.44 mag whitetail pistol hunting

[Squrl78]

[sixshot]

I powder coat all my bullets & I can shoot them soft, even without gas checks. Last year I shot 6 animals with 6 different revolvers, 4 deer, one antelope & one elk. I did have gas checks on 2 of the bullets, the 327 on the antelope & the 357 Maximum on the Montana white tail at 117 yds. I gas check those 2 calibers because I lean on them pretty hard.
The other animals were taken with plain base powder coated bullets that were quite soft yet I never get leading & accuracy is always there. Recently 2 Texas gunsmiths wanted to try a few of my 44 HP's because they had a problem 44 magnum in their shop, it wouldn't shoot. Here's a target with that problem gun at 25 yds off sandbags. It measures 3/4", he did it twice in a row. Then they wanted to try some 150 gr HP's, plain base. They loaded them to 1600 fps & said they shot fantastic out to 100 yds. No plain base, lubed bullet will do that without leading. These bullets were probably about a 9-10 BHN.



Dick

[Blammer]

Here's my story and pictures and suggestions.

44mag Ruger Super Redhawk 7.5 brl.
240gr WW alloy 1200 fps, 18gr 2400.
bullet used was 429667



green line is path traveled. yes it went completely through.



my bullet selections.

[Blammer]

I would not feel under gunned with a 220gr bullet in the 44mag.

[Blammer]

I have also killed one with the NOE 300gr HP above, in my 44mag RSRH. It was overkill.




I was squirrel hunting with my two kids, took along the 44 as it was deer season. We were on public land.

45min after settling down to wait for a squirrel a deer runs over to us and stops broad side and looks away at about 40 yds distance. Kids got to watch old man shoot 4 times before he connected on the 5th shot. Deer kept looking away and standing there. Thank goodness for stupid deer.

[rking22]

Good thing you got him, wouldn’t want those stoopid genetics to polite the whole herd! Besides , he looks tasty

[megasupermagnum]

Blammer, I'm glad you shared that. A 300 grain bullet loaded heavy in 44 magnum is more than most of us can handle. There's no shame in admitting it. Loaded to a lighter level so us mortals can keep all shots in the palm of a hand at 50 yards from a field position is so much more effective.

[sixshot]

Blammer, nothing wrong with getting in a little target practice before you kill it!! Nice job & an impressive array of bullet moulds! Sure wish I had kept my SRH, killed a couple of muleys & one elk with it.

Dick

[RED BEAR]

I really don't think it matters a whole lot i think any accurate 44 cal bullet at a decent velocity will do the job i might stay away from the very light 180 gr or lighter. I like h110 for my 44. I will agree with above the 310 lee can be a handful in a hand gun. I really think anything from 200 up should do fine . I myself don't hunt but i do load for family that does my brother likes a 250 keith style ahead of h110.

[bmortell]

I hit a deer with the lee .50 250gr "real" at 1300fps impact. it was a perfect lengthwise hit entering the lower windpipe and it didn't really expand just squished slightly, so representative of a solid. it made it to the last rib area so roughly 60%ish through. same weight in 44 would have better SD and should be able to go through more all else being equal. im in the more is better club, while I don't enjoy 300gr h110 loads in my family members 6 inch Blackhawk, when it came time to buy my own I bought a 9.5" SRH so that I can comfortably shoot any load I want without compromise, which is sort of my motto for a hunting handgun, longer barrel and more mass helps all factors except portability but regardless its gonna be much smaller than a rifle.

I guess my levergun design I broke my own rule, I set my external dimensions and im picky about the amount inside the case, so I ended up at 260-265gr final weight.

[T-Bird]

I like 429421 at 1100 fps from my mod 29 classic. I use 12 gr AA#5. ACWW. Easy on the recoil, (well, it's not like a 38 sp but not bad for a 44 mag), and extremely effective on deer-- and armadillos too for that matter! Only animals I've taken with it.

[Tracy]

Another vote for the 429421 the equivalent from any other mold maker. The classic Keith bullet, plainbase and cast of wheelweight metal or similar, driven at 1000-1200 fps. At this level it won't need to be heat treated, and pretty much any bullet lube (including liquid alox) will work. Easy to shoot, too.
Lots of different powders will work for that velocity range. I would stay away from H110/296/ Littlegun etc. and lean more toward 2400 or 4227 on the slow side, or as fast as T-bird's AA5 load.

[Squrl78]

[Blammer]

yep, those look good! I'd use 'em!

[44magLeo]

I've used the Lyman 429421 in my SBH, ACWW or WDWW for a few years. It seemed a bit hard. I started adding pure lead for about a 50/50 mix. This softens the bullet nicely.
I tried loading it up toward max loads. Using 2400 I got as far as 21 grs. Not sure of velocity. No Chrono then. This load made one ragged hole at 25 yards.
It was a brute.
With loads of 17.5 grs 2400 shot almost as well, about 3/4 in at 25. Much easier to shoot.
Both killed deer just fine at reasonable ranges. Out to about 150 yds. was easy.
My light load was 8.5 grs Unique. I found from shooting both loads with the same sight setting one load was right on at 50 yds., the other at 100 yds. Just can't recall which was which now.
That gun left me back in the 80's.
I wished I had it back ever since.
I have compared down range ballistics from both a 250 gr Keith bullet and the Lee 300. The Keith hits just as hard as the Lee at most distances.
Leo

[Tripplebeards]

Hers my post from last year with the first deer I harvested with a 44 mag...

http://castboolits.gunloads.com/show...my-devastators!!!

I loaded up a good 150 or so of my softer,7.5 BH, sub MOA load load to try this year. I’ll see if going from 15.4 BH to 7.5 BH at approx the same velocity makes any difference for putting them down quicker.

[Grandpas50AE]

Me and most of my hunting buddies, and two older brothers, have been hunting Texas and Arkansas whitetails with the Lyman 429244 GC bullet since the mid 1970's - never lost a deer with this. Loaded with H110, and cast with a BHN of about 10 - 11 and a good lube (most of the ones I used back then were Javelina 50/50 lube), they pass all the way through. If the deer runs off, he doesn't go very far, and Stevie Wonder could follow the blood trail. Out of my mold, with the gas check and lube added, these bullets come out at 275 gr.

As you can see by the many posts above, there are several solutions in .44 Mag that work very well on whitetails. I usually try to shoot them just behind the front shoulder blade so as to not destroy much meat, but the shot presented to you in the field doesn't always afford that, so adjust as necessary.

[EMC45]

Classy looking picture.

I like the 429-421 as well. Over 18gr. 2400 or 10gr Unique and it will kill.

[Beerd]

That'll do, Squrl. That'll do.

A meat making combo for sure.
..

[Ramjet-SS]

Here is my setup for 44 mag yes that a full 6” barrel.