44 Mag What grain?

Anonymous Poster · Jan 17, 2003

I have a Ruger Red hawk 44 magnum pistlol I'm going to use on deer. The deer average around 155lbs. Should I use winchester 240GR. jacketed soft point or Federal 180 GR. HI SHOK jacketed hollow point?

EdKing · Jan 17, 2003

For deer I generally use 240GR. jacketed hollow points. I load my own, so I can't recomend a brand. Hope this helps.

RobertN · Jan 17, 2003

I used 240 and 180 grain bullets in my old Desert Eagle. I handloaded, and had pretty good groups with both of them. They were both very effective on 100 meter silhouttes.

I would go out on a limb and say the 240gr would leave two big holes, and bleed out a deer pretty quick. I would be concerned that the 180 might over expand and do more damage. The "HI SHOK" kind of says it all. Higher velocity, with a big hollow point cavity, which would have a higher amount of tissue damage.

There is something to be said about big rounds that punch through without a lot of meat damage. Two spots for blood to flow from, giving a fast bleedout, even if they do run off a little bit.

RanchMan · Jan 17, 2003

I picked Hornady's 300gr JHP/XTP. 'Course I actually picked that as a hog round and figured it would do fine on deer as well. Since deer season is over, I can't give any feedback on it's effectiveness in that department. When I pull the trigger on a hog with it, I'll let you know how it did there.

fishman · Jan 17, 2003

I wholeheartedly recommend any .44 mag load with the Hornady 240 gr XTP bullet. While I haven't shot any deer with my Redhawk (yet) I have used this bullet on four deer with my muzzleloader (using a sabot) with great success. The 180 grain would probably work just fine, but the 240 grain would be more likely ensure complete penetration, resulting in a better blood trail. The 240 grain XTP failed to exit on tne deer I shot quartering toward me. The bullet entered the left front shoulder and ended up lodged against the rear hip. It traveled through a lot of deer to get there. Oh, and there was almost no blood trail, though he didn't get far. The bullet retained 83% of it's weight and expanded to .64 caliber. This was at 40 yards, with an impact velocity of about 1500 fps.

In short, you can't go wrong with any of the new 240 grain hp designs on the market. Trajectory is not really an issue with a .44 mag revolver, so why not go with the heavier bullet, as long as the recoil is tolerable to you?

Hydraman · Jan 17, 2003

I took a 7x7 mulie @ 75 yds. W/Ruger Redhawk loaded w/ 240
gr Sierra JHP. He field dressed at 200 lb. I put him down with the first round, but put two more in him just for insurance. He wasn't quite good enough for the record book- 178 typical, w/ about 21 points deducted for being a 7x7. Didn't want that one getting away.

Anonymous Poster · Jan 17, 2003

I've used 180 grain XTP on thin skinned whitetails out as far as 75 yards. Even in as close as 35 yards, the exit wound was the same diameter as the entry. These shots were placed right in the "boiler room" so the projectile did not have a chance to fragment. And a lighter grain bullet preserves some of your downfield energy. Whatever you select, if it's in a handgun, practice, practice, practice. A long gun, just practice.

Thomas · Jan 18, 2003

I use 240gr hollow point in my S&W hand gun for deer & fisher cats,and soft point on a bear.

MDSteve · Jan 20, 2003

I have been using hand loaded wadcutters. They are about 240 grains depending on what alloy was used in making the bullet. It has worked great for the 4 deer I have got with my BlackHawk.

Steve

Anonymous Poster · Jan 20, 2003

Thanks for all the replies from everybody. I think I will
go with the 240 grain bullet in hopes it punches a hole through and leaves a blood trail.

MDSteve: Do those wad cutters go through the deer you've shot? Where abouts are you hitting the deer?
Thanks