Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Handguns Reloading the 44 rem mag for elk and deer hunting

Looking for some reloading info on reloading the 44 rem mag for hunting elk and deer shooting the rsbw 7.5"

Russ,

Did you check out this thread?

https://www.24hourcampfire.com/ubbth...782/Hand_loading_for_a_44mag#Post3532782

You only need one load for both animals. Use the 320 gr LBT WLNGC or the WFNGC and 21.5 gr of 296 with a Federal 150 primer.
If you cast, the RD 265 gr TLC432-265-RF is a great boolit. RD is out of business but you should be able to get a mold from Lee.
22 gr of 296 and the Federal 150 primer will give you accuracy and enough power and penetration for any game.
This is what the RD boolit does at 50 and 100 yards from my SBH. I shot low on the can for the first three shots so I aimed higher for the last shot.

Thanks Guys, I really appreciate the info.

Would the hornaday xtp 240 grain with h110 work?

For the bullet I would look at the Nosler 250 gr Partition.

Kool Thank YOu

Try Speer Gold Dots. They hold together very well.

LFN, WLFN, Etc hard cast ahead of H-110/296 ar as good as it gets for hunting with the .429 magnum

Russ... most 240 grain bullets will be just fine for killing deer with your .44mag! I would bump up to the 265 grain hardcast bullets from Beartooth Bullets for elk for your pistol. They have a very big metplate and penetrate very deep. You can check them out at Beartooth Bullets.com forum.

A lot depends on the distance. LFN (long flat nose)bullets have a smaller meplat & shoot better at longer distances, but WFN (wide flat nose) are shorter range sledgehammers. If you're only going to shoot deer at under 100 yards, it's pretty hard to select an ineffective semi-wadcutter design. Even elk aren't out of the question out to about 100 yards with a good Keith style bullet. Personally, I prefer a wider meplat & more bullet weight, so I use a 300 grain WFN for the 44 as an all-around bullet for my area,300 grains might be a bit on the heavy side for my area, but I already have the mould. 280 would probably work better for my needs.

I have loaded and fired tons of 44 rounds. I always favored a 240gr elmer keith cast lead bullet. I loaded a bunch of 300gr jhp's in hornady xtp and nosler sporting handgun.I Liked the big bullets but once i switched from my redhawk to a smith 629 the 300's accuracy went to pot. the 300's penetrated well but had erratic expansion. a lot of guys like ww296 for the 44 but i still favor 2400, its dirty but accurate with the 240's and 21gr charge. I have experimented with imr 4227 and its ok, ramshot enforcer i didnt like. never tried much 296. with the above load i had awesome groups at 50yds with open sights. I never shot much past that.

I shot three smallish deer with the 240 XTP and recovered all three bullets against the hide after just going through the rib cage. Blood trails were zilch when I back tracked the trails. If I had not seen the deer fall, I might have lost them. I would no longer trust them if bone was hit or a quartering shot taken.
I would go to the 300 gr or follow the suggestions for Speer, etc.
I do not trust any bullet that does not give two holes.
The XTP's are great bullets for accuracy, maybe the best ever made but choose carefully for hunting. Some expansion is good but too much, too fast with a revolver should be avoided, we do not have the power of a rifle. Find the right bullet and internal damage can rival what you get with a rifle without a lot of meat damage and give you two holes.

Not really true. I actually get tighter groups at 200 yards with a WFN then I do with some WLN boolits, depends on the gun, etc. I also can not get the accuracy I like with any Keith boolit in any revolver because I don't think they maintain perfect alignment in the forcing cone, depending on just the little shoulder. They KILL OK but accuracy first is what I look for.
Also using a heavier then normal boolit does no harm at all when hunting, it just ensures penetration which is a good thing. So in the .44, going to a 250 gr all the way to a 320 gr will all give good results but as boolit weight goes up, penetration gets better. You are correct that a 280 gr is fine as long as you don't keep going lighter and lighter looking for velocity and explosive expansion instead of a boolit that just does the job. The 240 gr bullet is fine too as long as it does not open too fast.
I guess what I am trying to say is that if a bullet performs, don't worry if it is 240 or 320 gr and if it is accurate, why change at all. If you like the 300 gr boolit, just keep using it, no sense looking for something else.
The only thing I don't like to read is how poor the WFN is at range, it is just not true. I shoot WFN boolits to 500 meters with super accuracy. I only ask that you don't believe what you read, test for yourself because everyone has a different result with EVERY boolit. Be FLEXIBLE and don't discount the WFN until you shoot it at long range.

I honestly don't believe anyone needs a 300 grn bullet for killing and brining down a bull elk with their .44mag pistol.
A hardcast bullet will do the job and the trajectory will be very good with the 240 or 265 grn bullet.

If I hunted bull elk with the .44mag caliber, I would want to be under 75 yards away simply put. Shot placement is the name of the game but to only penetrate 1 lung is a nightmare and elk are wider inside than any whitetail deer. You need to take out the heart if possible or double lung them.

I myself have never taken an elk of any kind with a pistol, always been a rifle or arrow from my recurve bow years ago. I am positive my .460 would take care of business but I just don't feel comfortable using it on an elk really. I like the .338/06 much better or the .338mag, now a backup rifle.

