.44 Magnum on game?

Scott_N

Scott_N

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Just wondering how may of you have used a .44 mag rifle to hunt with? What would you say the effective range is, about 100 - 125 yards?
 
Just took a nice Doe this season with my Ruger no 3 in 44 mag,one shot kill at 75yards.If you use the Leverevoution ammo and in an accurate gun you may be able to stretch things out a might further than 125 yards.
 
Guy in my hunting party took a spike buck 2 seasons ago with a Model 94 trapper in .44mag. Worked well.
 
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I was just curious how guys have found them. Recently I picked up a Rossi R92 trapper in .44 that I'm thinking about hunting with sometime, I have some hard cast bullets that I'd like to try out.
 
Ive seen 44mag kill a pile of deer. I hope to use mine on moose under very specific circumstances.

My gun (Ruger 77/44) I wont shoot at game beyond 100m, as accuracy starts to decline to the point im not comfortable beyond that.
 
I use an H&R BC Classic carbine for deer in the bush... I have a NoDak NDS-38 peep and Wiliams One-Piece FireSight ramp mounted... It is a 75 yard and under proposition with 240 grain Cast SWC... Does a very good job... Big hole, pass through, good blood trail... Short blood trail.



 
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Killed a 850 pounds moose @ 75 yards in the boiler room with my reload Speer 270 gr @ 1700 fps out of my Trapper, crossed the road and rolled in the ditch.... Within 100 yard a hot loaded 44 mag is as good as it get... JP.
 
I've only had my new 16" Rossi once, but it's smaller and roughly the same weight as my 10/22. Considering it holds 8+1 rounds, the thought of hunting with it seems like it would be fun. Too late for this season, but maybe spring bear!
 
I would be perfectly comfortable with a 44 Mag in a rifle out to a hair over 100 yards so long as I was using a hard cast bullet. I wouldn't trust a jacketed bullet to the task as they might not hold up to the impact velocities from a rifle rather than the handgun they were designed for.
 
I got a nice doe last week with my 16" Marlin 1894S. One 240gr XTP at about 1600fps dumped her pretty quick. I choose to keep my shots under 100m with this rifle. It held together well even though it broke through 6 ribs.
 
Me and my friend harvested 3 deer in the past two seasons with .44 magnum rifles - I shoot a Ruger Carbine, he shoots a Marlin 1894. Two bucks and a doe shot at 15, 25 and 40 metres respectively. All pass throughs, all knockdowns. They weren't small deer either. The large diameter bullet transfers energy VERY effectively resulting in huge knockdown power and large blood trail (if you need to trail - Believe me when hit with the heavy slug at 1600+ FPS they drop fast) Fantastic round for under 100 yards - Maybe a little longer if you can keep it accurate. I find the leverevolution ammo is the most accurate. I haven't bagged a black bear yet with one (its on the list!) but I have no doubt it would be effective. Happy hunting! A side benefit of the round is that most rifles are smaller and lighter weight. Great for covering a lot of territory, in a blind or up a tree. Also you can shoot them indoors in the off season at most ranges to keep in practice. I have 4 44 rifles - Two Ruger Semi Autos, a Ruger 77/44 bolt, and a Winchester 94. Love em!
 
I know two fellows who hunted with .44 mags exclusively for a few years in the Yukon, using 240gr and 265gr factory ammo. They brought home moose, caribou and bears (including at least one Grizzly), and never lost an animal with those .44's. Shots were no farther than 100 yards.
 
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