Heavy Bullet .44 Magnum Loads

[bmcgilvray]

What's the deal with shooting outsized .429 diameter bullets from .44 Magnum revolvers?

When I was jumping into .44 Magnum shooting/handloading with both feet in 1980, the heaviest bullet generally available was a 265 grain jacketed soft point offered by Hornady. This bullet probably was really aimed at .444 Marlin shooters. I thought I was really doing something to try a box of them. I didn't notice that they offered anything over the usual run of 240 grain jacketed bullets on the market nor did they make any more sense than a cast 245-250 grain lead SWC over a healthy charge of 2400.

Beginning what, 12-15 years ago, it became popular to shoot very heavy (as in excess of 300 grains) case lead bullets out of the .44 Magnum revolver. Some of these bullets are so long and heavy they may not be loaded in a Smith & Wesson Model 29. Now many pistoleros seem to think that one may not hunt with a .44 Magnum unless he is flinging one of these thumb sized slugs. Perhaps they are good for really big critters that bite back or mash a person, and are of a size and temperament that one has no real business hunting with a .44 Magnum, but I can't see these bullets having real application in .44 Magnum.

Last week I saw someone pontificating on another forum about how these heavy hunks of lead were necessary for whitetail deer hunting. As if the old tried and true 240-250 grain bullets would just bounce off. I know they grow whitetail deer larger in other parts of the country but here in Texas there's not enough whitetail deer on the hoof to offer impenetrable resistance to the original bullet weight range for .44 Magnum which was 180 grains to 240 grains as I recall.

I've only taken a couple of deer with the .44 Magnum and 240 grain Sierra JHPs but it certainly sufficed.

The crushingly heavy bullet loaded in the .44 Magnum looks a bit faddish to me but I live a sheltered life these days and don't get out much.

 

[cp1969]

I think people are mimicking writers such as Ross Seyfried and John Taffin. Because Ross needed big heavy bullets to hunt a Cape Buffalo with a handgun, ergo I must need them, too, for my whitetail exploits.

Along the way, the manufacturers found out that, just like elephant rifles, there is a market for the biggest and baddest of almost anything, regardless of actual need for such items.

 

[Skip Sackett]

Bryan,
YOU ARE A MESS!

Here, on our own small piece of the gun forum Internet, someone recently was pontificating 400gr bullets in the 44Mag. I just keep trying to figure out why?

I mean, if Elmer Keith could shoot a 44Spl 250gr bullet(loaded to magnum velocities)at a Montana, Idaho, or where ever, deer ('cause they are REALLY BIG) at 600 yards from a 4" barrel, why in the world do we need something in that weight range?

My personal opinion is because we aren't the marksmen he was.

Imagine what recoil is from a 5" six shooter!

Here is what a 240gr bullet does to an Indiana deer @ 135 yards, fired from a Marlin 1894 at just under 1700fps.

Graphic pictures below here:

Entrance Hole:

Exit hole with bullet stuck in hide:

 

[okie john]

A lot of it came from Veral Smith, the brains behind LBT, or Lead Bullet Technologies. Ross Seyfried swore by LBT designs when the whole 5-shot .45 Colt craze was getting off the ground.

I bought an LBT Long Flat Nose Gas Check mould for a 325-grain .452" slug about 10 years ago. Bullets from it were extremely accurate, but it kicked about like a 155mm howitzer, so I went back to standard weight slugs.

Elmer Keith asked for a 250-grain slug at 1,200 fps because it just flat worked.


Okie John

 

[Dragon88]

The application is for deeper penetration on large and dangerous animals. Talking about deer hunting and heavy 44 magnum loads is talking about two different things.

 

[Skip Sackett]

The application is for deeper penetration on large and dangerous animals. Talking about deer hunting and heavy 44 magnum loads is talking about two different things.

Well, I suppose, but that was what we were talking about. If you need more take a 300WinMag or a 416 Weatherby or................something that there will be no question about.

I read a bear story that went like this:
Guide and hunter killed by Griz after taking 6 44Mag bullets in the heart.

I'm saying, the hunter didn't take a big enough gun. I wouldn't want a 400gr 44Mag!

 

[buck460XVR]

Different strokes for different folks. Wonderful thing about America, we can choose between a lot of options when it comes to guns and their loads. Me, I could care less what other folks use, and I don't trash folks for using something different than what works for me. I just ask the same from them. For me a 240 grainer is all I need from a .44 also, but if others feel the need for something bigger and it works for them, what's the big deal? It's their gun and their choice. There's bigger things to worry about in life than what others load in their gun.

 

[Boxhead]

When I was chasing elk with my TLA #5 I loaded the 325 gr LFN rather mildly at 1100 fps. Wanted the momentum to ensure penetration if an off angle opportunity arose. It was an extremely accurate load too.

 

[Dragon88]

I read a bear story that went like this:
Guide and hunter killed by Griz after taking 6 44Mag bullets in the heart.

