44 mag bullet opinions please...

[300WSM]

I've harvested game in many different ways. All humane of course. Far and away, running, big and small, close, dangerous and even more dangerous. All types of weapons etc etc...

That all said oddly I have never harvested a whitetail with a pistol. It is now #1 on my bucket list. I have hunted the whitetail with a revolver a handful of times but never dedicated all season long. Either too far of a shot....or just simply didn't have a confident opportunity or didn't see anything that day.

I am focused in on this now and I am starting to test bullets. Powder charges isn't a great deal here. I am using W296 only.
Not much of a powder charge range and let's be real here...we are talking about 75 yards inward.
So far I have tested 300 grain Nosler and Hornady XTP
Next up will be the 210gr Sierra JHC bullets.

My big question here is sort of like this...
On a whitetail deer with the sheer size of the bullets there isn't a huge need for massive expansion here. Perhaps expansion could be my enemy in this specific situation.
Sierra makes a 300 grain that they don't recommend for whitetail and is sold as being "too hard" for the whitetail.

Which brings me to the other part of this topic...

There seems to be some mixed feelings on this. I have talked to some old timers that only use a revolver now a day...and it's really a mixed bag.
Some don't want hardly any expansion with a .430 diameter bullet using cast or similar...
Others say expand as big as you can and want a massive hollow cavity,
I can see merit in either opinion in this specific situation...

My testing will continue as I read more about this and ponder this topic...

Accuracy is king and supersedes all else first and foremost but I have a feeling I will get acceptable hunting accuracy out of several options so it will eventually beg the question...expansion/velocity or minimal expansion with lower velocity. And I don't mean expansion has to be with velocity but the combination of expansion or lack of and or velocity or lack of and the combination of either two entities.

Anyone care to convey your real world experience with a 44 mag out of a 6-8" bbl and the combination of expansion or lack of likewise the velocity...I'd love to hear all about it.



P.s.
the test bullets will be
Nosler 200, 240, 300 JHP
Sierra 210JHC, 240JHC, 300 JSP
Hornady 200, 240, 300 XTP
Swift a frame 280, and 300

Speer bullets might work OK but they are such a pain in the ass to obtain and I am not putting myself in a covid like inventory with a mfg when there are many readily available that will work just fine.

Thanks to those who read this far...

 

[JD338]

I've shot a few WT deer with my S&W 629 Classic using the Nosler 240 gr JHP. Always got an exit hole that leaked a short and heavy blood trail.
H110 gives me excellent accuracy too.

JD338

 

[sako2]

I hope to take 1 with my 44 this fall. I'll be using a 240gn xtp.

 

[bdbrown66]

My buddy has used the Nosler 240 and the XTP 300 to take several deer with his 44 mag Henry lever. They both worked well.

 

[clearwater]

Most accurate bullet I have tried is the 240 XTP. 296 powder. I haven't shot a deer with, but that would be the one I would try.

Old ruger flattop with scope.

My dad took several whitetail with it using a 240 grain hollowpoint cast bullet and 2400 powder.

 

[Joec7651]

Most accurate bullet I have tried is the 240 XTP. 296 powder. I haven't shot a deer with, but that would be the one I would try.

Old ruger flattop with scope.

My dad took several whitetail with it using a 240 grain hollowpoint cast bullet and 2400 powder.

I have used 240gr XTP’s and Win 296 to great effect on deer. 200gr XTP’s did well too. Never had a chance at a bear with them though. The XTP’s expand nicely but hold together very well. I have always had complete penetration on deer with them even if they hit ribs. There’s not much resistance to a bullet when sent through the rib cage, so expanding bullets aren’t a disadvantage. Hardcast will without doubt penetrate deeper on really tough angles. I’ll say this……..you sure know you dropped the hammer with 296.

 

[grry10]

My .44 bullets are limited to those made by Hornady and Speer. This is only because they were what was available locally when I picked up my Ruger 96/44. Unless I was having an issue there was no reason to introduce another into the mix.

