Sgtshultzy266
New member
Federal 300 grain cast core
what 44 mag ammo.for.whitetails
- Thread starter czeger
- Start date
emsemt911
New member
I was able to take a nice size doe with my t/c pro hunter with a 18 inch MGM barrel in .44 rem mag this week. I was just a little worried about how the bullet will perform. I was using the Winchester 240 gr dual bond. The deer was about 25 yds away. The bullet hit and went through the right shoulder and exited just behind the left. The deer took off like a rocket. I had to track her for about 15 yds, which was easy due to the blood trail. I was just a little worried when I saw a small exit wound, until I cleaned the deer. The bullet put so much of its energy into the chest cavity. The bones it hit were shattered, lungs were like Jello, heart ripped into two. I want to see how this round will perform on hogs.
Widow maker 223
Active member
Originally Posted By: emsemt911I was able to take a nice size doe with my t/c pro hunter with a 18 inch MGM barrel in .44 rem mag this week. I was just a little worried about how the bullet will perform. I was using the Winchester 240 gr dual bond. The deer was about 25 yds away. The bullet hit and went through the right shoulder and exited just behind the left. The deer took off like a rocket. I had to track her for about 15 yds, which was easy due to the blood trail. I was just a little worried when I saw a small exit wound, until I cleaned the deer. The bullet put so much of its energy into the chest cavity. The bones it hit were shattered, lungs were like Jello, heart ripped into two. I want to see how this round will perform on hogs.
That round should be great on hogs!!
That round should be great on hogs!!
hitman2565
New member
I'm from Ohio also and I'm using 240 gr. Hornady XTP's
coyote6974
New member
When I first began hunting deer with a handgun I young and uneducated in the importance of penetration. I chose a 180 grain HP of no longer remembered manufacture, loaded them into my 8 inch barreled model 29 and had at it. On the second day I shot a nice 8 point buck square in the shoulder at 25 yards, and promptly watched him get up and leave. Light blood trail lasted about 200 yards before fading away to nothing. Hard lesson learned. I educated myself about proper handgun hunting ammunition for deer, and switched to 240 grain Keith semi wadcutters, then to 250 grain Winchester Partition Gold when it became available, then to 240 grain Hornady XTP's when I couldn't find the 250 gr Nosler partitions to handload. Since that first lost deer, I've shot near 20 deer with .44 magnum handguns and rifles, and have not lost another. I can't remember any of them going much more than 75 yards before piling up.
Last Friday evening I shot a mature doe at 25 yards with my Marlin 1894 carbine. It was loaded with 240 gr Hornady XTP's over 19.5 gr of 2400. The bullet struck the deer behind the right lower shoulder, opened a 50 cent size entry wound into the chest cavity, breaking several ribs on the entry side. It then plowed a channel across the top of the heart, then exited through the off side shoulder, breaking the shoulder on the way out. When I rolled the doe onto her back there was that sloshing sound you hear after liquifying a coyotes innards with a .22-250. This has been the usual performance I get from the 240 gr XTP. Did I mention I really like the .44 Magnum as a deer cartridge?
Last Friday evening I shot a mature doe at 25 yards with my Marlin 1894 carbine. It was loaded with 240 gr Hornady XTP's over 19.5 gr of 2400. The bullet struck the deer behind the right lower shoulder, opened a 50 cent size entry wound into the chest cavity, breaking several ribs on the entry side. It then plowed a channel across the top of the heart, then exited through the off side shoulder, breaking the shoulder on the way out. When I rolled the doe onto her back there was that sloshing sound you hear after liquifying a coyotes innards with a .22-250. This has been the usual performance I get from the 240 gr XTP. Did I mention I really like the .44 Magnum as a deer cartridge?
I really like the Barnes XPB bullets. I shoot the 200 gr in both .44 mag and in my muzzleloader. In the .44 they are light recoiling (for a .44 mag) with good velocity. I have killed several deer and they really hit hard.
The two on the right were recovered from soft dirt behind a target. I have recovered one from a deer, and looked exactly like these. The one I found in a deer was a very poor shot by me, but the bullet killed the deer cleanly.
