Ok, getting back into handgun hunting and starting to put together some 44 mag loads.
I never killed anything with the handgun when I was packing it, but 44 mag, 45 colt, or 480 I always loaded a heavy for caliber hardcast.
A few years ago I killed a nice mid size bull moose at about 100yds with my Marlin guide gun in 450 Marlin with handloads that had a 420 hardcast doing just shy of 2000fps. I was less that impressed. 1 shot in shoulders & 3 shots were in the heart/lung area. He walked around 150 yds. Had to finish him on the ground with shot 5. 1 bullet recovered from offside shoulder looked like you could load it again. So I know my 44 mag with 300 or 320s in the 1300-1350fps range will perform about the same.
And yes i know I should have tried to break the shoulders.
BUT, now I'm wondering id some controlled expansion bullet might serve me better.
Critters I get to hunt reguraly are black bear, brown bear, & moose. I might load a different (lighter) bullet for black bear than the others, but where I live large (9'+) brown bear are always a possibility.
Based on your experiences, what would your recommendations be?