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Old 01-18-2017, 05:50 PM
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Nemo288 Nemo288 is offline
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While it doesn't really apply in your case, John Taylor in his seminal work,
was of the opinion that the heavier the bullet the better the penetration even though the speed was lower.
In fact at rifle velocity some think penetration goes DOWN above a certain speed.
Now for the 44 special the 240 will give better "throughput" than the 200 in theory.
Just read a book about wild boars written by a state game manager in Texas and he uses a .22 magnum rimfire to finish pigs right close up.
One of my "rural" carry loads in the 44 special is a Sierra 210 JHC at 1055 fps (~20 KPSI)
The other is a 240 SWC at 930 fps.
Unless your quarry is bears I would think either bullet will do.
Even then a finishing head or heart shot should be done quite well with the 200 SWC.

I would not worry too much about going a little over 1000 fps with a 200 SWC in those S&W revolvers.
The pressure might be a tad over 15Kpsi but the Smith's will easily take 20-25 Kpsi in moderation.
Brian Pearce had a good article about that in Handloader 236 Aug-Sept 2005.
Handloader Single Back Issues on CD-ROM
I have a pdf of just that article. It's too large to post here.
He shoots a 200 RCBS RNFP at 1055 with 8 grains Universal.
That's actually listed as a "normal" load and he goes to 9 grains Unique/Universal for his "stage 2" loads.
For everyday use 6 grains works very well:
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Last edited by Nemo288; 01-18-2017 at 05:53 PM.
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