I've been scrolling through the archives here looking for a load up on a 44 mag and haven't seen one to match my situation. Remember, newbie here, getting everything from Santa in two weeks, so have never loaded brass ammo before. Truly a newbie.
I shoot a lot of hogs at close range, under 10 feet, so long distance performance is not an issue. I need stopping power to put a big hog down quickly. I don't need or want a pass through shot if I can help it as I will have dogs in and near the hog. Shooting a Ruger Bisley Vaquero. For me to go to the pistol, poop is hitting the fan, it is the weapon of last resort. Reduced recoil wouldn't be a bad thing, but it is a 44 magnum, so I accept recoil as part of the equation. I have been shooting the 240 JHP stuff for years, all store bought, over the counter, name brand stuff. Whatever is cheapest basically. I just ordered a box of Hornady 240gr XTP JHP bullets. Thought about going lighter to the 180 gr or heavier to the 300 gr, but stuck with 240.
Any recommendations on powder and load recipes?

44mag, hogs, close --

heavy!!! soft!!!!! cast flatnose bullets at moderate vels

240 JHP working for you now, I would not change. I love cast bullets but they are more likely to exit the Hog and enter a dog.

Ditto what jeffeosso said.

Steve........

quote:

Originally posted by Fury01:
240 JHP working for you now, I would not change. I love cast bullets but they are more likely to exit the Hog and enter a dog.

my experience is the other way around ... i've shot the exact bullet he has into wetsand .. zero expansion ....

now, a big ole 250gr hunk of B5 flatnosed lead at 900-1000 FPS .. big, soft, slowish .. plunk!

Never shot cast bullets before. Willing to try them out. Recommendations on whole recipe? Right now, all I have is a big, box full of brass, the dies are on order, and that box of bullets mentioned above.
Primer, powder, and bullet. Just any BIG FLAT NOSE lead bullet in 44?

I had a couple thoughts when I read the OP. I have used a Ranch Dog 265 gr. RNFP in my 44s, but not for hunting. I wouldn't hesitate to use this bullet, designed for hunting, for up close hog shooting. A hefty load of 2400 will give roughly 1100 fps out of my Ruger SBH. Another bullet I thought about was a full wadcutter, 250 gr. as available from Matt's Bullets. A magnum load with a wadcutter going 1,000 fps will do a lot of damage at short range...