44 Mag and a MS 6 point story

[Jeffery8mm]

I reently purchased an NEF 44mag for the "primitive" season here in MS.  I can honestly say I am pleased with the way this rfle shoots.  I have it fitted with a Nikon Prostaff 4x32.  At 50yds the group size is usually 1", at 100yds which is my self impossed limit with this gun, it is cosistantly 2 to 2 1/2" groups.  That is with factory Winchester 240gr JSP ammo.  I have not had time this year to develop a handload for ths particular rifle.
So....  Yesterday I am sitting in a shoot house over a green patch watching 2 does. It is early so I dont shoot just yey, even though I realyy want to shoot something with the 44.  About 5.40 a nice 6 pt walks into the edge of the field at about 85 yds.  I place this bullet SQUARELY behind the shoulder, perfect doublelung shot.  At the shot the deer looks as if someone tried to push him over, but then runs off, in a hurry.  I find blood and take up the trail.  The blood turn to SPECKS at about 25 yds.  Then  I calll in a cousin with a trailing dog.  Dog cant trail worth a dern.  We find blood here and there but nota good trial.  At around 7.30 we find my deer.  very DEAD, 150yds from the place I shot him.  The 240gr JSP has completely penetrated this deer and made a mess of the lungs. I  am happy that we got the deer but find it hard to believe he ran that far.  I have always taken the behind the shoulder shot and rarely do they run over 30 yds. 
Is the JSP bullet a good choice for unting or do I ne to try another style.  I bought some Laser Cast 240gr cast SWC that I wanted to load up, but now I am not sure they woud do a good job since they dnet really expand.
Oh well, just had to tell the story about first blood on the 44

Jeff

[PartsMan]

Deer are all diffeant.
Some will take three shots from 300mag and run forever.
Others drop like a rock from a single 223.
Plus a lung shot is not an instant kill.
They will live as long as they can "hold there breath".
That can be a long ways if your scared.
The only way to "drop" a deer is to hit the spine or brain.
Most of the "dropped" storys you hear are from a bullet fragment geting to the spine.

[aulrich]

That sounds like a pretty typical big bore kill though a little shy on blood trail, and ran a little further than expectedfor 2 lungs hit I have had that happen when only 1 lung was hit (with my muzzleloader and 44 cals in sabots). I would love to find the articel where I read this but there was a stuy in Africa where the autopied Cape bufflo that were shot during a cull.

The jist of it was that some ran with lung shot some flopped with lung shots (pretty typical response right) one thing they found was that the one that flopped had burst blood vessels in the brain. The theory they came up with for why was possibly timing of the hit with peak blood pressure but that was really a stab in the dark. I have seem plenty of bang flops that were not direct CS hits For years I used my 338 wm with 200 grain Nosler bt's trust me you know where that bullet has been.


The hp vs hard cast flat point is one of those arguments sort of like 270 vs 30-06 or 17 hrm vs 22mag I'd imagin you could go to th handgun hunting section post the question and watch the flame war start .

[Martinincanada]

At 85 m the speed of a 44 mag might be about 1000 or 1100 ft/s. That is slow compared with a .308. 7x57 etc., although the bullet is expanding pretty much due to the HP. Anyways, it is more like shooting an arrow at a deer, big wound, but rather little shock and no fragmentation. It is a good stopper, but not a fast killer beyond 50 m. 85m is borderline for this caliber which is meant to be a pistol round.
I handload the rifle ammo for my Shikari. The power is far beyond any factory ammo.

My 2cents

Martin

[quickdtoo]

Congrats Jeff, glad you stuck to the trailing, that wasn't easy, I'm sure. If you get a chance, could you slug the bore of your 44mag sometime, it would be nice to learn if H&R has tightened the bore some on the later production barrels. A #8 soft lead egg sinker will do the job.

Thx,

Tim

http://7.62x54r.net/MosinID/MosinSlug.htm

[PartsMan]

aulrich,
I had not heard that theory.
Makes since.

[cheatermk3]

I've killed several blacktail deer with a 44 mag, had real good luck  at close range(under 50 yds) with the remington 240 gn SJHC bullet over a max charge of IMR-4227.  I almost always go for the lung shot on deer.

Thanks for the story!

[flattail]

Martin, are you saying you handload for your .44 magnum Shikari at levels well above factory loads?  I have a .44 mag Shikari (circa late 1970's) and my understanding was that the frame will not handle anything above factory loads.  Can you give me examples of the loads you are handloading for it?

Thanks, flattail

[Martinincanada]

You find good loads here:

http://stevespages.com/table1.html

Might be hard to blow this sturdy rifle up, but don't take my word for granted.

[safetysheriff]

dick metcalf wrote several years ago that his go-anywhere bullet, for any-size whitetails was the Remington 210 grain JHP if using a .44 mag'.    i'd recommend that bullet as flatter-shooting and probably opening up more readily than the 240 gr' your using.    or, you could try one of Hornady's XTP's.    i personally get very good accuracy out of a revolver with the Remington's, however.

if you go to a hardcast bullet you need to hit a shoulder if you want to drop them quickly without ruining backstraps or a trophy mount (head shot).    i'd go with the JHP, too, because even J.D. Jones, who sold bullet moulds for .44's, said the JHP works better!

take care,

ss'