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What kind of performance would a 44 special have on deer reason being I have a 77/44 my 10 yr old is thinking of using but the 44mag has big recoil

If you are a handloader load some .44 Special loads in Magnum cases, a 200grain Hornady XTP would be my bullet of choice. While I hunt with full power loads they kick pretty hard with the pathetic recoil pad that Ruger puts on the 77/44, I put a Decelerator pad on my rifle, suggest you do the same for your son.

Let him practice with 44 Specials and when it comes time to go hunting, load Magnums. He won't know the difference when a deer is in front of him.

I agree that down loading a 44 mag case to 44 spl velocities is likely a better way to go. Depends really on whether you handload and how well 44 spl cartridges feed.

the Special will have more than enough for close quarter deer hunting.

Heavy .44 Special Ammo - 255 gr. S.W.C. (Keith-type) G.C. (1,000fps/M.E.566 ft.lbs.)
50 Round Box

For Big Game up to 500 lbs.


clic pic for details

I would go a bit different route.


I would use 185 grain full wadcutters. They have very mild recoil characteristics.

10 grains of Unique and a 185 grain full wadcutter will double lung a deer easily and it is doubtful your kid will pay much attention to recoil.

The other thing is that while practicing, I would double up on the hearing protection. Use plugs and muffs. Minimizing noise is a very large part of working with recoil shy shooters.

Have him shoot standing up, supported over something first, shooting at a large target up close. Once he is having fun, then have him move on to actual true field positions.

Cheers!

Killed 3-4 deer and 6 hogs with cowboy loads out of my suppressed 77/44.The 200gr Gold dot has a good rep for killing too.Put it tight behind the shoulder and he will have no problems.

The 200 grain bullet from a 44 Special is known in LE circles to be a good stopper, so an FBI buddy told me. I have no reason to doubt its effectivenessl on a whitetail at pistol yardage.

The 77/44 has a surprising amount of recoil with full house .44 Magnums, so I think it is a good idea to throttle back for a kid on his or her first hunt. As others have said here, any 44 Special load, preferably with a blunt profile bullet, will kill a deer handily if it is put through the heart/lung area. Make sure you are sighted in precisely, give your 10-year old some practice time, fabricate some sort of a steady rest at the hunting spot and keep the range as short as possible, and you will have a deer to butcher.

There's nothing magical or mystical about killing a deer. Put a quarter inch or bigger hole through the chest cavity and the deed is done. I'd be looking for a wadcutter, semi wadcutter, flat nosed or hollow point bullet of 180 grains or more at about 900 fps out of the rifle barrel if I was providing the ammo, and I'd try to keep the shot within 50 yards or so.

My 77/44 would feed .44 Specials OK. If the capability for repeat shots is important, a flat nose or hollow point bullet is preferable.

I've shot pigs with the old skeeter skelton load of 8 grains unique and a 240 grain cast. Longest shot was about 35 yards but worked fine

Shot a deer last year with a 44SPL. 260 gr. WFN at about 900. Full penetration from 15 yards. Your combo should work quite well.

Old70

Have a Remington 44 Mag, 22" barrel, that'll chrono 1875 mv with Hornady 225 grn FTX. Was speaking with Reed Aldrich at Leupold about their Ballistic Aiming System and he emailed over this chart. There's really not a recoil issue with the Remington. (In fact, it's the most "fun to shoot" rifle I own.) Had a Ruger #3 in .44 that'd knock your hat off! I attributed that to poor fit & design. Never shot a Ruger 77 so no experience there, and I've never shot a Ruger Carbine either, but I've always wanted one. If you can get Junior to pull up his big boy britches and go with the Mag over the Special, this chart might come in useful if he finds himself lobbing meteorites at ranges further than expected.




Best of luck to both of you!

DMc : )


PS: Leupold Customer Service is hands down, the best EVAH!

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A Special will kill a deer or hog quite dead.




Dave

What sort of rifle?

THIS

Magnum loads hit almost a foot higher than the 44 special noise wise the specials sound between a 22lr and a 22 mag with the recoil like a 22 mag

I killed a deer last year with a 44spcl in a M92 carbine at 25yds with a 240gr SWC hardcast. Went through it like a hot knife through butter, 20yd death run after hit.

And zero meat damage.

Worked perfect.

This is what we've done with a few kids when it came time for their first deer hunt. They shot reduced loads all summer and into the fall, and then the gun was sighted in just before the hunt with full-power stuff. It has yet to fail, and no kids out of three knew the difference when I asked them later, after the congratulations and back-slapping were over, but before the cutting started. All were later told the truth too, and it boosted their confidence for recoil control. I can't see a point in not doing it this way, for the recoil-shy, which is every kid I've ever shot with.

Remington 788, factory produced.


DMc

Gotcha. I couldn't for the life of me think of a Rem made gun in .44 with that long of a barrel.