Ok, what do you think would be the best 44 magnum round for whitetail and black bear hunting?

The Speer JHP #4453 240 Gr
The Sierra JHC #8610 240 Gr
The Hornady FP #4300 265 Gr


What's your favorite 44 Mag load?

Deer don't require a whole lot of penetration, so I would think that any of your choices would be fine as long as they are accurate. For bear I would be more inclined to use a heavy harcast bullet for maximum penetration. What type of revolver are you going to use?

I am using the Smith and Wesson 629 light hunter and I want to give it a strict diet but have just recently began reloading and am learning.

I have some 240 grains Remington JSP, Midways product number 407088.
And I currently have some Alliant 2400 but being that you guys say it burns dirty I figured I would try Hogdons 110. “Everybody raves about itâ€

I would like to load an accurate round that I can use consistently for my 629 LH for both deer and bear. If you can help me on this I would very much appreciate it, thank you.

A heavy cast bullet is the way to go?

I’m all ears.....,

Bear with me as I just started playing with .44 loads after a 15 year respite! I have two model 29s, and it's not wise to load Smith .44s too heavily as they are not as strong as some of the other .44s out there. That said, you can still load them with a relatively heavy bullet that will penetrate very well. bfrshooter turned me on to a 277 grain cast bullet that he has been using -- it's a commercially available mold. I don't know if you want to get into casting or not, but will assume that you don't want to. I personally would limit the bullet weight to a max of 270 to 280 grains at about 1,300 fps maximum and it should do all that you ask of it. A hardcast flat-point bullet will penetrate a whole lot better than an expanding bullet. Some guys here have had a lot of success with expanding bullets, I myself don't like 'em. I use 296 powder in everything now (which is pretty much the twin to H110). Where are you bfrshooter? He can shed even more light on this subject!

Whitworth
Like you I am just getting back into loading for the 44.

However vinnyg, In years past I killed several deer with a 44 Mag rifle and revolver using 240gr jacketed bullets.
I have used the WW, Rem SJHP,& SP, Speer SP, Norma SP, Sierra HP, and also 240gr bullets cast of linotype.

All have worked perfect.

For a black bear I would use either the 270 Speer, one of the 300gr jacketed bullets or a heavy, 270 to 300gr cast bullets.

I shot a black bear with a Hornady 400gr XTP 475 linebaugh factory load, worked great.

300 gr. hard cast bullet with a gas check from Montana bullet works and 17.0 to 17.5 gr, of 2400 powder.

I have taken a few deer and hogs with the round, all one shot kills, from 25 yards to 72 yards.

Hard cast bullets for black bear, any of the bullets you mentioned for deer, but if you just want one load, stick with the hard cast bullets. I would say 240 to 300 gr.
http://www.montanabulletworks.com/wst_page6.html

Pretty much any 240gr. bullet should penetrate well enough to take down relatively light game (with a few exceptions). I've seen a bunch of 240gr. XTPs go through deer, and never stop to ask directions (even with extreme angles). If you stick with the Speer 240 JHP, you shouldn't have anything to worry about. JMHO

gd

The deer isn't the issue -- don't need much penetration, so I agree that any 240 grain expanding bullet will get the job done, but I would rather develop that one load that you can use for everything including ornery bear, that will penetrate end-to-end in every situation. You find that one accurate load and practice, practice, practice....... Heavy hardcast bullets will always get the nob for me.

quote:

Originally posted by Whitworth:
The deer isn't the issue -- don't need much penetration, so I agree that any 240 grain expanding bullet will get the job done, but I would rather develop that one load that you can use for everything including ornery bear, that will penetrate end-to-end in every situation. You find that one accurate load and practice, practice, practice....... Heavy hardcast bullets will always get the nob for me.

Whitworth what you want to give heavy head cast bullets the nob...lol I just thought that was funny, I know you meant nod.

OOPS!

I did mean nod!

I sure did not think you swung that way...

I was a Marine, not a sailor!

I would agree that a mature bear can be much tougher target than a deer, and requires a heavy, tough bullet.

