What's a better deer round for a Ruger?

[mesinge2]

What's a better deer round for a Ruger Super Black Hawk 44 mag a 260gr. bonded core hollow point or a 305gr. Flat Point Penetrator. I'm looking a Corbon hunter rounds. I am going to load myself, but not yet, first I want to try some factory loads.

http://www.dakotaammo.net/products/corbon/hunter.htm

 

[jbkebert]

I have been using 240 grain hornady XTP-HP and they work great for deer sized game. The 305 you are talking about will be pretty stout to shoot and the increase in recoil will not make them any more dead than the 240 grain. I would bump up to the 305 for a elk hunt but not for deer. Just my .02

 

[mesinge2]

Thanks I'll try the 240gr.

 

[nicholst55]

Agreed; deer aren't terribly hard to kill. Their bones are pretty light, and it doesn't take something like the Cor-Bon penetrator round to kill one. Hundreds of thousands of deer of all species have been killed with just plain old garden-variety bullets.

 

[kludge]

+1 for XTP - good bullets.

 

[shaggy430]

I like 240 gr Gold Dots or XTPs. Gold Dots seem to group better for me.

 

[kanook]

my old army worked fine with a ball

 

[Bula]

I'd figure that a 260 gr bonded HP would be plenty for deer. Those 300+ gr offerings are really for 'thicker' game where penetration is vital. Once you get into reloading, 250-260 grain solids should also do the trick. Good luck.

 

[jaholder1971]

The standard 240 grain JHP in .44 Magnum has cleanly killed more deer than you'll ever see in your lifetime. There's really no need to go with heavier premium bullets unless you just gotta.

 

[ArchAngelCD]

My favorite hunting ammo has a hard cast bullet with a wide meplat. I load my own and I use bullets from Cast Performance. If you are looking to buy your ammo you can get the same bullet loaded in Grizzly Cartridge Company. They produce a quality product that's accurate and hits very hard.

Garrett Cartridges makes good hunting ammo too but it's VERY hot but no more expensive than Grizzly ammo.

 

[GP100man]

my Redhawk likes a 200grxtp & alot of herco

GP100man

 

[MCgunner]

my old army worked fine with a ball

I've been tempted to hunt deer with my old army. It'd be kinda cool to take one with it. It hits HARD for a BP revolver and is as accurate as many a cartridge arm.

+1 for the XTPs. Excellent hunting bullets.

 

[Dr.Rob]

For deer a 240gr Winchester soft point is 'enough.'

If you're really set on the Cor-Bon stuff, by all means 260 is plenty.

 

[Squeaky Duck]

I use a 100gr Hornady BTSP in my .243 rifle with 33gr of IMR3031 pushing it.

Excellent balance of power and size for most hunting. If you need something more than that, you need to work on shot placement.

 

[foghornl]

I haven't done any handgun hunting for Bambi in a loooooonng time, but what worked fror me way back was the Rem 240-Gr soft-point.

Both deer I hit right in the "boiler room" with this ran less than 25Yds combined.

 

[22-rimfire]

The standard 210 gr soft point is plenty in the 41 mag, so the 240 gr in 44 mag should be plenty as well.

 

[rcmodel]

I use a 100gr Hornady BTSP in my .243 rifle with 33gr of IMR3031 pushing it.

What has that got to do with selecting a deer bullet for a .44 Mag revolver?

rc

 

[kanook]

The reason I did my post with the Old Army is to state that as long as you have proper shot placement a lead ball will work at 50yds. (and a little bragging on my first bp/hangun harvest)

 

[mesinge2]

I ordered two boxes of the 240gr JHP and two boxes of 260gr BCHP. I'll try them both out. Thanks for the advice. The only reason I was looking at the 305's is because a gun store employee told me they were better for hunting when I asked about a deer load. He was probably just trying to sell "$60 a box" ammo.

 

[rklessdriver]

I haven't had any problems killing White Tails with the Remington green and yellow box 240gr SJHP's, but its been 7-8 years since I killed a deer using them in my Super Blackhawk.

I have also used the factory loaded Hornady 300gr XTP on White Tails and black bear with good success.

My Super Blackhawk really likes the factory loaded Hornady 300gr XTP for some reason, so I've been using them for the past couple of years.
Will

 

[alex9328]

Ditto to 22-RIMFIRE. I have than several deer with Ruger SA in 41 and 44 mag. Casted the 210gr for the 41 and 225gr for the 44 mag I have used the 240 in the 44, but I like the 225gr better. all were SWC with GC and a loaded to medium range not to the max, using H110 and Herco. It is the same load as I target shoot, Why mess with a good thing.