# .44 Magnum Hunting Load



## deerslayer357

I have been handgun hunting for several years now....

I have killed deer with my .44magnum, but have had penetration issues with broadside shoulder shots.

I was loading 240 grain XTP hollow points, but am looking for a better bullet.  Leaning towards a JSP in the 240-270 range, any suggestions?


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## djenkins0992

I use 240 grain semi or jacketed hollow points. 
I reload with the same thing &12.2 unique powder. Penetration hasn't been an issue for me. Mine didn't all pass through but I guess a good shot and the shock wave, they all dropped in their tracks.
Good Luck!


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## cddogfan1

If you want penatration load some 300 grain wfn cast


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## guesswho

Try some oregon trail true cast 310 gr wfn with gas checks. They are super accurate for me. Haven't took any game with it.


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## maximusmagee

How fast are you pushing your XTP?


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## NCHillbilly

The Winchester white box 240 grain jacketed soft points are great hunting rounds. I prefer them to XTPs. I'm sure something similar is available as reloading components.


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## LittleDrummerBoy

deerslayer357 said:


> I have been handgun hunting for several years now....
> 
> I have killed deer with my .44magnum, but have had penetration issues with broadside shoulder shots.
> 
> I was loading 240 grain XTP hollow points, but am looking for a better bullet.  Leaning towards a JSP in the 240-270 range, any suggestions?



We've killed a lot of deer with the 240 XTP both out of pistols and as a saboted muzzleloader bullet.  It is dependably accurate, has a relatively high BC (for the caliber and weight), expands well, and penetrates relaiably to the far side of the chest cavity.  It often stops somewhere in the far side between the rib cage and the far side skin.

We prefer the level of lung damage and fast drops with the XTP compared with bullets that exit most of the time, but produce less lung damage.  

Do you know what your muzzle velocity is?  These bullets can shed their jackets with impact velocities above 1600 fps.


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## B Man

I have two loads  one is a 240 xtp & 300gr xtp.  The 300 gr on lung shots doesn't produce quiet the damage but I've yet to have one fail to exit lungs , shoulder, or slightly quartering.  The more resistance it encounters the better it performs also which I like in case I hit a lot of bone.


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## deerslayer357

My chrono is reading 1450 muzzle velocity, which is a max load of Alliant 2400.

The XTP's have been superbly accurate, but I have yet to have a pass-through.

I hunt in pretty thick woods and in open woods bordering a 5-7 year old clear cut, and if a deer runs 50-75 yards and falls dead there is a good chance that I may not be able to find the deer if I don't have a blood trail.

For this reason I want to swap to a bullet that gives me a blood trail EVERY time.


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## JWarren

deerslayer357 said:


> For this reason I want to swap to a bullet that gives me a blood trail EVERY time.



Cast bullets...nuff said.

Being a reloader, I can't believe that you have not already tried them.

AND, you don't need to drive them 1450fps...1100 is plenty, thank you.


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## deerslayer357

JWarren said:


> Cast bullets...nuff said.
> 
> Being a reloader, I can't believe that you have not already tried them.
> 
> AND, you don't need to drive them 1450fps...1100 is plenty, thank you.




Thanks for the heads up on the velocity!   I was beginning to wonder about that after looking at some loads online!


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## Grunt gobble

i have 5 boxes of 300 grn black talons......truley evil on deer. have killed 4 with em and it was like you had a rope tied to there feet and snatched it out from under em. they are very hard to find but i have found em at gun shows.


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## Apex Predator

If you want exit holes, stay away from the hollow points.  I have killed truckloads with the 240 softpoints, and get pass throughs 90% of the time.  The wound channels are superb!


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## Wiskey_33

I'm using Speer jacketed soft points. Hope to bag one in a few days with a 14" Contender.


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## pacecars

I have used hard cast bullets of the WFN (wide flat nose) style in .357 Mag, 10mm, .41 Mag, .44 Mag, .45 Colt and they all went completely through. Several penetrated a shoulder bone going in and the other going out. I plan to use a cast bullet in my .480 Ruger with the same results this year.  If you don't cast your own (you really should it is fun and cheaper) might I suggest some of these: http://montanabulletworks.com/44_Mag_U99O.html  I have used them when trying bullets before buying a mold and their bullets are excellent.


