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Thread: .44 mag whitetail pistol hunting

  1. #1
    Boolit Mold Squrl78's Avatar
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    .44 mag whitetail pistol hunting

    I have been pondering purchasing a .44 mag for a lot of years. And in this wondering mind, I also pondered deer hunting with it. I have finally purchased a 6.5”, .44 mag. And now I’m going to start loading for it also. I’m not a new reloaded btw. I have been loading about 15 years now. I am however relatively new to casting. I have dabbled in casting off and on for a few years now. And I successfully cast and shoot bullets for my .45 acp & 9mm. I have used it as a cost savings for lots of shooting. But now I have a gun I need to work on accuracy and killing power. I have lots of questions. How hard do I want my bullets for deer? What shape would be best? Should I just purchase jacketed soft points for hunting? Do I need a hard lube or will a soft lube work? I don’t know why; but I feel lost with this new caliber. For hunting loads I intend to use any of the following powder depending on availability. 2400, Enforcer, H110, & or W296. So velocities should be up. I also prefer not to gas check them if possible. I’m just unfamiliar with the process. I plan on buying the Lyman casting book tomorrow. And believe it or not, I’ll actually read it. Any help would be appreciated.

  2. #2
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    Something with a big meplat. I would think 250 grains or heavier, or thereabouts. I'd also think you wouldn't need them very hard provided you're sizing and lubing them correctly.

    Never done it with a handgun but have used my cast .44 SWCs form an inline muzzle loader in a sabot to kill deer with and those big slugs have great terminal performance. I really think something like that RCBS 250 grain Keith or the Lyman 429421 and some 2400 will pretty easily put you together a good white tail load.

  3. #3
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    Well, get yourself a lee 310. It’s flat nosed and really thumps.. I use all of the powders you mention, and have settled for the most part on 110 for my handgun loads. Lube is dependent on where you live and what the temp is gunna be far as I am concerned. I have struggled with hard lubes that contain carnabula wax, and like something softer for our climate. But I imagine it would get down right mushy in the hot climates. Unless your gunna shoot brown bears, a softer alloy is always better if you ask me. Especially on deer. I highly doubt that a properly loaded lee 310 over a published normal load would do anything but make a very large hole all the way through. The 310 has a beginning diameter almost as large as most expanding 30 cal bullets with out expanding at all, so any expansion will be a pretty fat hole. Keep it fairly soft, and get you some deer meat!!! 2400 is my second favorite powder in the 44 pistol. Either way the 44 is a good choice. And Rich knows what he is talking about..

    Marko

    PS, Don’t shoot them in the shoulder if you wanna eat them.
    Last edited by Markopolo; 06-13-2019 at 02:56 PM.
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  4. #4
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    The Lee C430-310-RF is arguably the best heavy for caliber boolit you could use for deer, and a mix of 50/50+2% is arguably the best alloy for a hunting boolit for use in a revolver, this alloy takes to Ruger rifling like a duck to water, it is quite accurate and doesn't lead the barrel if you use a soft lube.

    It is a gas check boolit, but they are easy to install, nothing more needed than a Lee push through sizer will install the gas checks.

    There are at least one or two "improved" versions of this Lee design on the forum, having deeper crimp grooves and a better fitting gas check shank really does improve it.

    2400 and LilGun, also AA#9 are great if you don't want to go to the max load, H110 is for max power and should not be downloaded below the published starting weight.

    If you want a large meplat but lighter than 310gr boolit, let me suggest the LBT 260gr WFN-GC, LBT 240gr WFN-GC, and also the LBT 240gr OWC-PB boolits designed by Veral, available through Montana Bullet Works if you don't currently cast. Ask them for these in their softer alloy and soft blue lube.

