Assuming I use it only for bear protection what could I expect the max load in my scandium 44 mag to be. That is disregarding my own limitations, I just don't want to ruin the pistol, but I want to use it for its design purpose. All my practice will be with minor magnum loads or even 44 special.
max load for 329
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BigBill
Absent Comrade
First I would use jacketed soft points for deeper penetration. The jacketed hollow points start to open on impact.(fat). I wouldn't load it to max specs in the reloading manual. I would bring the powder charge up slow to make sure you can handle it. We're trading max power/recoil for accuracy. Practice with the 44 specials for a while. To bring up your accuracy quickly I'd stagger or mix Magnum and special loads.
The Smith and Wesson model 329 can safely chamber and fire ALL 44 Magnum ammunition that is loaded to SAAMI specifications
Be aware there are several small ammunition houses that do load and sell ammunition that exceeds SAAMI Industry standards.
Be aware there are several small ammunition houses that do load and sell ammunition that exceeds SAAMI Industry standards.
Snapping Twig
Member
Try some 200g Underwood 44Spl.
1100fps.
I bought a Mountain Revolver from a guy - light barrel N frame 44 mag - he sold me a couple boxes of Underwood 200g 44Spl with the revolver.
Reason he was using it, recoil pain. It's comfy to shoot in the Mountain Revolver and being it's a might heavier than your 329, it might be a good round to use in yours.
Revolver weight is your friend as far as recoil is concerned.
Newton's Law - not a suggestion.
1100fps.
I bought a Mountain Revolver from a guy - light barrel N frame 44 mag - he sold me a couple boxes of Underwood 200g 44Spl with the revolver.
Reason he was using it, recoil pain. It's comfy to shoot in the Mountain Revolver and being it's a might heavier than your 329, it might be a good round to use in yours.
Revolver weight is your friend as far as recoil is concerned.
Newton's Law - not a suggestion.
Sorry I didn't clarify I don't reload, but thanks for the response!
Since there's no 44 Mag SAAMI (+P) standard, that's correct.
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You didn’t say what kind of bear – smallish black bear, big black bear, inland grizzly, coastal grizzly (brown/Kodiak bear) – Lots of bear threads and opinions.
The 329 is a very specialized handgun. Unless you are a pretty seasoned hangunner, it is extremely hard to shoot accurately. Some guns exhibit sticky extraction with standard factory .44 Mag ammo. If you gun is one of these, try different ammo or better yet send it back to S&W (under warranty) and have them fix it. If the “lock” is going to be an issue, it will happen with these guns. Also, some have short firing pins (weak primer strikes) with resulting erratic ignition. The light weight 329 is also a notorious bullet puller (crimp jump). ALL OF THE ABOVE REQUIRE THAT YOU TEST YOUR CHOOSEN AMMO AS IF YOUR LIFE DEPENDS ON IT – IT DOES.
With that in mind.
No Ammo Designated +P in the 329.
I’m a hand loader, so I can’t speak to cost effective factory available “minor” .44 mags or .44 specials.
Here are some .44 mag ammo that should be fine in the 329PD.
Any standard .44 mag ammo from Hornady, Speer, Federal, Winchester, Remington, Barnes, HSM, to mention a few.
Also boutique makers such as the following – Just make sure you read the descriptions – they will tell you what guns their ammo is made for.
If it was me and I was going to use a 300gr+ bullet in the 329, I would choose the Garrett Defender (the mild one), or the HSM Bear load -- although you won’t like the recoil in the 329.
Buffalo Bore
https://www.buffalobore.com/index.php?l=product_list&c=10
Garrett Cartridges
Garrett Cartridges Inc.
Underwood
https://www.underwoodammo.com/44-remington-magnum/
Double Tap
44 Magnum
FWIW,
Paul
The 329 is a very specialized handgun. Unless you are a pretty seasoned hangunner, it is extremely hard to shoot accurately. Some guns exhibit sticky extraction with standard factory .44 Mag ammo. If you gun is one of these, try different ammo or better yet send it back to S&W (under warranty) and have them fix it. If the “lock” is going to be an issue, it will happen with these guns. Also, some have short firing pins (weak primer strikes) with resulting erratic ignition. The light weight 329 is also a notorious bullet puller (crimp jump). ALL OF THE ABOVE REQUIRE THAT YOU TEST YOUR CHOOSEN AMMO AS IF YOUR LIFE DEPENDS ON IT – IT DOES.
With that in mind.
No Ammo Designated +P in the 329.
I’m a hand loader, so I can’t speak to cost effective factory available “minor” .44 mags or .44 specials.
Here are some .44 mag ammo that should be fine in the 329PD.
Any standard .44 mag ammo from Hornady, Speer, Federal, Winchester, Remington, Barnes, HSM, to mention a few.
Also boutique makers such as the following – Just make sure you read the descriptions – they will tell you what guns their ammo is made for.
If it was me and I was going to use a 300gr+ bullet in the 329, I would choose the Garrett Defender (the mild one), or the HSM Bear load -- although you won’t like the recoil in the 329.
Buffalo Bore
https://www.buffalobore.com/index.php?l=product_list&c=10
Garrett Cartridges
Garrett Cartridges Inc.