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## ironhead7544

There are some partition and all copper bullets in 44 out there that will give both expansion and penetration.   

I like the WFNGC 250 gr cast lead bullet.  Beartooth Bullets makes them.


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## deerslayer357

Thanks everybody for all of the suggestions!

I plan to give the Winchester 240grn JSP's a try sometime this year.  Also, I am going to look into buying a box or two of the WFN cast bullets to try out.

A friend lent me his Thompson Contender in .309 JDJ for this weekend, and I have to say that is one nice rig.  Recoil is not as bad as I expected it to be...... I may see a Thompson Encore in my future.....


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## AliBubba

I use round nose 240 gr for hugs.. 240 SJHP/JHP not so good for pigs but will work fine for deer..


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## godogs57

My S&W 629 prefers 200 grain XTP's with a generous dose of 296 powder. It's nasty on deer.


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## thc_clubPres

I used a box of Remington 180gr JSP's out of a new handi rifle in 44mag. dropped last deer in his tracks with pass thru at 60yds.  qtr'g to me.  I'd like to bump up to 240gr but I still have 40 rounds left of other box, that's a lot of deer


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## HandgunHTR

I guess I missed this thread when it was posted.

The 240 grain XTPs is all that I use.  I have yet to have one stay in the deer.  

My recommendation is that you drop the velocity a bit... say down to 1200 fps and you might see some different results.  I know it sounds counter intuitive, but if you hit them with a lower impact velocity, you won't get violent expansion, which will leave a little more energy for penetration.  

Also, try high shoulder shots or stay off of the shoulder altogether and put it behind the shoulder.  That will lead to great bloodtrails.


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## Old Coach

I use Beartooth hardcast 250grn WFN over Win 296 in both my 44Mag rifle and pistol.
Go to the Beartooth site, lots of good info there on using hardcast bullets. Marshall Stanton casts great bullets at a reasonable price.

Coach


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## Darkhorse

I have both a SBH and a ruger .44 auto carbine. Bought the SBH in '79 and the carbine a year later. After shooting the first deer with 220 gr. HP's I went to 240 gr softpoints and never looked back. I am now shooting speer 240 gr. Deep Curl softpoints and they really give a hog a bad day.
I load either 296 or 2400 to the max for hunting.


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## Randy

I am shooting Hornady Leverevolution 225 gr. out of mine.  It is a factory load but It is really accurate and deadly on deer.  Getting compete pass thrus on broad side shots.


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## Barry Duggan

JWarren said:


> Cast bullets...nuff said.
> 
> Being a reloader, I can't believe that you have not already tried them.
> 
> AND, you don't need to drive them 1450fps...1100 is plenty, thank you.



Yep, yep, and yep. Your tried and trued Keith style, #429421, or it's gas checked counterpart, still works as does the LBT types.


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## AliBubba

I am thinking of using Rem UMC .44 Mag 180 gr JSP in my Ruger SRH... anyone have any experience hunting deer/hogs with these rounds? I know they are the "economy" brand but I can't find my favorite 240 gr JSP. I use my SRH mostly for hogs so HP are not my choice.


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## livin outdoors

AliBubba said:


> I am thinking of using Rem UMC .44 Mag 180 gr JSP in my Ruger SRH... anyone have any experience hunting deer/hogs with these rounds? I know they are the "economy" brand but I can't find my favorite 240 gr JSP. I use my SRH mostly for hogs so HP are not my choice.



Those will hit everything but the paper in my 629 classic at a decent range.



Anyone have any suggestions on some off the shelf 44 ammo for deer?I don't reload


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## savgashooter

As several have already said if you want complete pass through you should try a hard cast bullet in either a Keith semi wad cuter, a wide flat nose, or long flat nose pattern.  Any of the three are excellent and will give you what you want. Getting accuracy with cast bullets usually requires a bit more work then jacketed bullets and you should check the throat size of the chambers in your revolver.  If the bullets do not fit properly you will get gas cutting issues and leading that will destroy accuracy.  The throats in my SBH are .432 and that is what I size my bullets to and I get excellent accuracy with no leading.

