Factory 44 rounds for deer... ???

Have done quite the bit of research these past couple weeks.

Went by a couple shops here in town and the 44 selection is slim. I'd like to get some shelf ammo ordered asap to sight in with and hunt with.

Any of these worth a darn for 160-170# deer (MAX!!!!) within 80 yards?


American Eagle 240 JHP

Federal 240 JHP (I think these are the exact same rounds, btw.)

Hornady 225 gr FTX

Fedral 280 Swift A frame

Fusion (?) 240 gr. No idea what this stuff is.

I'll have gun on Friday. Thinking I might buy that American Eagle for first range trip, when I have no optics. Just to get familiar with gun. For what it's worth, I'm pretty sure that box, brass and bullet is Federal, but half the price. Maybe a good starter box.

What should I get on order if I want to try and dial in by next Sat/Sun.

new PC 629. What do these guns like? Small to average deer at 80 yards or less. As a life long HP rifle guy, maybe I'm over thinking this stuff. Gun probably doesn't care considering the huge margin of human error with handgun. Maybe just let me know what you guys prefer for short track job on a deer after a good shot. Small deer here.

1935 Major DB Wesson left Springfield Mass with the new 357Magnum

S&W revolver and 250rds of ammunition. He was headed West to hunt

And kill ALL the Big Game Animals on the North American Continent.

He accomplished this feat and MORE killing Moose and Grizzley Bear too..

All these done with a 158gr swc lead gas check bullet @ 1500fps.. Now

l don't think those deer and bear were much bigger/smaller today..

l believe you will do just FINE against BAMBI with your S&W 44Magnum

and most any factory ammo out there

Normal factory ammo is more than enough for American Whitetail. Whatever 240 gr JHP your gun shoots best. Don't overthink it. It's a friggin' .44 Mag! Further supercharging is unnecessary IMO.

Last deer l killed with a handgun was a Chiefs Special 2'' 38 wadcutter..

l was moving a ladder stand on a Sunday.. There she was on a trail @ 15

yards...Looking at me and stamping her foot.. l only had the Chief with

me....Actually felt a bit threatened. My first rd was high breaking her

back.. Next was @ a close 3 feet in her ear. Bullets are like real estate.

lts all about LOCATION! LOCATION! LOCATION!

Given that any .44 bullet I've ever put in a deer didn't stay, any energy left once it broke skin on the far side was used to dig a hole in the ground.

Shot placement with most any handgun hunting round is 90% of the battle.

And, quite frankly, I'd rather go with a near wad cutter or similar shape than rely on expansion. Unless you can get terminal velocity over 2700 fps, hydrostatic shock won't be a factor.

There is an answer to the first post. But first, a dose of reality check :

We are discussing smallish whitetails, not large bears, moose, elk, ( whatever from Africa) , etc.

In the current context, ft lb of mathematical energy is way to the bottom of the list of relevant factors. What is involved is making a large hole ( minimum of .429 dia) completely thru Bambi, while passing through a portion of Bambi's anatomy that is fatal.

The base line is that any generic factory 240gr jhp will do that, and from any vaguely appropriate angle. And that level is * more than plenty darn good* for whitetail. You can guild the lilly with either a state of the art cast bullet , or a high end jhp projectile, but for 150-ish lb deer it won't kill them any deader than generic.

Back at the first post, there is a quaified answer amongst the listed options. The 225gr FTX willprobably expand more for broadside lung hits, thereb l ngy slightly more damage to lung tissue, in anticiation slightly faster incapacitation. But there are tradeoffs.


You will need to be more selective about broadside.
Somewhat. Different POI than common 240gr.
More expensive.

I have taken one deer with with the federal fusions at 52 yards. About 160 lb buck that was quartering to me. Bullet entered at the front of his shoulder and exited the back of the rib cage on the opposite side. Buck ran about 60 yards and fell over. Honestly from the exit wound it looked like exspanion was minimal. I have the Hornady 225 grain flex tip for this year. But have not had the chance to take a deer with them.


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Illyia Kuryakin said:

Really.

I once killed a deer with a karate chop to the neck....one second she was moving, the next, "chop" she was down, neck snapped. Pretty tasty too!

