This season will be my first to actually hunt with a handgun. I have been shooting for years, but will finally take the handgun to the field. Here are the details of my rig and load: Ruger Super Redhawk, 9.5 inch barrel, 2x Leupold scope, Cast Performance 300 gr WFNGC bullet, Fed. large pistol primers, and 17 grains of H110. My question relates to the load. Because it is a fairly light load, will this be enough to take a whitetail out to 75 yards (given proper shot placement, of course)? I have been shooting the load for several weeks now and it is certainly accurate enough out to 75 yards, but my concern is the killing energy because of the "lightness" of the load. I appreciate your thoughts on whether I should be concerned and if I should go with a heavier load.

I've only shot a few deer with a pistol, but the last one was with a 325gr LSWC with 19.0 gr of W296 from a six inch barrel at @ 40 yards.

Deer was quartering toward me and the bullet punched thru without problems.

You've got a good heavy bullet at more than adequate velocity My prediction is that your load will work splendidly.

"You've got a good heavy bullet at more than adequate velocity My prediction is that your load will work splendidly. "

Ditto.

I think you'd do better with a 240 gr load .Those heavier bullets are meant for great penetration on bigger animals and they probably offer no expansion..A 240 will take any white tail out there !!

I have tried many boolits on deer and the 300 to 320 gr boolits work tremendously. I don't like your load though because your accuracy is not where it should be. You are also too light for the powder, going below what is safe. 19 gr's is the starting point for H110 and 296 with those boolits. I get much better accuracy out of 296 with a standard primer then H110. The most accurate load for these boolits is 21.5 gr's of 296. With H110, I would go to 22 gr's.
With the 21.5 gr load I have shot 1/2" to 1" groups at 50 yd's and have a pop can with a center hole shot at 200 yd's from sandbags with the SRH. Fantastic gun! Don't hold it back with that light load.

I've taken whitetails with 45 Colt handloads using 300-335 gr bullets @ 1200-1300 fps. Should come as no surprise that such loads do the job. Last deer I killed with a pistol fell to a 240 gr SWC @ 875 fps launched from my S&W Mtn Gun. Popped the doe quartering through both lungs at about 35 yards. She staggered for a couple steps and fell over.

Heavy boolits going slower seem to kill better then fast, light boolits. I gave up on 240 XTP's when I seen the dismal penetration. I would not use less then 300 gr's. Yes, the 240 expanded perfectly but it was only through the lungs behind the shoulder. A bone hit or quartering shot would leave something to be desired. A good cast 240 gr LBT style or semi wadcutter would be much better but I will never go back to lighter boolits seeing the results of heavy ones. The .44 with 300 to 320 gr boolits is fantasic.

I wasn't impressed with the 240gr XTP's penetration either. That 325gr swc (which probably wasn't as good of a bullet as a 300gr wnfp in question) poked a half inch hole thru 2' of deer. Resulting blood trail looked like a deer shot with a good broadhead, blood was 3' on either side of the trail!

Whitetails aren't hard to kill, if his load shoots well in his pistol and he's comfortable with it then it's time to hit the woods.

The real concern is too light of a load with H110 and 296. These powders can be dangerous by reducing the load too much. I am concerned for his safety!
I started at 19 gr's and worked to 24 gr's. Groups got smaller to 21.5 and then started to open again. This amount is perfect in the .45 Colt with a 335 gr WLNGC also. It seems to be the magic number for both calibers in revolvers. I did find that 20.5 gr's is better in the .44 Marlin but 21.5 still shoots very well.

quote:

Originally posted by bfrshooter:
I am concerned for his safety!

+1.

Never cut H110 or 296 charges ever. Use 2400 if you want a lighter load.


Okie John

I've loaded and shot alot with a SRH in .44mag. My most accurate and best deer load is 23.5g H110 behind a Sierra 240g HP. 1/2 inch CTC at fifty yds consistently and good velocity. W296 was a close 2nd in accuracy but not quite. BTW my longest whitetail kill with above load is 130 yds and it was complete penetration and dead right there.
It is also quite accurate out to about 250yds.

A good load and good hunting bullet! With 296, 23 gr's is better but the half grain more for H110 is correct. I think the 240 XTP opens too fast and the Sierra 240 is better.

I prefer the 270 Speer gold-dot to all others for deer/black bear. Opens perfectly and is bonded for high weight retention---2MG

I myself like the Hornady 300 XTP or a 300 LSWC.
I usually load mine to around 1225 fps with H110 in my S&W 629. These both have done fine but I believe that the lead bullets gave better expansion on deer.

