44 mag for deer???

[mwells72774]

Just curious but does bullet profile play as big of a role here? I've got a Lee 240 RN mold that I'd like to be able to use in a NEF 44 mag carbine. I've considered using a drill press and center drill, if that's what it's called, to do a slight hollow point.

[rondog]

Just curious but does bullet profile play as big of a role here? I've got a Lee 240 RN mold that I'd like to be able to use in a NEF 44 mag carbine. I've considered using a drill press and center drill, if that's what it's called, to do a slight hollow point.

Give it a try, but I'd load up a bunch and give 'em a good workout for accuracy first. I've had dismal results with LSWC's in my Trapper, but that's with only one boolit type, with beveled bases. It's a killer with flat based jacketed though.

Never tried it, but I've always thought a center drill (correct term, btw!) would make dandy hp cavities! They come in several sizes, no idea what size is best though. Probably one of the smaller ones. I imagine I'd clamp a board on my drill press table, drill a hole for the boolits to sit in, then put the center drill in the chuck while it's still centered over the hole.

I should try this, I think I might even have a center drill.....

[rondog]

I don't hunt my woods anymore. The deer are always in my yard. They walk up to me and my little dog. I can't hunt deer used to me. I go down the road and back in the woods.

Can you hand feed them? Probably shouldn't anyway, but having deer come up close to you in your own yard would be so awesome! I couldn't/wouldn't shoot one like that either. But man, I'd be workin' 'em over with my Nikon!

[Lefty Red]

Deer are as thick as rats in a dump here. Having twins and triplets now, does breed like rabbits. Not tame, just use to human smell and sounds. If folks around here were honest, we don't hunt deer just pick out the ones we want to shoot. Just hope "wasting sickness" doesn't come back.

Jerry

[Thumbcocker]

For the past several years I have hunted with .44 revolvers and bow exclusively. I have an album if you want to see pics. All the deer will killed with Keith style SWC's over 2400, 4227, or more recently H110. All died. Most with one shot. Aim for the lungs or shoot for the exit hole on a route through the lungs and get your skinning knife ready. some boolits were hp Keith's cast of 50/50 ww and pure and the deer still died about the same. I have had 2 bang flops where I hit a bit high on the shoulder and hit spine. All the rest were pretty much the same scenario aim for lungs, good clean sight picture, squeeze, bang run 30-40 yards and fall over. Longest shot was 65 yards with a second at 40. Deer looked around and came further down the trail and I shot him again. He moseyed up the trail lay down coughed twice and rolled over. Holes were gratifyingly close together.

Upshot is 250 grn swc boolit through the lungs = freezer meat.

[OnHoPr]

Just curious but does bullet profile play as big of a role here? I've got a Lee 240 RN mold that I'd like to be able to use in a NEF 44 mag carbine. I've considered using a drill press and center drill, if that's what it's called, to do a slight hollow point.

Are you talking about this boolit? It is my go to boolit for my 50 x 209 encore. No bang flops yet, but no runs over 50 yds either, truthfully. I push it with 120 gr of Pdex Select. I tried Noslers (not bad, tuff), gold dots (not bad), knights, shockwaves (200 gr not bad, real good for past 200 yd) that I can recall and this is the boolit I chose to hunt with. Estimated velocity is around 1900 fps. It is in a sabot though, alloyed at 75/25 Pb/WW, so it is still soft, just enough to keep form at launch. It hasn't tore up to much meat yet, but does a decent job on organs, not explosive though. I am not sure of the hardness required to use it in your carbine without the GC to get optimum speeds though. If you could cast it and load it in the same style of the Keith boolit in the pistol at 1400, the rifle with the longer barrel should get a couple of hundred fps more, maybe up to 1700 fps. With the HP concept you may have to hit a few deers ribs first to decide on that.

The boolit to the left is the Lee 310, I never got around to getting GCs for it. But, I did get a 1" end mill and toggle clamps to make a v block holder to take off the GC base. Maybe I will get to hit a deer in the ribs with it one day and see if I can keep those deer runs under 25 yds.

[mwells72774]

Are you talking about this boolit? It is my go to boolit for my 50 x 209 encore. No bang flops yet, but no runs over 50 yds either, truthfully. I push it with 120 gr of Pdex Select. I tried Noslers (not bad, tuff), gold dots (not bad), knights, shockwaves (200 gr not bad, real good for past 200 yd) that I can recall and this is the boolit I chose to hunt with. Estimated velocity is around 1900 fps. It is in a sabot though, alloyed at 75/25 Pb/WW, so it is still soft, just enough to keep form at launch. It hasn't tore up to much meat yet, but does a decent job on organs, not explosive though. I am not sure of the hardness required to use it in your carbine without the GC to get optimum speeds though. If you could cast it and load it in the same style of the Keith boolit in the pistol at 1400, the rifle with the longer barrel should get a couple of hundred fps more, maybe up to 1700 fps. With the HP concept you may have to hit a few deers ribs first to decide on that.

The boolit to the left is the Lee 310, I never got around to getting GCs for it. But, I did get a 1" end mill and toggle clamps to make a v block holder to take off the GC base. Maybe I will get to hit a deer in the ribs with it one day and see if I can keep those deer runs under 25 yds.

Yep, the pill on the right. Looks promising if I can get it sized just right

[Blanket]

any bullet with a flat nose above 200 gr out of a 44 mag will get the job done on a deer

[Ramjet-SS]

From my Model 29 Classic Lee 300 grain Wadcutter with GC over 18.5 Grains of IMR 4227 will drive stem to stern on any whitetail been there done that.