I'm looking into another deer hunting pistol and I'm looking for opinions. I currently use a 3 screw Ruger blackhawk chambered in .41 rem mag. I have taken a few deer with it and was pleased with the knockdown.My load is as follows:13.5gr.bluedot behind a 210jsp.@ 1400fps.with a chamber press.of 33,800.
My question . Would I get any more out of a 44mag than I do now? or would the deer even know the difference?
Keep in mind most of my shots are within 50yds or less.

Deer won't care, but the 44 mag. is a "standard" caliber whereas the 41 is sort of a "bastard" caliber.

44 Mag is 0.429" dia. Not sure about the 41 mag. Online dial-up just sort of stalls out.

Hmmmmmmmmm -- what can I say?

44 Mag is easy to find bullets, loads, etc. I have a couple, dies, brass, bullets.

I'm tossing out 240 gr. lead, SWC, Lazer Cast stuff. Hot loads, I like Hodgdon H110. I think maybe Hodgdon H110 is the only powder to use for 44 magnum. In a pinch you could use "2400."

I looked at "Bullseye" "Red Dot" "Blue Dot" powders. They're too hot for magnum loads.

Trust me here, Hodgdon, H110.

You could be happy with a new 44 mag. But then you're talking to a really "sick puppy" sort of gun nut who has never seen a firearm he didn't want.

*LMAO*

The 41 mag has about 3/4 of the recoil and 3/4 of the 'power' .Will the deer know the difference ? Doubtfull. Guns, ammo and components for the 44 are easier to find but if you already have a 41 stick with that.

Nope.

The .44mag w/ heavier bullets will give you more penetration but you are probably shooting through the deer now. If you wanted to shoot heavy cast FP, I would give a slight edge the the .44mag, bigger bullets make bigger holes. I lik e the .41mag though, if you want a bit more from the round, go to the 220grSpeer over H110 or LilGun.

Paul: your load is a good one and I agree that the deer won't ever know the difference. Blue Dot has gone into a lot of my .41 Magnum loads. If you get a chance, try AA#9. It's a very dense ball powder that will meter like sand. It also gives handloads that have been the most accurate in my .41 Magnums and you won't get muzzleblast like you do from w-296 and H-110. It will give you every bit as much velocity if not more, if you need it.

The deer wont know the difference.

The 41 mag bullets are .410 . There is a wider gap between the 44 and 45 colt than between the 41 and 44.

My 41 mag load was a 293 grain hardcast at 1275 out of a 4 5/8 inch ruger blackhawk.

The 44 mag offers .019 inch and 30 grains in bullet weight over the 41 mag.

I am a fan of both cartridges. I shoot the 41 mag and 454 casull now. I do have a 44 mag rifle too.

Since you handload and already own a 41 magnum you might want to skip the 43 magnum and try a Ruger Bisley Blackhawk in 45 Colt. The deer still won't know the difference but wider is better.

Nordrseta;Good advice I have and still own 41&44,but finally figured out if you handload to the levels a super blackhawk frame can handle the 45LC is much the best w/less recoil at magnum power levels.Go to John Linebaughs website and read his articles on the 45LC.w/regards

thanks to all for the valuable information. I still cant decide. Now the plot thickens I've shot my first 454 casule,I liked it except for the massive recoil and muzzle blast.I shot clean through 2 old pices of marine plywood that was once used as concreet forms at 50yds.,they were behind a 10"x10" square block of ballistic gell.All I could say was Holy....cow.The last piece of plywood displayed a 9 3/4"hole. Too much gun with factory ammo for my purposes But a hoot to shoot.


"If winning isn't important? WHY keep score..."

And, you have the .45 Colt option. The 30,000 CUP loads will duplicate or exceed most .44 Magnum loads. www.accuratepowder.com has data.

well your not getting enough difference to worry about it.i own 2 ruger redhawks 1 is 41 and the other a 44 i take them both out depending on which i feel for that day.the 44 is easier to find ammo for and more common if you travel to go hunting and somehow get devided from ammo can buy in any gun shop.my suggestion is buy a 44 as an extra but don't sell the 41

Ever hear of John Taffin? Here is what he had to say about the "middle magnum" in 2003...

"In spite of the dream of Elmer Keith and Bill Jordan for a sixgun/cartridge combination to aid peace officers, we instead received an excellent outdoorsman's cartridge and revolver. For deer hunting, there is not an animal in the world that can tell a difference between being hit by a .41 Magnum or .44 Magnum. I have shot deer and feral pigs with both the .41 Magnum and the .44 Magnum, and the results were the same. However, when we get to larger, heavier-boned and muscled critters, the ability of the .44 Magnum to handle 300 grain bullets places it at a distinct advantage."

