.44 Magnum/Special Self-Defense Ammo

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mechengr

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Any recommendations on self-defense ammunition (2-legged) in the .44 Magnum/Special category? These are the three I am looking at:

Federal Hydra-Shok .44 Magnum JHP:
240 grain
1210 ft/s
780 ft-lbs

Speer Gold Dot .44 Magnum JHP:
200 grain
1075 ft/s
513 ft-lbs

Speer Gold Dot .44 Special JHP:
200 grain
875 ft/s
340 ft-lbs

I am leaning towards the Federal, but I would like to hear your thoughts.
 
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All of the above will work. Shoot what you can handle the best. For a big defensive round, take a look at the Corbon DPX .44 Magnum HP.

225gr. Barnes X solid copper heat treated bullet
1350 fps.
911 ft.lbs.
 
mechengr said:
Any recommendations on self-defense ammunition (2-legged) in the .44 Magnum/Special category? These are the three I am looking at:

Federal Hydra-Shok .44 Magnum JHP:
240 grain
1210 ft/s
780 ft-lbs

Speer Gold Dot .44 Magnum JHP:
200 grain
1075 ft/s
513 ft-lbs

Speer Gold Dot .44 Special JHP:
200 grain
875 ft/s
340 ft-lbs

I am leaning towards the Federal, but I would like to hear your thoughts.
Click to expand...

Im presently using the Federals...but am working on a load thats a 240 cast LSWC thats an HP and intend on pumping it out at about 1300 FPS.
 
The Federal will have too much recoil for rapid fire and is far more powerful than needed to take out a human.

The .44 Special load is more than powerful enough and can be fired far more rapidly if needed.
 
I carry my 44 Mag a lot as a CHL when en route on a hunt.

I usually carry something like the Speer 200gr or the Cor Bon 165gr load as my first 6 then have full load 240's in loaders for reloading.

I figure after the first 6 everybody still alive will be hiding behind something...
 
Last edited:
Back when I carried my 629 every day I carried Remington's 210gr SJHP (now discontinued).

I started out with their 180 grainers because they were real screamers (rated at 1610fps out of a 6 inch barrel). But I knew a fellow who had one stop in the shoulder of a deer so tried the 210s and found them more accurate with less blast.

I tried 240s but they cause too much muzzle jump for defensive work (some would say that's true of any .44 mag).

I've gone to handloading the 210gr SJHP since it's not commercially available. I generally don't carry the .44 defensively any more.

I was looking at the big 3's (Rem, Win and Fed) websites recently and discovered you'd be hard pressed to find any commercial loading lighter than 240 grains these days.

My next goal is a gas-checked, hollow point mold in the 210-ish range I can push along at the same rate as the jacketed ones. I'm averaging around 1250fps with 25 grains of WW 296.
 
Anything in 44 magnum is going to be catastrophic on a person and probably overpenetrate dangerously. Not the best choice for most people. Pick just about any 44 special load or switch to a more reasonable caliber.
 
Let me add that I carried a 44 Mag as my Duty gun in 1976.
Over the years I carried the Remington 240 SJHP, the 240gr Federal HP, the Federal 180gr HP and then by Departmental Regs the Speer 200gr HP...

All of them "worked" very well...
 
mechengr said:
Any recommendations on self-defense ammunition (2-legged) in the .44 Magnum/Special category? These are the three I am looking at:

Federal Hydra-Shok .44 Magnum JHP:
240 grain
1210 ft/s
780 ft-lbs

Speer Gold Dot .44 Magnum JHP:
200 grain
1075 ft/s
513 ft-lbs

Speer Gold Dot .44 Special JHP:
200 grain
875 ft/s
340 ft-lbs

I am leaning towards the Federal, but I would like to hear your thoughts.
Click to expand...

The numbers I got from Speer Gold Dot out of my 3" 629

44 Spl 759
44 Mag 983

I feel like they would do the job very well. Huge hollow point, soft lead.
2-10031.jpg
 
Nick B said:
Does Winchester still make the .44 mag 210gr Silvertip ?
Click to expand...

I just checked their website, and it is still listed -- 1250 fps out of a 4" barrel. That's good because that is what is usually found in my 629 MG.

I've thought about handloading the Remingtom 210 gr. sjhp to about 1250 fps, but am not sure how well they would expand. They sure LOOK like they'd do well.
 
Sven said:
I just checked their website, and it is still listed -- 1250 fps out of a 4" barrel. That's good because that is what is usually found in my 629 MG.

I've thought about handloading the Remingtom 210 gr. sjhp to about 1250 fps, but am not sure how well they would expand. They sure LOOK like they'd do well.
Click to expand...
I thought I read somewhere that the Silvertip handgun bullet was originally designed as a defensive bullet and not a hunting bullet .
 
Well, the little symbol next to this load on their website says it's for thin-skinned game. Guess it depends on your definition of "thin-skinned game"!
 
Sven said:
I've thought about handloading the Remingtom 210 gr. sjhp to about 1250 fps, but am not sure how well they would expand. They sure LOOK like they'd do well.
Click to expand...

I expanded some of the factory loading in water years ago.

The core is bonded to the jacket. Performs very well.

This is also true of the SJHP in .357.

I've not tried to capture any of my hand loaded ones but I did make sure they brought the splodey goodness I remembered on gallon jugs of water: Scott Johnson's Photos | Facebook
 
Slow down a 240 grain XTP??

I've never carried a .44 Magnum or for that matter even placed one in my house or car where it might in an emergency become my first response weapon.. But I might.

Has any of you reloaders ever tried slowing down a 240 grain XTP to around 1000 fps in an effort to avoid the two problems we seem to have: over-penetration and muzzle jump affecting the second shot?

I think 1000 fps is not going to cause a squib and the only downside I can think of is PERHAPS compromised expansion in a thin skinned target.
But I've never tried this and really don't know. Perhaps some of you have ideas about this.

I guess I should admit in advance that I have a bunch of 240 grain HP-XTP's on hand. 180's and 200's are certainly available but I'd have to buy those. :-(
 
Do you have the original box with part number? I guess I'd write to Hornady and ask what velocities that bullet would expand at and what you intend to do. IIRC, some of the boxes would list those velocities. It'd be interesting to hear what they had to say.
 
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