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Which 300+ grains hard cast for Hogs to Bears?
- Thread starter 44Magnumm
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Fishinfool
Member
I assume you don't reload, so take a look at Federal Cast Core, Garrett, Buffalo Bore, Cor-Bon, to name a few. Hornady 300 grain XTP factory loads are very good as well in a jacketed load.
Larry
Larry
Having shot several truckloads of pigs, I will say that they are not hard to kill. But I don't shoot them in the body, either. Do that, and you risk a lost porker. Pigs typically are fat enough that a lot of times the fat will seal the exit wound and the hog will stop bleeding externally. And they can go a long way in just a few seconds when mortally wounded...
I shoot them in the brain. Period. But I have the luxury of being able to do that. I have killed them with everything from 22 shorts to 7 Mag. And the last four I shot with an 80-grain pill out of an AR in 6 X 45, at a sedate velocity of about 2600 fps. But again: I shoot them in the brain.
I would find a reputable ammunition supplier with a hard cast of 250-260 grains, and learn to shoot that round accurately. IF you have to shoot through the body, that projectile will do the work, and it will work on a bear too; just shoot shoulders. Behind the shoulder is too far back, in my estimation.
I think that you will find that the 300 grain and larger projectiles are going to give you significant muzzle flip, even with a counter weighted barrel.
Best of luck!
I shoot them in the brain. Period. But I have the luxury of being able to do that. I have killed them with everything from 22 shorts to 7 Mag. And the last four I shot with an 80-grain pill out of an AR in 6 X 45, at a sedate velocity of about 2600 fps. But again: I shoot them in the brain.
I would find a reputable ammunition supplier with a hard cast of 250-260 grains, and learn to shoot that round accurately. IF you have to shoot through the body, that projectile will do the work, and it will work on a bear too; just shoot shoulders. Behind the shoulder is too far back, in my estimation.
I think that you will find that the 300 grain and larger projectiles are going to give you significant muzzle flip, even with a counter weighted barrel.
Best of luck!
ArchAngelCD
Moderator, SWCA Member, Absent Comrade
You can spend a lot if money on good ammo but you can find good ammo at a fair price sometimes.
Grizzly Cartridges makes very good ammo loaded with bullets from their sister company, Cast Performance. I use their bullets and I have shot their ammo. Both are quality products.
I'm thinking a hard cast 300gr bullet with a wide flat nose will handle anything that wants to make dinner of you.
44 Magnum 300gr WFNGC - Grizzly Cartridge - Cast Performance
They have other loads lighter and heavier and with other bullets toom
Grizzly Cartridges makes very good ammo loaded with bullets from their sister company, Cast Performance. I use their bullets and I have shot their ammo. Both are quality products.
I'm thinking a hard cast 300gr bullet with a wide flat nose will handle anything that wants to make dinner of you.
44 Magnum 300gr WFNGC - Grizzly Cartridge - Cast Performance
They have other loads lighter and heavier and with other bullets toom
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29aholic
Member
Make sure whatever you get is rated for a S&W. They don't hold together as good as some of the big Rugers and TC's
Kid44
Member
The .44 magnum was designed to shoot 240 gr. bullets, of course as time went on the "bigger is better" theory came into play and 300 gr. and bigger bullets were produced and there are some good ones out there, but I think that maybe when you get to a certain point you may reach the law of diminishing returns with reduced velocity and unstable bullets. I think maybe you can get up to a 400 gr. .44 bullet but I understand that it keyholes pretty bad due to the fact it can't stabilize in flight. Maybe it's just me, but I'd rather stick with a bullet I know will perform well and reach the target as it was intended to do. I've been happy shooting 240-255 gr. hard cast, if I need a bigger bullet I'll go to a bigger gun.
I talk to the tech from performance center and he said all PC 44 magnum can handle up to 300 grains ammo no problem, anything higher then 300 is not recommended.
