I have a Taurus 44 Mag. I bought around 7 years ago. The guy at Taurus said it wouldn't handle hot loads. What exactly is considered a hot load? I'm planning on shooting 300gn WFN cast bullets over 19gn of W296. Is this considered hot? Has anyone had any experience with a Taurus in 44 Mag. It isn't a raging bull. Thanks in advance.

Some of your more "expert" handloaders will probably chime in soon, but I'll relate this bit:

Your Taurus should be safe for any standard-pressure .44 magnum load.

So, anything listed in the reloading manuals or sold on store shelves that doesn't say something like "RUGER ONLY" on the page should be fine.

Where did you get the data for the load you mentioned?

I meant to put 19gn instead of 20gn. That was the load listed for a 300gn XTP. I haven't shot the cast bullets in it yet. I wanted to check here before I put a bunch through it. The 300gn XTP's are shooting around 1200fps.

A 300gr jacketed bullet at 1200fps is not a "hot" load and should be safe in the Taurus. The cast bullet will give a bit less pressure and would be safe as well. As with any good loading habit, when using any different components pressures could change so back down a few grains of powder and work back up checking for signs of high pressure. Don't concern yourself to look for the hottest load for your gun...look for good velocity and accurracy. Max or near max loads only serve to beat your hand and the gun.

19 gr's of 296 is a starting load for the LBT 320 gr boolit. I use 21.5 gr's in my Ruger and have worked to 23 without pressure signs. It will be OK for the 300 gr. Now if you go to a 300 gr jacketed bullet, 18 gr's would be the starting load and would max at around 20 gr's.
Boolit weight does not increase pressure if the proper load is used and won't have anymore then 180, 240 or 250 gr boolits with the proper loads. Most times the best accuracy is found below max so pressure with a heavy boolit is actually less. Recoil is a different matter.