.44 Mag

[Az45shooter]

I need to find a good factor .44 mag round for elk. I will be useing a scoped pistol in Arizona. Any advice will help.

[Az45shooter]

I need to find a good factory .44 mag round for elk. I will be using a scoped pistol. Any advice will help.

HOLD ON

I mean hold on, someone should be able to give you a tip or 2.

[VIPERGTSR01]

just curious what sort of pistol ya got?

[Xracer]

I'd say that any .44 Magnum pistol round would be underpowered for Elk.

[FN_Project90]

.454 cassull or .480 ruger
otherwise use a Desert Eagle .44, they have about 250-500 fps more because the lack of gap that a revolver has. That would be sufficient for elk, but otherwise I would say one of the two loads I mentioned above.
either that or a .50 Action Express, aka Desert Eagle .50

[Gunfyter]

Take a look at the Cabelas shooting catalog. Buffalo Bore makes some pretty hot loads for the big bore revolvers. Get something like a 300 grain Keith design solid at 1300 or so fps. I shoot a similar load in my .45 Colt and it's a killer. Mine are handloads though.

[Cow Caregiver]

The .44 Magnum has been plenty of gun for elk ever since it came out in the 1950s. The advent of more powerful guns did not make it stop being enough gun for the task. The .45 Colt does a good job if you stalk close enough, but that is the task with any pistol round.

That said, any pistol round is underpowered for use on big game, when compared with even pedestrian rifle rounds like the .300 Savage or .30-40 Krag.

The .480 Ruger, the .454 Casull, the .475 and .500 Linebaugh rounds are all good hunting rounds, but the .44 works almost as well, and is far more readily available. In addition, the .44 or the old Colt will do an adequate job on grizzly bear or moose if you are in close quarters with either one.

That said, you will want a big bullet, 300 grains, hard cast lead, and the Buffalo Bullets available through Cabelas are probably your best bet in factory fodder. If you have to take a shoulder shot, you are going to want to break bone and penetrate a long ways.

[SaxonPig]

I think handgun hunting is mostly a bad idea. Even the biggest pistol calibers pale in comparison to modest rifle cartridges. Yes, handguns have been used to take most animals on the Earth but having read some of the accounts of these hunts, I don't favor the practice. Seyfried and Keith both have written on using pistols for large game and I am troubled by the descriptions of firing round after round into an animal trying to stop it. I don't think any pistol can be counted on for a quick, humane kill on an animal as large as elk.

[Cow Caregiver]

SP, once a long time back, one of my kanaka acquaintances conned me into hunting a pig Hawaiian-style, with a knife. Being young, dumb and convinced of my own prowess and invulnerable capability ( the old 3 meters tall and covered with Kevlar syndrome), I took him up on it. The considerable quantities of rum we had imbibed probably had something to do with my agreement, and we did enter into the underbrush in search of the wily boar. We found one. I stuck him. Then I hung on for what seemed like weeks as the 400 pound beggar tried to return the favor with his tusks. The Randall I used did not seem like enough tool for the task at the time. A ten foot boar spear would not have seemed like enough. Even the .50 on the APC I was running elsewhere would have been deemed a mite light.

The pig finally died. My kanaka buddy said he'd never seen any pig killed that quick with a knife. I was too busy binding up my own wounds to pay much mind to his compliments.

Compared to that experience, the .44 is a great improvement.

[hghunter44]

First anyone who says a handgun should not be used to hunt
needs to learn a thing or to learn about guns and shooting.
Any how your best bet is a hard cast non-expanding bullet at 1,000 to 1400 fps and there is a good choice in most catalogs.
This round will penetrate considerably deeper than the beloved
7mm mag. at 50 yrds. Just place a nice shoulder hit and you will have no problems with a one shot kill.

[Smokin Guns]

Welcome hghunter44!...Nice to see another pistol shooter around here!...are you more accurate than the "Shootist of TFF"...

[ysacres]

Hi Az45shooter, Welcome to TFF
I would shoot at an elk maybe at close range with a 300 gr bullet factory loads from Black Hills, Hornady or Federal. Might I suggest you try a few to see what one your gun shoots more accurately.
The rule of thumb for Elk is, Bigger the better.
Hope I was of some help to you, Good luck, and be sure to let us know how your hunt went!

[JohnK3]

Originally posted by Cow Caregiver
A ten foot boar spear would not have seemed like enough.

Being a medieval re-enactor, I've done a little bit of research on period hunting.