All of the deer that I'm familar with that were shot with a variety of 240 gr. HP's and soft points, all had full penetration. Likewise lots of pigs shot with them. While not always complete penetration, nobody I've met that has done it has complained about lack of penetration with standard soft point .44 mag loads.
Jacketed bullets do vary alot in their expansion potential. Especially the heavier jacketed ones designed for the .444 Marlin or the really light 180 HP stuff.
If it were me, I'd find somebody that had actually shot an elk with a .44 Magnum and ask him what he used.
Hard cast bullets make a pretty small wound channel. That means they kill slowly. Not my idea of a good choice. E

Ditto what Tonk said.I have killed elk with the Speer 240 gr Semi jacketed flat point.Nothing fancy,except it was out of a Marlin carbine. Same load I use in the BH though.The thing to remember is that it was going several 100 fps faster than what a revolver would push it and it still held together. I found it under the hide on the far side.

A person sure does not need a 300 gr bullet or a super hard cast bullet to penetrate an elk. You just are not going to be pushing it more than the 1500 fps realm. About any plain jane bullet is going to do the job. Certainly no need for premium bullet at those velocites. Hell a pure lead 280 gr bal or maxi ball out of a muzzle loader doing 1600fps or so will usually go though both sides of an elk. I don't know where guys get the impression that these elk have some type of armor on them.

Thanks guys!!!

Russ, the 44 magnum revolver is an excellent elk gun with lots of different loads, if you want to use jacketed the Speer Gold Dot 270 slug works great, I'm sure the Nosler does as well, also the Barnes, these bullets are a little bit light, but just a little. With jacketed you have to be a little more choosy about your shot angle. Remember with a sixgun, shot placement & penetration, if you get both its elk steaks for supper.
The cast bullets of 250 grs on up are the raspberries on elk, they kill wonderfully if placed correct. Someone said that hard cast slugs make small wound channels......wow! They also said they kill slowly......double wow!
I've hunted elk all my life & many have been taken with sixguns, they are like anything else, hit them right... & deep & they go down, hit them outside the "box" & they are tough, just like using a rifle!
I've taken most of my elk with 250 gr cast slugs & most of these were running around 1100-1200 fps at the muzzle. I've taken 3 elk with the great 45 Colt (in a Ruger) using 325 gr WFN slugs, every elk had complete penetration & none, not one has ran more than 50-60 yds, I wouldn't call that killing slow.
Same thing with 250 gr slugs in the 41 magnum, its equal in killing power to the 44 magnum with 250's, & you get lots of damage inside before the bullet exits.

Bull elk taken in the early 70's, Ruger 44 magnum, 250 gr Keith & 21 grs of 2400 at about 50 yds he traveled about 50 yds.



Calf elk, Ruger 45, 325 gr WFN, 22 grs of H110, traveled about 5 yds, you can see the hole in the shoulder.



Whats left of the heart & lungs, would a rifle have done any better?



cow elk, 74 yds using a Ruger Bisley 41 magnum, 250 gr WFN & 9.2 grs of Unique, running almost 1100 fps, complete penetration through both shoulders, down without taking one step.

Heart & lungs from cow elk.





Bull moose, 45 yds, Ruger 480 & 370 gr WFN, traveled 20 yds, complete penetration.



Muley buck, 108 yds, Ruger 357 Maximum, 205 gr WFN, took 3-4 steps backwards & down, complete penetration

[img]http://i84.photobucket.com/albums/k3/6shot_01/100_0996-10.jpg[/img]

Whats left of the heart & lungs from the cast slug.

[img]http://i84.photobucket.com/albums/k3/6shot_01/100_0999-5.jpg[/img]

White tail doe, 92 yds, Ruger 41 magnum, 230 gr Keith, complete penetration, dropped in full stride.

[img]http://i84.photobucket.com/albums/k3/6shot_01/100_2221-2.jpg[/img]

Another white tail doe, 15 yds, Ruger 41 Bisley, 230 gr cast, dropped at the shot.

[img]http://i84.photobucket.com/albums/k3/6shot_01/100_1686-4.jpg[/img]

Muley buck, 95 yds, Ruger 44 magnum, 250 gr Keith, 21 grs of 2400, ran about 30-40 yds (3-4 seconds) complete pentration

[img]http://i84.photobucket.com/albums/k3/6shot_01/100_0197-2.jpg[/img]

Muley doe, shot length ways, Ruger 44 magnum, 250 gr Keith, 21 grs of 2400, moved 10 feet & down

[img]http://i84.photobucket.com/albums/k3/6shot_01/018_18.jpg[/img]

Another white tail doe, Ruger 44 Special, 250 gr Keith & 7.5 grs Unique, running about 925 fps, compete penetration with both shots, one through both shoulders & one through the lungs, down & out in 25 yds.

[img]http://i84.photobucket.com/albums/k3/6shot_01/photosfrom2009460.jpg[/img]

Mountain lion, 357 magnum, 173 gr Keith, 13.5 grs 2400 in a 38 special case, one shot at 5 feet, down & out in 5 seconds.

[img]http://i84.photobucket.com/albums/k3/6shot_01/040_40.jpg[/img]

Muley buck, Ruger 357 Maximum, 173 gr Keith, 55 yds, complete penetration, down & out in 10 yds.

[img]http://i84.photobucket.com/albums/k3/6shot_01/100_1004-6.jpg[/img]

Cow elk, Ruger 45 & 260 gr Keith, 23 grs of H110, distance was 168 yds lasered, one shot, cow covered about 40-50 yds, complete penetration.

[img]http://i84.photobucket.com/albums/k3/6shot_01/100_1054-11.jpg[/img]

Very nice color phase black bear, Ruger 10" 44 magnum, 250 gr Keith, 22 grs of 2400, 88 yds broadside, complete penetration, bear tumbled 20 yds downhill & dead.

[img]http://i84.photobucket.com/albums/k3/6shot_01/100_1428-13.jpg[/img]

Remember 2 things with sixguns, shot placement & penetration.

Dick

Awesome imfo guys thanks