To All .44 Hunters/Handloaders

[Ruger4Life]

I reload and hunt with the .44 Mag. I know there are proponents of the heavy, hard-cast bullets for handgun hunting, that completely penetrate through most animals. I also know that there are those that use and believe in medium-to-heavy weight hollow-point (or other) bullets that expand inside the critter and give more knock-down power.

I would like to know from the .44 shooters what you prefer, what your experiences are with a particular bullet are, and why you hunt with a certain bullet/load combination. Thanks!

 

[SPW1]

For deer in 44 mag cal. I prefer an expanding bullet. The reason being virtually any 44 mag bullet will get you enough penetration to reach the vitals from any angle you can ethically shoot from and the majority will give complete penetration too. Particularly on our smaller texas whitetails. Given that there is no real bad choice out there so I figure might as well go with the expansion. Of course hard cast solids work fine too.

 

[hogshead]

I use hard cast fn 240 for deer and bear. Hits them like the hammer of thor.

 

[TexasPatriot.308]

I kill hogs, big hogs all the time with a .45 colt BH bisley or a .44 mag. I dont reload so I buy and shoot Buffalo Bore, Corbon or Grizzly factory loads in at least 260-300 grain cast bullets...for me the only way to go.

 

[slicksleeve]

I use 270 grain Speer Gold Dot. I've only killed one deer, it was a complete pass through broadside at 40 yards.

 

[critter]

Most of my deer have been killed with a .44 cal 240 JHP by Remington. Big ole soft point with a big hole in it. It gives complete penetration of vitals but will often be caught by the off side hide. Good 'killin' bullet.

I have also used 240 gr hard cast SWC's. They do not expand, but will almost assuredly give through-and-through penetration. Better for a blood trail, if needed. The hole they poke is big enough that expansion is not really necessary-they are already bigger than most expanded rifle bullets.

Bottom line is that, for me, the .44 mag just 'works' in either guise. Put the bullet where it should go and enjoy the eatin'.

 

[birddog]

http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?t=114110

I've had great luck with MagTech 240 SJSP's on several deer now. Here's a thread I started with my first BIG buck with that load. It's not a hot load, or a heavy one, but took down a 200 lb northern buck, no problem.

Scroll down the thread, and you'll see more info and photos on bullet performance.

 

[Grumulkin]

For deer, groundhogs and such I like a bullet made out of lead and/or copper and in the 180 to 240 gr. range.

 

[Liberty1776]

I've always favored a 240 grain hard-cast semi-wadcutter. Even if they don't expand (which they usually do) they still cut a good, big hole.

 

[TNBilly]

For deer I use hollow-points that worked out most accurate in my Tender 225's. For more dangerous, ie bear or pig, I'd definitely use 265 and up in a RN or FN configuration for better penetration.

 

[chas08]

I shoot 240 gr. Winchester (white box) jacketed flat points. They are heavy enough to kill any hog, they shoot pretty good in my Rossi 92, and they are reasonably cheap and available at our local Wal-Mart.

 

[jgiehl]

Bear load:
300 Grain Cast Performance Bullet
20 grains H-110
CCI large pistol magnum
Remington cases

 

[grubbylabs]

slicksleeve I have some of those loaded up over the minimum charge of W296 and they went almost 18" though a green cut pine log out of a 4" barrel. Not sure how that would equate to an animal put it seems like pretty decent performance to me.

 

[Hunt480]

My deer round for my SRH is a 250Gr WFN from Beartooth bullets over 22gr H110. Its a hammer. From 50 yards in with a red dot it will always pass completely through. It has never failed not to blow a clean big hole. You can use a lighter loading for that bullet but I think the extra speed gives it even better performance. This same load performs just as well in my Marlin 44 levergun. I have taken quite a few deer with these loads so this is from a pure hunting prospective. I plan on taking some North Georgia hog/bears when I get the chance.

 

[eldon519]

One of the nice things about cast bullets is that they can still get the results you desire at modest velocity with modest recoil. In his writings, John Linebaugh notes that his utility load is a .45 Colt 260 gr SWC at 900 fps. This is one of his typical deer loads that he states will shoot end-to-end on a mule deer. I'm sure a .44 magnum 250 gr Keith would perform similarly. If you use SP or HP jacketed rounds at reduced velocity, you run the risk of underpenetration should it expand.

 

[tman65]

I agree with chas08.... good ole white box 240's have killed everything I've ever shot with them!

 

[DM~]

I prefer my cast 250 grain SWC's loaded over 23.0 of H-110, CCI 350 primer... I've taken moose on down with it, and also won a ton of long range silhouette matches with it too.

 

[Dr.Rob]

WW white box 240gr jsp is a good load, and for most that don't roll their own it's what I'd suggest. I've seen numerous deer drop to this under-appreciated load.

That or Prvi 300gr jsp (it's harder to find but wow, talk about punch--300@1200fps) that's what I put in my vaquero for 'back up' duty and keep for my 1894 Marlin. The jacket is thinner than I'd like but the accuracy I get out of it makes up for that.


