What ammo to use in 44 mag revolver

[Ironknight]

I am new to the S&W scene and the 44 Magnum. I have done some reading on the versatility of the 44 Magnum and with what I have read the spectrum is wide.
Based on your experience/opinion what round what you use for following situations:

1) Home Defense
2) Self Defense (outside of home)
3) Hunting deer or equivalent
4) Hunting large game (elk, black bear, etc)
5) Hunting the big boys (brown bear, and anything that could bring their own kind of pain)

 

[murphydog]

For 1 and 2, a moderate .44 Special load will do. There are also .44 Magnum loads loaded for personal defense, if you can find any. For deer-sized game any 180-240 gr full expanding bullet will do. For dangerous game most recommend a hard cast flat nose round at medium-high velocity. You'll get lots of specific ammo recommendations soon.

Most important in all this is practice with the loads you'll use. Quite the carry gun if that is what you're intending! Hope this is helpful.

 

[A10]

Congratulations on your revolver, and Welcome to the Forum! I am a fan of the .44 Magnum (not as big a fan of the recoil any more!), it is a versatile and accurate round. There is a plethora of choices out there. For home defense and self defense I like a .44 Special 200-240 grain hollow point. Outside the house I'll carry two additional speed loaders, one stoked with Special loads and another stoked with heavy Magnums. For woods carry I like a heavy bullet. My reloads are 300 grain hardcast flying around 1100 fps. For a factory load Speer has som 270 grain jacketed soft points at around 1200 fps that I like.

Enjoy your new gun!

 

[Warren Sear]

A 44 Magnum is approximately equal to a 30-30 in power and performance. In my opinion that disqualifies it for numbers 4 and 5.

Would it be humane to hunt elk or black bear with a 30-30? Not in my opinion. Yes, the animal would eventually die, but I would want a 30-06 at a minimum.

Would it be wise to hunt brown bear with a 30-30? NFW!

 

[Ironknight]

Thank you all, your replies have been most helpful!
Again, thank you.

 

[sw282]

Any 44Mag ammo will work for 1 thru 4

For number 5 l would choose a ''FOUR FIVE EIGHT''

 

[nra jim]

For 1 thru 4 I use Speer Gold dot Jhp 240gr. Yes the gun can be used very sucessfully for number 5, I hunt with my Ruger Super Blackhawk for many different animals. When going after heavier thicker skinned bigger boned animals I use Corbons 320gr, hard cast load, this load will stop a grizzly at 40 yards, how do I know, because I have taken several in Alaska. I t is also a very good round on elk, and moose. Keep the shots under 80 yards and you will make a clean humane kill. remember practice shot placement, a side on or quartering shot behind the front legs will turn the lungs to mush every time. Also practice with your hunting rounds, there is a huge difference in recoil from a s.d. round to a major hunting round. To keep my hands happy, I have put Rubber rap around grips with finger grooves on the pistol, you will find you can shoot at the range for much longer than you would with the hand eating wood grips. Wood grips are real pretty looking on the pistol, and if all I shot was .44 special loads I would keep them on, but I own a magnum and like to use it to its full potential.

 

[JPriest]

You can also check out Garrett for specialty ammo. Garrett Cartridges Inc.

 

[loc n load]

44 mag

I have been shooting the 44 mag for four decades now, and have carried a 4 " 29 for a duty gun loaded with 240 gr lead SWC's over a healthy charge of Unique, shot IMSHA long range (200yds) standing with it for years out in Az. using a 7.5" Super Blackhawk with a Hornady 240 gr. JHP over 20. of 2400, and have taken several big corn/bean fed hoosier deer with the same gun and load..have also killed several Texas fereal pigs with this combo...haven't shot any bears, and unless I encounter one in my yard threatening my Basset hound, I probably won't have the opportunity......But I know fella's who have and as the above post ( post # 7) points out, with the right load, shot placement, the mighty 44 mag will do just fine.....it has served me well over the years and continues to do so....I brought home a 3" RB 29 just yesterday.....good luck and good shooting with your 44 mag.