Nice bear, Kaboom! Is that a M29 Classic I see?

I definitely have considered casting bullets and have viewed some molds online at Midway.

What mold is the 277 grain hard cast?

How much cleaner is H110 than 2400?

It's a actually "rated" at 265 grains, but it weighs out closer to 277. It's called a Ranch Dog..... Let me dig up the details for you.....

quote:

Originally posted by vinnyg:
I definitely have considered casting bullets and have viewed some molds online at Midway.

What mold is the 277 grain hard cast?

How much cleaner is H110 than 2400?

Yes H 110 is a lot cleaner than 2400. It is very noticeable.

Here's my Smith n Wesson 629 light Hunter.

S&W sure does make some nice looking guns...

vinnyg -- that's a really nice piece! Thanks for posting the picture!

[Quote] Yes H 110 is a lot cleaner than 2400. It is very noticeable [Quote]
Guess I‘ll have to buy a Lb of H110…..

[Quote] vinnyg -- that's a really nice piece! Thanks for posting the picture![Quote]

Your welcome,
Whitworth, the 277 grain hard casts, if you know off hand is there a mold number for them?

Vinny

I'm digging it up, vinny -- standby!

vinny -- here goes:

Lee makes the mold for Ranch Dog (www.ranchdogmolds.com), and I believe it's Ranch Dog's design and only available from them. The part number is: TLC432-265-RF

Thanks Whitworth, I just came from ranchdogmolds.com
Awesome.

Looks like a hard cast bullet is “the beast withinâ€.

Vin

vinny, I was sceptical before I started playing with flat-nosed, hardcast bullets until I saw what they can do. They really penetrate well, and you would be shocked to see what kind of damage they can do. I don't think you will be disappointed! Keep me posted, please!

vinnyg,

The Remington bullet you have is a good choice for deer. In fact any of the bullets you listed will do fine. The 2400 is fine to start reloading as well. One needs to clean a revolver peridoically anyway. Just watch for unburned powder kernels that may become lodged under the extractor star. H110 or Winchester 296 are the sam powder and do burn cleaner, but you can start with what you currently have on hand.

Try several different types of cast bullets to see what your particualr revovler likes before starting production.

vinny, here is a picture of a loaded Ranch Dog .44 magnum hardcast. Thought you might want to see what the nose looks like.

Whitworth,
I dug up two rounds of what I have left of federal 300 grains HARD CAST FN.
All I remember is that it didn’t take long for my wrist to start hurting shooting these from my Smith & Wesson 629 Light Hunter revolver. I went back to 240 Grain Soft points but I like the Hard Cast bullet. You can tell these things are killers and no doubt that these are compressed loads I’m sure.



Anyway, I was at the local range and the Owner gave me three bullets to shoot.
The range is only 25 Yards indoors but I sent these boys down to paper.
The loads are 12.5 Grains of Vihti Vuori 3N37 powder with 240 Grain Montana Gold hollow core bullets.
I think this is a match/target load but it shot great outta my 629 LH.

Very nice group...

Nice group, vinny! I am taking one of my .44s to the range tomorrow to sight it in with my new loads -- that Ranch Dog bullet on top of 22 grains of 296. It's a stiff load, but it's not objectionable in the least -- maybe the .475 is making me numb....... I deliberately went with a bullet lighter than 300 grains to preserve my old 6.5-inch Model 29.

quote:

Originally posted by Whitworth:
I was a Marine, not a sailor!

Just remember we sailors hit the beach first, SEALS and UDT to clear the beach, do a lot of fire support with 5 inch and larger guns and give the marines a ride to boot. Of course naval air cover is there too. And when they need medical care, a navy corpsman is there. I always liked the marines, working mostly with aviation marines. Even the fleet marines who were a little over the top were good people. I though they were there to protect us sailors, turns out there were there for the NBC weapons, so much for feeling secure on an aircraft carrier. If the navy didn't have marines, those landing parties would have gotten interesting real quick!

I am in no way down on sailors! Have nothing but good things to say about our corpsmen........