

Thanks.

 

[Jimbo357mag]

Accurate #9 works well for the 44 Carbines also but the best load I ever shot was 24.0gr of H-110 with a 240gr XTP bullet. This was for a Deerfield. You might be able to get proper function with a little less powder. I would treat the rifle carefully as repair parts are unavailable.

 

[pete44ru]

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FWIW, I've successfully mounted the smaller type red dot sights using only one scope mount base (of a two-base set) - so your shortened rail should suffice.

Besides the contour of the undersides, IIRC the front/rear bases are of different thickness/heights to allow for the difference between the topof the receiver & the top of the bbl.

The scope mount holes are D/T'd 6-48, IIRC.


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[twerpymoon]

Here's another option. http://www.rugerforum.com/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=186299

twerpy.