Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Handguns .44 magnum deer and bear bullet

I'm looking for a .44 magnum bullet for a six inch revolver that will expand and give decent penetration on a deer and up to a 500 pound bear. I like hornady xtp bullets but I'm open to suggestions.

hornady makes a ton of different weights. Which one do I want.

Distance to bear ?

Probably depends on shot placement. I have shot thru a deer with a 240 gr. XTP and a behind the shoulder shot, and had one stop prior to exit with a shoulder shot. Both were dead deer. Never had a 250 gr. cast bullet fail to exit, but all have been broadside. They also died. Sorry, I can't help with the bear question, but I wouldn't hesitate with a cast bullet, or a 300 gr. XTP or it's ilk. Good luck.

Don't use .44s much any more but when I did it was a 180 Sierra backed with 30 grains of H110...out of a 7.5" Redhawk it was running in the 1600s I believe and deer could not get to the ground fast enough.

For bear I'd go the 240 Hornady XTP...

Bob

I've killed about a dozen deer with 240 gr. Remington HP's and 300 gr. Hornady XTP's and one black bear with a 250 gr. Keith SWC. I could not see any difference in their effect. The animals lived about 5 or 10 seconds, ran a short distance, and then they died. I recovered one 240 gr. bullet but everything else was a pass through. These days I use the 300 XTP in both my .44 revolver and .50 cal inline muzzleloader. It works well in my experience.

I use 300 grain cast in both revolver and rifle. I would show you a bullet, but....

with ANY handgun, correct shot placement and knowledge of the games anatomy is critical to a fast kill.
yes a fast expanding bullet will kill faster and impart more shock if placed into the heart/lung area, but its NOT ALWAYS 100% dependable for and INSTANT DEAD RIGHT ON THE SPOT, of BULLET IMPACT POINT KILL!
a balance needs to be achieved, and in my experience a hard cast bullet has advantages as it usually exits after full penetration, and leaves a good blood trail.


http://handloads.com/loaddata/default.asp?Caliber=44%20Magnum&Weight=All&type=Handgun

theres two very effective routes you can take, personally I prefer the lee 310 grain hard cast over 21 grains of h110 powder sized .431, or .001 over forcing cone diam. cast from 95% ww alloy and 5% tin, as its accurate and penetrates well and almost always exits.
WHEN I was experimenting with the fast expanding bullets the remington 210 grain hollow points over 24 grains of H110 worked very consistently,MOST OF THE TIME, I had mostly very fast kills, but few exited deer. I occasionally had deer run that were found too be hit very well,(yes this happens with rifles as well)
now I had more deer run with the hard cast, but on average the distances were rather consistent and usually well under 40 yards, while the hollow points generally drop deer fast or occasionally your in for a a short tracking job with little or no blood trail.
http://www.midwayusa.com/product/16...cketed-hollow-point?cm_vc=ProductFinding


http://www.midsouthshooterssupply.com/Item/0000690227
If I was going to poke something that might bite back Id select the 310 grain lee every time!

distance to the bear would be measured in feet while crawling through brush up to about 50 yards.

These are worth looking into.

http://www.gunblast.com/Cast_Performance.htm

http://www.grizzlycartridge.com/store/index.php?app=ecom&ns=catshow&ref=cp44cal

I would choose one bullet for both and it would be a 300 or so grain wide meplat LBT flat pont hard cast. If you prefer then go with 300 grain Seirra or XTP.

Keith 250 gr SWC is my go to bullet in the 44 mag pistol load with 20 gr of 2400.

Another cast bullet guy here. I use a 245 Keith cast medium hard, much like Elmer used. I've never not gotten full penetration on a critter with it yet. I used to shoot the 300 Sierra Jsp but couldn't get enough velocity out of a 7.5" SBH to expand them in wet newsprint, max load of H110 and they looked reloadable. I figured if they weren't going to open I might as well shoot cast bullet as they were cheaper. I like the 270 and 300 Speers out of my Ruger 44 carbine but modified the carrier and shoot Keith bullets in my Winchester 92 trapper.

Probably more info than you asked for but I'd stay away from the Sierras. Have a buddy who shot every game animal in AK with a 7.5" SBH and Sierra JHC 240s, he said that as far a he could tell none expanded.

250gr Keith or ~280-300gr LBT is good, as are the 270gr and 300gr Speers. Don't care for the XTP's reputation for separation. They're okay for deer but I'd want better for bears.

300 XTPs hold together and penetrate well

I'll leave that to others to prove or disprove.

A 300 gr XTP will do the job

Where's your proof of "seperation" at handgun velocities?
I've never seen it in the many years I've used them

Snyper,

I had no idea you were a handgun hunter!

UBER thanks for contributing!



Travis

Surprised no one has suggested the Barnes VOR-TX 225-grain .44 magnum load; this being an enclave of bronze believers in rifle cals.

As for me, the horrific destruction I saw done last December to the whitetail doe I popped at 18 yards with el Cheapo Rem 180 SPs outta the ol' Liberty SBH leads me to believe it would rend a bear hors d' combat pretty quick. Two-inch entry and three-inch exit, straight thru the green spot on the illustration above...and something made its liver split precisely in two.

She ran 50 yards and tumbled like a rabbit crushed with 5 shot.

I mean ammo companies and Gunwriters usually suggest the same rounds for deer and black bear...right?

P.S. Have shot a deer w 405 HC pushed by Elmer's 3031 load at 23 yards in the same green dot and she ran more than 100 yards and out of sight in thick cover.

Another vote for a cast bullet. My deer round in a 44 mag Handi Rifle is a 240 grain cast gas check bullet. Very accurate and does a good job of dropping deer quickly. You will never have a lack of penetration issue with this bullet. Bear, I can't help with much.