29aholic
Member
The weight of the bullet isn't the question. I have shot a truck load of 300gr bullets through my 29-3. The issue is some of the custom loads are loaded to a point that they are recommended for Rugers, Freedom Arms, and Thompson Centers. Now I do believe the newer PC guns have a detent ball in the crane which helps that area lock up, but I am pretty sure if you talk to some of the custom loaders they will tell you some of their stuff shouldn't be shot through a Smith.
What Larry said,.........
ArchAngelCD
Moderator, SWCA Member, Absent Comrade
S&W revolvers will safely fire any SAAMI compliant ammo. Don't believe the bull about S&W revolvers being weak. There are M29 .44 Magnum revolvers that are 50 years old that are as tight as the day they left the factors. (or almost as tight lol)
Yes, and there are M29s owned by the IHMSA crowd that were shot loose many years ago by full-tilt 44 loads and heavy projectiles used to try to knock down 55-lb. rams at 200 meters.
It is a long-proven fact that Smiths will not take heavy loads for the periods of time that Rugers will, and that includes the Redhawk. They just are not built for it.
I am a Smith guy, but I own Rugers as well. I have shot my 357 Redhawk with 14 grains of AA #9 behind a hard cast 180 and it ate it with relish, resulting in a single ragged hole at 50 yards. Try that with a Model 19, 27, or similar. I don't think you will like the results.
29aholic
Member
Yep. I have been shooting Model 29's for almost 40 years and have shot about everything through one you can. I cant tell you how many bent ejector rods and plane sloppy cylinders I have seen from running 44 loads to the brink in those guns. If S&W had kept the triple lock design I don't think it would be much of an issue.
As I previously stated I think the newer PC guns and maybe some of the later -X guns have a ball detent in the crane area which would help as that is the weak point. To tell you the truth I haven't paid much attention to 29's past the -3 other than in passing.
As I previously stated I think the newer PC guns and maybe some of the later -X guns have a ball detent in the crane area which would help as that is the weak point. To tell you the truth I haven't paid much attention to 29's past the -3 other than in passing.
Eddie Southgate
Member
Unless you plan on shooting full tilt 300 grain loads all the time I would stick to the fairly warm 240-250 grain loads with some Keith style hard cast bullets.I usually sight my guns in for the load that I will shoot the most of and do not like to change settings unless I have to. Use Elmer's standard 2400 (for .44 Special ) load with a hard cast Keith bullet and shoot it enough that you don't miss with it and you are good to go for anything on this continent as long as you hit correctly. Shot placement is more important by far than maximum power loads.
Eddie
Eddie
Eddie Southgate
Member
And about as many that are loose as a goose from too many full power loads with heavier than normal (original cartridge spec ) bullets. As to the Ruger being much less likely to shoot loose I can tell you that my father bought a Super Blackhawk new when he was stationed in Alaska in the 70's and sold it in the late eighty's because he could no longer keep the screws tight and lockup was getting a bit shaky . He liked to play with max loads too. Yes you can push the envelope with Smith and Ruger both but I can't for the life of me see a real need for such except for a very few specific uses that do not include anything that the vast majority of .44 mag owners ever use their gun for.
Eddie
ArchAngelCD
Moderator, SWCA Member, Absent Comrade
I'm not going to argue with you because I have no stock in either company.
I'm just curious, did Ruger actually make a Redhawk in .357 Magnum? If they did how could you compare it to a M19 which is a K frame but the N frame M27 is a strong revolver.
Was the Redhawk chambered in .357 Magnum?
Just put that little 300gr bullet in a S&W 460 with a 8" barrel and you are good for a 2,000 pound animal.
SuperMan
Member
CD..yes, the Redhawk was made in .357 Magnum back when the gun first came out...they are rare to find as everyone who has one keeps it. Like a Freedom Arms 83 in .357, you could fill the case with Bullseye and not blow the gun up... Even comparing it to a 27 would not be fair..way stronger than a 27...
Bob
Bob
Bob
Bob