    I use a modified collet style factory crimp die, I find it provides a tad more resistance against boolit movement, which does aid in good ignition and cuts my ES way down. Often enough with a roll crimp, especially with a softer alloy, it's easy for the boolit to jump forward with just the primer lighting off before the powder gets to burning good. This can be fairly inconsistent, dependant on neck tension, crimp, and the collet style crimp die minimizes this. This is also the ONLY crimp I would recommend for defense in dangerous game country.

    http://castboolits.gunloads.com/show...=1#post2239315
    Got a .22 .30 .32 .357 .38 .40 .41 .44 .45 .480 or .500 S&W cylinder that needs throats honed? 9mm, 10mm/40S&W, 45 ACP pistol barrel that won't "plunk" your handloads? 480 Ruger or 475 Linebaugh cylinder that needs the "step" reamed to 6° 30min chamfer? Click here to send me a PM You can also find me on Facebook Click Here.

  5. #5
    Boolit Grand Master Tripplebeards's Avatar
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    Just don't cast them too hard. I shot three deer last year with 80/20 alloy mix with pewter added. I ended up with a 15.4 BC. All three of my Lyman devastators were complete pass throughs and never expanded at 1750 fps Out of my 77/44. Two out of the three deer went a little over a hundred yards and the third one dropped where it stood and kicked around for a minute or so. I posted pics but can't find it on cast boolits for some reason. I'm going soft this year...really soft at 7.4 BC with the same boolit and velocity. I want an alloy that expands with a lot of kinetic energy transfer. Stay tooned.
    Last edited by Tripplebeards; 06-13-2019 at 03:27 PM.

  6. #6
    Boolit Master Thumbcocker's Avatar
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    I have had good success with 429421's but now use the NOE 265rnfp. I do not use gas checks. I have used 4227, 2400, and H110 and all made holes all the way through deer. I have used ACWW but currently water drop just because I think I get a hair better accuracy. Either boolit from 1000 to 1300 fps will shoot through a white tail long ways at 65 yards +. I prefer soft lubes. Ben's REd is current favorite. Size boolits to cylinder mouth diameter or a hair larger and test for accuracy. Don't fall into the trap of chasing velocity. Accuracy above all.

    A good .44 magnum can be very accurate at ranges that totally boggle the mind of the 7 yard magazine dumping mall ninjas.

    The Lee 310 is a good boolit but may cause you problems zeroing your gun because it hits very high. I could probably scar up a few 429421's and 265 rnfp's sized to .431 if you want some samples to try.

    On my profile there are some pics showing the proper application of boolits to deer if you are interested in such things.
    Paper targets aren't your friends. They won't lie for you and they don't care if your feelings get hurt.

  7. #7
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    Quote Originally Posted by Thumbcocker View Post
    The Lee 310 is a good boolit but may cause you problems zeroing your gun because it hits very high.
    My 7 1/2" SBH is set up for the 310 over 17.0gr 2400 if my memory serves me correctly, the load clocks 1180 - 1200 over a chrony but the rear sight would not go down far enough to sight the gun in with that load. I sanded down the sight blade until it was flush with the base, filed a new notch in the center, it is zeroed now at treestand distance.
    Got a .22 .30 .32 .357 .38 .40 .41 .44 .45 .480 or .500 S&W cylinder that needs throats honed? 9mm, 10mm/40S&W, 45 ACP pistol barrel that won't "plunk" your handloads? 480 Ruger or 475 Linebaugh cylinder that needs the "step" reamed to 6° 30min chamfer? Click here to send me a PM You can also find me on Facebook Click Here.

  8. #8
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    That sounds like me.. I only shoot the 310’s out of my revolver. That’s it. I zeroed it to my load years ago. So no zeroing any more... lol
    Any technology not understood, can seem like Magic!!!

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  9. #9
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    "7 yard magazine dumping mall ninjas"

    Oh, man, I love that, LOL. No question about the types you're referring to, so descriptive.

  10. #10
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    The Lee 310 is a great boolit. I was at the range a few months ago and one of my buddies there asked me to bring my .44 and some of those loads. as he had never shot anything that heavy in a .44. There were silhouette targets @ 168 yards away, and once we found where they were we hit them with regularity with my SRH.
    I load them with H110 and lube with Carnauba Red.

