44 Blackhawk Hunter

[Oklahoma Rebel]

yes, but I don't have a scope! unfair advantage, well, that, and my range only goes to 45-50 yards, but I did install a small pin on the front sight ( think very similar to a shotgun bead) which has helped m,e focus on the front sight and target immensely! before, I was taking waaay too much time trying to get the front and back sights lined up "just so". still need some more practice, I haven't shot in the last 3 days because of freezing rain. but I am going to be able to shoot tomorrow and all weekend. i'll let you know, and if they aren't too embarrising, i'll show some target pics... I figure your scoped 100 yards is an even match to my iron sighted 45-50 yards! sound fair? by the way, that llast group, esp. for 100yds, was very good!!!!

[Oklahoma Rebel]

by the way, where are you in Arkansas? I would love to go hog hunting there, and would like to know how much a non- resident hunting license is, and do you know some good hunting areas?

[newton]

yes, but I don't have a scope! unfair advantage, well, that, and my range only goes to 45-50 yards, but I did install a small pin on the front sight ( think very similar to a shotgun bead) which has helped m,e focus on the front sight and target immensely! before, I was taking waaay too much time trying to get the front and back sights lined up "just so". still need some more practice, I haven't shot in the last 3 days because of freezing rain. but I am going to be able to shoot tomorrow and all weekend. i'll let you know, and if they aren't too embarrising, i'll show some target pics... I figure your scoped 100 yards is an even match to my iron sighted 45-50 yards! sound fair? by the way, that llast group, esp. for 100yds, was very good!!!!

I agree I think it would be an even match. Until you start getting better groups, then it's unfair. lol

I just studied the target again. There is a neat little program that lets you input the aiming point and then input the bullet holes. Then it tells you how far above POA the group is, along with group size, overall width and length, and average center to center.

Whats interesting is if you take the two groups on the right, cull the two furthest shots, the group size and POI above POA are nearly identical. I find that interesting. The reason I did it was to see how much I needed to adjust my scope, and then I saw the results. Which, maybe cheating or not......but both groups counting only four shots were about 3 1/2". I would be tickled pink to have that kind of group repeated over and over at 100 yards.

I hear you on the rain/freezing rain. I live in NWA, just a couple hours from Tulsa. As far as hogs go, it's a 'no no' to actually "hunt" them here. Dumb as it sounds. They have deemed "hunting" of them to be a hindrance to their eradication. Big joke if you ask me. I'll try to stay off my soap box about that one.

I hunt down in the Ozark National Forest mainly. I do hunt around my house some, but most of my time is spent down there. It's getting more and more populated around here. There are hogs around, and lots down where I hunt, but I rarely ever see any. I don't know what the fine is, but I don't think you want to get caught shooting them. Now, a landowner can hunt/shoot them any time they want - day or night. I think that's a good thing personally. But, because it is so populated around here, land owners don't just let anyone come onto their property to shoot the hogs. If you go further south, then the land owners pretty much make money under the table letting people come and shoot hogs on their place(my theory anyways).

The AGFC lets you kill a hog when its deer/bear/elk firearm season without much question - or so says their website. However, I would have zero problems shooting a hog if I happened across one while hunting anything/anytime. I plan to pack my 44 when I go turkey hunting this spring down there.

I've only shot one wild hog so far, and that was 6-7 years ago up in Missouri, just across the state line. They at one time let you come shoot them without a license, but they also have changed the laws and it's now illegal except for some exceptions.

I hope to find a landowner one day that will let me come 'help' out, but I refuse to pay some sort of exorbitant fee for doing so.

[MK111]

I shoot the Ruger SB Hunter Bisley in 44 mag. Since deer hunting became legal in Ohio about 1987. I've taken 23 deer with a handgun and all using a cast lead bullet. 22 deer was with the 44 Mag and 1 with a 45 Colt.
I started with the Ruger Redhawk Hunter in 44 Mag but switched to the Ruger SB Hunter Bisley in SS when it available.
Most were taken with the 240 grain Keith design but several was taken with the Lee 310 gr bullet.
I believe the story has already been told how I and a good friend Dale designed the Lee 310 gr bullet when i went to Alaska and was in brown bear country for 2 weeks. We got the design right the 1st time and the bullet shoots great even out of my Ruger Deer Slayer auto rifle.
When I got back from Alaska there was a call from Lee wanting to change the bullet design to a more normal design, I told them leave my design alone and design their own bullet. They left it alone and it's all history now. Lee went on to do a 45 caliber mold along the same desgn.
I also designed a 357 caliber 185 gr bullet the same as the 44 caliber 310 gr bullet with 2 crimping grooves but health issues came up and I didn't move forward with the production. My friend has borrowed the 1 and only 2 cavity mold made for the 357 caliber 185 gr and has loaded ammo and said it shot great.
He is welcome to comment further if he wishes.

[Oklahoma Rebel]

I think they are worried about people "educating" the pigs, but I think that's baloney! hogs that get shot at don't become afraid of traps! they become afraid of hunters, and hogs that are trapped, unless they escape, are dead meat! now if a trapped hog gets out, I have heard it will never go into one again, and I think that's probably true... I just hope that as our pig population grows, they wont ban hunting them here! right now it is year round, but during certain other seasons, you have to play by those rules, including in deer season, you must have a used or unused deer tag, and of course a hunting license. I did some loading today, and will do some more after dinner, since it has been raining non stop, but I think I can get out and shoot tomorrow, I am eager to get to be confident enough to go hog hunting up at skiatook lake! I will try to post some target pics after I get some shooting in!

[newton]

I got to run a couple of cylinders full through the gun on Sunday. I learned two things.

1. The gun shoots way open with a freshly cleaned barrel and cylinder. I imagine it has more to do with the cylinder than the barrel.

2. The gun does not like twice powder coated boolits. I believe this is because the powder coating is easier to cut through than the lead. The reason I tried is because I opened up my sizing die to match the cylinder throats exactly. I had some boolits already powder coated and sized the smaller dimensions, so I coated them again and ran them through the die again to have them fit the throat exactly. I got this in one of the cylinders - which I had seen before in the rifle I had tested.



It did not happen in all the cylinders. But at the same time, I only shot two cylinders full, and then one more.


So now I am casting up some more boolits, and will size them with the larger die, and do just one coat. I might even try some LLA or something.

I also decided to go ahead and try some jacketed bullets. Some might think its taboo, but I am of the curious type and found some at a great price.

Not sure if its well known or not(I did not know about them till a couple months ago) that a company called Roze Distribution has pretty good prices on bullets. They only make one for the 44 mag. Its a 240gr JSP with a flat nose meplat of .300". I am pretty sure its the largest meplat you can get in the jacketed bullet world.

They sent me some samples back a few months ago and I tried them in the CVA rifle. I had one left that I did not load, and it is a tight fit in the throats, but pushes on through with thumb pressure. I am curious how they will react in the revolver though, since they are .431" and the groove diameter of my gun is .429". I would be more hesitant if they were larger than the throats, but since they pass through them I think that it will be fine.

I bought some and am going to try them. Never know, maybe they will help some with the constriction being that they will be over .002" larger at that point. I would think that some of the metal will have to be worn down/ironed out.

Anyone here shot these bullets in their 44 mag revolvers before?