 

[PJGunner]

I've never even seen a Whitetail Deer except for one night on a Texas back road traveling to hook up with stepdaughter and her husband. However I have seen more than a few California coastal Blacktail deer which most of the time aren't that big. I've seen quite a few Mule Deer though and have take my fair share, usually with a rifle.
Around 1974/5 I bought a Ruger Super Blackhawk .44 magnum and uses the Remington 240 gr. hollow point factory load that year in a Nevada Mule Deer doe. I was hunting in an either sex area and was on a stand overlooking a trail I knew deer used a lot. Not too load after sunrise the doe was walking down the tral and I took the shot in the shoulder at roughly 35 yards. About a one inch entrance hole and about a three inch exit and the deer did a short run and dropped. When I got the skin off the jacket was embedded into the shoulder blade and the lead core was a complete pass through.

The next year I was taking a stand in the same place as the previous year with the Super B in hand. This time the load was a nominally 240 gr. cast bullet that actually weighed 252 gr. in my alloy. The bullet mold was the one Elmer Keith designed, Lyman's 429241 over 22.0 gr. 2400, Elmer's pet load. The deer was another doe and the hit was almost exactly theme as the year before. Bullet was a complete pass though with about a one inch entrance and close to a two inches on exit. The deer gave a startled jump, ran about 30 feet or so and died.

BTW, W296 and H110 are just different lots of the same powder. I've used 24.0 gr. W296 with the Keith bullet when I couldn't find 2400. Point of impact was just about the same but I find the 2400 load a bit more comfortable to shoot, that is if a top .44 magnum load can be called comfortable.

I have no idea how those currently made jacketed bullet will work on any game animal as after I took that doe with my home cast bullet handload I haven't used any jacketed bullet in any of my .44s since. I just haven't seen the need. Basic allow runs 11 on the BHN scale and by water dropping from the mold will age harden to 19 on the BHN scale. If I should need FMJ style peneration I can heat treat a bullet in a toaster oven set up to do a several hour baking with a quick water drop for a BHN of 30 to 31 on the scale. Works for me.
Paul B.

 

[RL338]

Nosler 240gr JHP

Ran some with my CVA muzzleloader into milk jugs today at 100yds using MMP sabots. They held together well.

forum.nosler.com

Noslers 240gr JHP would fit the bill. It can handle coming out of my ML a lot faster than any 44 Mag will safely do.

 

[FNWhelen]

I have not used a 44 to kill any animal so no help there. I have used a 7TCU on a bunch of Blacktail and that worked just fine. This past fall my BIL shot a 65 inch bull moose in the chest twice with a 357 158 jhp. He said the moose did not even flinch. It had been shot with a 300 mag and did die. When they skinned it out he found both 357 rounds had barely made it past the outer hide. Long way of saying I would not use hollow point ammo. First and foremost I want the bullet to penetrate to the vitals.

 

[clearwater]

If they are still filling orders, Western Bullet in Missoula has a 325 cast bullet with a huge flat front for bigger animals.

 

[JD338]

I've been shooting Bayou Bullets hard cast 240 gr poly coated bullets at 1040 fps. One of these seasons, I'll put one through a late season doe with my 3" 629.

JD338

 

[Hunter26]

I've killed whitetails out of my Super Blackhawk Hunter in .44 Mag with several bullets including 200gr & 240gr XTP's, 210gr Gold Dot, Lyman 429421 Keith bullet and Lyman 429640 280gr cast HP. All have done very well and were pushed with either 2400 or H110/W296. My favorite without question is the Lyman 429640 cast with wheel weights & some tin added. It put deer down hard, penetrated great and had massive blood trails that were very short.

I think the heavy jacketed bullets are too much and you'd want more expansion. The 300gr+ bullets are better suited for levergun & muzzle loaders, not that they won't kill deer from a short barrel. A good flat point on a cast bullet would be better if you want to go heavier. While the Keith bullet killed the couple of deer I shot with it and they never made it more than 50 yards, I personally prefer something else. Blood trails were spotty. Something with a bigger flat point might work better.

Also if you haven't already, check the bullet test forum. I posted a couple in there from deer I killed with some of the above bullets.