M77/44, Ruger American 300blk or 450bm for deer

Straight walled cartridges only...and 300 BO?

They do realize 300 BO is a bottlenecked cartridge right?

I would go with the 450 bushmaster, but it’s a personal preference.

the ruger m77/44 are real nice and u can find 44 mag anywhere.

450 BM, no question. So much more versatile, especially if you hand load.

A nice slow .45 caliber Hornady FTX will hardly kick and will do very little meat damage too. It's what I use from my muzzleloaders.

Newtosavage said:

450 BM, no question. So much more versatile, especially if you hand load.

A nice slow .45 caliber Hornady FTX will hardly kick and will do very little meat damage too. It's what I use from my muzzleloaders.

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I have guns chambered in both of these cartridges and kick is definitely not in favor to the 450. 300 blk is a fine round as long as you don’t try to do things it isn’t intended for.

I love both rounds and the 450 is a definite beast inside 150 yards. The 300 is a great round too as long as you stay away from the 150-180g pills and only use 200-220g bullets for suppressed plinking.

The hornady gmx 110g bullet in a 300blk did a fantastic job taking a nice large 7 point by my 8 year old daughter. I love the 110g and 125g bullets in 300.

Be careful in bullet selection with both cartridges as most 30 cal bullets won’t expand at lower velocities (hence my preference for faster 110s and 125s), and some .452 diameter bullets for the 450 won’t handle the extra velocity.

Edit to add: I actually hunt with a 450, my wife and children hunt with the 300.

Flaunt the rules. Get a Sharps or rolling block reproduction in .45-110 and make the biggest boom in the woods.

Per your actual question, I would choose the .44 mag, especially if you've always wanted a the rifle it comes in. Some choices you may not have thought of would include by necessity leverguns... but calibers .375 Win, .444 marlin.

I have a RAR in 300 BLK, and I love it. I fire mine suppressed- it doesn't even sound like a gun. With the Remington 220 subs, Hornady black 208, or Hornady sub-x, it will stack rounds at 50 yards in 1 ragged hole. With the range to target known, I would push it to 100 yards with this round. If you are even remotely thinking of a suppressor in your future, I highly recommend this rifle. I killed a deer with mine 2 weeks ago with the SUB-X, it ran a very short distance and hit the ground dead. Fast rounds in the 125 grain soft points I believe are a shade under 3,000 FPS, more than adequate for deer at the ranges you mentioned, if you plan to run it "loud". Light, short, zero recoil- which would make it great for a small woman, youngster, or new shooter/hunter.

for me it would come down to how i was planning to hunt. if i was going to sit in a stand or blind and shoot one or two deer a year i would go for the 77/44. they are lightweight and handy and i really enjoy the 77 series of ruger rifles.

if i was planning on driven hunts like we usually do here, where i could expect to shoot several deer at a time, the advantage of a semi-auto AR15 in 450BM or 300BO would be the deciding factor. between the 450 and the 300 i would lean towards the 300.

I like 357 max, 375 Winchester, 444 marlin in either a lever action or single shot.

If I had to pick between the ones you listed I’d get the 450 bushmaster ruger american.

More rambling opinions... Either will do the job assuming you do your job.

450 Bushmaster is certainly the better choice as there is very little 300 BO can do that the 450 can't do as well or better.

450 Bushmaster has some recoil. I don't find it bad but some might not like it especially in a light fixed breach gun.

I know Ruger is putting both cartridges in a bolt gun but to me both cartridges are really AR-15 cartridges. I have built ARs in both recently and am focused on getting my first deer with 450 BM while I work up a sub-sonic load I like for the 300 BO.

300 BO has a much much better selection of ammo available especially if your buying in brick and mortar stores. At present there is three different 450 Bushmaster loads being offered by the big ammo manufactures and two of those (the Winchester and Hornady) are basically the same load. There are a few boutique loaders loading 450 Bushmaster now if your willing to order ammo online that expand your options sum but still falls well short of 300 BO selection.

If your a re-loader than you can do a lot of fun things with either cartridge.

FL-NC said:

Fast rounds in the 125 grain soft points I believe are a shade under 3,000 FPS.

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300 BO 125gr shade under 3,000 FPS

Nope...maybe 2400 FPS

<*(((>< said:

300 BO 125gr shade under 3,000 FPS

Nope

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Yeah my 125s get around 2400 FPS out of a 16” barrel with lil gun. 3,000 FPS would be awesome but not practical for the case capacity.

My 16” AR did 2400 FPS with H110 and 2500 with lil gun. Seams to be a bit faster of a barrel than most.

If it could do 3000 I’d be selling off some other guns!

I would personally go with the 77/44 in 44mag. Because you want the rifle, and 44 mag can get the job done nicely from a rifle. None of your options are bad, and all will do the job, but 44 and 450bm are both a class above the blackout on game.

SARuger said:

the 44mag is limited to 200yds but I honestly don't see clean shots on deer past 75yrds due to the brush.

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And you already reload for it? Seems like a no-brainer to me.....

44 mag or 450 BM would be my choice. If your range is inside 200 yards either should get the job done. The M77 is a nicer looking rifle and costs more. It will also have less recoil if that matters. I think it really comes down to how much do you want to spend on the rifle ?

I've been enticed lately by the 450 BM so for me I would chose that. Reality is the 44 Mag would work just as well.

-jeff

<*(((>< said:

300 BO 125gr shade under 3,000 FPS

Nope...maybe 2400 FPS

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Right- I was thinking about something else. Still though...

Not sure if everyone recommending the 44 mag realize the OP is asking about the .300 BO vs. the .45 BM LOL

I have guns chambered in both of these cartridges and kick is definitely not in favor to the 450

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Never said it wasn't but that's why I mentioned hand loading, since the OP already does. The 45 BM gives him more options since he does handload. It's what I would choose in his shoes, over the .300 BO and frankly over the underpowered .44 Mag too.

@Newtosavage the title states "M77/44" at the beginning so the Ruger M77 in .44 mag is one of the three options. I missed it for a little bit also.

<*(((>< said:

@Newtosavage the title states "M77/44" at the beginning so the Ruger M77 in .44 mag is one of the three options. I missed it for a little bit also.

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Roger that.

Any excuse to own a Ruger 77/44 is a good one IMO.

Henry single shot in .44 Mag!

Personally if limited to straight wall I'd get a .45-70.

I have all three, the Ruger American in both chamberings, plus a pair of .44Mag leverguns. The 77/44 is a really nice rifle but I've never seen a report on accuracy that was acceptable. By contrast, my Marlin 1894S shoots sub-MOA. The .44Mag in a rifle is a 150yd cartridge and for me, it really belongs in a levergun. The .300BO has a lot going for it from heavy subs for suppressor use to supersonic loads that yield a good bit more range. Going to be a lot less recoil than the .450. I'm a diehard .44 fan but quite honestly, the .450 has a lot more capability, from deer to dangerous game. Unlike the 77/44, the Ruger Americans have a stellar reputation for accuracy. I would suggest the .450BM.