Quote:
Originally Posted by bmcgilvray
What's the deal with shooting outsized .429 diameter bullets from .44 Magnum revolvers?
When I was jumping into .44 Magnum shooting/handloading with both feet in 1980, the heaviest bullet generally available was a 265 grain jacketed soft point offered by Hornady. This bullet probably was really aimed at .444 Marlin shooters. I thought I was really doing something to try a box of them. I didn't notice that they offered anything over the usual run of 240 grain jacketed bullets on the market nor did they make any more sense than a cast 245-250 grain lead SWC over a healthy charge of 2400.
Beginning what, 12-15 years ago, it became popular to shoot very heavy (as in excess of 300 grains) case lead bullets out of the .44 Magnum revolver. Some of these bullets are so long and heavy they may not be loaded in a Smith & Wesson Model 29. Now many pistoleros seem to think that one may not hunt with a .44 Magnum unless he is flinging one of these thumb sized slugs. Perhaps they are good for really big critters that bite back or mash a person, and are of a size and temperament that one has no real business hunting with a .44 Magnum, but I can't see these bullets having real application in .44 Magnum.
Last week I saw someone pontificating on another forum about how these heavy hunks of lead were necessary for whitetail deer hunting. As if the old tried and true 240-250 grain bullets would just bounce off. I know they grow whitetail deer larger in other parts of the country but here in Texas there's not enough whitetail deer on the hoof to offer impenetrable resistance to the original bullet weight range for .44 Magnum which was 180 grains to 240 grains as I recall.
I've only taken a couple of deer with the .44 Magnum and 240 grain Sierra JHPs but it certainly sufficed.
The crushingly heavy bullet loaded in the .44 Magnum looks a bit faddish to me but I live a sheltered life these days and don't get out much.
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And the cult of the hardcast was born. They always post reams of pic of dead animals, leading the naive to believe that the critters just dropped dead in their tracks. The cult always claims that penetration is of utmost importance.
Once the cult gets established on a forum, users of jacketed bullets are banished. All posters must praise the holy hard cast. Anyone who posts negative experiences with hard cast hole drillers is denigrated.
Personally, I thought the hard cast cult was inspired by bullet casters looking for a marketing edge. If you have an LBT WFN mould you can charge 2x more than standard jacketed - and guys will pay it.
Nowadays a 240gr bullet is considered insufficient - especially if it is a jacketed hollow point. Doesn't matter than guys are killing deer, bear and pigs with them consistently - the cult of the hard cast has deemed them inferior. And there is no arguing with them.
The cult has dictated that a 44 mag must be loaded with 300gr or better WFN hard cast or it shouldn't be used for anything beyond pigeons.