Reed,

I'm out with hunters about five weeks per season not to count all the pre season scouting, then post season horn hunting. The small percentage of the time I carry a pistol I carry one of the 5 shot S&W 696 .44 Spcl's. With 7.5 of Unique over a hard cast 240 gr Keith SWC. Its finished off a few elk/deer and has killed a few snakes too. ALL a guy needs. I've also carreid a 629 Lt Wt Hunter with 275 LBT's at 1300 fps when I'm specifically handgun hunting for deer and elk.
I think you will find that ANY handgun will quickly become a burden when your humping the hills in search of elk. We have bears, mountain lions as well as the occasional wolf out here and few hunters carry a sidearm for any encounter. Out walking with NO rifle is another story, DO carry at least something. But as a 2nd weapon I think its excess baggage.

FN in MT

Just looking for some opinions on primarily your favorite stopping bullet, but also any loading info, for 44 Mag?

I'm off to Wyoming this fall for an elk hunt and would like to have some sidearm medicine handy just in case given there's other predators in the same area.

I'm about to start migrating through my loading books, etc., and somewhat envision a 300g hard cast lead bullet propelled safely.

Thanks in advance,

Reed

There was an article last month in Shooting Illustrated on this very topic. Basically saying use heavy lead.

19-20gr of H110 or W296 under a 300-310grLFP will give you a deep penetrating load if that is what you are looking for in a "stopping" load. If you are talking 2 legged or soft skined stopper, stick to a good 240grJHP over 22-23gr of the same.
My back country packer is a 4 5/8"SSBH in .45colt w/ a 300grWLFP right @ 1000fps. It penetrates like crazy but is easily managable from a light wt. rev. like that.

Reed, I find the LBT WLNGC and 21.5 grs of 296 with a standard Fed primer is the most accurate by far. It drops deer extremely fast and will penetrate end to end or maybe 3 deer side by side. I shot a fox with it and it hammered it right to the ground without a wiggle. The Lee 310 gr with the same load shoots tight groups too. I would use it on the elk and predators second. "WHAT, YOU NEED A RIFLE?"

Reed I am not sure what kind of critters you have in mind, but if its Mt lion and black bears, the very ordinary remington scalop Jacket 240JHP works well IMO. I have used them on hogs with very good results. While I shoot LBT 320s, without a doubt the JHPs do more dammage, and on a mt lion, penetration is not much of a concern (or a black bear for that matter). The Rem. 240 JSPs also work well, and even has enough penetration for any shot on a bear.


I have shot nothing but coyotes with this load, but the fastest expanding JHP I have found is the speer 200 GDHP, which I guess was designed for the 44spl. I would like to try this one on a mt lion soon. I go every year. My tests indicate though it may not be enough for what I want with hogs. It sure does open a coyote up like a can of beans though.