Pow'r'ball bullets for hunting?

[Cheeseybacon]

My dad loves using those plastic-tipped/ballistic-tip rounds for hunting, but these days he's obsessed with hunting with a rifle that is chambered in .44 magnum. He loves the fact that it doesn't drill his shoulder like his old .30-06 rifle does, but obviously he's not completely exactly satisfied with it's performance. Unfortunately for him, no one seems to make .44 magnum rounds that have a ballistic tip in them. I'm guessing it's because most .44 mag rounds are intended for close range out of a hangun where such tips are unnecessary, right?

Well he's taken to reloading and has been obsessing over which bullets will help him build the best load. He stumbled across Cor-bon's Pow'r'Ball bullets with the polymer tip and swears that his prayers have been answered. I told him that the polymer tip in the Pow'r'Balls is probably intended primarilly for improving feeding reliability in semi-automatic pistols, not for having a ballistic-tipped rifle round type effect.

So what's the deal with Pow'r'Balls? Would they be a half decent bullet for hunting, provided there is sufficient powder behind it? Or should I tell him to keep looking?

 

[boerseun]

From what I've read about them (never shot them myself), they do quite a bit of damage. I wouldn't call them Ballistic tipped - I'd call them glorified hollow points that will knock the jebus out of a BG. Not sure I'd use them for hunting.
Has your dad taken any deer with his .44?

 

[Cheeseybacon]

Yes, he has taken a deer with his .44 but the only time he did so was admittedly at a pretty close range (about 20 yards). He has since had trouble taking deer at farther ranges. Whether the bullet is dropping/loosing velocity too quickly and not penetrating, or he's just getting old and his aim sucks, I don't know. Personally I think he's trying to use the .44 mag round in a manner that it was not intended to be used.

 

[boerseun]

Probably, I wouldn't use it past 75 yards. It's a great brush caliber.

Maybe he should look at something like a .243? Low recoil and will knock any deer flat on it's tail every time. Some other calibers to look at would be 6.5 Grendel, 7.62x39 and possibly even .270 or a .260.

No matter which bullet you place in a .44 magnum round, it will never be a rifle round., IMO. I know people that took deer at 50 yards with .357. Heck, I've taken impala at that range with a .22lr - but you have to be steady and be willing to track if you screw up.

In your dad's case, I'd suggest the .243 - cheap ammo and rifles, and it does the job well.