.44 mag rifle/.44 mag pistol trajectories

[TexasPatriot.308]

I am not much of a close hunting person as most of my shots here in Texas can be hundred of yards, but right now I am considering a Ruger 77/44 in .44 mag. I hunt with .45 colt and .44 mag Blackhawks with 7.5" barrels and know my limitations. the Ruger rifle will have a 18.5" barrel. what will be the difference in trajectories, say at 100 yards? what about the bullet drop after that range up to 200 yards say?

 

[BCRider]

There's a great external ballistics calculator that you can find on the Hornady website.

http://www.hornady.com/ballistics-resource/ballistics-calculator

Find the BC for the bullets you use and fill in the rest of the data. It'll print out the sort of info you want.

For the velocity difference between handgun and rifle you can use the handgun vs rifle reloading data found on the Hodgdon reloading data website. The .44Mag is one of the few rounds that has separate handgun and rifle cartridge results.

For example with H110 powder and Nosler JHP the handgun to rifle difference for the max loads of each is 1522 to 1817. So about 300fps difference.

Doing the ballistics calculator for a rifle at 1800fps, 240gn Nosler bullet with a BC of .186 and plain iron sights zeroed for 100 yards at 200 yards it's showing a 16 inch drop.

The handgun to rifle issue you can check for yourself. Obviously the added 300 fps will flatten the rifle's trajectory. But clearly not by as much as you might think. Due to the big stubby nature of the bullet shooting it from a rifle vs handgun doesn't turn the round into a long distance hitter. What it would do is steady things up to reach out to around 100 to maybe 150 yards. But much past that and the trajectory drops off pretty quick and the energy falls at about the same rate.

This is just one example. Your actual results would depend on what load and bullet you're using. You'll need to pick one and try the results yourself.

 

[TexasPatriot.308]

I'm really gonna limit my range from 75-100 yards max. thanks.

 

[TheCracker]

I love my 44 mag lever gun. It's perfect for 50-75 yard shots. I'm not sure how much difference between your pistols it will be. I just know I have to be about 1.5" high at 50 to be on at 100. I don't hunt with it if I can shoot past 100 since it starts falling like a brick much past that.

 

[oldpapps]

The same bullet, at the same velocity will have the same trajectory weather the bullet comes out of a 3 1/2 inch barrel or a 24 inch barrel.

A better question and just as impossible to know with out testing, is what is the velocity increase from the short/er barrel to the long/er barrel.

Common sense would tell us that at least some gain in velocity will be obtained with the longer barrel. Depending upon the powder type/burn rate and so many other factors, the realized velocity must be tested.

Get one of each and try them. I have my dealer looking at this time. Been looking for several months. I'm picky.

 

[Cee Zee]

At 175 yards my 8.5" barrel S&W 629 will stay plenty accurate. I can hit a gallon jug often at that distance. I use about a 12"-14" holdover at that distance. The bullet pretty much runs out of gas at that distance and starts to wander in the wind pretty badly.

Of course the bullets you will be using will have as much to do with trajectory as the caliber and the gun. For my 175 yard shooting I almost always use 44 Mag 225 gr FTX LEVERevolution ammo because it adds a couple of hundred fps over pretty much any other cartridge on the market.

 

[flipajig]

I'm feeding 3 44mags a 7.5 SBH a super 14"contender and a M94 Winchester the load that I shoot in all three can shoot better than I can. I'm a cast Boolit fan the mold that I use is 429244 it slides through the Winchester like butter fully dressed it weighs right at 260 grains. Out of the SBH it's running 1200 and some change the Tender 1400 and some change and the Winchester 1600 and some change. Out to 200 yds it still hits like a hammer I understand the limitation of the 44 but even at that distance I wouldn't want to be infront of it. Elmer Keath claimed to have taken a deer with his M29 at 600 yds if I remember right Bob Munden was able to bust a ballon at the same distance. Accuracy was there I don't know about the knock down.
Flip

 

[TexasPatriot.308]

I just happen to have a helluva hog/deer spot with a feeder that sometimes is flooded with hogs, there is a house about a half mile away, just want to use a cartridge with a short trajectory. I do use a .44 mag and .45 colt Blackhawk, but sometimes the game only gets within 40-50 yards. still up in the air between Rossi model 92, Marlin 92 or Ruger 77/44.....don't know which is best for me.

 

[jmr40]

Truth is, not enough to worry about. Even from a rifle 75-100 yards is going to be about the limit. You won't see a huge difference at those ranges from either. Just go out and put a few rounds downrange to verify.

 

[kludge]

For my 175 yard shooting I almost always use 44 Mag 225 gr FTX LEVERevolution ammo because it adds a couple of hundred fps over pretty much any other cartridge on the market.

You would think that... from all the marketing hype... here are the numbers, using Hornady's published data for MV from a 7.5" barrel.

By 50 yards, the 240gr XTP already has more energy and velocity is about equal. Beyond 50 yards, it's all XTP. Ballistic calculations are done using 30 degree air at sea level and a 1.5" sight height (i.e. scoped pistol or rifle).

Now if I could just figure out how to post a table... got it...

240gr	XTP	vs.	225gr	FTX	7.5"
.	XTP	FTX	XTP	FTX	XTP	FTX	XTP	FTX	XTP	FTX	XTP	FTX
Range	Velocity	Velocity	Impact	Impact	Drop	Drop	ToF	ToF	Energy	Energy	Drift	Drift
0	1350	1410	-1.5	-1.5	0	0	0	0	971	993	0	0
50	1221	1225	2.18	2.16	2.79	2.64	0.12	0.12	795	750	1.44	1.82
100	1122	1094	0	0	11.44	11.1	0.25	0.25	671	598	4.39	5.83
150	1048	1005	-9.09	-9.43	27	26.82	0.39	0.39	585	505	9.05	12.12
200	991	941	-26.1	-27.45	50.48	51.14	0.53	0.54	523	442	15.23	20.3
250	946	890	-51.95	-55.26	82.79	85.25	0.69	0.71	477	396	22.71	30.11