New to Leverguns.com and I got some questions.

[OldNavyCTT2]

I have owned several 22 and 22 mag rifles in my earlier years. I bought a Winchester carbine in 44 mag but shot 44 special and it was good for under 50 yard shots. After that, there was horrible accuracy. I kept it long enough to get rid of it. I stuck to 22 cal. leverguns after that (1970's - 2000). That was untill now. I am now living in Colorado and partnered up with my S&W Model 29 4 inch with a Taylor's Alaskan Takedown 44 magnum 16" lever action carbine with the factory rear sight on a picatinny rail. I have ordered another Alaskan in 357 magnum (same configuration) to partner up with my S&W 19 4" and my 1950 S&W K38 6 inch. John, at Taylor's told me to expect at least 4+ months for it to come in.

I have my 44 Alaskan shooting CCI 200 Grain Jacketed Hollow Points with a muzzle velocity of 875 One hole groups - 1 inch at 25 yards. I am hitting dead on using a Vortex SPARC Solar Red Dot with a battery life of 150,000 hours. I expect to shoot at simular ranges as my 20 gauge Lefever SxS shoots slugs which maxs at 100 - 125 yards. With the majority of shots well under 100 yards. I expect similer use and expectations with the 357 Alaskan.

Here are the questions. If this round is zeroed at 25 yards, What can I expect at 50 - 125 yards? What should I expect from the 44 magnum rounds (ballpark)? These questions are easily answered by shooting except that more ammo is on order when made available. Besides the cost per round at $2 ea. I love the performance and bullet proof construction of their 1892 construction. The accuracy issue of larger handgun ammo has been solved.

bob

[junkbug]

Welcome to the site. I also used to have a .44 mag levergun, a Marlin. Shame on me for getting rid of it. I do not have the technical info you seek; personally I would sight in 2 or 3 inches high at 25 yards, and move to progressively to 50 and 100 yards. But you probably already know this, and are making your inquiry to save ammo that has now become very expensive.

I am sure someone will come along in a while, and share a more technical approach. Maybe attaching some pictures of the .44s you already have will stimulate interest.

[Grizz]

it's a good deer gun. if you accumulate some reloading equipment you will save some money. it is a very easy cartridge to reload. in the carbine we used white box 240gr 44 mag JSP ammo and made lots of meat. i reloaded mostly heavier handgun ammo. most 44 rifles have a VERY SLOW spin rate, and usually don't stabilize heavy-for-caliber loads.

[Ray]

Deleted.

[horsesoldier03]

Sounds like you are wanting a little distance on your shots IMO i would get a 30-30 in a 94 or the 06 in the 95.

[OldNavyCTT2]

I am more concerned about trajectory these rounds perform from a 16 inch barrel. I purchased this 44 lever gun, along with the 357 mag version, in order to have a partnership with the revolvers. I know about revolver performances - trajectory from shooting the 44 special for several years. I appreciate the Ranger +p round from my 19 and my K38. It should gain aditional velocity from the carbine. I am a firm believer that a well placed, high velocity BB between the eyes is far more effective than a cannon ball zooming somewhere overhead. My hunting days are nearly completely spent with upland birds and clays. Like I said, the purchase of pistol cartridge lever guns is mostly a "bucket list" goal to complete my arsenal of matching handguns to rifles.

1953 K22 6" in 22lr (born the same year as myself) - to Winchester 69A w/2-7 Leopold (my Dad's very first rifle at age 12)
Browning buckmark black label threaded barrel - to a Browning Buckmark carbine threaded barrel sharing a Sparrow suppressor.
Walther PPKS 22 threaded barrel added to this mix.
1959 K22 MRF 6" and a modern Model 48 4" - to a Browning T bolt 22 WRM scoped rifle
1950 K38 6", a Model 19-5 4", A model 10-5 4", a Model 66-3 - to a 357 Alaskan Takedown (some day soon - I hope). Its on order.
19'80s Model 29 4" - to an Alaskan Takedown 44 magnum both shooting 44 special. I'll have 44 mag rounds for the lever gun.
My Alaskan 44, Browning Buckmark carbine, and the future Alaskan 357 all have the Vortex Solar SPARC red dot optic mounted. At 68 years of age eye sight, I need the red dot [/list][/list]option on my carbines for quicker target acquisition.
Hiking the back country, my Model 29 will hold 2 snake shot (for rattlers) along with an assortment of 44 spl slugs. My carbine will carry either 44 spl or 44 mag slugs (as the spirit leads). I want a heads up on pistol cartridge trajectory from 16 inch barrels 0 - 125 yards. My experience with hunting back east an out here is with a 25/06 120 grn 3 inches high at 100 and 3 inches low at 350 yards. I have no experience with a lever gun shooting large pistol calibers. I'l figure it all out some day soon.

[OldNavyCTT2]

What I enjoyed in hunting calibers, keeping it simple, was that my custom 25/06 with 117 or 120 grn rounds had the identical trajectory as my Tika Lite 300 WSM 165 grn round. Both were scoped in at 3 inches high at 100 yards and were 3 inches low at 350 yards. Daddy could put meat on the table and coyotes in the grave. I’m retarded now, oops, I meant retired now and lookin to have fun with my gun. I was Navy, not a jarhead. I had fun with both my guns.
If I want to get into assault rifle shooting, I would invest in a custom M1A M14 in 30/06 and put a good red dot on top sighted in at 3 inches high at 100. I’d be assaulting out to 350+ meters with no change in point of aim except for windage. Who’d have thought that a .22 lr round would set you back .50 cents a round and $2 a round for center fire pistol rounds??? WTH is wrong with this picture???

