What are my options for tough bullets in .44 mag, for tough critters like large bears.. Im not expecting company for dinner, but prefer to be ready rather than sorry. I just purchased the titanium/scandi? .44 smith for hiking and setting up my wall tent in remote country.. I would like to add i am totally delighted with the gun.. I use 180 gr at 800 fps for (accuracy)/plinking, and setting up 240 grain( for now) at 12-1300 fps for big boned problems.. with heavy gloves and very few rounds its fine.. It was getting pretty dim out there shooting last night and the high vis sightes suit me fine.. thanks for your input..dave

For jacketed you might try Nosler Partition or Barnes all copper .Both are available as loaded ammo.For cast a keith hard cast type though I don't know if you'd want a very heavy one for that gun [300 or more].Garrett and Buffalo Bore also make loaded ammo for serious things.

If you don't feel like reloading, Double Tap (www.doubletapammo.com) has a great 320 grain WFN load that's a great penetrator.

A heavy lead bullet is your best choice. Garrett, Buffalo Bore, or Federal Cast Core.

If their recoil is just too much, try Buffalo Bore 240gr "Low Recoil". He designed it for the lightweight Smith.

Federal 300gr Cast Core will actually hurt your hand less than the full power 240gr loads.

quote:

Originally posted by N E 450 No2:
A heavy lead bullet is your best choice. Garrett, Buffalo Bore, or Federal Cast Core.

Federal 300gr Cast Core will actually hurt your hand less than the full power 240gr loads.

I couldn't agree with you more. You don't have to push the heavy bullets so hard for them to work well.

quote:

Originally posted by N E 450 No2:
A heavy lead bullet is your best choice. Garrett, Buffalo Bore, or Federal Cast Core.

If their recoil is just too much, try Buffalo Bore 240gr "Low Recoil". He designed it for the lightweight Smith.

Federal 300gr Cast Core will actually hurt your hand less than the full power 240gr loads.

Very good choice in my opinion..

8 grs of herco under a 315 hard cast lee bullet well give you about 900 fps. Well shoot far into any bear you would want to recoil is'n't to bad. A lot less then a max load of h110 with the same bullet.

i would load a 250 grain cast bullet like the lyman 429421 to about 1100 fps and feel well armed for about anything. You can go faster or heavier but recoil will increase significantly and in the real world the power put to an animal wont incease to the same amount as the recoil will. Ive killed lots of animals up to a 1000lbs with loads like this out of 45 colts and 44 mags and specials and its never let me down

quote:

Originally posted by Lloyd Smale:
i would load a 250 grain cast bullet like the lyman 429421 to about 1100 fps and feel well armed for about anything. You can go faster or heavier but recoil will increase significantly and in the real world the power put to an animal wont incease to the same amount as the recoil will. Ive killed lots of animals up to a 1000lbs with loads like this out of 45 colts and 44 mags and specials and its never let me down

I would agree with that. I am just "old fashioned enough" to still like Keith SWC bullets.

In bear country my wife carries a hard Keith SWC loaded over 9.2gr of Unique.
Recoil she can handle with one hand and plenty enough penetration.

The 250 grain Keith? Why kind of velocity do you get out of that load, NE 450?

Whitworth

I have not cronoed that load, or if I have I do not remember that I have, but I would estimate 1000 to 1100fps or so, depending on barrel length.

Thank you sir! Is it a 250 grainer?

Actually it is a little bit lighter than than as I cast them out of linotype, in an H&G mold.

I also use store bought cast bullets as well, as here lately I save MY cast bullets for my 2400 loads.

ffffg

I have shot a couple of different Scandium S&W 44's.

If I was developing a handload for one, here is what I would do.

[I would do the same thing with ANY 44 mag handgun].

I would start with a 240/250 Keith bullet and 8 grains of Unique. I would work up to a max of 10 grains.

If you can handle this amount of recoil, then I would switch to Alliant 2400 powder, starting at 18 grains and work up, toward max, until I had the recoil/power I could handle.

I would practice a lot.

Then I would go to Bear country with a pound of Bacon hanging around my neck, and feel completely safe.

N E 450 No 2, ever try W296/H-110. I originaly used 3400, but now use W296/H-110.

When I started reloading for the .44 mag I too used 2400 nearly exclusively. Now I use nothing but 296......thought I would share that with y'all.....

I have used a LOT of H110 for FULL power loads in my 44's with cast and jacketed bullets.

In both rifle and revolver.

Trust me, in a Scandium S&W 44 Mag 2400 will do all that the shooter can stand.

Plus, I am sort of a Keithite.

quote:

Originally posted by N E 450 No2:
I have used a LOT of H110 for FULL power loads in my 44's with cast and jacketed bullets.

In both rifle and revolver.

Trust me, in a Scandium S&W 44 Mag 2400 will do all that the shooter can stand.

Plus, I am sort of a Keithite.

I would imagine they are a handful. The lightest .44 I've had the opportunity to shoot is my 3-inch Lew Horton and the recoil can be "brisk" with hot 320 grain loads, but not objectionable. That scandium .44 though is considerably lighter.