Heavy loads for 44 rem mag

[mtbikebj]

I have a 629-6 44 rem mag backpacker. I carry it with me in the backcountry while hiking mainly. Any info on loads for bear(grizzly) would be great. Don't want to over stress the gun. thanks-

[kwselke]

See this thread Bear Guns first.

You will want the heaviest bullet you can find such as a 300 grain Barnes. I'm sure others here can recommend makers of heavy hardcast bullets. Once you decide on the bullet, go to the the bullet manufacturer's load data and slowly work up to the hottest loading. There are some loads which are designed for Rugers and T/C Contenders only. These loads are too long to fit your 629's cylinder.

That being said, just yesterday I saw a show on H2 about monster bears. They told a story of a guy that fired his .44 in the air to scare off a grizzly. The bear kept at him, he holstered the .44 and planted a rifle shot in the bear. The bear got up, the rifle jammed, and before the fellow could get his .44 out again the bear was on him. He survived, but was severely mauled.

[Dale53]

I have several Model 29/629 Smiths. My favored general purpose load (I have taken several deer with this) is 24.0 grs of H110 behind a 250 gr Keith. This chronographs about 1300 fps from my revolver.

300 gr bullets are rather hard on the Smith. However, limited use of 21.5 grs of H110 (or 296) behind a Lee C-430-310 RF will not damage your revolver. After all, how many are you going to need for bear protection. Use just enough of this load to sight in the revolver. This gives the most "smack" available for the 29/629.

NOTE: It is critical to crimp this load in the "longest" crimp groove (there are two crimp grooves in this bullet). Do not crimp in the "short" groove as this reduces case capacity and raises pressures.

Penetration is awesome with either load. As a for instance, on a couple of occasions, I shot clear through a large whitetail deer, lengthwise, at nearly 100 yards with the 250 gr Keith.

FWIW
Dale53