[northparklake2]

i bought a taurus 44ss8 yesterday and went to the range today. fired some 44 mag and 44 special ammo and the kick was a fraction of what i had thought it would be. i tried about 6 different types of ammo. just wondering what you guys use for deer/bear hunting? not looking to reload right now. the 44 mag ammo that i have are; hornady 200gr jhp/xtp; winchester 250gr platinum tip pthp; winchester dual bond 240gr djhp bonded, remington umc 180gr jsp. im leaning towards the dual bond for deer/bear and i would think that any would work foor deer. just wondering what you guys use? thanks

 

[northparklake2]

i got the gun from haniwalts gun shop in connequenessing. very nice guy that runs it from the back of his house. he has to order most everything but it took 2 days to get and he has the best prices around

 

[Dogface]

I would recommend a 240 gr. or heavier soft point. My 29 seems to prefer a 240 jacketed bullet at hunting velocities.

Find a load that shoots tight and stick with it.

 

[Borden811]

I use the 240gr XTP bullets. I reload now, but before I did, I used the hornady ammo, loaded with the same bullet.

 

[pumpgun]

240 xtp at around 1250 fps. for the slower rounds like the 44, i like bigger bullets. keep in mind though that despite its rep, the 44 mag in a pistol is not the cannon that everyone thinks it is. shot placement is still very important and most of the deer i see shot with the 44 run a bit.

 

[beagler]

I just recently purchased a Ruger Super Redhawk 44mag 7.5" barrel to carry on bear drives. I purchased a box of Winchester 240gr JSP's (1180 fps) and a box of Buffalo Bore 340gr +P+ L.B.T. (1425 fps). The Buffalo Bore ammo can only be fired out of a few select handguns, the Super Redhawk being one.
I don't anticipate getting a shot at a bruin farther than 20 yards max when driving the swamps for bear. One of our group shot one this season at about 7yds while being a driver.

 

[mossie]

I have a 8 3/8" S&W Classic 44 mag. and it likes bullets that are 250 grain the best. The Winchester Partition Gold 250 factory loads were very accurate. I don't feel they expanded much on a deer though. The 180 grain factory loads I have tried were very poor in accuracy from this gun.

I haven't gotten around to any 300 grain loads yet and another factory load I wanted to try is the Hornady 225 grain flex tip loads. I doubt the 300 grain bullet would open at all.

 

[SP Boss]

I second the 240grn. XTP!!

 

[pappybear]

I also like the Hornady 240gr. XTP for deer, but would favor a JSP for bear.

 

[K98]

I've only taken two deer with my .44s. One with my 4 inch M29, and one with my 6 inch 629. Both were taken with 240gr Remington JHPs (from the same box of 50). Both were hit with one shot at less then 50 yards. Both dropped where they stood.

 

[beagler]

I purchased one box from here www.buffalobore.com

 

[octagon]

The little secret in the .44 mag world is using Winchester USA White box(aka deer and beer) 50 count 240 grain soft points. Not the cleanest ammo, not the fastest ammo, but very accurate ammo at a decent price. They shoot super accurate out of handguns and rifles alike. I have shot deer with it and it goes in .44 cal and comes out no bigger than .50 cal so you get the meat after the shot. It`s all I`ll use now as far as production loads except handloading hardcast keith style bullets.

 

[matt75bronco]

I just recently purchased a Ruger Super Redhawk 44mag 7.5" barrel to carry on bear drives. I purchased a box of Winchester 240gr JSP's (1180 fps) and a box of Buffalo Bore 340gr +P+ L.B.T. (1425 fps). The Buffalo Bore ammo can only be fired out of a few select handguns, the Super Redhawk being one.
I don't anticipate getting a shot at a bruin farther than 20 yards max when driving the swamps for bear. One of our group shot one this season at about 7yds while being a driver.

If you end up getting a bear with those Buffalo Bores let me know how they perform. I bought a box of 305 Gr Buffalo Bore for bear protection, and of course hope I never have to use them.

 

[Boat Capt]

For my brother I load up 240 gr XTP Hornady with a stout charge of H-110 and CCI-350 primers . he used that load in his Dan Wesson - to finish off his bear in real thick MT Laurel patch.. worked perfectly

 

[WildTigerTrout]

I handload Hornady 240 gr. XTP's over a stiff charge of H110. Back in the early 90's I killed a nice wild boar with that load out of my S&W 629 5" Classic. I plan to experiment this year with the 300 gr. XTP. I may carry it in the thick woods for bears.

 

[Ciscokid55]

 

[Pahack]

Try the new Hornady Leverevolution 225 gr. Excellent results in both handgun and rifle. Don't listen to Beagler, he isn't even straight!

 

[beagler]

Don't listen to Beagler, he isn't even straight!

 

[Mr. Tettnanger]

I'll post what others have already stated:

I like the 240 grain XTP. I reload. I stuff them on top of a healthy dose of H110.