Ruger 44 carbine

[tanoose]

i picked up a ruger 44 carbine made in 1972 does anyone know what there worth . the bluing on the barrel is  100% the receiver has one little spot with surface rust about  1/4 " spot. one small nick on the stock near the rear sling swivel. a few scratches on the stock but not in the wood, there seems to be a thick coat of polyurathane on the stock  so i think the scratches are on the poly. she shoots great no malfunctions. i was thinking on selling it or maybe trading for a ruger 44 lever action or a marlin.but its really nice so i might keep it as a back up rifle for close range deer and black bear. someone offered it to me for $50.00 so how could i pass up on that.

[Westwindmike]

They are selling for about $600 here in Tennessee.

[hillbill]

dang thats cheap and several hundred dollars under what its worth.i have the hardest time gettin rid of guns i have almost nothing in.especially a quality piece like that.i would keep it and shoot it. you just increased a investment by 10 fold and keeping it longer will only increase the value of it.and it is a usefull tool as well.

[victorcharlie]

$50?  How hot is it?  I suggest you run the serial number.......

[tanoose]

Not hot at all he was a close friend .his brother passed and left him a few rifles and he doesn't shoot at all.  I told him it was worth a few hundred. He had a ruger. No. 3 single shot in 375 winchester which I told him I saw selling on line for $900.00 he sold it for $100.00. He has an M1 carbine I would like to get but he kept that one for self defence.

[Dave in WV]

$50?  How hot is it?  I suggest you run the serial number.......

A good suggestion. If it's clean shoot some jacketed bullets through it. They aren't designed to shoot lead bullets because they're gas operated.

[tanoose]

Thanks for that info Dave so far I have used the 240 hornady XTP's and hornadys 225 grain leverevolutions my next test will be with the 300. XTP 's and if there are no malfuntions I will use the 300's, I believe they would work best on black bears.

[gstewart44]

Watch you overall length with the 300s.     Bill Ruger made this carbine to work with Hot 44mag jacketed loads at 240 grains.   As said before the insides DO NOT like lead rounds and if you ever have to take it apart for cleaning I doubt you will repeat it a second time (I did once only - it's a bear).  I use 240 gr XTPs in mine and it is a profound deer and hog killer.    I thought once about selling it due to Ruger not supporting any service on it now, but the nostalgia and FUN factor keeps it in my collection.     ENJOY!

[gunnut69]

I've worked on a few but they're pretty tolerant. They do have some knurled pins that can back out with normal use and tie up the gun. It's fixable but not a piece I'd relie on in a survival situation but for hunting they're great little rifles.

[mannyrock]

 
   And you have to keep the front barrel band so loose that it almost rattles, or else after two or three shots, the barrel heats up, gets stressed by the band, and the rounds walk all over the place, generally diagonally.
 
    I just have to shake my head when I see these priced for $1,000 on the internet or at gunshows.  A pretty nice littte hunting carbine, but nowhere near as reliable as a Marlin 1894.   When these were first brought out decades ago, Ruger hoped to get law enforcement to buy them.  But they proved to be too unreliable, prone to jamming, probably from cheap cop ammo.
 
Mannyrock
 
 
Mannyrock