two part question 44 mag ammo

[rosader]

I will be purchasing a S&W 629 CL sometime in the next few weeks but I wanted to know
1. What is a good ammunition for practice? (good but not too expensive to shoot)
2. What is the best ammunition to have on hand for personal protection?

 

[SWBigBang]

I will be purchasing a S&W 629 CL sometime in the next few weeks but I wanted to know
1. What is a good ammunition for practice? (good but not too expensive to shoot)
2. What is the best ammunition to have on hand for personal protection?

1 - Reloads
2 - will vary based on opinion. I am not a fan of using a .44 Mag for personal protection.

 

[LuddhaBuddha]

I agree reloads would be the best for practice, but if thats not an option, winchester white box 240gr JSP has worked just fine in my guns.

If I were going to carry a .44 mag for personal defense against humans, I would load a 200gr gold dot .44 special bullet over 13gr of AA#5. Again if reloading isn't an option I would go with the 200gr Speer gold dot short barrel ammo.

 

[mgjohn]

1. Reloads

2. 44 special for self defence. What ever the gun likes best.
Need to purchase several diffrent loads and do some range tests.

If a woods protection gun for use on large animals: same as #2 but in 44 mag.

Even Dirty Harry only carried 44 specials in his Model 29.

 

[rosader]

Thanks, I forgot to mention it won't be a conceal carry gun I've got a 45 and a 357 snub for that, this will be more for protection from 4 legged creatures while fishing, hiking, etc.
I don't really have the funds for reloading equipment (just enough for an $800 revolver lol) nor the skill for that matter but I'll try the ammo mentioned above thanks again

 

[brokenprism]

Thanks, I forgot to mention it won't be a conceal carry gun I've got a 45 and a 357 snub for that, this will be more for protection from 4 legged creatures while fishing, hiking, etc.
I don't really have the funds for reloading equipment (just enough for an $800 revolver lol) nor the skill for that matter but I'll try the ammo mentioned above thanks again

Don't forget that two-leggeds also haunt the forests. Consider the weed farmers. Over-penetration is not really an issue in the sticks, no matter what you're shooting at. Flop-Shank reviewed the performance of some 240 gr loads -- Remington and Hornady SXT -- both of which I have, and both of which were too severe for in-town carry. He recommended the Federal 180 gr, which of course I can't find anywhere. Next purchase is a Lee Turret press!

 

[LuddhaBuddha]

Well for woods carry I would go with a 240 or 300gr hardcast flatpoint lead bullet if bears are your main concern, double tap or buffalo bore should have something to meet your needs in that department.

 

[flop-shank]

The .44 magnum is very viable for self defense for those willing to do the work to master it. There are not many, and the list of available full power, and even midrange, loads that are ideal for two leggers is quite short. For four leggers there are many excellent choices.

As far as the .44 spl. is concerned, it's a fine cartridge, but one can get the same level of asswhippage, if not more, out of a smaller, lighter, easier to carry, lower bore axis, higher velocity .357 revolver, or get two extra shots from an N frame. The one big advantage of the spl., and I know it's very important to some people, is that it runs at much lower pressure.

 

[38-44HD45]

Speer makes a Short Barrel .44 mag. load, with a 200 gr. Gold Dot running at around 1075 fps., as I recall. I keep them in my Mountain Guns. The ballistics duplicate the old Pro Load "Tactical Lite" load with the same bullet, but the Pro Load offering was pretty flashy. I have a good bit of both loads. Double Tap loads the same bullet (although Mike calls it "Bonded Defense") at about the same velocity, but loaded in .44 Special brass. That Gold Dot expands like crazy, even at 800 fps.

For practice, you need to reload, but Georgia Arms is a good place to start looking if you don't reload.

 

[mod29]

For general woods carry, WWB 240-gr semi-jacketed softpoints are excellent. Not too expensive, but accurate and pack a good punch. That's what I carry in my 629's most of the time.
For general self-defense, I think Winchester 210-gr Silvertips would be hard to beat. I think they are a bit softer shooting than some of the full-house factory loads, and are very accurate.

-Jim

 

[cp1969]

1. Reloads, 850-1000 fps depending upon your level of recoil tolerance.

2. The same reloads.

 

[jframefreak]

+1 for Georgia arms, they've got just about any load you could want. Accurate, and pretty affordable as far as 44 mag goes. Starline brass to boot.

 

[docbrazos]

2nd on the Silver-tips much less muzzel blast but not too easy to come by right now1

 

[flop-shank]

The .44 mag. Silvertip strike me as being about 7/8ths of the way to full power. It's less snappy and is extremely accurate. It is a fine self sefense load, but in my Perma-Gel (see the P-G thread) tests has shown a tendancy toward overpenetration.

 

[brokenprism]

+1 for Georgia arms, they've got just about any load you could want. Accurate, and pretty affordable as far as 44 mag goes. Starline brass to boot.

Thanks for this tip. They have 100 pk quantities of .44 mag 'target' ammo with LSWC bullets. Perfect.

 

[BigRich315]

I'll add that for woods carry I like WWB SJSP as well (and doubles as practive), and for deer I love Hornady's Leverevolution FTX rounds. The Hornadys are a little too much for everyday protection though.

 

[Littledragon777]

My Super Redhawk loves Hornady 240 gr. XTPs over 23.5 grains of Win 296. This has done a super job for me on big whitetails here in Missouri.