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I wasn't there, but I do shoot with sw282 regularly, and his post didn't even raise an eyebrow. Consider that he shoots revolvers at distances out to 200m, standing. At targets that at that distance aren't much larger than the vitals of a deer.

Our 25yd targets are basically 3" with some odd protrusions. No points for "close", either!

Also, consider that another of our compadres (not a forum member) at the last IHMSA match used a .38 Spl CENTENNIAL (i.e. DA only and fixed sights on a 1 7/8" bbl.) to hit half of the 25 yds targets as well as connecting at 50, 75 and 100 yards as well. The misses were darn close. No wild shots. (It was a re-entry, done after I shot a 4" 67 as one of my entries. I was beginning to wonder if my score would hold in that class! "Bordello" class, BTW) ETA: I think Kdiver58 got some video of the 75 and 100yd runs with the Centennial, BTW.

That's the kind of shooters we hang with. You're welcome to attend any IHMSA match and try it yourself! Would like the addition to the crew.


And had I been faster on the draw, would have tried the same with the 940 on a deer that went trotting past my truck at 15-20yds as I was getting out of my hunting duds a few years back.

after you shoot the deer with a Magnum round .....all that you'll see is a Mushroom cloud.....just kidding!

Illyia Kuryakin said:

Really.

I once killed a deer with a karate chop to the neck....one second she was moving, the next, "chop" she was down, neck snapped. Pretty tasty too!

Click to expand...

Illly.. Katate Chops in deer hunting is entirely likely considering
California's anti gun stance.

Consider still my shot would have been just as lethal with a 22RF.
ln fact l would hate to estimate the amount of game
animals killed every year with a 22rf, FAR LESS a ctg than 38SPCL

Any of the 240 grain loads will do the job on a whitetail, with proper shot placement. I have also seen a couple of deer get wounded and run never to be found when shot with a 30-06 somewhere in the wrong place on the animal. As noted careful shot placement is the key, don't just blaze away at the deer.

Panhandler80 said:

Have done quite the bit of research these past couple weeks.

Went by a couple shops here in town and the 44 selection is slim. I'd like to get some shelf ammo ordered asap to sight in with and hunt with.

Any of these worth a darn for 160-170# deer (MAX!!!!) within 80 yards?


American Eagle 240 JHP

Federal 240 JHP (I think these are the exact same rounds, btw.)

Hornady 225 gr FTX

Fedral 280 Swift A frame

Fusion (?) 240 gr. No idea what this stuff is.

I'll have gun on Friday. Thinking I might buy that American Eagle for first range trip, when I have no optics. Just to get familiar with gun. For what it's worth, I'm pretty sure that box, brass and bullet is Federal, but half the price. Maybe a good starter box.

What should I get on order if I want to try and dial in by next Sat/Sun.

new PC 629. What do these guns like? Small to average deer at 80 yards or less. As a life long HP rifle guy, maybe I'm over thinking this stuff. Gun probably doesn't care considering the huge margin of human error with handgun. Maybe just let me know what you guys prefer for short track job on a deer after a good shot. Small deer here.

Click to expand...

Morning Panhandler80

At 80 yards & under (hopefully much closer than 80
yards) any of the rounds you have mentioned will easily
kill a deer (IF) you get a good double lung shot or
heart shot into the animal.

In fact they most likely will even kill with a bad hit
but you might not find the animal.

I have killed deer with handguns from 9mm to .460 &
they will all kill a deer quite easily WITH a good double
lung hit.

To me (personally) it's not about how well they will kill
a deer it is more about what kind of a blood trail I will
get IF I get a marginal hit. Especially if the animal is
angled or has a lot of adrenalin flowing (ie running deer)

A dead deer is of no use if you can't find it & that can
easily happen in heavy cover with a marginal hit & no,
or very poor, blood trail.

At 80 yards even a .44 mag doesn't have much shocking
power so you need to choose a bullet that will leave a
nice open wound channel & give you a nice pass-through
(even on an angled animal) so you get a blood trail that
even Stevie Wonder could follow.

I have had deer go 5 yards & just fall over dead with a
9mm XTP bullet hit & run well over 80 yards with a single
lung hit from .44 mag hardcast that had blood spurting out
both sides of the animal including his nose.

