44Mag on Deer

Its good if used at appropriate distances and you are good at judging distance if its beyond what you zero'd at. Its drops off fast enough that beyond 100 or so yards you need to be taking the drop into account. On the other hand, if you hunt at say 75 yards or less distance, then its not even an issue. I used to have a Ruger 44 mag rifle and it was a real pleasure to carry and shoot, but I quit using it because opportunities sometimes present at distances that made judging the drop too critical. It all depends and where and how you hunt.

I'd look into Hornady's Leverevolution ammo. They have a tipped XTP for hunting.
 
It would kill a deer at reasonable ranges for that cartridge and several ammo makers have big game hunting loads available. Mostly in the 240 grain variety. Winchester and Federal for sure. I have bought both for my hand cannon.
 
I use the same rifle and just love it. Any bullet in 240-270 grain, either soft point or hollow point will work great, just keep it under a 100yds. My favorite factory ammo is the Winchester 240gr hollow points, Hornady 240 XTP's and Winchester 250 gr platnium tips or Partitions. Any deer I,ve shot with these loads dropped on the spot....:sniper:
 
I have used the 44mag in a ruger on deer at 100yds. dropped in there tracks. but i would consider that about max range. I used winchester supreme partition gold 250gr.
 
I would think the 44 mag to be an excellent brush cartridge, I would try the Hornady 300 gr XTP load, its deadly looking :)
 
todbartell said:
I would think the 44 mag to be an excellent brush cartridge, I would try the Hornady 300 gr XTP load, its deadly looking :)
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44 Rem. Mag., 300 gr. JHP/XTP

Velocity (fps) / Energy (ft-lbs)
Muzzle 1150/881
50 yd 1084/782
100 yd 1031/708
Barrel Length (inches) 5"
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How would the 18" BBL length of a bolt action rifle affect the above numbers
 
I have a .44 and I load a 200 gn JHP (Hdy XTP) and it is flat shooting (at least with my iron sights) right out to 200 yds. I was hitting a 6" gong consistently with it and if I missed it was never more then 1-2" off (windage usually). I didn't even have to compensate for drop. At 300 yds I need to hold over the whole front sight post but even then I couldn't hit the 12" gong consistently but I would never try to take a shot this far away.
 
Used a Winchester Model 1892 rifle conversion to 44 Magnum, a Ruger 44 Carbine (old style) and a Marlin 1894 in 44 Magnum over a period of about 15 years. Although most deer were harvested with a 240 gr. cast bullet handloaded with WW296, Norma produced a very good factory round at the time. Remington 240 HP's also worked well for a couple of buddies. No complaints when kept under 100 yards, and most of the time it was 50 yards or less. The one bear I took with the 44 dropped without even a twitch !
 
The 44mag fired from a 6" Handgun has killed just about everything out there, in a rifle it's bullets are just travelling a little faster. I see no reason for concern. Practice with the rifle get comfortable at placing the bullets at various ranges, then kill whatever you got tags for.
 
I'd like to find some of the LeverEvolution ammo for my .44 Ruger Carbine. 200 fps faster, pointy ends, just sweet.:D Gonna try Epps on my way up to Port Loring on Saturday, no one around here has any. Any body tried these yet? I have had good results with the Hornady 240 gr XTP's
 
7.62mm said:
I'd like to find some of the LeverEvolution ammo for my .44 Ruger Carbine. 200 fps faster, pointy ends, just sweet.:D Gonna try Epps on my way up to Port Loring on Saturday, no one around here has any. Any body tried these yet? I have had good results with the Hornady 240 gr XTP's
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I hope your refering to a clip loaded "Ruger Carbine" ;)
 
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