Talo .44 mag

[larry1945]

I recently picked up a new Talo Trapper in .44 mag.  I have a couple of .44's but they have limitations such as mostly jkt in .44 Ruger auto and Ruger 96/44 has an overall length limitation due to mag design.  Wanted another .44 for just banging around and playing with handloads.
 
Have had this rifle long enough to come up with some classic loads that work very well in this rifle.  These are my loads for my gun so if you use this data you do so at your own risk.
 
We have 7 acres of heavy woods with a lake and have a lot of "critters" roaming around at night to include deer, coyote, fox, beaver, coon etc etc.  The most useful load so far has been a lyman 429348 180 grain full wadcutter over 3.3 grains of bullseye.  This load is very quiet, quite accurate and does the job on the garbage can bandits.  This is loaded in a .44 special case and the bullets are lubed w/o sizing.  Plinking load is a lyman 429421 swc lubed as cast in .44 spl case with 7 grains of Unique.  Vel on this one is about 1100 fps and shoots cloverleaf groups at 50 yards.  The hunting or longer range load that has worked best for me is a 429421 swc in magnum case with 17.5 grains of #2400 powder.  I'd guess the vel on this is approx 1400 to 1500 fps.
 
Obviously none of these loads are anywhere near max but are very accurate.  I have a fair amount of experience with .44 mag rifle to include several deer, two black bears (one field dressed 400+), one hog and an elk.  None of these animals required more than one shot and all were shot with 429421 swc over 18.5 grains of #2400 in a rifle.  Don't need to overload a .44 if use good heavy bullet and put where it counts.  Hope this is helpful to anyone trying make .44 more versatile.

[josiah712]

I'm am very happy to read your report.  Love the 44 but have shyed away from this chambering in Handies due to so many bad reports.  These reports due to the oversized bores and ridiculously slow rate of twist in these barrels.
 
I almost always load as cast (unsized) when loading for single shots.  Glad to hear that slow twist can stabilize the 429421 even at low velocity.

[Rustyinfla]

   Thanks Larry,

       I'm pretty well sold on the .44 Mag myself. I'd like to hear more about your elk hunt if you don't mind telling the story.

           Thanks,

[ratdog]

i like the 44 handy it's a shooter at 50 yards it shoots clover leaves too same as my 357 both with cast bullets. both used on the same receiver. i like them both.the 44 i use 7cc lee dipper and 240 grn lee tumble lube wad cutter shoot it also in my 44 ruger flat top nice load.

[goldhound56]

I have the  same gun , it will be my #1 gun for deer hunting here in Alabama .

[larry1945]

I too have read the literature about oversize bores and the 1 in 38 twist of .44.  I have been dealing with 1 in 38 in my ruger auto loader for over 30 years and have never seen it as a problem.  The ruger is not tack driver but accurate enough given loose action that is 100% reliable.  I have in recent years fired all cast bullets as dropped and tumble lube them.  I've fired prob 500 rounds thru .44 handi with only couple swipes with copper brush.  I do not detect any leading as  I saw when I sized and lubed the bullets.  I have a ruger 96/44 that has 1 in 20 twist and frankly the ruger auto equals it in accuracy.  Please note I rarely use scope and prefer an "old school" weaver quik-point on my hunting rifle.  The large dot does not lead to pinpoint groups but is very fast on target.
 
I obviously have no real basis but I think the major problem with most .44 loads is not the twist but loading them too hot to get last fps.  It seems to me in my limited experience that a moderate load with good heavy cast swc is the way to go in .44.  I have never recovered a bullet as even with bears the bullet went all the way thru.  I have both the solid and hollow point 429421.  I'm older and grew up on Keith writings and I think the ole boy knew what worked.

[LaOtto222]

I wish that you guys would not give others false hope about the 44 Magnum. You are lucky to hit a pie plate at 50 yards, while a bullet of at least .452 diameter is a natural shooter and will clover leaf bullets at 100 yards every time. The .452 diameter bullet will pole ax any four legged critter in their tracks, while a bullet with a .429 diameter will just wound a critter and leave them crippled. A bullet of .452" diameter has been around some where around 139 years or so while the 44 Magnum has only been around for a mere 57 years give or take a couple, not enough to prove it out yet. Which leads to nostalgia, we all know that that is important when it comes to accuracy and power. The case with a bullet diameter of at least .452 can be loaded up to 60K PSI, if the action is strong enough, while the 44 Magnum can only be loaded up to 36K psi regardless of action type.

So, please do not lead people on about the 44 Magnum being a worth while cartridge.

Good Shooting and Good Luck

[josiah712]

Well I must disagree with just about all of that.
 
The 44-40 lever guns were widely respected as deer rifles before smokeless powder came on scene.  That was a heap longer than fifty years ago. 
 
About that same time, the 44 Russian earned a reputation for accuracy and led to the 44 Special.
 
Elmer Keith had no problem downing plenty of deer and critters much larger with 44s.
 
I  recently read an article by Chuck Hawks; where he stated that 45 revolvers were never able to equal the accuracy of 44 revolvers in the sport of bulls eye.
 
You can ask Veral Smith about the kind extreme long range accuracy that he has been able to ring out of 44s.

[ironglow]

  I had an original .44 mag in the old Shikari which I gave to a grandson. Accuracy is good even with factory ammo..and reloads work very well too. It wouldn't match my handi in .17 HMR or .223 Rem..but it does real well, nearly cutting clover leafs.... certainly good enough for deer.
   I took 4 deer with it before passing it to my grandson, who has taken 4 more with it. I am continnually amazed at the knockdown power of the .44 mag.  Of all 8 deer, only 1 took more than one shot...and that was just an extra "insurance" shot.
  They were DRT.

[ratdog]

can not really think of any thing bad to say about my 44's or 45's all shoot nice and you can load them to your level pain limitations.

[petemi]

Mine is one of the old over bored barrels.  This target was the last shot sighting in at 50 yards with Hornady LEs when the rifle was new and before it became a .445.......so much for pie plates.

Pete