I'm new to the 44 mag, but not handloading. Looking for these 2 things:

1. Heavy JHP's that will expand down to 950 fps (aware of Hawk), any others ?

2. "Sledgehammer" type heavy bullets that are either monolithic copper or brass, etc, or plated lead. No plain cast lead bullets.

To be used in suppressed Ruger 77/44, plain lead bullets will gum up the suppressor and barrel ports.

Don't know about #2 but for #1 I use Hornady XTP's in all my revolver stuff, 45LC, 480 ruger, 41 Mag and 357 Max/Mag. I have had excellent results for all.

1. Is that 950 at the muzzle?

2. You might have a look at the punch bullets made by belt mountain.

I'm with Rod, I use the XTP' in my 357 Max, 44 Mag and 480 Ruger. Great JHP bullet with great performance.

I agree with the XTP's I use them in my 475's, 45 Colt rifle, 357/38, 500 S&W, and 44 mag, some of which I no longer own but the bullets performed well in all. Something to keep in mind is that there are to different XTP designs, the standard and the Magum, the magnums are easily recognized by the jacket rolling over into the cavity whereas the standard jacket ends at the edge of the cavity. If you are talking a muzzle velocity of 950 I would be more inclined to use the standard for deer sized game since they will open up better at a slower velocity. I've shot XTP Mags into wood along side of hard cast and the penetration difference wasn't as great as you would think and the Mag held together very well and expansion was moderate.

Good point, Rod. Plus some of the XTP's are available in FP-XTP (flat point) and HP-XTP (hollow point). With my 'Tender Max I use the FP 'cause the velocity is a bit quick for the HP, where my GP-100 gets fed a steady diet of HP's with the slower go. Hornady has a chart that shows the velocity range best suited for each of their XTP bullets.

THAT IS GOOD TO KNOW!!!!

I got a three point muley two years ago using the XTP HP in a Ruger SBH. The shot was at about 65 yards. The buck was bedded down and the bullet went in the left shoulder and we found it under the hide on the off-side flank. It was mushroomed out huge and still had most of the bullet there. That's definitely my go to load for deer in the Ruger...

IMHO, the 300 gr XTP is a bit too tough for the 44 Magnum. The 240 gr XTP seems better suited to most applications for deer and hogs. I would go with a good hard cast bullet for bear, or the Partition Gold loading. I am sure this will stir up some controversy, but this is what I have learned from bullets recovered from actual kills.

in my 44 mag for PA bear and deer i stuck with the 240 xtp..
i all so have some 180 and 200 cast for paper busting and some light deer loads but my main work horse is the 240 xtp come to think about it im down to my last 20 rounds of it..
gona have to order a few box's this summer
Dave

What's wrong with the .44 300gr XTP? I have never used it on game, but it seems to be an excellent bullet and likely the one I will try on whitetail. Both my .44mags are long-barreled (about 12"). Would be interesting to know why you dismiss it.

if memory serves the 300 is the XTP Mag which has a different jacket design than the standard XTP and it needs a higher velocity or tougher animal to open on. The XTP Mag at a velocity of less than a 1000 fps would probably act not much different than a hard cast bullet on a thin skinned animal like a deer.

The 44280 is not a mag bullet
It is the same one I load in my 44 T/C

https://www.hornady.com/shop/?ps_session...3539f2b88a36abb

And out of a 7.5 RBH it is 1200 FPS. What does Hornady say about them?

I stand corrected then and the 300gr should work great out of med to low velocity 44.

I think the reason they stopped making the TXP Mag in the 44 is because people were deer hunting with them. Or that is what I heard.


The last time I tried walking on water… I got wet!

According to their chart, the optimum velocity range for that one is 850-1900 FPS. You should be in good shape with 1200 at the muzzle, out to 100 yards or so anyway.

Just as a data point. I think the 240 XTP's are best for the revolver and just all around hunting (deer, hogs, wild dogs and devil worshipers). I shoot the 300 XTP in my T/C only. You get basically the same velocities with the 300 in the T/C as you do with the 240 in the revolver. So I opt for the extra weight rather than the extra FPS in the single shot.

I load both bullets a moderate level. (Makes them nice to shoot and is a bit easier on the hardware)

44 Mag load
240 XTP 18.5 grs 2400 LPM primer
300 XTP 15.5 grs 2400 LPM Primer

There is a group I shot with the 300 XTP at 75 yds using the T/C on the bragging board.

Talking about precision in .44mags, this is my interpretation of a good load, fired from the Elmer Keith back-rested position (gun on knees) at a recent magnum field shooting competition in Sweden. 6 shots @ 75 yards. No offense to H20BUG's scoped T/C but this was done with an iron-sighted six-shooter.



Gun is a S&W PC Extreme Hunter m/629, 12" barrel. The ten-ring target insert is the standard ISSF pistol target center, so the group is around 2"+. Load is not an XTP, for a change, but a Sierra JHC 180gr on top of some 22.5gr Vihtavuori N110 (quite similar to 2400). Gives me on average about 1632fps in that gun. Given the light bullet and the velocity I doubt that it is suitable for deer.

On 300gr XTPs though, I'm going to experiment extensively this summer to get a good load for deer. I haven't been discouraged by the discussion in this thread so far.

Nice shooting Mikewin.

Sorry, but I got busy at the office and lost track of this thread. In my comments about the 300 gr XTP earlier, I was simply stating that IMO it would not reliably expand at .44 Magnum velocities. I am basing this on (among other things) a recovered bullet from a 450 lb wild boar that was shot with a 9 1/2" 44 Magnum Super Redhark using an extended loading (aka 10.9 mm Magnum) of the 300 gr XTP over 25.0 gr of W-296 with the bullet seated to the lower cannelure. This is a published load BUT only with the extended loading in a Super Redhawk. Actual MV as measured with an Oehler 35P is 1,297 fps.

We located this hog sleeping on a creek bank, and I was able to stalk within 15 yards of the beast, as he was laying against a dirt berm with his back to me. [I did not intend to get this close, but I lost sight of the hog while sneaking through the brush trying to avoid rattlesnakes!] The bullet grazed the side of the spine, passed through the heart, and lodged in the brisket. The hog hicupped one time, and died in its bed. The end of the bullet was only slightly riveted over, and if memory serves me correctly had a retained weight of 95%. I had expected complete penetration, or a bit more expansion. I was certainly not disappointed in the performance as it killed the hog "graveyard dead".

My point was that the performance from that gun on that day was about the equal of any good hard cast bullet, and that the 300 gr XTP bullet was too tough for deer. This was the Magnum XTP bullet, but at an estimated impact velocity of 1,200+ fps., it was within the "expansion window". That being said, this load/bullet combination is exceptionally accurate. I shot a 4 shot 1" group with this gun and load shortly after I bought it off of a fellow who claimed it was not accurate, and duplicated the feat ten years later.

Needless to say, it is an unusually accurate revolver. The gun came in a fitted Ruger case with a 2X Bushnell scope that has the Blackhawk emblem on one of the turret caps. Whether it is supposed to be any more accurate, I do not know. It has enjoyed a trip to Mag Na Port to have the crown and forcing cone re-cut, and to have MNP's "Dual Traps" porting installed.

Do I like the bullet for accuracy? Absolutely. However, I am not convinced that it is any better for hunting than a hard cast bullet in a 44 Magnum Handgun.

OK. Very interesting and informative story. But this was the 300gr XTP magnum bullet, right? As I understand it the normal .44 (.429) 300gr XTP is not a magnum bullet. Anyway, I'll try these extensively in wet telephone directories this summer before I use it on game. Velocity should be a great part of the equation, I guess.