Just curious, what off the shelf ammo would you guys recommend for hunting white tails in the southeast. I hunt with a ruger sbh. thanks for any input...

I just used Hornady's 300 grain XTP loads on a hog hunt and they performed great -- very accurate in the SBH I was using. Plus, they are reasonably priced.

I use magtech sjsp 240gr on several deer and all worked great. Pretty inexpensive and always shot well

For the past several years I have been using the Speer 270 grain Gold Dot soft point (product #23968) in my 6 1/2" Blackhawk. A factory cartridge that performs comparable to and is more affordable than my old favorite - the Federal 300 grain castcore. Both are real thumpers and shoot darn straight.

Renster

I've use the Remington UMC 180gr with great results. What deer I've killed with them were clear pass thru's. They're also real accurate out of my gun.



I would suggest trying several loads and which ever shoots best in your gun is what I'd use. What shoots in some guns may not shoot good in yours. Just remember, It doesnt take the most magnums of the 44 mag to effectively take a whitetail. Good Luck.

To be honest, any factory 44 mag ammo will get the job done, insert bullet weight. The trick is to find out which shoots best in your gun, for your situation.

My 44 likes the Federal American Egale 240gr SJHP. Reasonably priced and will work good for deer. I also like the Fedral brass for reloading. I have many reloads on it and have not lost a piece yet.

I use the Hornady 200 gr. XTP hollow points in my 629 Classic. I've taken a few whitetails with this using just one shot. The longest one was about 100 yds.

Thanks for the info guys. KRAL, I'm so glad to hear someone admit they hunt with a sub- 200grain bullet. According to reports (and I intend to find out for myself), the 165 and 180g bullets shoot very well in the blackhawks, but everywhere I've read says hunt with a 240+ grain bullet. I have hornady ammo ready to test in 240g XTP, the 225 lever revolution, and 200g bullets but I am having trouble finding lighter bullets right now. that's ok though, I have enough to play with for a while.

I personally prefer heavy for caliber bullets and have never subscribed to the theory of "good enough." I prefer having a bit of a margin of error. Heavy bullets carry more momentum and all things being equal, will penetrate deeper than a lighter bullet. Just a quirk of mine!

That is GREAT advice!!!!

Winchester Silvertip 210 grain. Low recoil, still effective.

I have my 629 classic sighted in at 50 yds> and it drops only 3 1/2 at 100 yds. aiming dead on. I like the 200 gr. Hornady XTP factory ammo. Even with a light bullet the last deer I shot with it was about 100 yds. & it was a clean pass thru. The deer dropped in it's tracks like it was hit with a dump truck. I hit it in the neck.

I've used the Remington 240 gr. JHP with great success and they shoot very well in my SBH.

I use the 250 WFNGC from Beartooth in my 44 SRH,accurate and deadly at a reasonable price.

I'd use the most accurate one in my gun. BUT, I'm a fan of the "penetrate vitals from ANY angle" theory. 250 grs & up. No hollow points. Maybe the Barnes because it's kind of an exception to the rule.

Bingo! (no pun intended -

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Good discussion guys. so to sum this all up:The heaviest bullet I can get accuracy and repeatability from would be best.?! Other than that, I wanted to see if anyone used factory ammo because it seemed, from reading the forums, that everyone was loading their own ammo.lol

I reload, but occasionally test factory offerings and was pleasantly surprised by the accuracy I got out of the Hornady 300 grain XTP load.

From my experience, the Remington SJHP, Hornady XTP and Sierra JHC in 240 grains all perform similarly with the Remington appearing to expand a bit more of the three. The 240 grain cast bullets in SWC, Keith and LFN styles perform well. The Sierra 300 grain is too hard for deer and doesn't appear to expand, which by the way, is not necessary for this diameter bullet in my opinion. The 300 Speer JHP works well also. The above is from only 26 deer killed with .44 Mags; so I will continue to experiment.

My recommendation is to go with at least a 240 grain bullet and shoot the load that is most consistent in your revolver.

The Remington 240 SJHP IME expands to an extremely large diameter limiting penetration to about like 45ACP hardball. The Rem 240 SJHP is the load that I keep in my 44's for home defense, just in case