Just Wanted to Say Hi

[steve817]

I'm new to the forum. Just purchased a shiny new 1892 Winchester .44 mag. I had shot .44 mag pistols before and knew that it was a powerful round. I thought the weight of the rifle would tame that some but judging from the size of the bruise on my arm I thought wrong. That is the bad news. The good news is that my very first shot using Winchester 240 gr soft points was a dead on bulls-eye at 50 yards. The other two in the group I pulled left I'm sure from anticipation of the recoil but they were still within the kill zone.

I have since added a Kick Killer lace up recoil pad and am waiting for the bruising to go down before I take it out again. I'm pretty confident that it will make it more tolerable. I'm now looking at different sight options. I do have a hard time seeing the gold bead on the front sight.

[gamekeeper]

Welcome to the fire...Nice rifle to START your collection of leverguns..

[pwl44m]

Welcme to THEE best forum on the net. Pull up a stump-chair-log-whatever is handy and sit a spell. Some one will be along to guide You on a sight for Ur weapon. I guess I wll have to shoot Mine to see what all the Fuss is about.
Perry

[mod71alaska]

Welcome!

[JohndeFresno]

Welcome to the best forum on the 'net!

You can't go wrong with a cartridge starting with "4" and a levergun to boot!

[Griff]

and Welcome to THE Forum. Yep, the .44Mag in a dandy 'lil carbine like the 1892 is a thumper! Out to 100 yards it's probably a bit more thump than the .30-30, but beyond that its energy falls off rather quickly. You learn quickly to keep that stock up, REALLY tight to your shoulder!

[Old Savage]

Welcome - pics?

[COSteve]

Deleted

[alnitak]

Welcome. I actually find that my .44 Trapper seems to kick less than my .30-30. If you really want to tame the beast, load .44mag cases to .44 spl levels. Almost as easy shooting as .38's in a levergun.

[Blaine]

I can't imagine having just one rifle, but, that 92 of yours could do it if you didn't over-shoot your ability to judge distance. With that puppy, if you can hit it, you can kill it.

[EdinCT]

Welcome, You have made a good choice for 150 and and in for deer and bear. I load the 240 gr soft point and have many deer to its credit. A past shield isn;t a bad option either for range shooting I find the 44 has a sharp recoil but never notice it when hunting.

[AJMD429]

Shoot some light ones to get warmed-up to the gun:

• 44 Special factory loads of 'cowboy' type will feel like you're shooting 22 LR's out of it
  44 Mag 180 grain factory loads are fairly mild, or
  as others suggested, load some light ones yourself.

You'll grow used to the recoil and quit flinching, but best to get some gun-time with light loads in the meantime.

[earlmck]

That's a real fine start on your leverguns accumulation, steve (more to come I would bet!). And I know what you mean about the gold bead -- those always give me problems if the sun is shining. I used to think the small ivory bead was unbeatable as a replacement, but I bought a rifle that had been fitted with a green fiber-optic front sight and have had to revise my opinion. And if you have a peep sight I'm still not too sure you can beat the old flat-topped post for a front.

[olyinaz]

Welcome! And yes, .44 mag out of a 92 beats the snot out of me as well! I also agree re. gold beads - they give me trouble.

Just as and FYI if you're not a reloader, they do sell some factory very mild cowboy loads in .44 mag cases. Pretty hard to beat for easy plinking!

[Rusty]

Welcome Steve, You'll find the finest group of gentelmen anywhere on the net right here.

FWIW I have several .44's and I find a 260 grain LSWC @ 1100 FPS enough for everything I need. It's a little less than standard factory rounds.

[steve817]

and Welcome to THE Forum. Yep, the .44Mag in a dandy 'lil carbine like the 1892 is a thumper! Out to 100 yards it's probably a bit more thump than the .30-30, but beyond that its energy falls off rather quickly. You learn quickly to keep that stock up, REALLY tight to your shoulder!

I believe the lesson has already been learned

I can't imagine having just one rifle, but, that 92 of yours could do it if you didn't over-shoot your ability to judge distance. With that puppy, if you can hit it, you can kill it.

Oh I have more than one rifle, just one lever gun so far.

Welcome, You have made a good choice for 150 and and in for deer and bear. I load the 240 gr soft point and have many deer to its credit. A past shield isn;t a bad option either for range shooting I find the 44 has a sharp recoil but never notice it when hunting.

Not many bears around here but that is good to know

Welcome. I actually find that my .44 Trapper seems to kick less than my .30-30. If you really want to tame the beast, load .44mag cases to .44 spl levels. Almost as easy shooting as .38's in a levergun.

I thought about that but wanted to practice with what I would be hunting with, I hoping to go after some hogs pretty soon. I had been taking a Remington 7400 .270 with me but it is really too much gun for the area that I’m hunting in.

Welcome Steve, You'll find the finest group of gentelmen anywhere on the net right here.

FWIW I have several .44's and I find a 260 grain LSWC @ 1100 FPS enough for everything I need. It's a little less than standard factory rounds.

Sounds interesting, would you be willing to share your recipe?