Thanks for all of the advice guys. bfr, tonight I loaded up some 21, 21.5, and 22 grain loads of H110 and will give them a try this weekend. I will let you know the results as soon as I have them. I hope I have the success that you have had with these loads.

I've been shooting 320 grain WLNGC'S propelled by 22 gr H110 from my 6" .44 mag, for a chrono'ed 1320 fps. Accuracy seems to be better than I can shoot, and performance was great on a 450+ lb black bear I shot with it this fall.

bfr - Well I just got back from the range testing the new loads. The results were good. The 21 grs and 22 grs of H110 shot almost the same. The 21.5 grs was horrible. It looked like a shotgun pattern! It is amazing to me that 21 and 22 did well, but that .5 grs in between was terrible. I did not yet measure the group sizes, but I think I will load another lot of 21 and 22 for the next trip, then make my decision on what I will use. I want to thank you again for the advice and I will report next week on the final results.

22 gr's is just right for H110 but the results you got with 21.5 should not have been that bad. I would try it again for grins. I have to admit that H110 has given me fits before though. I just don't use it in Rugers. I have used many pounds of it playing with loads and most of the time the rest of the can sits in the drawer because 296 always comes through. I will read about a load with H110 here or on other sites and have to test it and have never been satisfied.
It is the same powder as 296 but there is a slight difference in the burn rate for Hodgden's specs. I just never got it to work the same as 296. It doesn't work good in my BFR .475 either, the can is back in the drawer!

It seems I am always the outlyer, but I have shot a lot of Lyman and H&G cast (245 and 250-grain bullets) with 18 grains of AA #9 and a standard primer. They shot better than I could hold, in almost all instances. If bullet weight is close to the the same (within a grain...) for all five or six chambers, this load is incredibly accurate.

I haven't shot many animals with the load, but have yet to see anything in print that says a decent hard cast 240 won't take out whitetails at further than responsible ranges. In fact, the late Finn Aagaard recommended 11 grains of AA #5 behind the Lyman 429421, and that man shot more game in his lifetime than all the responders on this thread together, in all likelihood. Deer are not hard to kill, and any decently hard cast bullet will punch through shoulder bone and exit, if impact velocity is reasonable.

I very seldom shoot heavys in the .44s anymore. Other then my favorite long range gun an accusport bisley that i run with 300 lfns and 19 grains of aa9. Mostly in the 44s now i run 240s at about 1000 fps. Ive never seen where they lack on deer or bear or pigs and if i need more power i step up to a .45 or a linebaugh. Kind of religated the .44s to gentleman type hunting and plinking. But that bisley is just the best shooting gun out past 400 yards that ive ever owned!!!

Mete wrote:

quote:

Those heavier bullets are meant for great penetration on bigger animals and they probably offer no expansion

Mete-The Cast Performance bullets are heat-treated solids designed NOT to expand. I've used the 320 grain WFNGC for years and would never consider going back to conventional jacketed bullets (excepting the 250 grain Partition).

These projectiles have a large meplat and penetrate incredibly well. And, they leave a large wound channel in their wake -- on the order of an inch-and-a-half. They'll shoot stem-to-stern on most thin-skinned game, so you have to be even more careful with your shot selection.

I prefer shoulder shots on deer and hogs with this bullet, but that's not to say a lung-shot buck isn't going to expire. In my 9.5 inch Ruger SRH, H110 moves this bullet out at 1400 fps. Out to 125 yards, it's one of the most effective and humane killers out there. And, it damages precious little meat.

Well, I tested the 21 and 22 grns of H110 this morning and have determined that the 22 grns is what I am going to go with. At 50 yards, I was right at 1.25 inches from a good rest. I appreciate all of your comments and help. With only two weeks to go until the opener here in PA, I am going to load up a bunch to practice with and get as good as I can out to 75 yards. I'll let you all know how it goes!

I've used 20.0 of 2400 CCI300 any case and a BNH 12-14 cast #429421 for years on deer and even elk. On deer You need to watch whats BEHIND your shot as they always penetrate through.

Even killed deer with the same slug in a .44 Spcl case over 7.5 of Unique for roughly 1000 fps or a biit less depending on bbl length. Again; full penetration.

The wide nose (meplat) of the Keith slugs makes a nice 1" or so wound channel and You can eat right up to the bullet hole. An LBT design with it's wider nose will do even more damage.

NEVER found ANY deer tough to kill when popped through the lungs. You've got more than enough bullet for ANY deer.

FN in MT