Too many choices????

[JPH45]

Opening of gun season is still a month away, so there is plenty of time to figure this one out, but what am I going to hunt with this year?

I got 4 Handi's:

357 Max

44 Mag

30-30

45-70

All are perftect for my hunting senario, heavily wooded creek bottoms on Lookout Mountian. 100rds is a long shot, but a few places offer nearly 200 yards. That was the reason I bought the 30-30, was to use pointy bullets to extend the range, idea is good, just don't know if that is the way I want to go.

I killed 5 deer last year, 4 with the 44 and 1 with the 357. I bought a box of Hornady 300 XTP for the 44, and they do shoot well. At 1525 fps they will pack plenty of wallop for short range, but I like the 357 too. I don't have but a few of the Hornady 180 XTP (I HIGHLY recommend that bullet to hunters using the Maximum for their hunting) but I have a box of the Remington 180 HP which was designed for the Maximum and in tests Idid performed equally in expansion and penetration to the Hornady 180 XTP.

I have the the Hornady 150 SST for the 30-30. They shoot plenty well and the rifle performs without a hickup. Same goes for the 45-70. I have Lee's 405 grain hollow point which should more than do the deed pushed at 1500 fps or so.

Trouble is, I have spent this summer learning the art of beer brewing, I haven't shot very much, and I'm just begining to make up my mind about hunting at all. I'm sure Im going to spend some time hunting, but probably not with the singlemindedness I had last year ('course that could change)

I like all my rifles, but I lean toward the 44 pretty heavy, the 357 next. Honestly I could do without he 45-70. I've been thinking of selling...Down Boys, Down... :lol: Ya'll will be the first to know. In my situation I think the 44 will do everything the 45-70 will do for me (I figured that much out over the summer) without the need to develop a high level of recoil tolerance. Besides, I have been thinking of opening the 44 up to a 44 Super Mag, that would give me the equivelent of any 300 grain 45-70 factory load, burn less powder and still leave me capable of shooting 44 Special or 44 Mag loads, of course I could keep the 45-70 and have the same thing, but I'm drifting

Not asking for any answers particularly, just laying out where I'm at with hunting and with my rifle choices this year. More a general discussion of what my options are and how to best use them to full advantange.

[quickdtoo]

Whilst you're on the .357maxi subject, what kind of velocities can be expected in a handi with 170gr JHPs? I bought a maxi barrel from BBF and am shooting Dan Wesson maxi ammo in it, shoots good, but don't have a chrono. thx, Tim

[jeff223]

JPH45,if i were you i would go out and shoot a deer with each one

good luck hunting and i cant wait to hear how you do this year.one 7 point buck for me so far and the best hunting is just starting here in Michigan.

i hear NEF is going to offer the 357mag barrel again so this time i am sending in for one.sure hope leftoverdj still has the max reamer

[single shot shooter]

i'd go with the 45-70 or the 44 ...but thats just me.. never shot a 45-70 but from what i hear they'll putem down. i love the .44 mag cartridge my favorite...until i get my 45-70 then that might change

[JPH45]

quickdtoo, 2060 fps with the Hornady 180 XTP and 26 grains of AA1680. that is with the bullet seated in the second cannalure (longest COL)
1871 fps with 22 grains of AA 5744. I have targets using H110, but don't know the load. As I remember, H110 was about 100 fps slower than 1680. It was probably the max charge found in Speers # 13, 20.5 grains. I have done a LOT of chronographing the 357 Max from a Handi. I am convinced it is a ballistic twin of the 30-30 and will do anything a factory 35 Remington load is doing. Long ago DJ said that 1680 was as perfect a powder as could be had for the 357 Max, I agree without doubt.

The deer I shot last year, I shot twice, the first load hit forward of the ham and exited the anus (exactly), breaking the hip. The second hit the foreleg just below the shoulder, shattered the bone, entered the heart, blew a 1.5" exit hole and exited the far rib cage breaking two ribs on exit. exit wound was simple bullet diameter, but no doubt it had expanded and shed it's nose before exit. The shot was at 25 yards, the deer dropped like it was hit by a sledgehammer. I have no doubt that on a clean lung shot, the bullet would have expanded normally, exited and the deer would have traveled not more than 30 yards. While I tend toward big bores, I find nothing wrong with the 357 Max as a whitetail cartridge, and considering the construction of the Hornady XTP bullets, it is probably a far better choice than any factory 30-30 loading. Think I 'm a little prejudiced? :wink:  

single shot shooter, In past i have killed several deer with 45-70's, the hits are obvious and unmistakeable. I Have however come to the realization that for whitetails in the woods, there is probably no better big bore than the 44 Super Mag. From a rifle length barrel it should equal any 45-70 factory 300 grain loading (or be damn close, so much so the deer won't know.) and at the same time offer 240-250 grain bullets at or very near 2000 fps. A 250 grain Nosler Partition at 2000 fps or so would just up and knock the snot out of most any whitetail or mulie walking. I wouldn't be afraid of being undergunned on animals up to 500 pounds @ 100 yards with that.

