[153]

Dep,

Glad you got that 617 zeroed in!!! You will find by trying different ammo, you will eventually come across a round that really "hums" in your revolver.

As for scope sights and such. If you look under the top strap of your 617, you should find some holes, if you remove the rear sight you will find these holes will allow you to mount a scope base for either a telescopic or red dot sight!!

I sort of like the Hogue finger grooves for DA work, but for me they are not so good for SA. You might consider a nice pair of the wooden Hogue stocks without the finger grooves. They would really dress up that 617 too!

My favorite .22 round is the CCI Stinger. I have never found these to be very sooty, so you might try them. You might have to re-zero though as they move a bit faster than the regular CCI.

As for a .44 magnum carbine. They are nice, I have an old Browning '92 that is a real sweet gun and a great shooter. Watch out for that magnum ammo though, the .44 carbine kicks like a mule!!! I pretty much shoot the light reloads by Miwall in mine. I could shoot my .44 revolvers all day, but six shots out of that carbine with magnum ammo sends me home in a hurry!!! OUCH!!!

 

[153]

Dep,

Those .44 Mag carbines are "bad" recoilers and I would put them in the same range as a 30-30 in the 1894, nothing at all like the SKS. To enjoy shooting the .44 Mag carbine, best to shoot light reloads or factory. Remington used to make a "mid-range" lead bullet load for the .44 mag that was a dream to shoot.

By far the more fun carbines with factory ammo are the .45 Colt versions used by the SASS shooters. It is easier to get the milder load for these too.

Marlins are great guns, the Puma, looks good because it is based on a really nice Browning design, but they are ..... not worth your hard earned money. While the Puma has been improved, it is still not nearly the equal of the Marlin in fit, finish or quality. The Puma has a ridiculous and typically unecessary safety on top of the bolt. Marlin has the push through bolt safety which is more user friendly and even can be replaced by a non functional pin, that restores it to it's original design.