I want to hunt with my 44 special this fall. I have read many times on the internet that a 250 grain SWC going about 1000 fps is all you really need for deer and typical hogs. Usually something like this: "put a 240-250 grain slug through the vitals and fire up the grill". My question is this: How many of you guys are actually hunting with this type of load or the 45 colt equivalent? I would love to hear some real life performance info. I know it will kill a deer but does it do it well and allow for a quick venison recovery? All of my previous handgun hunting has been with 44 mag and 454.

Here is some info to get you started:

http://www.goodrichfamilyassoc.org/44_Special_Articles/

I shoot a .44 magnum; both with heavy and "reduced" loads; both cast and jacketed. I have killed six or seven antelope with the magnum (scoped and iron) with full power loads; though that doesn't fit your Q. I defer to those here that have personal Exp. with the Special.

I use exactly what you are describing on hogs and deer and as long as you do your part the animals go down quickly. reflex264
All .44 Sp kills

Now that I have more time I have killed deer with handguns ranging in power from 400+ to nearly 3000ftlbs. I dont' even know how many anymore. A lot. Most of my kills have been with loads in the 600-700 ftlb range. There is only one constant in all these kills: Hit the vitals and they die. One of the most destroyed deer I have ever killed was shot at 112 yards with a 255gr cast bullet started at 1000fps. There wasn't any meat on the ribs on either side of the chest cavity in a 6" circle and the lungs were liquified. Use that power class of loads with confidence..............as long as the bullet goes where it is supposed to go.

Thanks for the info reflex. Are you getting this success with typical double lung hits or by shooting shoulders, etc? I generally aim right behind the shoulders or at the offside shoulder if quartering away. With the 454 I just aim at the shoulder. What do you recommend with the 44 special based on your experience?

I've only killed one deer with the special and it was only about 10yds with 200gr Nosler jacketed sporting bullet at about 1200fps. My gun is a converted 3 screw I built with a 3.5" barrel and I'm getting between 1050 and 1100fps with a 255gr CP WFNPB. I haven't used it on anything yet but it was built as a compact lightweight backup/carry gun for my wife when hunting or to take on outings.

I typicaly try to double lung them. I don't shy away from shoulder shots with the cast bullets though. reflex264

I also want to deer hunt with 44 special. I will be shooting at close range, 40 yards at best, from a tree stand. Problem is, I don't re-load and am trying to find a good manufactured load. Not much luck yet. Would appreciate any suggestions.

I don't for sure if anyone is producing a hot 44 load or not but I'd try, Grizzly, Buffalo Bore, Double Tap and Magtech. I know I'm missing some but that's a starting point.

Reed's Ammo has a few:

http://shop.reedsammo.com/category.sc?categoryId=74

And, they will load 'em like you want 'em. Reasonable prices as well.

You guy's are good, very helpful, thank you.

Something we need to remember is that not all .44 Special guns are capible of shooting heavy loads. It is very important to know what you have and load it accordingly. My Ruger .44 Sp Bisley will take about any reasonable ammo. My Charters won't or at least not while they are in my hands. My Taurus 441 splits the difference. Fact is even at the Charter level a 240-260 grain cast bullet will cleanly kill deer with proper shot placement.

Buffalo Bore loads a 255gr load for modern large frame specials that mimics Elmer's finest and using that load you can kill most NA game. reflex264

I've only shot one deer with a special and the range was under 50 yards, and I too use factory ammo. I shot my Iowa whitetail with Speer factory 200 gr. GDHP out of a Colt single action army. Hit the buck right behind the shoulder quartering away slightly, but did not get an exit. Was able to recover the round just under the skin. He ran about 40 yards and crumpled.

I can't figure out the picture thing, but I have one floating around here somewhere.

pythonhunter

Confession, I am shooting a Ruger SBHH .44 mag. My problem is not the gun, but myself not worthy of magnum loads. Iron sights, 50 yds. with .44 special, I'm on target. Magnum loads? FORGET IT! ,,,flinching,,,,bad. But I really want to hunt with this beautiful revolver this Fall. However, if I am not confident with my shooting skills, I would never hunt with it. That is why I am looking for a good hunting load in .44 special, until I get this problem worked out. Embarrassing? YES!!!,,, but ethical IMHP.

nothing to feel bad about, I've gone back down to a 45 from my 500's and 475's for my primary revolver. The recoil doesn't bother me but I do have a couple bad wrist and if I shoot the big bores very much the pain causes me to start to flinch uncontrollably. It's always best to stay in your comfort zone and shoot what you can hit with. All the power in the world does you no good if you can't hit the target or worse make a bad hit.