Beartooth Bullets has an excellent selection of .44 bullets ranging from around 200 grains to over 300 grains in both gas checked and plain base version.  I would personally look at weights in the range of 250 to 285 grains selecting what shoots best in my handgun.  You really don’t need more then 250 grains for Georgia white tails and the only reason I would go heavier is because the particular handgun shot the heavier bullet better.  If you want to try cast bullets call Beartooth Bullets at 1-888-423-2786,  discuss it with them and get their recommendations for which bullet to try first and what diameter to order, they do custom sizing which if you are not set up for is a great service at no extra charge.  Give them a try.


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## NCHillbilly

livin outdoors said:


> Those will hit everything but the paper in my 629 classic at a decent range.
> 
> 
> 
> Anyone have any suggestions on some off the shelf 44 ammo for deer?I don't reload



White box Winchester 240 grain jacketed soft-points.


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## Alan in GA

*my deer at 35 yards w/Redhawk 44....*

Load was 2400 powder under a Keith 250 SWC [RCBS mold]. Linotype for zero leading at higher velocities. Did not have a chronograph back then.
Rattled a 4pt buck to about 35 yards. Shot from my tree stand and hit a bit above mid lungs. NO blood and ONLY a piece of meat and bone chip at the shot sight. Looked for an hour and finally found the buck dead about 100 yards uphill from shot location. Where he dropped was a HUGE puddle of blood. He had two holes in him - entry and exit, and the blood just did not drain out until he dropped where we found him.
Not much to learn from this, but just an experience to relate here on an interesting topic. If I shoot a deer again with a 44 mag [now have my second Redhawk] I would use a soft nose 240 grain jacketed, or another cast bullet. I'm not sure if I could but would probably place the shot lower in the chest/heart/lung area to get a blood trail.
I've been 'bow only' for last 8 years but if I get a chance to gun hunt deer again I'll take the Redhawk 44 Rem Mag.


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## Larry Rooks

I use a RCBS 275 gr Flat Nose CAST bullet over a dose of Blue Dot.  Penetration is NO issue, on either  Deer or Hog
IT WORKS and is very accurate from my Ruger SBH with
7 1/2 in. barrel


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## rosewood

Hardcast does not have penetration issues.  I have had a .357 mag hard cast go clean through a hog.


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## FlyBoy

+1 on Beartooth hardcast WFN gas check. I tried several different brands of hardcast and was having trouble with accuracy and then I spoke to the owner of Beartooth and he offered good suggestions. I shoot a Ruger Alaskan and Rugers tend to have oversize throats so he suggested their .44 in 300 hardcast slightly oversized to .431 and I am pushing them to 1200 fps out of a 2.5" barrel with superb accuracy. And rest assured you will get plenty of penetration and a good blood trail. Just make sure you take ear protection!


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## fishinjim88

I've used the barnes xpb 200gr in the 44 mag , I had pass thru every time and the insides were turned to jello


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## DeoVindice

^^Barnes bullets ain't no joke!


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## harryrichdawg

I love the 240 XTPs.  Going from memory, but I think my load is 16.0 grains of H110.


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## Glock20SF

*Rcbs 45-270-saa*



Larry Rooks said:


> I use a RCBS 275 gr Flat Nose CAST bullet over a dose of Blue Dot.  Penetration is NO issue, on either  Deer or Hog
> IT WORKS and is very accurate from my Ruger SBH with
> 7 1/2 in. barrel


I used RCBS 45-270-SAA on cow elk from Ruger .45 Colt BH SS 5.5 inch Bisley, 10 grains Unique.  Four complete pass-through lung shots on broad side.  Plain cast SWC 240 grain 44 Special, 12.5 grains Blue Dot, at 1000 fps worked on similar water buffalo cow, 305 pounds of meat, estimate 750 lbs live weight from horses I have weighted.


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