44 Mag hunting bullet

Which projectile would you choose for hunting big game in the lower 48 inside 100 yards?

  • 205gr Jack Hammer

    Votes: 8 10.1%

  • 200gr Lehigh Raptor

    Votes: 5 6.3%

  • 300gr + WFNGC

    Votes: 33 41.8%

  • Other

    Votes: 33 41.8%
  • Total voters
    79
Here's another CEB article that's worth the read.
cuttingedgebullets.com

Mono Metal Bullets... A multi year Study

Mono Metal Bullets…A multi year Study March 13th, 2024 by Chris Rhodes I am always looking for the best mouse trap available. Hunting costs a good bit of money and takes a considerable investment of time; I never want my gear to hold me back. When handgun hunting, I am generally hunting in the...
cuttingedgebullets.com cuttingedgebullets.com
 
Nimrodmar10 said:
I've shot quiet a few whitetail dear with the 44 Mag. in a pistol. Like most folks I started out with a 240 gr. bullet, either jacketed or hard cast. They will all kill deer, but they don't have much "knockdown" power. They shoot holes through deer but don't have any shock power unless you hit a bone. The deer will run off like he's shot with an arrow. I once had to shoot a 4 point buck 3 times through the heart/lung area before he fell over. You could cover all three holes with you hand. He was just so interested in chasing a hot doe, he didn't know he had been shot. The bullets were 240 gr. Jacketed Hollow Points. I dug one of the bullets out of the ground and it had not expanded. These were loaded hot with a max load of WW296 powder. So I started shooting 180 gr. hollow points. The extra 300 fps, from 1400 to 1700 fps really made a difference. I've never looked back. Unless you're trying to stop a charging grizzly, you don't need a heavy, deep penetrating bullet.
If I want to shoot long distance with a handgun, I've got several high power pistols that I can use.
But if I'm using a wheelgun, I'm carrying my 6" S&W Mod. 29 loaded with Sierra 180 gr. Jacketed Hollow Cavity bullets.
Just my two cents worth after handgun hunting for 50+ years.
Click to expand...
Yuppers ^^^^

I found out years ago pretty much the same thing. Used a lot of gold dots 240 and 270gr. For hogs great but deer unless you hit shoulder they were very tuff and small hole.

I used alot of xtps and started at 240 up to 300gr. Kept trying to drive them faster and faster as my wheel gun could go trying to get the performance I wanted. Then I tried the 180's xtp and I was in love. Much better effect on game.

I pushed these close to 2000 fps iirc in my Dan Wesson 445supermag. My biggest gun sell regret period. GOD I want one back.
 
wilkup said:
Here's another CEB article that's worth the read.
cuttingedgebullets.com

Mono Metal Bullets... A multi year Study

Mono Metal Bullets…A multi year Study March 13th, 2024 by Chris Rhodes I am always looking for the best mouse trap available. Hunting costs a good bit of money and takes a considerable investment of time; I never want my gear to hold me back. When handgun hunting, I am generally hunting in the...
cuttingedgebullets.com cuttingedgebullets.com
Click to expand...
Wish you lived in NJ I have probably 1000's of HC bullets from beartooth bullets in weights from 240 to 325 GC. I think 1000 or 2000 or so you can just have. LFNGC WFNGC WLNGC. Just boxes and boxes of them. Haven't actually counted them but the box is way too heavy to lift lol.
 
wilkup said:
Thank you for sharing your personal experience with us 🙏 This pushes me even further towards that 200gr Raptor. You should read that linked article.
That big hardcast bullet is for the large bears we have in the PNW. My brother's hunting buddy just shot one with a rifle a couple days ago that measured 7'7" nose to tail!
Click to expand...
Even for bears I've switched to copper. The leighigh defense extreme penetrators going a lot faster than the hard cast lead and penetrate a lot more.
 
akmtnhnt said:
Even for bears I've switched to copper. The leighigh defense extreme penetrators going a lot faster than the hard cast lead and penetrate a lot more.
Click to expand...
Interesting…
In the back of my mind I can't forget the Linebaugh penetration tests where he found 1100-1200fps with big templates were sort of the magic combo for extreme straight line penetration. Do the lighter monos at high speed not follow suit?
 
biednick said:
I've had great luck with Barne's XPBs and Cutting Edge's Raptors. Loading the raptors is a bit different than most bullets. The big thing is to use fast powders. Chris Rhodes wrote a good article on it.

handgunhuntingafield.blog

Reloading the Cutting Edge Bullets Handgun Raptors by: Chris Rhodes

The Cutting Edge Bullets Handgun Raptors have proven themselves to me over the past few seasons as a top performing bullet in both accuracy and terminal performance. When I began loading the …
handgunhuntingafield.blog handgunhuntingafield.blog

XTPs work well too as long as you keep them at an appropriate velocity. Hornady publishes a reccomended terminal velocity range for them. Stick to that range and you'll be in good shape.
Click to expand...
I got to thinking… how do you think that Raptor would do on large black bear as a hunting bullet ?
What about grizzly backup…?
Been watching vids off and on today and the way that shank is supposed to push through but sends the petals out sounds pretty gnarly. Might be utilized as a successful bear defense and hunting round all in one!
I'm heading to Alaska with this new revolver the end of the month and need to get a load dialed.
 
