How powerful is a 44 mag?

I recently heard someone say that a 44 mag will take down anything walkin this earth. Now I know it will do alot I have even seen pictures of rhino takin with a 44mag but has anyone every heard of it taking an elephant? I suppose using a punch bullet in the right spot might do it.

Didn't Larry Kelly shoot an elephant with a 44 using the punch bullet?


Does this help???

http://fiveshot.org/backissues/paco/mmagnum5.htm

Every big game animal that has walked the earth since it's conception has been taken with the 44 magnum. Try locating a copy of Larry Kelly & JD Jones book "Hunting for Handgunners" for details. It's worth looking for.

Anything can be taken with a 44 Mag, but I would prefer a little more assurance on the largest of critters.

The .44 Mag is a little girl's caliber.

Guyana killed an Elephant with a tungsten core hard cast in 41 mag with a side brain shot

Definitely possible but I would prefer a 475L or 500L or JRH

Ohhh Whit... Yer gonna get in trouble. Too bad we don't have that dang sarcasm smiley yet. It coulda saved yer a$$.

Whitworth, are yall gonna laugh out loud if I make it to the hog hunt in january with my 44? Or will you be nice, and just giggle quietly so I cant hear it?

I'll giggle as quietly as I can!

"That's why I have two....one for each of ya...."

Alright Doc Holiday... LOL

Lol. I've read enough on the web, to know that it takes a 454 to kill small southern whitetail effectively, and at least a 475L to take moose/elk, and any dangerous game will require nothing smaller than a hard casted-hollow pointed-double jacketed - nuclear tipped - custom bullet moving at the minimum speed of 2400fps, and has a metplat of at least. 650. (Lol) (yeah, we need a sarcastic smiley).

Good stuff everyone! I just the love the 44 mag. I got a hankering for a model 29 bad. I got a super redhawk but that model 29 is so beautiful. I just like seing the limits of calibers even if I wouldnt try it myself.

I love my 44, because its a breeze to shoot, and I dont handload, so I can afford the proper practice with it. I couldnt with a bigger, custom caliber. Somebody here said somethin' 'bout "it aint what ya hit em with, its where ya hit em"?

Very nice Tombstone quote!! My favorite movie of all time.

Hey Boot, if they giggle just tell em you have no reason to "compensate" for shortcomings in other areas. hahahahaha

MN

Geee Matt, first a "girls caliber" and then you want to shoot it from a S&W? Everyone knows that the Smith can't take 44 mag loads or it will fall apart in your hand. (Sarcastic smiley inserted here).

If I make the hog hunt I just may be using a 44....SPECIAL! (baby girl's caliber)

Dan

Hey don't let Rod hear you say this considering he just shot his .458 Lott.

Not my fault that Smith & Wessons are delicate.

We will only let you use a .44 Special if you load it with jacketed hollow-points.






Dang, where's that sarcasm smiley........

The .44 is always my back up when I run out of ammo. I like larger but to say bad about the .44 will never be heard from me.

My MR Mag. Eagle LE .300 will make the trip, as will the T/C .454. But you can bet that new .44 Stealth will be in truck, riding shotgun...

You HAVE to be a quality person, 430.

Hey now....I'm 6'3" 245 and my wife aint complaining so there is no compensation here. I just like big things that go boom!!!!

You and me both!

Well said...

I'm a little girl!

Haha! I was just making sure y'all are awake!

but... but... but... i wanted to be a Princess!!! LOL

(Were is that silly icon again???????????)

Should have mine back soon.
44 is powerful enough to do what I want it to do in the lower 48.
Plus, I might even stretch it out on steel just for giggles.

I don't know about it being "a little girls's caliber," but when I shoot mine now it just seems rather unremarkable when compared to shooting my .454, .475 Linebaugh, or my now sold .500 Wyoming Express.

And I really like plinking with it using hard cast bullets and Unique powder. It really is fun!

I would not hesitate to carry it with heavy loaded hard cast loads as a back-up on dangerous game, if it was the biggest I had.

Good answer, Gregg. After a round with the .454 (love that damn caliber) and .460, the .44s are an absolute pleasure to shoot. I also plan to kill a NC hog with one this coming January

It's still a little girl's caliber.

yep, LOL

C'mon guys! Are yall sayin dirty harry was a lil girl?

Yep, who could have carried a .45 Colt!

Dirty Harry didnt have the internet, to inform him of the shortcomings of a .429 slug!!!!! You cant blame him! Lol. When are we gonna get that sarcastic smiley?! My dad toted a 44 for alot of years, before he passed away. He would get a kick and a giggle out if this thread. He was a handloader when I was a little kid, and y'all shoulda heard it when he was testing loads in the basement!!! He had a 20 yd "range" with a big box if phone books at one end. For those of yall who are wondering, a 44, IS powerful enough to rattle pictures upstairs when your dad is trying out some hot handloads, and it was plenty powerful enough to bring down the wrath of mama when she'd had enough of pictures falling! Lol.

Any man that tests loads in the basement is a mans man

No doubt!! LOL!!

You know, Dirty Harry Calahan was a San Francisco cop.......

Lmbo! Ok, dirty harry WAS from san Fransisco. Maybe that wasnt the best example!?! But I was too dang scared to mention Elmer Kieth around here!!! My daddy was a character! Thats for sure! I remember him shootin with guys at our hunting club, for a dollar a shot, and takin folks money with that old ragged super blackhawk. I still have that gun, and its my walkin thru the woods gun. I think that's alot of why I chose the lil girls gun to hunt with. Lol. Daddy never missed, and no deer ever walked away from those tiny little .429's.