[steve817]

That's a real fine start on your leverguns accumulation, steve (more to come I would bet!). And I know what you mean about the gold bead -- those always give me problems if the sun is shining. I used to think the small ivory bead was unbeatable as a replacement, but I bought a rifle that had been fitted with a green fiber-optic front sight and have had to revise my opinion. And if you have a peep sight I'm still not too sure you can beat the old flat-topped post for a front.

I'm sure the fiber optic would probably be the answer to my problem. However I also don't want to take away from the rustic look of the rifle. What to do what to do?

[Griff]

...don't want to take away from the rustic look of the rifle. What to do what to do?

Sight Black.

[Sixgun]

And Howdy to you. Another Texanite?

I think everyone here from Texas ought to start their own Leverguns. You could call it "www.22 Levergun.com" as I hear thats the only ammo thats left down there.....and the biggest caliber thats allowed by law...I hear

Up here in the North Woods, we start at 75 caliber.

(well, I guess you found out who the "board jerk" is.)-------------------------Sixgun

[steve817]

And Howdy to you. Another Texanite?

I think everyone here from Texas ought to start their own Leverguns. You could call it "www.22 Levergun.com" as I hear thats the only ammo thats left down there.....and the biggest caliber thats allowed by law...I hear

Up here in the North Woods, we start at 75 caliber.

(well, I guess you found out who the "board jerk" is.)-------------------------Sixgun

If there is any .22 LR ammo to be had here I would like to know where it is. That is part of the reason I got a .44, it was a toss up between that and a .45 Colt.

[JohndeFresno]

Steve 817,
Some bronze Skinner peep sights dress up my 1895G Marlin .45-70, and improve my aim over factory iron sights. For more braggable 100-150 yard groups using these bespectacled eyes, my next move is to the Leupold VX-2 2-7x33. Good price for the quality, I believe.

Some folks don't like shooting "Specials" (either .38 or .44) in a magnum gun for several reasons: .44 Special brass costs more, debates over cylinder and forcing cone wear, more work cleaning the cylinder, dealing with and sorting two types of brass, reported feeding problems with some "Special" loads in some leverguns, two more adjustments when handloading the same bullet, possibly more issues that don't come to mind.

I prefer using magnum hulls with lighter loads; a bit above safe .44 Special loadings but very tame for sturdier Magnum platforms, causing less wear and tear on your firearms.

My favorite .44 Magnum load, for plinking and target use, could double in a pinch as a self defense load. It is a mild but amazingly accurate Magnum offering. Without a pistol rest, the load performs more accurately than I can aim with iron sights and a bench hold. It should feed well in your Winchester.

Here are some computations with that load using the QuickLoad predictive ballistic software. Note that its prediction for the muzzle velocity of the .44 Magnum handgun load is only 48 fps faster than my average chronographed results - close, indeed.

Load - very safe for .44 Mags in good condition:
Magnus 240 gr. hard cast 701M SWC BB Moly-coated bullet, sized .430, BHN 21
CCI 300 Lg Pistol Primers, COAL 1.610", Unique. 9.0 gr.
Per QuickLoad - 68.4% fill, 100% propellant burnt,
25984 psi per QuickLoad (of 36000 .44 Mag SAAMI Max)

MV Chrono Avg: 1078 fps / 619 ft. lbs. ME (Taylor KO Value 15.9)
QuickLoad prediction: 1126 fps

For 20 inch barrel of your Winchester, QL prediction: 1332 fps MV

Magnus also offers the standard 701 (without the "M"); a non-moly bullet. You can go to their website and view the diagram; it appears to be the classic "Keith" Lyman 429421; or very close to that design. I believe that you could use essentially all of the load info above, possibly only adjusting the COAL, for any supplier's 429421 type bullet; or one that you cast yourself.

This pleasant load might work out for you! (Edited wording for safety's sake)

[Boreman]

Welcome to the forum.It is a GREAT place to be !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[WinM71]

Welcome to the fire Steve!

[steve817]

Welcome!

Sorry I'm a little slow

[Griff]

Lookin' GOOD!!

[AJMD429]

Sorry I'm a little slow.

Hey it may have taken seven months, but it's a really really nice picture...

Thanks for posting it. Now you just need to get a Marlin 1894 and a Ruger 96/44 to keep it company...



P.S. - looking at the picture of my 96/44 got me thinking - the rubber stock-extension and/or recoil-pad on it is the same one many people put on their 10/22 carbine to lengthen the pull from 'kid' to 'adult', and it also fits the Mini-14's. I put it on my 44 Mag not so much for recoil (as I mostly use that gun for dawn and dusk hunting during cold-weather [heavy coat] 'gun season' for deer), but it keeps the butt from sliding on the slick floor in the hallway when I come inside (not as big a deal if a 10/22 or Mini-14 does that, but my Ruger 96 is 'My Precious' ). Anyhow, I think a couple of years ago I was toying with the idea of putting that pad on a Rossi 92 for some reason, and found it basically fit almost perfectly ('minor fitting required'). It might fit a Winchester 92, then, maybe...

http://www.midwayusa.com/product/425407 ... bber-black