So who thinks the .44 mag is p***y in a rifle?

I have passed on big bucks (one in particular brings a tear to my eye) since I knew it was certainly beyond the .44's range.
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Steyr, I think we all have a "Tear Jerker" in our memories! :wink:

An old guy in our camp (82 years old - stopped hunting at 82, about 3 years ago) Used his W94 "Pop-Gun" in .44-40 for like 50 years. The year before he stopped hunting he killed a big doe at about 50-75 yards..... 3 shots all in neck. Dead as Dead.... 8)

Would I use it for Moose? Maybe at 25 yards with my ass in a treestand!!!!! :lol: 8) But then again I got crazy buddies who use a Compound Bow on Moose too!! :lol:
 

Good story, one you will remember forever.

Your choice of bullet was a big factor in your success. If you had been using the popular 240 grain hollow point, it might not have worked as well. At short range the .44 mag in a rifle with a good HEAVY bullet works pretty good on game animals.

You mention wolves in the background. This year I came across some fairly fresh wolf tracks and could hear them not far away. I had not seen wolf tracks previously. Are they ever BIG!... about a five inch diameter to cover one. Too bad they didn't come out for a crack at one of them.
 
good shooting :D

back to Guntech : the 240Gr JHP is a fenominal round for the 44 and 444 rifles, over a dozen moose and bears with it now out of a 444 marlin and have yet to recover a bullet , all shot within 100-150 yards :D
 
Great hunt Chpsask8, very nice to see a great harvest with family!!!

Just sligthy off topic but close, for myself I kept a log of better and not so better days at the local rifle range. The 44 mag trapper I bought from Silverback, I HAD to try at various distances.
For example at 100 yards with the factory rear sight in the third notch, sights on for factory 240 grain jacketed. Fifth notch on for 200 yard gong,using again factory 240s, 12inch by 12 inch gong, on a good day under good lighting conditions. Using 300 grain LBT style similar to your hunting bullet w/AA#9 (handload by Silverback) connected 100 yard paper target (2-3 inch group) Again with factory irons.
I am not endorsing at all, riduculous shooting of big game at too far a range, just an honest test of Winchester Trapper Carbine 44 mag ability.

All in all, very good for what you can buy off the shelf..............
As Chpassk8 has proven to us all meer mortals........
 
So I thought I would post a follow up....7 years later this season and once again that little Trails End is going to the woods to end a trail or two for some critters.

I haven't gotten tired of her yet....can't say the same for my ex wife. lol Don't get married...buy a gun!

I thought the .44 was going to just be a novelty for me....but it is still my single favourite rifle...the .308 and 7mm get left home a lot more often nowadays....

Best,
cheapsk8
 
cheapsk8 said:
I thought the .44 was going to just be a novelty for me....but it is still my single favourite rifle...the .308 and 7mm get left home a lot more often nowadays....

Best,
cheapsk8
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It works if you keep it under 150 yards... the 308 and the 7mm would be better on that moose on the other side of a clearing at 200 - 250 yards ...
 
44 mag is fine for big game at reasonable ranges.

I know two fellows who hunted for years up here in the Yukon with .44 mags and brought home about everything except wood bison between them.
 
The reason I resurrected this post was because of the smattering of 44mag/bigbore lever questions lately. And I am quite familiar with the limitations of the .44....but really 95 % of where I hunt the ranges are less than 100 yards.
 
cheapsk8 said:
Thanks anyway John.

BTW, the load I used was 200-250 fps below max. I wanted a quiet load that wouldn't make my ears ring for a week. That and I like 2400 better than H-110 for several reasons.

The reason I went .44 Mag over .45 was I already had a revolver in that chambering. I went with a revolver in .44 as I live in a fairly gunsmith isolated area and didn't feel like having issues with the tight throat issue so many .45 are plaqued with.

Also the .45 are becoming so vougue they are almost not as cool any more! :lol


Best all, cheapsk8
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Yes. I've already got a Redhawk, so I am thinking of .44Magnum in another Handi-Rifle.
 
cheapsk8 said:
I just had to share with you guys. This is a 900lb moose. Ran out right on the bush road in front of us on the way home. 20 mins after he was down, at least 10 wolves started howling all at the same time 500 yards in the bush from the direction he came out. He was on the run. Two rounds from the .44 Trails End. 295gr air dropped ww LBT with a .300" meplat. 2400 powder. 1500 fps. Almost complete penetration. Next year it will be water dropped for complete penetration. Beautiful thing is it was with my dad. It may be his last year hunting. Been my best hunting partner since before I could walk.


I am so glad to hear that, that moose was taken down with 2 rounds of the 44mag, one would have been better, but I just shutter to think of them 10 wolves and what they would have done! Mother Nature is just so God awefully cruel! brings tears to my eyes, at times!
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two-dogs said:
cheapsk8 said:
I just had to share with you guys. This is a 900lb moose. Ran out right on the bush road in front of us on the way home. 20 mins after he was down, at least 10 wolves started howling all at the same time 500 yards in the bush from the direction he came out. He was on the run. Two rounds from the .44 Trails End. 295gr air dropped ww LBT with a .300" meplat. 2400 powder. 1500 fps. Almost complete penetration. Next year it will be water dropped for complete penetration. Beautiful thing is it was with my dad. It may be his last year hunting. Been my best hunting partner since before I could walk.


I am so glad to hear that, that moose was taken down with 2 rounds of the 44mag, one would have been better, but I just shutter to think of them 10 wolves and what they would have done! Mother Nature is just so God awefully cruel! brings tears to my eyes, at times!
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Nice moose.... Pussy!

JK!


Enjoy the years, the hunts and the time that you have with your father. Im in a similar position, and the hunts left in the old guy arent many. Its not an easy thing to accept, but it makes you realize what are the important things in life. Im sure theres a few who here who would trade a shiny rifle and scope for one more trip with an old friend.
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Seeing that the .44 magnum has dropped the biggest game on the planet numerous
times from a handgun, it is definitely not a pussy round from a rifle when the right
bullet is put in the kill zone. Within the 100 yd. range it's a great game getter.

Me want moose burger.:)
 
According to the gun rags you can not kill a moose with anything less than a .338 win mag. I bet more moose and deer have fallen to the old .303 brit than any other caliber in Canada. The .44 will do just fine on deer and moose as long as the range is 100 yards or less.
 
If we look back though history, packing both a rifle and a handgun chambered for the same cartridge appealed to some. Frankly I don't get it; if I can do it with a handgun, I want more from the rifle I carry. That said, the ballistically inferior .44-40 was awfully popular at one time, but in those earlier times, folks tended to use what worked or what was available, and didn't wring their hands endlessly over what might be better.

When I was a kid and bought my first rifle with my own money, I went to a pal's house and proudly showed of my Churchill Arms #4 sporter. My pal's dad looked at it and sneered, "Thems only good for killing men, ya shoulda got a .44-40." I almost pointed out that .44-40 slugs had killed more men good and bad then almost anything else around, but I kept my mouth shut, knowing it wasn't an argument I could win.

When I was a youngster I spent a lot of time in the bush in south eastern Manitoba. I recall that from time to time I thought a lever action in .44 magnum would be ideal, but I never got one, and managed to get along with my .30 caliber bolt guns.
 
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