All the power in the world does you no good if you can't hit the target.
Truer words were never spoken,Rod hit it right on the head.
Sometimes we get caught up in the race to see how big we can go,
or my buddy shoots it so I should be able to,when we would be better served shooting something we are comfortable with. I applaude your honesty and desire to take it slow until you have mastered the gun.The 44 special will serve you well at 900 to 1000 fps and a 225 gr. or heavier bullet.practice, practice, practice. Good luck!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Don't be embarrassed -- no reason. It happens to more people than they will ever admit. That said, the .44 mag doesn't need to be loaded to the firewall to be effective.

In your experience, how light can the 44 mag be loaded and still be an effective and ethical deer hunting cartridge? I would love to hear real life examples. Thanks!

Amen Gents!!!!

We used 12 grains of HS6 under a cheap Remington 240 grain hollow-point. We never chronographed that load but it is very mild and doesn't kick much. My buddy used that load on deer and it worked well. I used it on a couple of hogs and while it worked, I never got exits and prefer to use heavier bullets on them (hogs). Deer aren't particularly hard to kill and they are thinly constructed (especially in the southeast).

A good factory load for the recoil sensitive is Hornady's 300 grain .44 Mag XTP load. I shot a few hogs with that one and it is mild but effective. I don't think they ran faster than 1,150 fps.

Yep light recoil and low noise make the .44 SP a great thing to feed a .44 Mag for the recoil sensative. I was delighted to fnd out that my flat top .44 Mag also shoots .44 Sp well. Some mags don't like them.

You don't say what kind of grips you have on the gun,but for me the factory grips hurt. I have Pachmayr and Hogue on mine and aftermarket grips on the Bisley all with a filler behind the trigger guard.They make the guns shootable for me as the gun dosn't beat hell out of my finger anymore. If you have large hands the Hogue seem a bit bigger and more hand filling than the Pac's although I like both. A good repeatable grip is where mastering any handgun starts,[ small bore or big bore]then sight alignment and trigger control. With out a repeatable grip you are building on shakey ground. I M H O Good Luck and good shooting to you!!!!!!! A good glove dosen't hurt either.

Last guy to the party but can't resist sharing:
My largest animal with a .44 Special was a 750 pound water buffalo cow estimated live weight, 305 lbs of meat with no fillers. 240 grain cast SWC bullet, 11.5 grains Blue Dot, 1100 fps from 4 inch S&W 24. Behind the shoulder full penetration first shot, second shot behind opposite shoulder and stopped under the skin. I apologized to my guide for taking two shots. He said I could come back anytime with any handgun I wanted to pack. Cast bullets don't seem to drop double lung shot animals right there, but they are still dead near by. For the 44 Magnum, 10 grains of Unique and a 240 grain bullet does the job, for 1000 fps but the improved Unique (showing my age) is fine at 9 grains, being cleaner and faster. Factory Buffalo Bore 44 Special, 255 grain at 1000 fps, is everything a 44 Special needs to be at 100 yards or less, 6" PBR, still 930 fps. If this sounds too slow, the 246 grain Remington round nose lead factory load at less than 750 fps penetrates and kills, but the Buffalo Bore load is just "more better".

I am pleasantly surprised to see this pop up again as I was just pondering my hunting loads for the upcoming season. Since I opened this thread 2 seasons ago, I have taken several deer and one hog with the 44 special. It's my "go to" caliber and seems to handle deer about as well as my 44 mag.

Most of my deer have been taken with 240 hard cast but I have also tried 200 JHP with good success. Does anyone else hunt with a 200 JHP?

Old thread. But mine likes 200 JHP. Haven't had a deer to shoot yet though.

I've taken a truckload of game with similar loads. My favorite .44Mag load is really just a heavy .44Spl load. A 240gr SWC that clocks about 1100fps from my shorter revolvers or 1450fps from a 20" rifle.

Buffalo Bore and Double Tap both produce good .44 Special loads suitable for deer hunting. HSM loads a Cowboy Action load in .44 Magnum, they tell me the bullet is hard cast and is the same Brinell hardness as the 305 gr. Bear Load. They quoted it to me as a reduced velocity, vintage level load. This is from their website: HSM-44M-1-N 44 Magnum 240 gr SWC-Hard 1150 705

Are you guys using gass checks or just plain SWC ?