(Photo © Russ Chastain)īoth carbines in the photo above have their actions locked open the one on top is the newer one. Two Ruger 44 carbines with the actions locked open. But if you want to clean the gas system, keep reading. Normally, this is as far as you need to go for cleaning. There are some pins in the receiver which may now try to fall out, because they fit loosely, so watch out for that. Next, lift the front of the barrel upward and allow the lug at rear of receiver to hinge up and out of the recoil block, which is a metal piece that stays attached to the stock. To remove the barreled action from the stock safely, pull the bolt to the rear and allow it to lock open.

Otherwise the screwdriver WILL slip and gouge your stock, the band, yourself, or all of the above.Īnyhow, loosen the screw and slide the band forward and off, but don’t remove the barrel & action from the stock until you read the next step. You’ll do well to find an old cheap screwdriver and grind it to fit, as I’ve done above. Good idea on paper not great in practice. These were made using screws with coin-slotted screws the screwdriver slot is curved and thick so you can supposedly remove it using a coin. (Photo © Russ Chastain)Īfter making sure your carbine is unloaded, you’ll need to remove the barrel band. There are some differences, and you do NOT want to mix-and-match parts between guns of different vintages if you can help it. This will tell you how to thoroughly clean your carbine in as simple language as I can manage.Īs we walk through the process, we will look at two rifles one was made very early and the other, much later. While they are great little guns and are usually reliable, they do need the gas system cleaned out every few decades. Oh, and these are NOT the same as Ruger’s later concoction which he named the Model 99/44 Deerfield Carbine, which is not nearly as good a gun in my opinion.įor the first two decades of my big game hunting, I hunted exclusively with the carbine on top in the above photo between my father and me, we took 20+ deer and at least 7 hogs with 44 carbines over the years - and never lost a one. Officially known as the Model 44, I have never seen one with that name marked on it. The 44 carbine was made until the early 1980s. Initially called the Deerstalker, that moniker was removed after Ithaca sued Ruger. Drawing on traits of previous designers’ creations, it was the epitome of a handy, useful medium-range (up to about 100 yards) gun for game including deer and hogs, and some would even say black bears. The Ruger Model 44 Carbine was the first long gun Bill Ruger ever put into production (yes, it came before the 10/22), and it was a great gun. 24 Photos of Ruger 44 Carbine Disassembly, Cleaning, and Assembly

Ruger 44 mag carbine