Is this enough for deer and small back bear?

This load is quoted as being "a vintage level, low velocity cartridge". It's actually a Cowboy Action load I inquired about. Between a .44 Special and full power .44 Magnum..

44 Magnum 240 gr SWC-Hard 1150 fps 705 ft. lb

I don't put much (actually any) stock in muzzle energy calculations, but a 240 grain SWC running 1,150 will certainly do the job as along as you do yours.

I think this load should work with no problem if you put it were it belongs. I have used the Winchester 240 gr sjsp (white box) load for several years to take whitetails out to 75 yards without a problem. The published velocity for it is 1180 or 1190 fps which is about the same as your load.

Elmer Keith would probably agree that a 240 SWC at 1150-1200 would work. I heard he killed a few critters in Idaho.

I killed a 200lb bear with a 250 gr bullet at that velocity; broadside passthough. I've also taken several deer with the same load. I'd use it without hesitation on the critters you mentioned.

Keith killed a few animals with a handgun but there are guys on here that have killed far more than Keith ever did. When he wrote sixguns for example, he had only taken 19 head of game with a handgun.

You beat me to it, Gary. For Elmer Keith the handgun was a firearm of opportunity and not a gun that he deliberately hunted with. However, I still highly respect the man and what he did for the shooting/hunting world.

I've taken a lot of game with sixgun loads going slower than you mention & as stated above you can rule out ft. lbs. of energy. That 240-250 gr. slug will shoot through most deer lengthways, I've done it multiple times. Heavy cast slugs, even todays quality jacketed slugs are amazing, just remember the two P's. Placement & Penetration. What a lot of people don't understand about Elmer Keith is not so much what he used but where he hunted. He lived along the Salmon River by North Fork & that country is rough & a lot of heavy timber, he also hunted down the river below the end of the road below Shoup, again heavily timbered country & thats why he always favored heavy slugs because when he shot game it was usually close range & running straight away from him, so he used a heavy slug you could drive up to the front gear box! I've hunted that same country many times & you're just about as well off with a sixgun as you are a rifle, & its the same over on the Selway, its not for the faint of heart. My largest ever bull was taken on the Selway with a Ruger 44 Flattop using 21 grs. of 2400 & a 250 gr. Keith. Use that load with confidence.
This is my biggest of 25 elk, 13 have been taken with handguns, the Ruger 44 Flattop is in the Lawrence #7 shoulder rig.



Dick

Great photo Dick!

Absolutely Marko and yes, great elk Dick!

Guys, I'd like to give myself a lot of credit here but actually back in those days (60's-70's) in the Salmon River & Selway country it was pretty easy to whack big bull elk every time you went. I'm certain a lot of those elk had never seen a human being before, the country was so wild & hard to get into without horses or mules that it was pretty easy pickings.
Several times I bugled in bulls just using my mouth, that is if my lips weren't dry, sometimes I just couldn't get it out! One time I mouth called a bull right into our laps & one of the horses was whinnying so loud you would think it wouldn't be possible but the bull came within 30 yds & my buddy busted him. He has it mounted on his living room wall & its a real hog. Another thing we had was my mule, she was the biggest coward, all we had to do was seperate her from the other horses & mules & wait about 5 minutes & she would start braying, if there were elk around they would go nuts & we would get elk, never failed, she was the best elk bugle we had in those days.
Those days are gone forever because of the wolves, the elk will never recover in my lifetime.
I shot this bull with the same 44 Flattop on the hunt where I bugled in the bull for my buddy. We were actually packing out because it was really hot & we were worried about losing the meat. Two of the guys were way ahead of us & me & another guy were leading our horses & my mule down the trail at a place called Upper Crossing on the Selway River. When we came out into a little clearing this bull was standing in the water getting a drink. I dropped my lead rope & flopped on the ground as he blasted out of the water. I was laying in the trail with my knees drawn up & he got up into some shale & stopped, it was a bad place to be for an elk. It was 50-60 yds, wide open. I double lunged him & he just slid down the shale slide & stopped 10' from the river. My mule was scared of him so I had to ride Eddie's horse across & break him down. A decent bull but nothing like the one my buddy took 2 days earlier.



Dick

One of my favorite hunting loads is a 255gr CPB at 1030fps from one of my specials. Used it on deer and hogs with great results.

I have used an equivalent load to that on bear a few times in the
past and it worked quite well.

Won't be a problem. Put projectile where it belongs, collect game. It's as easy as that.

I`ve seen the video of this kill and that bullet at that velocity cleanly took out a beautiful black bear..