I have friends that swear by a 300gr Hornady XTP over 21.5gr of H110, but outside Ruger SBH/Contender/Marlin 336 actions I would NOT recommend it, this is a compressed load and will not even feed in a Marlin 1894. One of my handgun hunter buddies dropped a Russian boar with that load like it was hit by lightning.

In Colorado you MUST use an expanding bullet, so I have never tried hardcast on game.

 

[Hanshi]

For deer I use the Speer 200 grain HP in my Ruger SBH. My Marlin prefers the Speer 240 grain HP.

 

[ants]

I figure you're asking about skinny little deer, not bone clad monsters.

Archery guys use an arrow to kill deer. So did the Indians for 10000 years. It doesn't take much.

The first buck I shot with 44 Mag Super Blackhawk loaded up heavily, the solid lead bullet passed so cleanly through that I thought a surgeon bored the hole with a sterilized instrument. It hurts me to say that he had to be shot twice more before the surgical holes took him down.

I went to slower expanding bullets (XTP) at mid-weight (240) and they do a much better job internally. At close range they still penetrate through, but expand properly and perform better terminally. At longer range (maybe 60 yards) they work perfectly without overpenetration.

It's just a skinny little deer. You don't have to load for boar and bear to kill it.

 

[Asherdan]

I've used the WWB 240's on deer, 240 XTP's handloaded and 240 cast FP's handloaded on deer, pig and black bear. Seems like ~1700 fps is the zone for accuracy and performance with all of them.

For regular hunting use I've gravitated to the 240g XTP and not been disappointed.

But now that I've seen birdog's post about the MagTech 240 SP I may have to take those hunting. I've still got 250 of them and they shoot very well in my 1894.

 

[336A]

I can't comment on this cartridge from a revolver however I can provide you with my observations with it from my Marlin 1894SS. Prior to purchasing this handy little powerhouse of a rifle, I did a lot of reading up on it and asking about it from owners over at Marlinowners. A lot of folks held the WWB 240gr JSP ammo in high regards so that is what I chose to use in my new rifle as I didn't have the reloading supplies at first.

The ammo made a good showing for itself at the range, providing me with some nice 1" groups at 50 yards with a couple groups making a ragged hole. During the 2005 I hunted with the 1894SS and WWB 24gr JSP ammo excluseively. During the begining of the season it was unusualy warm so there was no snow. I skirted around the base of a small knoll one afternoon to find a nice size doe feeding about 80 yards out. I shouldered my rifle and dropped the hammer on her, at the shot she bucked and kicked and was off like a shot. After a bout 10 minutes I walked down to were she was standing to pick up her trail and place my tag on my fresh supply of venison.

Much to my dismay when I got down to where she was there was no sign of here being hit, no hair no blood nothng I thought this odd as a bullet that is pert near .50" in diameter should have left some sign. I proceeded to walk through the waist high dead golden rod that she ran through for a good 75 yards and still found no spore indicating a hit. At that point I figured I must have just grazed her.

One week later I dropped the hammer on a nice sized spike horn. He was trying to be sneaky by walking behind me only 40 yards away in broad daylight. At the shot he bolted towards a swamp into some of nastiest briar patches I've ever been through Again I gave him some time and had a cup of coffee from my thermos. When I took up his trail I was dumb founded yet again. Again there was no spore indicating he had been hit. I followed his his tracks through the snow (thank goodness for the snow) for some 30-40 paces before I found anything.

The first thing I found was a tuft of hair but no blood, I continued following his tracks fo about 10 more paces in that nasty stuff. Finally I found some blood however it was only pin head sized dropplets and they were very faint even in the snow and sporadic. I finally found him about 100 yards from where I shot him. He was laying so that the side I shot him in was facing me with but a slight trickle of blood running down his side. When I rolled him over to inspect the exit wound I was dumbfounded when I found no blood under him or escaping from the exit wound.

Upon dressing him out I found that the 240gr JSP centered the heart and left a nice .430" hole through to the other side. Since that year I've sworn off the WWB 240gr ammo for use on deer. Shortly afterwards I got some reloading supplies for the .44 and have been using Hornady 240gr XTP-HP over some H110. This bullet has performed much better for me than the 240gr WWB ammo. When I got my 4PT this year with the above combo a blind person couldn't have missed the blood trail. Plus the deer only went about 20 steps and fell over. I like a bullet to expand do it's damage and continue on out the other side. The Hornady 240gr XTP-HP does exactly this so I'll continue to use it for deer.

 

[CraigC]

Don't know why folks mess with outdated designs like Remington and Winchester generic jacketed bullets. They were no good 50yrs ago and no better now. Not when we have such good designs as Speer's Gold Dot and Hornady's XTP.

 

[NCsmitty]

My first deer with my 44 Mag was shot with a 180gr Sierra HP, using 22gr of 2400. For deer I preferred lighter, fast expanding bullets, and even then it was a pass through, but the lungs were mush.
The 240gr and heavier often do not expand on deer, but are good for hogs and bear.



NCsmitty

 

[NELSONs02]

Heavy hard Cast for me, always two holes and always a ton of blood. Usually there's less damage to the meat. With a 44 though I don't think it makes much difference. If using a 357 or 10mm I'd for sure go with a hard cast.