Typical Medieval Boar Hunt, with said spear, usually included the spear carrier being in armour. Even then, there's a REAL GOOD REASON for that crosspiece on the spear!

You would also have several fellow-hunters along with you armed with long swords or more spears to finish off the boar.

I'll pass on the boar hunt this season. [grin]

[FN_Project90]

Its all an opinion and a personal preference, I will use my handgun as a back up when hunting something that could potentially run back at me and gore my ass. Otherwise my .308 is just fine...
I disagree, there are many different loads for a 7mm mag and the idea that your one mentioned round will penetrate better everytime than all available rounds for the 7mm mag. is just bunk. There are armour piercing rounds that will go straight through flak jackets up to 100 yards, and yes they are made for the 7mm mag.
And we are talking about hunting with guns, no offense, of course a .44 is better than a knife duh, we are not saying it sucks and should never be used, its just a little inhumane. If I had to be shoot at distance I would rather it be done right and not half assed, and I think if Mr. Elk was intelligent enough he would say the same, that is if you gave him no alternative...
I hope I never see someone hunting with a long colt, thats just ridiculous, sure you can do it, but.... Its like bungie jumping with your penis, sure you can do it, but would you want too? And I understood you stated close range, close range with a pellet gun to the temple would do it if you wanted too.
Although I can sympathize with not wanting to carry a gun that has to be magnaported (like the .454 or .480 etc.) A .44 can be carried and shot very comfortably without compensation, as can the others, but long term are terrible on the wrist and hand.
.44 mag can be found at any backwoods hardware store, walmart, country stores, etc. the newer wildcat converts can't, heck the .357 sig can't be found at anyone of those places, least not in my experience.
I just want to know that you guys are taking down these elk and other larger game with the .44 by killing them, not by severly injuring them so as they can't walk, then strolling up after a few minutes of intense suffering and ending the job, thats all.

[Cow Caregiver]

I would suspect that any of us who hunt heavy game with a .44 Mag or .45 Colt is expert enough and self-disciplined enough to pass on a shot that is going to result in long-term suffering of the animal. I have shot the .44 for going on forty years now, and the Long Colt for three years before that. I do not shoot factory load to hunt with, because performance is a question. I know, from the practice, what my loads will do.

I would want to put my game down quickly, because I hate the taste of adrenaline-tainted meat, not to speak of the ethics of the thing. Of the two elk I have taken with the Colt, both fell where they stood. One shot was taken at fifteen yards, the second at twenty or twenty-one. Both were spine shots, at the base of the skull.

The moose I shot with the Magnum was one another hunter had paunched with (guess what?) a 7mm Remington Mag. He got back into thick timber, and I did not want to be encumbered by a rifle in downed aspens that thick. I fired three shots, probably within a second and a half, and dropped the animal at a range of 8 or 9 yards. That was a frontal chest shot, and I totally wiped out the lungs and heart with those bullets. I also wrecked the left rear hip.

By preference, I hunt my game with a rifle. However, if one is a good shot, and capable of passing up a shot that is too far, or iffy for other reasons, the pistol is a workable choice.

[SaxonPig]

hghunter44- Thank you so much for signing up and using your very first post to insult me. I feel so special. Fact is I have been shooting for for about 35 years now and I think I do know a thing or two, maybe even the first thing, about guns and shooting. The most powerful revolver is equal to an anemic rifle in terms of power. Yes, a large caliber revolver will kill an elk. A .44 Magnum was used at least once to kill an elephant. But I wouldn't recommend that this be your first plan. Just because something has been done doesn't necessarily make it a good idea.

If, as you say, you are capable of stalking to within 21 paces of the game you increase the odds greatly that you will put the bullet in the perfect spot. Unfortunately, that's what it usually takes to get away with a pistol shot on a large animal. Perfection. Most hunters are not so good and take shots at longer ranges. For every story of the great kill with a handgun on large game I bet there are several untold tales about losing wounded animals.