I'm saying, the hunter didn't take a big enough gun. I wouldn't want a 400gr 44Mag!

The gun probably would have been fine if they had placed their shots correctly. Shooting for the "heart" (most likely the shots were actually strewn around the abdomen) won't do the job fast enough. A single shot that penetrates the skull and destroys the central nervous system is more likely to put the animal down instantly, and that is what the 300+ gr 44 mag loads are designed for.

I'm not saying a 44 mag is the ideal bear gun, but it can do the job with proper load selection and bullet placement.

 

[Titegroups]

Just wondering about being able to stabilize the really heavy bullets, can you stabilize a 400g bullet out of a .44? The velocity will be a bit reduced for starters, slowing rotation.

 

[Dragon88]

A 400gr 44 mag load would be something to see. Forget rifling, the bullet would have to be so long to fit 400 gr of lead that you would be fighting case capacity and cylinder length. It would have to be developed with the slowest of powders, H110/W296 or slower.

However, there is a historic 200 gr 38 special load, so anything is possible...

 

[Paul5388]

I keep a .44 mag beside the desk just in case Boudreaux says there's a bugger out there. I have 200 gr wadcutters loaded in it and don't feel a bit under gunned.

Boudreaux

 

[Snapping Twig]

I've been pleased with a home cast 265g GCSWC for both my pistols and my new-to-me Marlin. Very accurate @ 1200fps from the revolver and deadly @ 1700fps from the rifle.

Went through a 160# wild boar like it wasn't even there.

 

[44caliberkid]

whats up fellas, stumbled onto this forum by accident thru google, but after reading had to join and put in my 2 cents. 400gr .44 slugs? i must have them. the heaviest i could ever find were 325s. i dont really use my loads for hunting as much as just for shooting econonmically. personally, just shooting and trying to manhandle a 400 gr load outta my 629 8 3/8 would just be fun and actually trying to hit something with it would be worth the wrist-ache. though i have a feeling my wrists are a little younger than some of yours. and ive also read that a grizzly's skull is thick enough to deflect even .44mag rounds...probably an old wives tale but perhaps some of you guys would know more than i about that

 

[Titegroups]

whats up fellas, stumbled onto this forum by accident thru google, but after reading had to join and put in my 2 cents. 400gr .44 slugs? i must have them. the heaviest i could ever find were 325s. i dont really use my loads for hunting as much as just for shooting econonmically. personally, just shooting and trying to manhandle a 400 gr load outta my 629 8 3/8 would just be fun and actually trying to hit something with it would be worth the wrist-ache. though i have a feeling my wrists are a little younger than some of yours. and ive also read that a grizzly's skull is thick enough to deflect even .44mag rounds...probably an old wives tale but perhaps some of you guys would know more than i about that

You might want to check out Beartooth Bullets. The 400g will probably end up too long for the Smiths. Have a lot of cool stuff.

 

[michael thornton]

i tryed some of the 300 gr stuff years ago when i first started reloading, loaded hot it beat my poor 629-1 all apart! i was shooting alot in those days, now i stick with 240 gr for most of my 44 mag loads, that 629 was a great shooter, i killed a few deer with that gun, it was one of the few 6 inch guns that i realy liked.

 

[Joed49]

i tryed some of the 300 gr stuff years ago when i first started reloading, loaded hot it beat my poor 629-1 all apart! i was shooting alot in those days, now i stick with 240 gr for most of my 44 mag loads, that 629 was a great shooter, i killed a few deer with that gun, it was one of the few 6 inch guns that i realy liked.

When I bought my first 629-1 the gunsmith told me to stay away from the 300 gr bullets. Personally I never saw a need for them and have heard to many stories like the one above.

 

[Bearcat74]

I shoot a 310 WFNGC + 21.0grs of H110 from my 4 5/8" Ruger Super Blackhawk, should be effective on most critters.

 

[sonny]

Just wondering about being able to stabilize the really heavy bullets, can you stabilize a 400g bullet out of a .44? The velocity will be a bit reduced for starters, slowing rotation.

Had a fella, does car-racing in nice weather, won't be back on here 'til winter, talking about those heavy bullets. Used 405gr hard cast in Redhawks. The idea was, for SD bear load at short range (not hunting), to develop a 1000 fps load, no faster, such that you could get in a second shot. For protection when hiking in Alaska or...
The guy is FlatTop. He and friends got up a load with 2400 that suited them. Penetrated 13 gallon water bottles lined up in a row and never found the bullet. At 1000fps, I don't think I'll stress the gun at all. FlatTop's load put 5 in one inch @ 25 yds.
The bullets come from BearTooth for you guys that like to experiment. I have some loaded with several slow-burning powders, but some recent surgery has kept me off the range. Will let you guys know, although I won't reco these loads for anything less than a RedHawk.
Sonny

 

[6pack]

240 grains are all I've ever deer hunted with in the various .44mag revolvers I've had over the years.