The two on the right were recovered from soft dirt behind a target. I have recovered one from a deer, and looked exactly like these. The one I found in a deer was a very poor shot by me, but the bullet killed the deer cleanly.
Leadbelly
New member
Originally Posted By: 2muchgunI don't disagree with what you are saying about cast bullets. Just keep in mind the OP was talking about deer and factory loads.
However, when you say jacketed bullets will "splash" and cannot be used "at any angle", I can tell you that this is absolutely not true of the bonded Speer bullets of which I speak.
As for the Leadheads being too hard, I actually questioned Tommy on this very subject. I then spoke to John Linebaugh about it. He kinda laughed at me a bit, and then told me his son Dustin killed a grizzly bear with said Keith style bullet. I no longer have any doubts, and the bullets work wonderfully IME.
I'm not saying I prefer the Deep Curls to cast, but I will say that on deer and black bear sized critters they have worked extremely well for me.
FWIW, my current handgun hunting loads are loaded with Keith style SWCs, not Deep Curls. Either will kill deer better than well........ once agian I metioned the speer bullets on my original post as being to tough and not offering any advantage over a cast bullet. The jacketed bullets that will splash are the cup and core fodder found in winchester white box and umc ammo.As to not mentioning factory ammo i did suggest to the op to look at cor-bon and buffalo bore cast bullet loads.I have had one jacketed bullet not give me the preformance that i was looking for, and have never even considered using another.Others have posted as to having success with new jacketed designs but my one bad experiance with the winchester black talon 44 mag loads has kept me from trying the 'new thing' but unlike you im going to refrain from arguing with there success just because they use somthing different than me. I would never suggest to anyone to use a bullet in a handgun just because it work well in my rifle of the same caliber, nor would I take the word of someone selling bullets that "my bullets wont shatter my son zapped a grizz between the eyes with em". I know your trying to get to 20,000 post first but try and get out and take some game with a sixgun yourself instead of playing armchair handgun hunter and trying to make yourself look good and anyone that uses different euipment look bad.
However, when you say jacketed bullets will "splash" and cannot be used "at any angle", I can tell you that this is absolutely not true of the bonded Speer bullets of which I speak.
As for the Leadheads being too hard, I actually questioned Tommy on this very subject. I then spoke to John Linebaugh about it. He kinda laughed at me a bit, and then told me his son Dustin killed a grizzly bear with said Keith style bullet. I no longer have any doubts, and the bullets work wonderfully IME.
I'm not saying I prefer the Deep Curls to cast, but I will say that on deer and black bear sized critters they have worked extremely well for me.
FWIW, my current handgun hunting loads are loaded with Keith style SWCs, not Deep Curls. Either will kill deer better than well........ once agian I metioned the speer bullets on my original post as being to tough and not offering any advantage over a cast bullet. The jacketed bullets that will splash are the cup and core fodder found in winchester white box and umc ammo.As to not mentioning factory ammo i did suggest to the op to look at cor-bon and buffalo bore cast bullet loads.I have had one jacketed bullet not give me the preformance that i was looking for, and have never even considered using another.Others have posted as to having success with new jacketed designs but my one bad experiance with the winchester black talon 44 mag loads has kept me from trying the 'new thing' but unlike you im going to refrain from arguing with there success just because they use somthing different than me. I would never suggest to anyone to use a bullet in a handgun just because it work well in my rifle of the same caliber, nor would I take the word of someone selling bullets that "my bullets wont shatter my son zapped a grizz between the eyes with em". I know your trying to get to 20,000 post first but try and get out and take some game with a sixgun yourself instead of playing armchair handgun hunter and trying to make yourself look good and anyone that uses different euipment look bad.
I shoot a S&W 629 Classic. I load my own but have taken several WT with Nosler 250 gr PT (no longer available) 240 gr JHP and the 300 gr JHP. I think its tough to beat a good 240 gr JHP. Most of my shots are less than 50 yds, my longest is 80 yds. I have always had a nice exit and a good blood trail.
Good luck!
JD338
Good luck!
JD338
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