Bullet Selection for 44 Mag Handi for Deer

[whitedog]

Deer are resilient animals. A buddy just killed a doe with his 45/70. shot under 100 yds shoulder shot. Literally blew out the off shoulder breaking the joint and leg bone. Deer still ran about 20yds before piling up.

[Graycg]

I use a 300 grain LBT Wide Flat nose gas checked bullet over a pile of H110, I doubt that any jacketed bullet will kill as well as it does.  It shoots through everything and leaves a golf ball sized exit wound on deer and pigs that I have used it on.  I would feel very comfortable chasing black bear with this load.

regards,
 Graycg

[geeman1969]

I use a Hornady XTP 200grn over 28gns of AR296. This load was considered pretty hot by the magazine I took the data from.

The view i have on this is a hollow point you drive hard and fast to make the jacket etc expand and whatever bis fall off happen and then the left over drives in deep with a good tumble, with flats of solids I think you want them to go through a bit slower allowing them to expand o their full capacity before possibly exiting the animal.

Apart from these two effects there is the impact of explosive concusivity on the internal organs caused by large slower moving bullets of high energy. This energy being transferred to the animal upon impact speads through the organs nearby and basically like balloons they can only take a certain amount of deformation before they rupture. So in this instance Big is better, go get a .500S&W? I have had my 44 for years now but now aim to put a .500 in the safe and into use to increase that effect.

Cheers