    If you have a Smith you'll have to seat them to the top crimp groove, as they probably won't chamber if seated out a bit.
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  11. #11
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    There is no reason to feel lost, the 44 magnum has power to spare on deer. Loading the Lee 310 with H110 (or similar) is one way to go. I've been working up to the recoil on my 44 magnum Redhawk for a while now, and I still can't get more than 6 shots of those off without fatigue. The recoil is harsh.

    I'll go against the grain and say the better route is a lighter hollow point, especially since you say you want a plain base. There are plenty of options, but the tried and true is the Keith bullet (H&G 503 or clone), cast nice and soft with a lead/tin alloy. 16:1 is the classic, 20:1 works great, 25:1 can work too. You don't have to shoot these all that fast unless you want to, and recoil is on a manageable level for those of us who can't shoot our revolvers daily. A hollow point keith is in the 240-245 grain range.

    While a harder solid bullet is obviously going to penetrate a LOT farther, so what? A hollow point 44 magnum will go through and through the chest of a deer at any reasonable angle, and cause a whole heck of a lot more damage inside. The only thing you cant do is shoot through the rump and expect to get to the lungs. A soild bullet will more or less make a "caliber size hole all the way through". That's not very big IMO, and I don't except deer running for the hills. Other than the rare tough animal, a hollow point through both lungs, that deer is going to go down inside of 50 yards, if they run at all.
    Last edited by megasupermagnum; 06-13-2019 at 07:32 PM.

  12. #12
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    Depends, to some extent, on how you hunt. You want to put a scope on it and reach out to 200yards or you like them close enough to touch? I like to shoot them at arms length, so I use the 240ish plains base soft and 1000 to 1200 velocity range. They kill quickly and will go thru any deer I have ever seen. If you are scoping it and want to reach out there, listen to someone else. But, be sure you can actually tolerate the recoil and shoot it well, cause deer are not armor plated. Better to put a 240 at 1000 thru the shoulders than anything thru the guts. Hollow points and lots of antimony are not to be trusted, keep them reasonably soft so they stay together, like bubble gum not, jolly ranchers, for when they hit bone.
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  13. #13
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    This one got a bad case of Lee 310, 21.5 H-110, Federal 150 at about 45 yards. He went 50 to 60 yards and crashed in sight. Slugs were water dropped right out of the mold and sized to .432.

    Forgot to add, I use wheel weight material with a couple ounces of tin in a ten pound pot. I get a consistent 1200 fps out of my 5 1/2 inch Redhawk. I did in fact get a taller front sight without the silly red plastic insert. Actually had to raise the rear a bit off bottomed out to bring it in to a perfect zero.
    Last edited by Paul D. Heppner; 06-13-2019 at 08:26 PM.

  14. #14
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    44mag really isn't hard to work with, that's the first thing I ever casted for and been working good since. ill just go through your questions.

    Hardness: I like around 10-11 ish hardness for 44, so about air cooled ww. soft enough to expand but still be fairly strong.

    Shape: pretty much anything with a flat point between .30 and .36, the closer the ogive is to going straight back the easier it is to expand, ie keith should expand easier than a rnfp all else being equal.

    Jacketed: that would ruin the fun

    Lube: ive been PC'ing for years but unless its very hard or soft you probably wont have much issue.

    Powder: I like h110 2400 and 4227, h110 seems most efficient at top speed vs pressure signs but your kinda stuck going full ham with it, 2400 can go lower, 300gr and h110 seem like a great pair, if you can get used to the recoil.

    Gas checks: ive never used one except rifle calibers, as long as your other factors are good and you got nice square base corners you should be fine.

    if you been doin auto calibers fine something like 44 shouldn't be hard

  15. #15
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    I like the Lee 310 w/ some H-110.

  16. #16
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    I would say go a little lighter. Accuracy is the name of the game in pistol hunting. Most any boolit from 240-300s is going to kill the deer...but you have to hit it.

    Lighter boolit, less recoil, more practice...translate to confidence when you pull the trigger. I am recoil shy and Unique is what generally rides with my pistol behind a number of boolits with a 280 grain being the heaviest it sees.

    Wide meplat boolits WANT to expand so as long as you hit it...the boolit will do the rest whether it expands or not. For example, my alloy is 50:50 COWW:SOWW water dropped and expands nicely. The boolit in the photo accounted for 2 deer and 3 hogs this past hunting season. None moved from where they were shot. Its a 280 grain.

