44 mag rifle load for 240 jacketed?

[thejanitor]

Hello- I have a couple hundred 240 jacketed soft points, and am working on a load for my new 44 mag rifle. Do any of you have a good 240 gr load for deer and possibly hogs?  Deer may get shot out to 100 yds but hogs will be 65 - 70 yds tops.  Thank you, thejanitor

[southernutah]

from Hodgdon reloading site I like a full load of H110


http://data.hodgdon.com/main_menu.asp

240 GR. NOS JHP  IMR  IMR 4227  .429"  1.600"  22.0  1301  28,400 CUP  24.0  1458  36,100 CUP       
240 GR. NOS JHP  Winchester  296  .429"  1.600"  23.0  1413  25,200 CUP  24.0  1522  36,200 CUP       
240 GR. NOS JHP  Hodgdon  H110  .429"  1.600"  23.0  1413  25,200 CUP  24.0  1522  36,200 CUP       
240 GR. NOS JHP  Hodgdon  Lil'Gun  .429"  1.600"  22.5  1465  30,100 CUP  24.5  1582  38,100 CUP       
240 GR. NOS JHP  Hodgdon  Longshot  .429"  1.600"  11.0  1249  29,400 PSI  12.1  1331  34,500 PSI       
240 GR. NOS JHP  IMR  800-X  .429"  1.600"        14.2  1415  39,600 CUP       
240 GR. NOS JHP  IMR  SR 4756  .429"  1.600"        13.3  1260  39,800 CUP       
240 GR. NOS JHP  Hodgdon  HS-6  .429"  1.600"  12.0  1144  22,800 CUP  15.1  1417  38,200 CUP       
240 GR. NOS JHP  Winchester  AutoComp  .429"  1.600"  10.0  1129  26,000 PSI  11.5  1250  34,100 PSI       
240 GR. NOS JHP  Hodgdon  Universal  .429"  1.600"  8.0  1018  21,900 CUP  10.2  1246  38,200 CUP       
240 GR. NOS JHP  Winchester  231  .429"  1.600"  8.0  1021  23,800 CUP  11.0  1272  37,800 CUP       
240 GR. NOS JHP  Hodgdon  HP-38  .429"  1.600"  8.0  1021  23,800 CUP  11.0  1272  37,800 CUP       
240 GR. NOS JHP  Hodgdon  Titegroup  .429"  1.600"  9.0  1219  33,500 CUP  10.0  1292  37,700 CUP 

[Graybeard]

The load that has worked for me with all 240 grain bullets in all .44 mag rifles and handguns is 24.0 grains of H110/W296.

I've never found a .44 magnum yet that didn't shoot it well and it delivers about all the performance the .44 is cabable of. For that hog hunt in Texas I'd go with a heavier bullet personally and perhaps even a hard cast.

[thejanitor]

Thanks for both replies! I just shot some W296 loads yesterday but only got to shoot them out to 40 yds.... The "problem" I had was the bullseye blended in with all the holes that were touching.    I just wasn't sure if there was a better load but since you both replied pretty much the same load recipe I was working on I will continue on that path.
GB- I have a ton of cast but one of the manuals I have says they do not recommend any cast bullets in a rifle due to leading. If I had GC I may try it but I really don't know how hard these cast are that I have. Mostly wheel weight, but I don't know the rest of what he had in there. I use them in the pistol but didn't think I should in the rifle..... Do you have a brand of hard cast that you favor for a rifle or can't you promote any specific brand due to advertising? I understand if you can't.

Thanks guys!  thejanitor

[Richard P]

See  CastBulletAssoc.org   Marlins will shoot CB.  They tend to like fat bullets.

[Graybeard]

I primarily use the Graybeard brand of bullets made by the old fat guy that runs this site. I've not used a lot of commercial cast in years. I'd give flat base hard casts a try but not bevel base. I do prefer gas checked bullets and most of my molds are of that type.

There are lots of makers of quality cast bullets out there and many of them sell gas checked bullets. They aren't cheap but from reports I've heard they are quite good. If you have a flat base bullet cast of wheel weights or harder that fit the bore properly you should be able to do fine with them in a rifle tho a gas checked bullet is easier to make shoot well without excessive leading.

[thejanitor]

Thanks Again!  thejanitor

[paul105]

TJ,

Montana Bullet Works offers a great selection of cast bullets you can't find elsewhere -- LBTs, GCs, diff size within caliber, Etc.  Their bullets are hand cast and first rate plus they are good people to deal with.  They are not inexpensive -- not for plinking, but for specific hunting applications, you probably won't do better.

http://www.montanabulletworks.com/

Paul

[southernutah]

Beartooth Bullets has a lot of information on their site. You might go to marlinowners.com and snoop around