Does 44 mag get it done on Whitetail and Black Bear?

[3Crows]

The recoil energy for .44 Magnum is around 11 pounds and in the same energy range as .243 Win and .30-30.

 

[CraigC]

If you can hit it, it'll kill it. The 44 mag's biggest negative is mediocre accuracy at any range, recoil, and bullet drop past 75 yards. I wouldn't choose one for hunting unless shots were 50 yards or less. It'll kill farther if you connect, but I just like more accuracy.

100% unadulterated nonsense but not at all surprising given the source. A .44Mag revolver is good for at least 100yds. Out of a rifle, it's good for at least 150yds. If you're unnecessarily hamstringing the .44 at 50yds, you're giving away 2/3's of its potential.

 

[3Crows]

I have seen some old fellers reliably ringing 12 inch steel and not having any difficulty with doing so with a .44 Magnum Super Blackhawk at 100 yards and more. I can hit targets reliably also at 100 yards with my Blackhawk .45 Colt. I do not think there can be made a claim that the .44 Magnum is not accurate enough to use beyond 50 yards with a revolver much less from a rifle.

 

[memtb]

I'm considering a 20" rifle in 44 mag for my son as HIS first rifle, though we will start him on less recoiling rifles before he gets to IT. (I remember trying a 44 semi rifle as a 10yr old to 12yr old and disliking the recoil.)

I've never hunted with/or knew anyone to shoot deer with a 44 rifle.

How's it performing for you guys who use one?

I’ve taken Antelope and Black Bear with a 629 S&W. 44 Magnums, with the proper bullet, and proper placement have cleanly taken the largest game (Alaskan Brown Bear, Moose, Elk) in NA. memtb

 

[wombat13]

100% unadulterated nonsense but not at all surprising given the source. A .44Mag revolver is good for at least 100yds. Out of a rifle, it's good for at least 150yds. If you're unnecessarily hamstringing the .44 at 50yds, you're giving away 2/3's of its potential.

There is a more charitable interpretation of what JMR40 wrote. It looks like a .243 shooting 105 gr bullets in bolt rifle and a .44mag shooting 240 gr bullets in a carbine will produce similar recoil (looking at the Chuck Hawks recoil table). The .243 is going to be easier to hit targets with in excess of 100 yards, but the .44 is going to hit awfully hard at short range (IMHO, I have a .44 lever that I've used to take deer). Can one hit targets reliably with a .44 lever or handgun at 150 yards? Sure, but it will not be as easy as with a .243 bolt gun.

I think the advantages of the .44mag carbine are it is lighter and easier to handle for a youngster. Lower recoil is not an advantage. Range is not an advantage. Lethality, we can debate which round is more lethal all day, but a .44 will certainly kill deer and black bear.

 

[Steve Milbocker]

One of my favorites. 1885 low wall in 44 magnum.