Last edited:
wilkup said:
I got to thinking… how do you think that Raptor would do on large black bear as a hunting bullet ?
What about grizzly backup…?
Been watching vids off and on today and the way that shank is supposed to push through but sends the petals out sounds pretty gnarly. Might be utilized as a successful bear defense and hunting round all in one!
I'm heading to Alaska with this new revolver the end of the month and need to get a load dialed.
Click to expand...
I wouldn't hesitate to use them on black bear. They'd probably be a good choice for bear defense too, the base should give nice, deep penetration and the pedals increse your odds of hitting something important. Anything that increases the chance of hitting something that stops the bear is a good thing given how low the odds of making a good hit on a charging bear are.
 
I've shot several whitetail with a 335 FP cast from a NEI mold. From a 8" DW 44 mag,10" DW 445 ,and a muzzle loader with a harvestor sabot. The didn't go far but all went. Went to a Sierria 240 JHC in the 44 and tha muzzle loader and deer were DRT. I regretfully sold the 445 (I know how you feel 6.5 x 300). I think like someone said earlier, depends on the game hunted. Elk,Grizzly, and other large game would be well served with a deep penetrating cast bullet. Deer and antelope and smaller game are better served with a expanding bullet at higher velocity.

I could be wrong, but in my opinion I believe this.
 
I mostly hunt elk and used a 454 Casull the past 10 years. Going back to the 44 mag. I used the 300 grain WFNGC with H110 when I hunted with a 44 mag before the Casull. Shot a ~600 lb black bear at 10 paces as he faced me. Two bullets in the right shoulder went through him diagonally and were found under the hide in the back of the left hind leg. Bullets penetrated about 6' of bear. That's what I plan to use when I get the new 44.
 
COBrad said:
I mostly hunt elk and used a 454 Casull the past 10 years. Going back to the 44 mag. I used the 300 grain WFNGC with H110 when I hunted with a 44 mag before the Casull. Shot a ~600 lb black bear at 10 paces as he faced me. Two bullets in the right shoulder went through him diagonally and were found under the hide in the back of the left hind leg. Bullets penetrated about 6' of bear. That's what I plan to use when I get the new 44.
Click to expand...
Why you going back to the 44?
 
wilkup said:
I got to thinking… how do you think that Raptor would do on large black bear as a hunting bullet ?
What about grizzly backup…?
Been watching vids off and on today and the way that shank is supposed to push through but sends the petals out sounds pretty gnarly. Might be utilized as a successful bear defense and hunting round all in one!
I'm heading to Alaska with this new revolver the end of the month and need to get a load dialed.
Click to expand...
I shot a moose in the vitals with the 200gr CE raptor from about 10 yards last year from my 16" 1892 and it did not go through it, we found most the petals and the shank in the shoulder muscle on the off side upon butchering. Went through the scapula on the far side and was in the chuck. Black bears are thinner and less dense than a moose generally and I'd not hesitate to hunt them with it.
 
I've been using 200gr and 240gr xpt for years now on deer and bear in north Idaho and had no problem in my old red hawk. 1200 to 1300 fps does the trick on the bears or deer I've shot with it. I have some old 240gr speer bullets but they flatten too fast to do more than wound a bear.
 
Nimrodmar10 said:
I've shot quiet a few whitetail dear with the 44 Mag. in a pistol. Like most folks I started out with a 240 gr. bullet, either jacketed or hard cast. They will all kill deer, but they don't have much "knockdown" power. They shoot holes through deer but don't have any shock power unless you hit a bone. The deer will run off like he's shot with an arrow. I once had to shoot a 4 point buck 3 times through the heart/lung area before he fell over. You could cover all three holes with you hand. He was just so interested in chasing a hot doe, he didn't know he had been shot. The bullets were 240 gr. Jacketed Hollow Points. I dug one of the bullets out of the ground and it had not expanded. These were loaded hot with a max load of WW296 powder. So I started shooting 180 gr. hollow points. The extra 300 fps, from 1400 to 1700 fps really made a difference. I've never looked back. Unless you're trying to stop a charging grizzly, you don't need a heavy, deep penetrating bullet.
If I want to shoot long distance with a handgun, I've got several high power pistols that I can use.
But if I'm using a wheelgun, I'm carrying my 6" S&W Mod. 29 loaded with Sierra 180 gr. Jacketed Hollow Cavity bullets.
Just my two cents worth after handgun hunting for 50+ years.
Click to expand...
Sounds like the same luck I've had with the same 240 gr load. I have bagged many groundhogs with a 180 gr hp. But in many cases it did the same as you described. Had one extremely weird one where the bullet never even hit the groundhog. Kept thinking I had missed him, but when I got to the mound there was no blood, no hole, but a trench in the dirt where the bullet I guess broke his neck or just scared the living s*** out of him.
 

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