I usually sight my .44 mags in with 240 gr hard cast as that
is what I carry for bear protection so that is what I hunt deer
with as I am already sighted for that round & have
experience with shooting it. (I have never lost a deer to
a .44 mag 240 gr hard cast but do limit my shots to about
40 yards & under & will not take a marginal angle shot)

They all seem to be a similar bullet profile; I guess I'd just pick the Federal/Eagles. If you know you're going to be taking a longer shot then maybe the 280's. I also think big meplat on a big heavy bullet is best for large caliber projectiles.

I know someone who took an elk with a 327 magnum. He was helping someone stalk on an elk hunt; came up on a barn, went around the back, and intercepted it at about 20 yds. Hit the neck, dropped it. He didn't have the tag, so he will remain nameless; but the tag holder did take it home. Tag holder had the rifle, but caught the sling on his coat, and couldn't make the short shot quick enough, and the elk snuck off around the back.

I like at least 240 grain bullets for deer. I'd pick a few 240 and up loads then hunt with the one that gave the best accuracy.

Whatever is the most accurate. I don't think you could go wrong with an XTP bullet for Whitetails -- 200 grainers are very accurate in both my 629 and in my Ruger 44 Special.

Thanks folks. I found one box of Hornady 240 XTPs in town. Bought it. Going to pick up a 50 round box of American Eagle 240gr JHP tomorrow. Figured I'd chew through that box getting red dot close, and familiarizing myself with weapon.

I'd like to pick up one or two additional boxes of hunting rounds. Maybe I'll give that Sig Sauer elite stuff a whirl after some more research. The underwood stuff up top sure looks nice. Ideally, though, I'd like to get gun dialed in with stuff off shelves around town if at all possible. I shoot some high end stuff (relatively, anyway... Nosler factory 140gr partition out of my bolt action .270wsm... have killed out to 300) because the gun just LOVES them. Federal used to make one with that bullet, but quit. Anyway, I had one box, and yeah... a box of 20 should last a few seasons. Unless you leave it on rail of truck bed! I'm a nut about making sure gun is good, so I had to buy stuff off shelf and felt obligated to take to range and test before hunt. Kind of a pain.... AS SUCH... It's nice to be able to grab another box in town if an in-a-pinch situation arises.

That being said, I do want to take advantage of what gun is capable of. I'll at least look into what rounds have most KE at hunting distance as I shop likely good candidates.

First member to respond... you'd mentioned a 340 grain underwood. I thought such a round is a no-no for a SW 629?

I'm 100% with you guys on shot placement. That 140grain Nosler that leaves my .270wsm at 3,200fps creates quite the shock. A small gut shot deer very well might loose a couple lungs! I'm going to treat the handgun about like a bow. I'm basically shoving a piece of rebar through the deer. I'm out for double lungs and blood trail. I imagine knocking a small one in shoulder a close range would be pretty catastrophic, but that's a lightly lower odds shot than a more center-of-mass double lung shot that can kill if high, low, back, or fwd.

Fun stuff. I'm excited to try something new.

Like I said, right now I'm sitting on 20 Hornady 240 XTPs. Shop in town has a box of the Hornady 225 FTX. According to charts, they pack as much E as some of the heavier rounds on account of V, but I'm slightly concnerneed about weight retention and punching out other side.

Like the underwood prices!

I got married and lived in Georgia during the 70's. I hunted with a Marlin 1894 with American Eagle 240 gr JSP. Did real well. The only problem nowadays is that most game animals have evolved to where it takes some kind of cannon to kill them.

snuffy51 said:

I got married and lived in Georgia during the 70's. I hunted with a Marlin 1894 with American Eagle 240 gr JSP. Did real well. The only problem nowadays is that most game animals have evolved to where it takes some kind of cannon to kill them.

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Haha....

I think research and over analysis just goes hand in hand with down time and unlimited info (good and bad) now available to us with intrnet.

in 1970s your buddy would have recommended a round at campfire, you'd have killed a deer with it, and never looked back.

NOTHING wrong with that.!

Also nothing wrong with trying to put as many controlable variables as possible in hunters favor.

Know one thing for sure, what I need MOST now is some range time.