 

[kaaskop49]

loc n load: So YOU brought home that 3" 29! Knew I should have bought it the day before. Had to settle for a snub Ruger Super Redhawk Alaskan in .44M. Are you still up for a snub PPC course, but with .44s instead of J-frames, like we discussed in the other thread? Stay safe, partner!

Kaaskop49
Shield # 5103

 

[loc n load]

Snubbies big or small

Kaaskop49: Yep guilty....Besides having an affinity for J & K frames, I have a real soft spot for short barrel RB N frames....big guns, big bullets.....and 10-4....I am always up for anything that involves shooting....the N frame snubbie event would be a BLAST....sorry just couldn't help myself.....Since you had to "settle" for the Alaskan, hope it works out for you.....my Super Blackhawk is my "go to" hunting revolver when I want meat on the table....take care - be safe....good shooting.

 

[SuperMan]

1) Home Defense
2) Self Defense (outside of home)
3) Hunting deer or equivalent
4) Hunting large game (elk, black bear, etc)
5) Hunting the big boys (brown bear, and anything that could bring their own kind of pain)

1&2: Speer .44 Magnum 200 grain Gold Dot HP Short Barrel load....not the .44 Special load. The .44 Magnum and Special have the same DEEP 200 grain HP but the Special is only running 860 from a 6.5" gun and rarely expands. The Short Barrel Magnum load runs 1080 from a 4" and is very modest in recoil. It is what I use in a 629 4" Mountain gun and it is just beyond excellent....and the bullet expands EVERY time. If you reload the Speer #14 Manual has load data for that bullet.

3: I prefer a high speed light bullet for deer. The last one I killed with a .44 Magnum was a 180 grain Sierra JHC backed with 30.0 grains of H110...it could not hit the ground fast enough. If you want heavier try the 240 Remington SJHP...they expand real well also.

4: The 240 JHP in either the Remington or Gold Dot

5: 300 hard cast from Buffalo Bore, Garrett, CorBon, Federal Cast Core...

You may find this helpful...

Model 29 Mountain - Topic

Bob

 

[M29since14]

1&2: Speer .44 Magnum 200 grain Gold Dot HP Short Barrel load.... The Short Barrel Magnum load runs 1080 from a 4" and is very modest in recoil.

If you want heavier try the 240 Remington SJHP...

5: 300 hard cast from Buffalo Bore, Garrett, CorBon, Federal Cast Core...

The Speer short-barrel load sounds interesting. I didn't know they made such a thing. (I don't buy much factory ammunition.) I'll look into that. Thanks for pointing it out.

The Remington bullet is one of my favorites. You can usually buy it at a fair price and it is a shooter! I wouldn't know about expansion but it IS accurate.

The 300-gr loads may give a 29-2 some trouble. I had enough trouble with them in my guns that I gave up and now don't use anything heaver than 275-gr. H&G had a design that improved on the Keith design, their mold number 326. I have used it for years but the more modern designs of the WFN type are probably better bullets. I don't use anything heavier than 240-250 grs in my 29-2s much any more, but would resort to the #326 bullet if I happened to be going to bear country.

With the heavy bullets, you may find your 29-2 cannot be brought to zero. It's not uncommon for these guns to shoot high beyond what can be corrected with a low rear sight blade. If that it is the case, you're going to need a taller front sight - which can be a problem.

 

[phillycoppa]

Im in the same boat as the ironknight.. Just picked up my first 44..29-2... Blued 6.5in bbl... Crisp clean, yup im in love! Lol... But... Ive been reading alot of discouraging facts about shooting the gun loose with hot loads and such! By whose standards is a hot load considered and whats a good well rounded, general purpose load to use for carrying in the woods of north western pennsylvania during deer season for bear protection and still be shot on a regular basis?

 

[crofoot629]

I carry Corbon's 160 grn JHP @ 1300. This is a very light Magnum load.
I figure it's just right for 2 legged vermin and would get by in a pinch on the many bears and cats we have here.

For camping I load 240 grn lead soft points for bears, and it's the ammo I have on hand.