Underwood
https://www.underwoodammo.com/44-remington-magnum/
Double Tap
44 Magnum
FWIW,
Paul
Kid44
Member
Buffalo Bore offers a "Reduced Recoil" loads in .44 magnum, it's a 255 gr hard cast bullet. You may want to try that in your 329.
I get a big kick out of Buffalo Bore's "reduced recoil" loads. 255gr Keith GC velocities from their website:
➤ 1264 fps -- S&W 329PD (4 inch)
➤ 1357 fps -- Ruger Red Hawk (5.5 inch)
From my 329 PD, Remington 240gr JSP factory loads chronoed 1,244 fps at 5 long paces from the muzzle and 75 deg f.
My handload of 21.0gr A2400 and 250gr Keith (429421) chronoed 1,250 fps from my 4 1/4" M69 at 5 long paces from muzzle and 83 deg f
Paul
➤ 1264 fps -- S&W 329PD (4 inch)
➤ 1357 fps -- Ruger Red Hawk (5.5 inch)
From my 329 PD, Remington 240gr JSP factory loads chronoed 1,244 fps at 5 long paces from the muzzle and 75 deg f.
My handload of 21.0gr A2400 and 250gr Keith (429421) chronoed 1,250 fps from my 4 1/4" M69 at 5 long paces from muzzle and 83 deg f
Paul
This gun is simply a backup for my can of bear spray. I don't hunt so that doesn't come into play, but I live in the NW so it is conceivable that I could even see a grizzly where I occasionally camp- Montana, Idaho Oregon, Washington.
It looks to me like the Underwood 220 gr. Xtreme Penetrator would be ideal for my use. I have watched a number of youtube videos and it appears to have all the penetration you could ask for while offering a lighter recoil than the bigger 300 gr. bullets.
It looks to me like the Underwood 220 gr. Xtreme Penetrator would be ideal for my use. I have watched a number of youtube videos and it appears to have all the penetration you could ask for while offering a lighter recoil than the bigger 300 gr. bullets.
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At least the Underwood ammo is reasonably priced. I've found their velocity claims to be legit and others have concluded the same. With that said I don't have any personal experience with their .44 mag ammo.
They list 1,530 fps for the 220gr Xtreme Penetrator (barrel length not mentioned) -- not sure that these will offer lighter recoil. I've found that increased velocity is responsible for a disproportionate increase in felt recoil.
Of course everyone experiences felt recoil differently, so YMMV.
FWIW,
Paul
They list 1,530 fps for the 220gr Xtreme Penetrator (barrel length not mentioned) -- not sure that these will offer lighter recoil. I've found that increased velocity is responsible for a disproportionate increase in felt recoil.
Of course everyone experiences felt recoil differently, so YMMV.
FWIW,
Paul
Kid44
Member
That's how Buffalo Bore can call their "Reduced Recoil" what they do, it recoils less than the bigger 300 gr. bullets.
A 255 gr. bullet from anyone is probably the biggest bullet I will shoot from either of my .44's, it's likely the biggest bullet I would need. No grizzlies and only a few black bear south of here with sightings becoming more frequent.
IMO, either go with a moderate velocity 250-300gr hardcast bullet (1100fps max) or go with a zippy 240gr Hornaday XTP (1200+fps). (The best black bear zapper is the 240gr XTP). I hand load, so I don't spend much time looking at factory ammo. But I have tested bullets with the 329pd and that's where my recommendation comes from.
Skip the boutique bullets and learn to shoot - it takes practice.
People have all sorts of untested notions about what works on "large game". The 240gr XTP has been used extensively to cull black bears (from 4" revolvers) and it works much better than hardcast. But understand that I said "black bears" (250lbs), because sure as anything the next guy is gonna repeat some horror story involving coastal Brownies (700lbs). And lets face it, a 44mag isn't some sort of amazing death ray (half the umph of a 30-30), it is just handy - assuming you can hit with it.
Observation of Black bears hit with the 240grXTP is that they STOP, and focus on the wound. Bears hit with hardcast don't realize they've been hit half the time. Personally, I would like the bear to STOP and focus on the wound.
Since you don't reload, I don't see the need to spend even more money on ammo that you won't shoot because of cost. So I recommend you pick up Remington's Express 240gr JSP fodder since I usually see it sold for less. You gotta shoot that pistol enough that you are confident at 10 yards in a hurry. If you find other 44mag (not 44spl) ammo for less, buy it and shoot it.
My carry ammo is 240grXTP at ~1200fps. My practice ammo is 240gr hardcast at ~1200fps. I used to make plinkers, (240gr hardcast @900fps), but nobody but me shoots the revolver anymore.
Just my opinion of course. Have fun!
JJHACK
24hourcampfire | Forums powered by UBB.threads™
Hunting Adventures - By Jim Hackiewicz
Summary: This fellow worked for Weyerhauser culling black bears. The bears would be caught in snares, and he would dispatch them with his 4" 44mag revolver.
He had a lot of input in the design of the Hornady 240gr XTP and tested it on black bears extensively (over 200 of them). He also tested 310gr Hardcast. He estimates he culled over 400 bears.
You can dig up his musings on the above linked forum. I also gave you a link to his guide service.
