Load for 44 mag suppressed rifle advice.

[HappyHunter]

Looking for advice.

Looking for a bullet to load for my 44 Mag, Ruger bolt action rifle, this is a suppressed rifle. Gun has a 13 inch match barrel and an integral suppressor.

Wanting a load that will open up well at subsonic loading, and the heavier the bullet the better.

Currently I use a .429, 300 gr Hornady XTP, traveling subsonic it simply does not open. It does kill the deer, especially with a neck shot hitting the spine (my first choice). Hind sight: wish i had built this .458 for the better bullet selection.

Any help appreciated,

Fred aka Happy Hunter

 

[zeke]

Looking for advice.

Looking for a bullet to load for my 44 Mag, Ruger bolt action rifle, this is a suppressed rifle. Gun has a 13 inch match barrel and an integral suppressor.

Wanting a load that will open up well at subsonic loading, and the heavier the bullet the better.

Currently I use a .429, 300 gr Hornady XTP, traveling subsonic it simply does not open. It does kill the deer, especially with a neck shot hitting the spine (my first choice). Hind sight: wish i had built this .458 for the better bullet selection.

Any help appreciated,

Fred aka Happy Hunter

first thing ya might consider is filling the hollow point up with silicone. Even when xtp's do expand, they don't expand much allowing more penetration.

Swifts are described as being capable, but do not have any experience with them and are spendy

SWIFT 44cal (.430) 300gr BULLET AF PISTOL 50/bx - Graf & Sons

Swift Muzzle loader and heavy revolver A-Frame® bullets are one in the same. Both initiate expansion at 950 feet per second, expand to .65x their original caliber, and maintain 97% of their weight. They are virtually indestructible at velocities in excess of 3000 feet per second. This is not...

www.grafs.com

 

[HappyHunter]

Zeke

Thanks! I have not considered Swift. Wow, they are pricey, but after load development, I typically shoot minimally. 100 rounds will get me 2-4 deer annually for a long time.

I have previously used Barnes on a Socom load, and was very pleased. There offerings for .429 is significantly less, and typically unavailable. Notice the bullet you recommend is also back ordered.

Sincerely appreciate your suggestion.

Fred

 

[zeke]

Zeke

Thanks! I have not considered Swift. Wow, they are pricey, but after load development, I typically shoot minimally. 100 rounds will get me 2-4 deer annually for a long time.

I have previously used Barnes on a Socom load, and was very pleased. There offerings for .429 is significantly less, and typically unavailable. Notice the bullet you recommend is also back ordered.

Sincerely appreciate your suggestion.

Fred

yup, it might take some searching/patience to find any

https://www.natchezss.com/reloading/bullets-shot/pistol-bullets/44-cal-430-dia-300-gr-50bx-sb44300 shows in stock

just went through some experimenting with some powders and the 300 gn xtp , and preliminarily settling on v v 3n37

 

[venomballistics]

1050 fps is your practical limit to satisfy your subsonic needs.
Develop your loads with a Chrono.
You might find yourself going down in weight and gaining a wider selection of candidates

 

[JC Weaponry]

Are you shooting a TD MFG Silent Destroyer?

 

[Garrett-J]

The problem you face is that most .44 bullets are designed to perform at magnum velocities. As noted, an XTP for example will act like a solid at subsonic velocities.

So you can look for something designed for the .44 Special. Speer makes a 210 gr. Gold Dot that looks like it would open up reliably at just about any velocity. The problem here being you would likely get subpar penetration for hunting.

Lehigh Defense makes a pre-fragmented copper bullet designed specifically for subsonic use. I bought some to play with in .45-70, but found the bullets were far too long to stabilize in my slow-twist barrel. They were hitting the target sideways at close range. And unfortunately for you, I don't know that they ever made these in a .429 diameter. But this is the type of thing you would want. Some petals designed to fracture and cause multiple wound paths, with a heavy core to penetrate deeply.

 

[Forrest r]

No real help with were to buy low velocity hp's for the 44cal's. I have made my own in the past.

A 265gr hp that took several attempts to get the core's alloy correct to be able to perform at lower velocities. The muzzle velocity was 1100fps+ & the 25 yd hits were +/- 1050fps.

Note the huge hp. Low velocities equal a large hp cavity. Those 265gr hp's used above made out of 40s&w cases.

44cal swc hp's that I cast. The penta point hp's are best in the +/- 800fps range while the small round hp's are best in the +/- 1200fps range.

I carry a snubnosed 44spl, ca bulldog, have for decades. I prefer lighter bullets in the 200gr to 220gr range in that revolver. In the +/- 1000fps range those weights shoot to the poa of the sights @ 25ft. Some different loads I tested in that bulldog.

The upper right bullet is a cast/coated swc hollow based bullet that I loaded then used a forester hp tool to put a hp in it.

When I can't find what I need I make my own. Perhaps you can modify something that's out there to perform to your needs.