Ouestion on 44 mag down loads

[DEACONLLB]

It is just hard for me to take the recoil on my 44 mag contender and I shoot 44 special most of the time so my question is, I would like to use it deer hunting and most shots are from 25 to fifty yards so what would you think would be a load between the 44 special and the 44mag with good power but less recoil and a bullet around 200 grns? I do have the recoil reducing grip which helps.

Thanks
Deaconllb

[45-70.gov]

only  you can  answer  that

i  would   stay  heavy  on the lead

then  increase  powder  until  its no longer  fun  then  back  off

[stubshaft]

I agree with 45/70.  Stay with the heavier bullet but use a lighter charge.  For plinking I use 7.0 TrailBoss behind a 265 cast bullet.  Probably not going much over 950fps but is light and relatively accurate.

[WayneS]

How are you shooting ? standing, from a bench ?
10 or 14" barrel ?
What forearm do you have on the bbl. ?
 
 Ditto on the heavy bullet @ low speed, If yoiu don't cast consider it !!,  check the cast bullet section for cast bullet venders or the swaged lead bullets by Hornday & Speer,

[Bigeasy]

Stay with a 240 - 250 grain lead bullet with a sharp shoulder (Keith type, or LBT with a large metplate) at around 1000 fps.  Basically a stiff 44 special load.  Will penetrate deep, and kill well.  Problem with jacketed bullets at that speed, or lightweight lead, is lack of penetration or expansion.  Try to aim for a shoulder so you break some bone on the way thru, and no deer hit with such a load will go far.  For 50 yards and under, its all I use anymore myself.

Larry

[Warhawk]

Yep, A Keith bullet over 9 or 10 grains of Unique should be just the ticket.

[DEACONLLB]

As far as the way I am shooting it is sitting in a ground blind and I have a try pod for rest. The gun is a contender type 2 easy open 12 inch barrel with a set of pachmyer grips and a 4 power scope. I have only used it for shooting paper so far but with factory mag loads it has a real jump.

Deaconllb

[Graybeard]

Try around 17.0 to 17.5 grains of 2400 with a cast 240. Generally makes for a very accurate load and recoil is mild compared to full house loads. It is more than adequate for hunting. If that's still a bit much recoil you can drop the powder a bit more as 2400 is quite forgiving of lighter loads unlike W296/H110.

My best friend Billy Doss (deceased) used to load down as low as 12.5 grains with the Lyman 429244 GC bullet. I've never loaded that low but he hated recoil and so worked his way down to there. I think he finally settled at 14.0 grains for his favorite tho we both used 17.0 to 17.5 for years in competition.

[southernutah]

where is Ladobe, i know he can throw in his 2 cents.

[luckydawg13]

you can mag n port it and run stout loads just a thought

[45-70.gov]

I HATE  PORTS

[securitysix]

I HATE  PORTS

Seconded!

My dad uses a 240 grain LSWC over 9 grains of Unique for practice.  It's pretty mild, but I expect it would take a deer at 50 yards or less.  He's also used 11 grains of Unique with the same bullet and backed down because recoil was a little more than he wanted for practice.  It was manageable, though.

[45-70.gov]

10g  of  unique was  my  load  years  ago

under  240 swc 

i  now  shoot   280g  wfn  that  i cast   exclusively

8g  of  bullseye....but  dont  listen  to  me  about  a load....look it up

[P.A. Myers]

Heavy bullets=recoil. The lyman devastator [200gr] bullet with a fast powder, knocks a Columbian Blacktail [small coastal deer] right off their feet. EZ recoil. That bullet can be hard to find.

[shot1]

Shoot your light 44 special loads for target. Shoot a few full house loads to confirm or move your zero. Then hunt with the full house loads. When shooting game you will not feel the recoil. I don't really hear the gun go off like I would target shooting. If I shot only one time at a target without ear protection my ears would ring for a week. When I am shooting game my ears never ring and I don't feel any recoil.