jeff223, that is about what I was thinking earlier this year. I was thinking the 30-30 and the 45-70 first, then the 44 and 357. Just don't know yet.

[single shot shooter]

i too love the 44 mag,and i too belive there is no better deer gun at moderate ranges

[quickdtoo]

Thanks JPH45, that's about what I figured.

[H&R BANG]

What is your 300 grain 44 mag load? I tried the Sierra 300 grain softpoints with a max load of H110, but they would not stabilize (elongated holes at 50 yards). I have settled on 240 grain XTP's with 24 grains of H110. This will be my deer rifle this year.

[JPH45]

Load is 20.5 grains of H110 under Hornady 300 XTP. I have seen no signs of instability at 50 yards. I did a lot of shooting of 300 grainers in my rifle. the Lee 310 mold always key holes. However, the 300 grain cast from Magnus Bullet Co. shoots very nice, no sign of key holing.

Probably the best compromise of bullet weight/velocity is the Speer 270 grain Gold Dot pushed with 21 grains of H110. I get 1570 fp with this load and killed two deer with it last year. Absolutely no stability problems, and it drills a caliber size hole through and through. there is nothing wrong with a 240 grain bullet either.

Edit: If what I saw from the XTP 180 is typical performance fot this series of bullets (everything I have read points to that) your 240 XTP should be the cream of the crop, perhaps better even that the Nosler Partition 250, which has a legendary performance background. That is why I chose the 300 XTP to experiment with.

[hellacatcher]

The wife says I have too many choices. This week end is a shot gun only (Ulta 12ga ) Then comes the Huntsman after that its flip the coin. I got that handy disease bad. :?

[De41mag]

Tim;

I was wondering if the 170gr. JHP you were talking about is the Sierra 170gr. JHC. If it is, I've been using that bullet since the 80's. And I find it to be one of the most accurate bullets I've ever used. I no longer have a 357 mag. but I use it in my Model 14, 38 Special ahead of AA#7, and still get good expanison. Back when I had a 357 mag in a 586 w/ a 8-3/8 inch barrel some bullets I recovered were .75 caliber w/ no jacket-core seperation. I my opinon, it's one of the best .357 bullets made.  :grin:

Dennis

[De41mag]

H&R BANG;

I've put over 1800 rnds. through my H&R Ultra and have found that the SPEER 300gr. SP, shoots groups at 1.5 inches at 100yds. ahead of H-110 with an AOL of 1.665. in 44mag. And I did alot of testing with jacketed bullets before I got to this point. This is one good bullet  for the 44mag in the single shot rifle. As JPH noted in a previous post, it probably won't expand but sure will knock a hole in them. I'll be using mine when deer season comes this November.  :grin:

Dennis  

[quickdtoo]

Hi Dennis,

I don't know what bullet exactly they use in the Dan Wesson ammo, I emailed Bullseye for info but never got a reply.  thx,   Tim

http://www.bullseyeguns.com/danammo.asp

[De41mag]

Tim;

I looked on the website, and it is the Sierra, 170gr.JHC. I think that you should give that load a try or load your own. In the Sierra Manual, they state that the 170gr is the lightest bullet they would recommend in that caliber. I think you would be pleased using that bullet.  :grin:

Dennis  

[quickdtoo]

Thanks Dennis. I think it shoots fine, just wondering what kind of velocity they produce. I'm not really interested in handloading for it, especially if the remaining part of the 2 boxes of 170gr that I have shoot as good as the rest! I also have 2 boxes of 158gr that also shoot well. Maybe someone will have a chrono at the range that I can shoot a round or 2 over. Since it's just a fun gun, I really don't need to be too concerned about it, I have too many other rifles that would be better deer calibers, .243, .25-06, .308 and .45-70. Thanks again.    Tim