So I guess if you are going to continue hunting deer, buying a .44 won't gain you anything, but if you decide to go out West someday, by all means, buy a .44 Mag or a .45 Colt. (I have both a .45 and a .44, but still prefer the .41... )

I guess seven more grains of bullets is a big advantage.

To be fair the heavies in 44 are 328 grains.

But then the heavies in 45 colt are 350.

All have similiar velocities. If loaded to the max.

Guess I just take offence to any mention that the 41 is somehow inferior to the 44.

What ever the 44 has over the 41 the 45 has even more over the 44.

Difference between the 41 and 44 is .019 inch.

The difference between the 44 an 45 is .023 inch.

I was at the range one time shooting my 41 with the 293's at 1275 and there was another guy there shooting his 45 colt 5.5 inch blackhawk with 350's at 1350. He was getting ready to use his pistol on a cape buff hunt.

I did a finishing shot with my 41 on a moose . The bullet went under the brain pan through about eight inches of bone and kept on going.(The bullet that is. The moose was DRT).

If you want to up your power skip to the 454 casull. That is what I did. I load 340's to 1350 to keep the recoil down for follow up shots. ( these can be loaded to 1550 or so). I shot one of these through a brown bear carcass and got about five feet of penetration through the bear and who knows how far through the gravel bed beyond.

quote:

Originally posted by paul montgomery:
thanks to all for the valuable information. I still cant decide. Now the plot thickens I've shot my first 454 casule,I liked it except for the massive recoil and muzzle blast.I shot clean through 2 old pices of marine plywood that was once used as concreet forms at 50yds.,they were behind a 10"x10" square block of ballistic gell.All I could say was Holy....cow.The last piece of plywood displayed a 9 3/4"hole. Too much gun with factory ammo for my purposes But a hoot to shoot.


"If winning isn't important? WHY keep score..."

With 454 casull I load 45lc ammo to the beginning of 454 casull data lots more comfortable to shoot but I also have 2 4 5/8" BH's in 45lc & 41mag.

quote:

My 41 mag load was a 293 grain hardcast at 1275 out of a 4 5/8 inch ruger blackhawk.

What load data,which bullet, and what kind of accuracy? I have shot the NEI 411-275 (with my alloy it weighed right at 295) in my Model 57 with 18 grains of H110, and the cases had to be pushed out w/ejector rod, but they weren't sticky. Accuracy was okay, but nothing like I have gotten with 210s and 220s.

I have both read and been told that about 250 is as heavy as a "standard" .41 will shoot really well; heavier bullets than that are like pushing a pencil.

Doubless,

I was shooting 19 grains of H110 with a 293 grain gas check hardcast made by Ace Bullet Company.(Local company).

19 grains is listed as max from Hodgdon data for the 300 grain in the 41 mag. I use those one book one caliber load books. My cases were not sticky either. I never load over that.

Accuracy was pretty good I guess. I never shot groups as I get bored shooting paper. Shot a deer at 110 yards with those bullets. At one time I could hit a 10" steel plate 50% of the time at 200 yards offhand. I could aim without holdover as those bullets shot much higher than 210's which my gun was sighted for.

My 41 mag I have now is a taurus titanium which has too short of a cylinder to shoot those big bullets. So I shoot factory ammo in it. I like the 250 castcore from federal and the winchester 240 grain platinum tip hollow point which both have a velocity of 1250 FPS.(have not chronied these).

Bought another Blackhawk 6.5"bbl. in 45colt.
Thanks to all who replied.see ya a field.



"If winning isn't important?WHY keep score..."

my take on it is that bigger is allways better. A 44 is superior to a 41 as is a 45 superior to a 44. If loaded with cast the .41 will do well on game up to the size of elk. Loaded with jacketed i wouldnt hunt anything bigger then a whitetail. 44 loaded with 300 grian jacketed bullets will take care of hogs and elk sized game loaded with cast a 44 or 45 will shoot through about anything. IMO a 45 ruger colt will with cast bullets kill anything that can be killed with a 454 or 460. If you want more power then a 45 colt you need to step up to a 475 or 500 or even a 470 and shoot 400 grain pluss bullets. I hear everday that 45 colts will kill anything a 475 will. Then you tell me that the 41 is everything a 44 is which is real close to a 45. Now i guess that means that the .41 is just as effective in the game field as a 475. SORRY guys but i dont buy it. .20 in bullet size does make a differnce. It allows for bullets of the same sectional density to be heavier and have a bigger metplat and that equates into effectiveness in the field.

The 44 (.429) is closer to a 41 (.41) than it is to a 45 (.452).

None of them are equal to a 475 linebaugh but all are good enough for anything on this continent.

41 = 293 at 1275 in a 4 5/8" barrel Will go through a moose head 8" bone.

44= 328 at 1300

45= 350 at 1350 will go through 5 feet of brown bear. This is my 454 casull load that I shot through a buddies brown bear carcass.