Keeping all into perspective, since you like the bigger calibers, this must make you a "big girl?"

[/quote]
I just like big things that go boom!!!!

oops, I messed up the quote thingy

Let's fill in the rest?

.357" =
.410" =
.429" = little girl
.452" =
.475" =
.500"+ =

Uh, no.

Tomorrow, tomorrow, I'll love ya, tomorrow...


Now what was this thread about again? LOL

About a little girl's caliber.

.357 is for ooold policemen and newbies,that way they can shoot anemic .38 specials and light .357 and feel like they have fired a powerful gun, good for mice and small rats,maybe possum.
.410 too powerful for the old policemen [was touted as the perfect law enforcement caliber, NOT!!!!!! varmits up to coyote size if close enough.
.429 little girls and small boys trying to be grownups,not yet making the grade. thin skinned animals maybe smaller deer, treed black bear if small.
.452 Anemic oooold cartridge that just won't die,800 fps,you can throw rocks that fast,has done in a few injuns and small varmits [probably the fall that killed them]
.475 Startin to get better a nice small step up for the girls and boys wantin to be men and women who have put in enough time with the .44 bigger deer and maybe elk,plenty for prairie dogs right Greg?
Now you are getting somewhere, the muzzle blast singes the hair off and you throw them right in the pot,[your hair and theirs]
anything bigger is a waste of powder and lead!!!!!!!!!!!

Now that thats over I would not feel under gunned with a well loaded well used [by me].44 in my hand anywhere on the planet.
It has proven itself over and over to be a capable round with well placed shots on every game animal hunted by man [and woman].
So get your .44,PRACTICE DILIGENTLY,then practice some more, and go forth with confidence.IT won't let you down IF you do your part.

I think we need to start calling the little girl's caliber by its correct name: .429 Magnum. .44 sounds cool, but we all know it isn't.

The .44 mag, is the best all around pistol hunting caliber there is! It will slay dragons, topple t-rex's, blow away bad guys, exterminate elephants, and annihilate aliens! It can be loaded up or down to meet any need at hand, and ammo for it can be found just about anywhere. It has stood the test of time, and still comes out in top. Why else would everyone judge their "bigger badder faster" rounds against a little .429 magnum? 'Cause its the king! Elmer Kieth and Dirty Harry said so!

If your going to pull the trigger. Make sure to make a big hole in and out.

Besides I like holes to happen fast.

Who's everyone? LOL!!

Don't yall read the internet?!

Everyone knows the bigger bores make them deer "deader."

All jokes aside, we have de-railed, and hi-jacked this thread just a fuzz. My apologies to the OP. As to " how powerful is a 44 mag?"- it has, over its lifetime, been used to take nearly every game imaginable. There are newer, faster, and bigger rounds that may "do it better", but even yall that tote them pocket howitzers, have to admit, that the 44 has done it all. Was it the best? Maybe not. But it did it.

Actually I accept full responsibility for pointing out the obvious. My apologies.......





Little girl's caliber.

that does it, I'm applying to the ATF for a permit to build a .700 Caliber revolver!

Thats a mouse gun a real man would build a 1" handcannon.

Hell I'll just build a single shot in 20mm anti aircraft, any volunteers to test fire it?

Will it come with a muzzle brake?

Thats a Lott isnt it?

I stop at the 408 Chey-Tac

I own several .429s. However, if push came to shove, I would reach for my .410s. But I also have a .50 & a .475 on order from Rod. Not counting the various stupid number of single shots of various sizes.

I am less than a "little girl." I am a baby girl. I like the 41s. LOL

An average of 1586 fps. with a .431" 292 gr. cast bullet out of an 11" barrel. What more do you need?

A big thanks to Rod for all of the help in getting this project done.

I also like 41's. Actually I like the 41's better than I do the .429's.

When the big stuff is on the menu I still reach for a 45, unless it is real big then it is a 475L ot 500 L or JRH. They just hit harder and it is readily apparent

I will! If it works we can mount it under the wing of my plane.

How powerful is the 44 mag you ask??

Powerful enough to get ya hooked on the best damn lifestyle you could possibly find!!!

And yes, I said LIFESTYLE, not hobby.

No, the Lott looks like a .22 LR next to the 20mm!

Very astute observation! It is definitely a lifestyle!

No its not!







































Its an addiction!

For some, addiction is lifestyle! LOL!

Twice as powerful as a .22!!!!! What do I win?????

With the right bullets it is adequate for groundhogs.

I don't know that may be pushing it a little

LOL

We sure as heck can't acuse you of not taking enough gun ;-)

It all kind of reminds me of a d--k measuring contest,have to go back and see what the original post was.

Just barely......

probably better suited for field mice actually, groundhogs deserve at least a 454

Something we often forget and have to take a step back and remember IMHO:

This sight is a get away and release for a lot of folks here. Yes the subject is dead. It is Monty Python Dead... but it is also 6 pages long and the "boys" are still having fun... This thread has stretched all the way from the shooter bench to the bragging board and has still been clean..

I could be out in left field, just throwing it out there...

WAAAAAY out in left field.......

LOL...

I wan't even done editing yet... ... ...

Ps, Thanks Whit!

(Where is that sarcastic Smiley again??? Muwahahahaha)

more like in the bleachers

or under them......