44 Magnum for Moose?

tbrwlf

tbrwlf

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I have several 44 Magnum rifles. A marlin 1894C and a ruger carbine. Within 100 yards would this caliber, using 240 JHP rounds loaded to the max, be capable of a humane kill on a moose. I don't expect to be hunting for a bull but I do have a calf tag.

I am looking for input from those who have actually tried it.
 
Possible but you are probably stretching it at 100 yards, with perfect shot placement, its "doable". Coming out of a carbine you can expect around 2000 ft-lbs if you load hot and that will get it done within resonable limits. I have seen moose taken with a 30-30 and a 44 carbine will carry similar energy and leave a bigger hole, so I dont see why not.
 
A friend of mine used his Ruger .44 carbine on Mulies. He had no issues inside 100 yards. I think in a Marlin that it would do fine.
 
I don't know how many moose have dropped to .44 Magnum handguns in Alaska, but it's quite a few. Should work just fine from a rifle, especially considering a calf is more like a mule deer in size.
 
Perfectly doable, not a gimmick, the 44 magnum in a rifle is a deadly combination to 100 yards. You obviously know the trajectory of your outfit, so no trouble whatsoever.
Most people don't realize how much more power the 44 mag has in a rifle, than in a revolver. It's like 250- 300 fps difference, and that is considerable.
Only thing I question is your suggested choice of bullet. I think the last thing you want is a hollow point in a 44 mag. Any bullet will make a big hole, you just want a bullet that will allow that hole to be as long as possible!
I would just use cast bullets in the 405-420 grain weight. A medium hard cast bullet will likely hold together much better than the typical jacketed soft point, such as those made by Speer, etal.

Wow, did I ever make a boo boo!
I had 45-70 engraved on my mind, when it came to bullet weight!
With the 44 mag I would go with the standard 240 grain, but solid cast. The break up I mentioned does occurr with the 240 grain jackedt Speer, ets.
 
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My brother hunted exclusively with a Browning B92 in .44 mag, and a close friend hunted with a Ruger semi in .44 mag for a few years each, up here in the Yukon, and moose was definitely on the menu. They never had any problems. Neither of them reloaded, and they used both 240gr HP and 265 gr FP ammunition. My experience with my brother's kills was that there really seemed to be no difference in terminal effects of either sort of ammunition.

If I was reloading for moose, I would also go with cast, as H4831 reccomends, but not as heavy, say something in the 340 - 360 grain range. I find that pistol cartridges in the 44 mag/45 colt size really start getting cramped for powder space when you go past around 360 grain bullets.
 
Pretty much identical performance to an in-line muzzleloader with a 100 grain charge.....I've seen lots of moose fall to them. Not sure that would be my first choice of bullet, however.
 
Thanks guys.
At least I am not out to lunch.

Were I hunt I will be lucky to get 100 yards and it will be more likely in the 50 yard range. I was thinking of taking it to back up my Ruger scout .308 with 165 gr accubonds.

Maybe Jacketed round nose in the 240 gr class. Need to see what projectiles I can get and make up a batch to see what it groups like.

I can find no load data for cast 405 or anything above 300 for that matter. What books are you guys using.

My load is IMR 4227 24 grs. The book say 1778 fps. Not sure I want to run hotter than that.

Just looked and the bullets are 240 gr XTP
 
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tbrwlf said:
Thanks guys.
At least I am not out to lunch.

Were I hunt I will be lucky to get 100 yards and it will be more likely in the 50 yard range. I was thinking of taking it to back up my Ruger scout .308 with 165 gr accubonds.

Maybe Jacketed round nose in the 240 gr class. Need to see what projectiles I can get and make up a batch to see what it groups like.

I can find no load data for cast 405 or anything above 300 for that matter. What books are you guys using.

My load is IMR 4227 24 grs. The book say 1778 fps. Not sure I want to run hotter than that.

Just looked and the bullets are 240 gr XTP
Click to expand...

When I mentioned the extra velocity with a rifle, I did not mean to load heavier.
A revlover loses so much pressure out the side, between the cylinder and the forcing cone, tha velocities fall off, depending on how much clearance a particular gun has. The short barrel accounts for a bit more loss.
The exact same loading shouls be used for a rifle as is used in a good quality revolver. Two tradional full power loadings, each excellent in a rifle and each with the 240 grain bullet, is 22 grains of 2400 powder or 24 grains of either Winchester 296 or H110.
 
H4831 said:
Perfectly doable, not a gimmick, the 44 magnum in a rifle is a deadly combination to 100 yards. You obviously know the trajectory of your outfit, so no trouble whatsoever.
Most people don't realize how much more power the 44 mag has in a rifle, than in a revolver. It's like 250- 300 fps difference, and that is considerable.
Only thing I question is your suggested choice of bullet. I think the last thing you want is a hollow point in a 44 mag. Any bullet will make a big hole, you just want a bullet that will allow that hole to be as long as possible!
I would just use cast bullets in the 405-420 grain weight. A medium hard cast bullet will likely hold together much better than the typical jacketed soft point, such as those made by Speer, etal.

Wow, did I ever make a boo boo!I had 45-70 engraved on my mind, when it came to bullet weight!
With the 44 mag I would go with the standard 240 grain, but solid cast. The break up I mentioned does occurr with the 240 grain jackedt Speer, ets.
Click to expand...

Easy mistake to make when you get into chatting about some of the larger calibre lever guns. I agree with your take on solids VS HPs. My choice is a hard cast solid SW, 240gr or something the likes of my 'favorite', the 250gr Lyman #429421, Keith bullet. Something that size and diameter offeres not only lots of penertarion but a sizeable wound channel.

Earlier and somewhat less powerful 44s like my old 'family' Marlin 44-40

Marlin189444-402-1.jpg


proved their capabilities in days past so the more potent 44 Mag with todays bullet technology and within its effective range should also be up to the task.
 
I got some speers 300 gr jacketed soft points today. But the box says "plinkers" and "ideal for practise".

I would have thought them good enough to hunt with but now I am not sure.

Have to check for 240 gr solids at the local gun shop on the weekend.
 
Took a big moose some years ago with my spare rifle a Trapper 44 mag , 85 yards, in the boiler room, sixty feets of woobling walk and it went down solid, out of 16 inch of barrel the 44 is deadly... JP.
 
If like BC, you might find that the hunting regs state that a rifle must produce a certain amount of muzzle energy to be legal for use on some big game animals. Check your regs.
 
It never occurred to me to use a .44 mag rifle for large game , very happy I opened this thread , I was just this morning wondering which rifle to take for a backup next time out . Looks like the .44 comes out this time :)
 
I have wanted to try this round on deer in NB for years. Only thing holding me back is not having one yet :). My friend took a small bull moose with his Grand Fathers .44-40 some years back. If that works then .44mag will in a heartbeat. Shot Placement is the key.
 
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