[FN_Project90]

Fair enough Cow Caregiver I just have to make sure man, there are a lot of people that try to go very small with what they do around here, and I always here horror stories, and I was not trying to say one was inexperienced. I have never stalked anything larger than a squirrel hehehe, I would like to someday try to take large game closer in, but the one time I did hunt large game, it was a boar, and I had heard false stories of the beasts and did not want to try sneaking up on something like that. And you are right nothing in hunting is more important than shot placement, and in my experience (as limited as 6 years is) a guy that uses a 7mm rem mag usually can't hit bunk or if they can shoot, they are under 40 yards. The largest bullet you will ever need in GA excpet if a lion escapes the zoo is a 30-06.

as you also said loading your own cartridges is key, I have only recently been introduced to the idea of running around with a 6 shooter with a red dot and taking down animals such magnatude. I am comforted to know you use wise tactics and proper loads, and use shot placement. You are far braver than I in this way.

speaking of anyone know of any advice on hunting in Minnesota, I am going to be staying with an uncle on his farm in early winter and wanted to try my hand with the ole' hand gun, and wanted tips and such on good tactics methods and what not, I will probebly have purchased either a Desert Eagle in .44 or gotten a .454 or .480 in a smith N frame. I will also bring my rifle. I am leary about hunting up there though, as wolfs are getting a little to brave. I have never dealt with a large animal like that, not a fear really jsut a reverence for them.

You guys use the heavy lead hunting type bullets I take it? Is a hollow point out of the question because you want to to go deep fast? or that its flight and trajectory once inside move due to expansion?

I believe some people think that if it says magnum it means that the bullet is a little over kill and will do the job no matter how you shoot, just as long as you hit it. I have spent a good long time 2 1/2 hours trying to find a bad piece of lit on the round though, found VERY impressive videos of ballistic gel testing done on gel's ranging from human like to moose, at a range of 100 yards with a ballistic tip bullet. I will continue my search and compare these findings to a .44 mag hunting round, and if I can find it for a 45 long colt, I am sure they will be equally as impressive.

AZ45shooter please consult bonified reloading manual tables...if you use 300 grain bullets you are going into rapid pressure buildup with any really hot loads...load maximum of what is safe in manuals.

I'm not going elk hunting but recently bought 250 Meister hardcast lead 300 grain .44 mag bullets.

These bullets are some serious medicine for any critter and Ysacres us telling you straight.

Wouldn't be surprised if up close on a bull your 300 grainer will punch right through the elk...unless you hit a lot of bone to slow the bullet down.


Gunguy

[inplanotx]

Winchester Supreme makes some 260gr loads for the 44Mag. I beleive they use Nosler JHP. This is some good medicine for Elk if you can get close enough.

Use to hunt elk up around Springerville and Hanigans meadow.

[FN_Project90]

wheres the rest of the thread?

[tuckerd1]

FN_Project90,

There were 2 threads going with the same title and thread starter. I just now merged the two and moved all here in " Ammo & Reloading Forum.

Is the .44 magnum eneimic...hardly...lady friend of mine used one to down her whitetail buck.

It was a 250 grain half jacketed exposed RN lead bullet with a flat mep, the shot was 50 yards the bullet went through the critter's shoulder and out the other side and wound up some place in the woods.

It is my humble opinion that all the super calibers bigger than the .44 magnum are usually not needed...except maybe when hunting cape buffalo or African lions...but what the heck do I know about hunting such beast...the one's I seen were in a zoo.

Gunguy

[rcaarizona]

Hello, glad to see other handgun hunters. First off I would like to introduce people to one small misunderstood fact, and that is that the 45 LC can be loaded hotter/safer then the 44 magnum. with that said, please if you do not belive that do your homework before insulting me. . I have seen my 12 year old son take 1 bull elk, and 2 cow elk with a 44 mag. The bull was taken at 130 yards with a Ruger deerfield 44mag. The two cows were taken with Partition golds 1 cow at 165 yards, double lunged, and the other at 45 yards, one lung, with a TC COntender 44mag 10 inch barrel. The bull was taken with a 310 grain hammerhead garrett bullet, which is reaching the 375 H&H range yet still does NOT exceed SAAMI specs. www.garrettcartridges.com. The 44 mag IS MORE then enough for elk out to 200 yards with garrett rounds. Please check out that website if you are interested in some hot/safe 44 mag, or 4570 rounds. Good Luck and happy hunting

Welcome to you rcaarizona, glad to have you on line with us. This is an interesting subject and lots of good knowledge being said...factual statistics are good for learning from those who have hunted and used the mighty .44 magnum.

I just got done reloading some .44 magnum cartridges, my son loves to shoot the big ass Colt Anaconda with its six inch barrel...its a hoot and extremely accurate at the range.

I was trying to get some gent on another forum to try some of my swaged .44 caliber bullets on his next pig hunt but he never took me up on it. These bullets are swaged on both ends and have hollow point and hollow base...weird huh.

I was interested in what it would do to Mr. wild piggy, ought to penetrate good and flatten out like a hockey puck in the porker.

Anyone out there want to try some of these killer dillers.

Gunguy