I'm rarely in Brownie bear world but when guiding in Alaska I loaded the heaviest solids I could find.

Emory

 

[phillycoppa]

So it would be a safe assumption to say that a well conditioned and cared for 29 will eat up most ammo we can put thru it within reason and even some unreasonable ones?... Its not like i plan on doing any kind of competition type shooting

 

[mkk41]

A 44 Magnum is approximately equal to a 30-30 in power and performance.

NFW!

The 170gr JFP from a 30-30 carbine has more energy at 200yds than than most .44 Mag loads have at at the muzzle.(handgun velocities)

Crunching some numbers from the Remington website;

30-30 Win. 170gr JFP - 2200fps MV - 1820ft.lbs. ME @ muzzle
- 989@ 200 , 720@ 300

44mag 240gr JHP - 1180fps MV - 741ft.lbs. ME @ muzzle

 

[SuperMan]

Don't know about the .44 Magnum Federal Cast Core load but the 250 grain .41 Magnum load is loaded pretty light...only 1080 from a 4" 57. The hardcast loads for .41 from Buffalo Bore and Corbon run a lot faster... So one may want to try the Federal .44 CastCore 300 grain load and see how it shoots. Or, if one reloads, buy some 250-300 grain Keith or LBT bullets from one of the better known casters and load your own to your and the guns comfort level.

As to wearing out a 29-2 it is unfortunately true. I purchased one in 1973 and ran a documented 10K rounds of 100% cast Lyman/Thompson 225 grain gas checked bullets at a moderate 1250 fps from the 6.5" barrel and the gun became very loose in endshake, headspace and rotational/lockup play. A very talented smith put it back to like new but shortly thereafter I drifted away from the .44 Magnum to the .41 and traded the 29 for a unfired 1969 Colt 1911 .38 Super...an have been much happier ever since.

I have put far more rounds than that through two Model 57s to the point of wearing out a hammer and trigger and they never became as loose as the 29 did. And they were shot all high speed double action whereas the 29 was shot 80% single action.

Don't know about you guys but I just hit 43 years of handgun shooting and reloading and have found that most everything that needs to get done with .40 caliber and over can be accomplished in the 950-1300 fps range... It doesn't beat you or the gun and 99.9% of what gets hit be it a bottle or a bruin isn't going to know the difference...

Bob

 

[Nframecollector]

21.0 grs. of 2400 with a 250 gr. hard cast Keith bullet is what I use for everything!

 

[M29since14]

Im in the same boat as the ironknight.. Just picked up my first 44..29-2... Blued 6.5in bbl... Crisp clean, yup im in love! Lol... But... Ive been reading alot of discouraging facts about shooting the gun loose with hot loads and such! By whose standards is a hot load considered and whats a good well rounded, general purpose load to use for carrying in the woods of north western pennsylvania during deer season for bear protection and still be shot on a regular basis?

Don't be discouraged with the various "facts" you are reading. 90% of it is personal experiences and opinions - nothing more.

The gun was designed to shoot a 240-gr bullet at 1470 FPS. In truth, the gun and ammunition probably never did that consistently, but I don't know because I did not have a chronograph back then. Elmer Keith's load used a 250-gr bullet at right around 1300 FPS, IIRC. (Nframecollector mentions it above.) That is about as "well rounded" a load for the 44 as you're likely to find. 29-2s should handle that if kept clean and in proper tune.

The current trend toward freakishly heavy bullets in the 44 seems misguided, especially for the older 29s. If you need more power, there are a variety of other guns that handle that job better. Sell the 29 and buy one of those. And higher velocities are being questioned by some authorities these days, too. John Linebaugh is probably the leading independent expert in big blasters and he believes there is not a lot to be gained beyond 1200 FPS, expect flattening trajectory. Since most shooters cannot hit a pie plate reliably beyond 50-75 yards, that is unimportant.

Don't take to heart all the negative chatter about 29-2s. They are still beautiful, accurate, well-made guns and just as capable of doing their job today as they ever were.