    Nothing against the Lee 310, I own it and shoot it GC and without. One of the posts above has my H110 load in it in fact. But...this NOE mold is a fantastic mold. It will let you vary the seating depth to get the perfect fit in the cylinder. You will need a collet crimp die to crimp though.

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    Last edited by bluejay75; 06-14-2019 at 09:24 AM.
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  17. #17
    Boolit Master trapper9260's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Tom W. View Post
    The Lee 310 is a great boolit. I was at the range a few months ago and one of my buddies there asked me to bring my .44 and some of those loads. as he had never shot anything that heavy in a .44. There were silhouette targets @ 168 yards away, and once we found where they were we hit them with regularity with my SRH.
    I load them with H110 and lube with Carnauba Red.

    If you have a Smith you'll have to seat them to the top crimp groove, as they probably won't chamber if seated out a bit.
    For what Tom W. about the use the top crimp groove . there is 2 on that boolit .Just to let you know about it .I use the top one for my Marlin and the bottom one for my Red Hawk. I do not shoot many in the Red Hawk for how you do know how it will be.
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  18. #18
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    Hard to argue on the Lee 310. I actually like a compromise and run a 270 Grain WFN GC. The recoils is slightly less and from my little pistoli it is really accurate.

  19. #19
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    Quote Originally Posted by bluejay75 View Post
    I would say go a little lighter. Accuracy is the name of the game in pistol hunting. Most any boolit from 240-300s is going to kill the deer...but you have to hit it.

    Lighter boolit, less recoil, more practice...translate to confidence when you pull the trigger. I am recoil shy and Unique is what generally rides with my pistol behind a number of boolits with a 280 grain being the heaviest it sees.

    Wide meplat boolits WANT to expand so as long as you hit it...the boolit will do the rest whether it expands or not. For example, my alloy is 50:50 COWW:SOWW water dropped and expands nicely. The boolit in the photo accounted for 2 deer and 3 hogs this past hunting season. None moved from where they were shot. Its a 280 grain.

    Nothing against the Lee 310, I own it and shoot it GC and without. One of the posts above has my H110 load in it in fact. But...this NOE mold is a fantastic mold. It will let you vary the seating depth to get the perfect fit in the cylinder. You will need a collet crimp die to crimp though.

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    That looks like a big enough hole to me! I couldn't have said it better. Perfect shots are what you should strive for. To do that, you need good practice. With strong recoil, you have to stop shooting so much sooner, if you ever feel comfortable at all.

  20. #20
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    That is why I just love my model 44.. it is ported, and really helps with recoil.. same load in my old Smith actually seemed to jar the bones in my wrist. The Model 44 is actually not bad at all...

    8 little holes make all the difference..
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    And add a laser, makes a good combo...

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    I been carrying this for 20 years through salt and brush, blood and guts.. yes, it’s a Taurus.. it ain’t no tracker.. it’s a model 44. I highly recommend this gun. I know it not known to be popular, but this gun model is Alaskan Tuff, I trust my life to it and my skill with it from practice with the 310’s. I bought it cuz I didn’t want to use my sweet smith as an Alaska guiding gun when I was taking clients into the Bush. But the smith is no longer with me, but the Taurus is.. that speaks for itself..

    Marko
    Last edited by Markopolo; 06-14-2019 at 07:25 PM.
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Abbreviations used in Reloading

BP Bronze Point IMR Improved Military Rifle PTD Pointed
BR Bench Rest M Magnum RN Round Nose
BT Boat Tail PL Power-Lokt SP Soft Point
C Compressed Charge PR Primer SPCL Soft Point "Core-Lokt"
HP Hollow Point PSPCL Pointed Soft Point "Core Lokt" C.O.L. Cartridge Overall Length
PSP Pointed Soft Point Spz Spitzer Point SBT Spitzer Boat Tail
LRN Lead Round Nose LWC Lead Wad Cutter LSWC Lead Semi Wad Cutter
GC Gas Check