[Griff]

howdy.gif

and Welcome to the Forum!

google.gif

is your friend. Try out your google-fu with "exterior ballistics" to search for an on-line program, enter your variables and it should give you an approximation of what you can expect. But nothing will be better'n actually using it at distances you think you'll encounter.

The more accurate the variables you enter, the more accurate the result. Things like temp, humidity, altitude and your actual muzzle velocity are necessary. Angle of shot is also important for anticipating field conditions. Run several projection, study them diligently, compare them to your actual range results. Then throw 'em away, 'cause it ain't ever 70º w/o% humidity in the fiel, and nothing can predict how hard you'll be shakin' when you get a buck in your sights!

[Leverluver]

Griff has you on track for the calculations and I also agree with how useful they will be. A bunch of it is how high your sight is above the bore axis, the higher it is the further off any mathmatical prediction will be.
Now for practical, I own that exact same rifle. I love the rifle but In that Cal it certainly has trajectory limits. As you stated for the 44 spec load, I'd expect a drop of a foot to 18" at 125yds. For a mag, more like 8 to 10". It would be improved if you move out the zero. There is no advantage or good reason to sight in for 25 yds, 60-75 being more practical.
As for sights, I also thought about red dot but decided against it. Even at 72 I can see open rear good enough to hit as far as a 44 can. My rifle came with a barrel peep ( whichever I have come to hate and will be removed) and just as a red dot will it, at least for me, limits me to dead-on holds. I want a sight I can elevate and/or kentucky elevate. I play with all my rifles at distance, p-dogs, rocks, or gongs and peep on barrel or red dot just don't cut it.
To an earlier comment, the rifle has a 1/20 twist and will handle any bullet weight you can make work through the action and FYI, there are several 300 grainers that won't so follow SAMMI OAL specs or jam the gun. This winter I will be working on some 300 cast so we'll see what happens.

[AJMD429]

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"...Like I said, the purchase of pistol cartridge lever guns is mostly a "bucket list" goal to complete my arsenal of matching handguns to rifles...."

There's a few threads from a few years ago on 'nice pairs' where we all posted candidate rifle/handgun pairs.

I like the suppressors; I have a Ruger 96/11 with integrally suppressed (Thompson Machine 'Operative') barrel. It was a quick install due to the same mounting that the 10/22 uses with the 'V-block' - just had to hand-file a second extractor groove, which took 5 minutes.

The Marlin 1894's with 16" barrels are nice suppressed with 38-Special subsonics, as well.

[OldNavyCTT2]

Thanks, Grif and Leverlover! I am more into practical experiences with a 16” lever gun. I will be shooting factory Ammo and sparingly at that. I am retired without a pension and have only my SS monthly check. However, I took on a part time job for “play money.” Up until recently, I saw no reason for “magnum” pistol rounds. The 22 MRF was the exception. But, now that I am back into lever guns, the magnum rounds in 357 and 44 calibers are practical. I’ll appreciate anyones opinions and experiences. I investigated all of the company’s involved in lever action production. And thought I would go with an older Marlin Cowboy or a new Henry due to the need to mount a red dot. After much reading and viewing Toutube for hours, my choices were narrowed down to these two.
Then I came across the Alaskan Takedown imported by Taylor’s in 357/38 and 44 mag/44 spl. I was sold by their looks and function. The picarinny rail and the larger but not too large lever was perfect for my needs. The octagon barrel and side plate loading is what I prefer. The takedown function is nice for travel and cleaning. The other factor in choosing my lever rifle was weight. I, personally, love the looks of the 20” octagon for appearance and balance. However, actually holding a rifle, impressions change. The Henry is 2 lbs heavier than the Alaskan at 7+ lbs in same barrel length with the Alaskan coming in at 5+ lbs. The heft of my future pistol caliber lever rifle compared to the light weight of a Winchester 30/30 I held at my local pawn shop, was stretching my limits in weight. Especially after holding a Henry rifle. The “new” Alaskan was a sure thing vs buying online and taking my chances.
After mounting a red dot and shooting the Alaskan 44 mag/spl with a 16” barrel, I was very happy with my choices thus far. Now, I repeated my search technics in deciding upon a lever action in the 357/38 caliber. Again, It came down to ability of attaching a red dot optic and weight. Both the Marlin and the Henry required aftermarket purchasing of the picarinny/weaver rail which was a trivial matter but combined with the heavy weight of the Henry and the uncertainty of the condition and function of a sight unseen Marlin, the Alaskan won once more. It’s worth the wait - to me. Besides, it gives me more time with my 44 caliber lever gun. Raising the sights to achieve 1-3 inch height at 25 yards is no problem. I doubt that I will shoot much farther than 125 yards with the vast majority of shots 5 to 75 yards out. My primary interests are in the “fun” of plinking and personal protection on the trails and camping. The ability of shooting the same caliber in rifle and revolver is a great plus when on the trail.