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Best 44 Mag Bullet for Whitetail

drewto
Hello: Building a 44 Mag. load for whitetail deer hunting. Shooting a 7 1/2" barreled Smith. In the experiment stage right now. The bullet variations out there are mind boggling. Trying out the 180 grain Hornadys, and will work up to the 240's. If there is a great deer slayer bullet, and weight I'm all ears. Even just a bullet type, and I'll work out the weight and load. By the way, are you folks crimping your hand loads in 44 mag., and if so what is the benifit. The pistol is a Smith & Wesson Light Hunter from the Smith Custom Shop (Professional Center).

Several of you have emailed me on this pistol. Currently there are two for sale on Gun Broker.
18275276 S&W 629 Light hunter
18167934 Smith&Wesson 629 Light Hunter 44Mag
You can take a look at pics there.
Great pistol, can't say enough about the quality. Best double action 44 I've fired. Thanks for the help in answering my questions. I've always crimped; but have seen some factory loads without a legitimate crimp.

Thanks again for your replies.
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Comments

10 comments

Date Votes
  • gskyhawk
    I use a Hornady 240gr HP for the 44mag have tried the 300 but realy can't see where i need them for the
    type of hunting we do and yes they should be crimped , you don't want a bullet to pump forward in the case (recoil ) and jam up your cylinder
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  • torquimata
    Not exactly what you've asked but I use a short barreled 44 winchester carbine. I'm sure rate of twist is different than with a revolver but the 240 grainers shoot the best groups and deer just DROP! Tried 180s to 270s. The 270s kicked a bit. I would go with lots of expansion and velocity out of a handgun
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  • Rembrandt
    Hornady XTP's.....I prefer the heavier weights, 240-300. XTP's (which stands for Extreme Terminal Performance) were specifically designed with heavier jackets to minimize fragmnetation.
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  • select-fire
    I am not familiar with a 7.5" barrel Smith but what model is it? Crimping on the loads will keep the bullets seated during heavy recoil. If a bullet jumps the crimp the cylinder may get hung up. I use 240 Hornady's in the soft point.
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  • posh
    I raised this subject about a year and a half ago. The majority opinion at that time was the Hornady XTP in 240 gr with Win 296 powder. I used that bullet with 22 gr of 296 and a magnum primer and killed a good sized buck with the load. The wound channel was the most impressive I've seen. This bullet has a cannelure and I crimped into it. However, a bullet tech at Sierra told me that 296 can be hard to ignite in very cold weather.
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  • 375H&H
    I like the Hornady 265 gr JSP on top of 23 gr's of H110 [:)][:)]
    I can shoot em out of my Marlin or out of my 629 6 1/2 " Classic
    Only had one chance to use this load on white tail deer .
    About a 110lb Pa. doe , ran maybe 20 or 30 yards before falling over .
    Shot was about 40 yards .
    Hope this helps , and good luck [8)][8)]
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  • bambihunter
    I've had good luck in both accuracy and energy with 240 grain soft points or JHP's from 4"-8" pistols and also carbines.
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  • LABWILD
    Hornady 240 gr. hp/xtp, 23.8 gr. H110. You do need to crimp.
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  • gotstolefrom
    I reload 44 mag for my Super Blackhawk (7.5 inch). I have never found a load for the 180gr bullets that would group as well as the 240gr and heavier bullets. High bulk powders w/compressed loads grouped best for me when loaded slightly less than the full power loads (~23gr IMR 4227). I never considered NOT crimping any of my 44 mag loads.

    I'll stop with what works for me..... Go with any of the heavier bullets that group well for you. It is good shot placement that keeps you from trailing. You've got enough power to do the job.
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  • fishermanben
    You got too much power for most applications. If you desire meat from your kill, you will find that you should tone it down considerably. I shot a deer 2 years ago w/ a 240gr hollow point at 20 yards. Yuck. I've since switched to a much lighter load. This year I used a 45LC with high velocity remington factory ammo. It didn't pass through both shoulders (I shot forward on the deer), but it just flat fuq fell, giving me plenty of time to follow up with my trusty Buck knife. Most importantly, I only lost 1/3 of one shoulder.
    Ben

    P.S. Post pics of that gun if you can.

    www.RightFieldSucks.com
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