Testing .44 Mag Bullets 240gr SJHP and 270gr GDSP

I did some bullet testing today. Last year I started using Remington 240gr SJHP in a 5 inch revolver. I was impressed with how that bullet performed at 70 yards with that gun on a whitetail doe. I wasn't sure how it would hold up at higher velocities from a longer barrel.



I brought my 10 inch Contender and 12 inch Encore along for the test. First I checked velocities. The 240gr SJHP over 22gr of W296 averaged 1456fps from the Contender and 1508fps from the Encore. Surprisingly with only 52fps difference between them the bullet performed differently.

This was somewhat of a tough test but I try to simulate impacting bone/flesh while using water filled milk jugs. For the test I used a water filled milk jug, then 1 inch of glossy catalogs, a piece of one half inch plywood followed by several more milk jugs. I fired all shots from 8 yards.

First I tested the round in the Contender. The bullet punched a hole in the 4th water jug but did not exit the third jug. It put a .817 inch hole in the plywood. The recovered bullet lost 78gr with a recovered weight of 162 grains. It expanded to .642 inches at its widest.

Next I tested the same round in the Encore. The bullet hit at the edge of the plywood but didn't penetrate it. The strips of plywood were thin so I put two standing side by side, as a result all shots being fired at the center of the front jug hit the edge of the plywood. It appears that the bullet must have pushed the plywood sideways allowing at least some of the lead core to go into the jugs. It exited the second jug but was not recovered. Looking at the plywood it appeared it hit a knot (far right piece of plywood in pic) so I thought maybe it was tougher on the bullet than the Contender test.

I had enough water jugs along so I repeated the test. Once again the bullet didn't seem to have enough mass to penetrate the plywood (marked as Shot #2 in pic). This time the core did exit the third jug but only the jacket and a small piece of lead was recovered.

With the plywood this was a pretty tough test. I want to simulate hitting bone heavier than a rib. More than likely this round would be fine at the higher Encore velocities especially as velocities drop at longer distances. Still, after this test I wouldn't have faith in it at the higher Encore velocities. I was impressed with its performance from the Contender though.

I had four jugs left and decided to see how a 270gr Speer GDSP over 20.5gr of W296 would perform from the Encore. I've tested this bullet before using a 5 inch revolver and found it to be fairly hard. On a similar test to the one above using particle board it deformed, not really mushrooming and only lost 17 grains.

Prior to that test I killed a bighorn ewe with that bullet using a 7.5 inch revolver. The shot was at a steep upward angle with me 40 yards below the sheep. It entered low in the chest and exited her back clipping the spine. She dropped on the spot but the entrance and exit holes along with the wound channel were not that impressive. IMO this bullet needs to be pushed faster for reliable expansion.

The 12 inch Encore barrel should definitely push it faster than the revolvers. I shot it through the chrony and it averaged 1420fps (the Contender averaged 1366fps with this load). At that velocity this bullet was impressive. It penetrated all four remaining jugs so it wasn't recovered. It did leave an impressive 1.196 inch hole in the plywood. I'll test this bullet more at longer ranges to see where the expansion begins to drop off.

One other thing I found from testing today was how consistent both loads were. The 240gr SJHP averaged a 52fps difference between the two barrel lengths. The 270gr GDSP averaged a 54fps difference between the two guns. That pretty much reflects what I've always read that velocity gains or drops 25fps on average per inch of barrel length. I hope some find this test helpful or at least interesting.



All load listed are safe in my guns but may not be in yours.

pab1:VERY INTERESTING, I LOVE THIS KIND OF STUFF.

I use the same bullet over 24.0 gr. WW296 in my .44 revolvers. Taken deer out to 150 with it. Always excellent performance with 2-3" of meat damage, good, straight penetration.
Your kind of tests are interesting, but water and wood don't react the same as flesh and muscles. Keep that in mind when hunting. The Rem. 240 gr. is a good, soft bullet that creates a lot of damage in deer. It's one of my favorites.

Glad you enjoyed it. I always enjoy seeing other peoples bullet/ballistic tests too.



I agree, nothing is as good as the real thing but I feel its better than testing on water filled milk jugs alone. Though I was impressed with it from the 5" barrel I was worried that the SJHP might be too soft at higher velocities. I don't think I would want an impact velocity any higher than the Contender velocities from my test.

I did a similar test that was a little tougher a few years ago. I was testing a couple .45-70 and 375JDJ rounds. I used particle board on that test and was surprised with the results with a couple of the bullets. Here's a link for anyone interested.

.45-70 and 375JDJ Bullet Test

After reading your results I dug out a coffee can full of Remington 44 caliber 240gr SJHP`s and will load them up to use next time I carry a 44 afield......Thanks pab

From your testing and hunting expirences, what do you feel the velocity threshold is for the 270 Speer? I hear a lot of reports about that bullet not expanding.

8 yards is pretty close, especially when testing bullets. Interesting none the less.

Anyone have any expansion or hunting experience with the Nosler .44 bullets? I have a fair number of their 240 grain JHP and a few 240 grain JSP. They work well on paper, but that's all I know. Shooting these from a 7.5" Redhawk at just over 1300 fps.

Sorry this is drifting the topic, but a search for "Nosler" turned up nothing relevant.

Very interesting. I have been thinking of testing the 270gr from some of my revolvers.

There were some recent posted with Nosler pistol bullets (in the last year) that struck me as not-very-impressive. One person found some at a local shop and was asking and then in the same or perhaps later thread there were some results from either testing media, or hunting where I remember thinking they would be good to stay away from unless you were shooting varmints, but this is all vague recollection.

Given that they're the same caliber and pretty similar barrel lengths, which one of those two do you prefer?

From my 7.5 inch revolver my 270gr GDSP load should be around 1100+fps. Impact velocity on the ewe I mentioned should have been around 1000fps. I really haven't noticed expansion testing it at close range or on the ewe. My guess is that the velocities I'm getting from the Encore (1420 fps) would be the lower end for expansion from this bullet. At 100 yards the bullet should be a little over 1100fps from the Encore so I'd be surprised if it would expand. The Scooter Backfired channel on youtube tested the 270gr Speer on water filled jugs using a 444 Marlin rifle at 2218fps. The bullet penetrated 5 jugs, weighed 199.4gr and expanded to .929 inches at its widest. He feels that's the upper end of velocities for this bullet. That's a much higher velocity than I'll ever get from a 44 mag handgun. It just goes to show how hard that bullet is.



The point of my testing the 240gr SJHP using the longer barrels and closed breech guns was to see if it would hold up at higher velocities. I already knew it would perform well at lower velocities. I've shot big game under that distance so its not unrealistic.




That's a tough one. The Contender is more compact and quite a bit lighter which I like. The Encore has the advantage of being able to attach a sling, rather than use a holster, which appeals to me. Due to nostalgia the Contender wins out. Growing up in the '80s I used to drool over the Contender ads in hunting magazines. It was one of my dream guns.

l still have a couple boxes of 44cal Nosler Partitions.

Should l shoot em, sell em, or just keep looking at them??

You should sell them to me...