Buffalo Bore ammo in a Taurus.

[mrussel]

Not sure where to put this so I will throw it in here. I saw something interesting at the range today that I thought I would share. The guy in the next lane had one of those Taurus light weight 2" 44 magnums. He had some Buffalo Bore 305gr heavy 44 magnum rounds as well. The issue was they had to be hammered out of the cylinder with a rod and showed an uneven bulge by on the case. I tried a few of my 44 magnum hand loads (nothing hot,just a solid 44 magnum with a 240gr JHP) and they worked fine. Ive used the buffalo bore +P+ in my Ruger SBH and have not seen any problems at all. We tried six of the 305s in my SBH and 5 ejected fine and the sixth ejected but was a little tight. All the primers showed flattening both in the Taurus and in my SBH well beyond what I saw with the 340gr +P+ rounds (which BB claims are mid to high 40s in pressure) I'm not sure what was going on here but it seems the ammo was the problem.
 
 The things I wanted people to take away from this were. 1) This particular Buffalo Bore ammo had some serious problems. It SHOULD have had no issues with being fired in a SBH,as it was presumably (since it was not one of their +P+ types) made to SAMMI. I think I will email them on this. It makes me a little nervous about any of their products. They actually only recommend it for steel revolvers,which explains SOME of the issues,at least with the Taurus,but it didn't seem to work right in my gun either. 2) The Taurus revolvers have much weaker cylinders than the SBH and we should not forget that. I know people will say that everyone should know this,and I agree,but I think it bears saying. One was a little tight on the SBH,and that may have been a dirty cylinder as I had been shooting it all day before the guy came in next to me. Every single one of them had to be hammered out. (and it wasn't even easy to hammer them out,they were seriously in there) The SBH showed ONE of them with what MIGHT have been a sign of high pressure. (We all really thought it was the gun not the ammo,and were going to demonstrate how a good strong revolver handles a hot,but still SAMMI spec load,but I stopped at that as it was clear it was the ammo not the gun) The Taurus was a hairs breath from coming apart. The bulge on the case was clearly visible to the naked eye,and only on one side of the case.
 At the very least,I would be very careful to only shoot ammo from mainstream manufacturers and if hand-loading be very careful of max loads. Im not saying the Taurus is a bad gun,and I knew before that the Ruger was stronger,but that bulge was really disturbing. Well,actually,I guess Im saying that those Taurus cylinders scare the heck out of me after seeing that.

[coyotejoe]

I have always felt those "high performance loads", whether from a custom factory or individual handloader is skating on thin ice. There are good reasons why the major ammo makers don't load that hot. The Ruger SBH is a bank vault gun, you can't expect a light weight revolver to handle the same loads. I've considered the little Taurus 5 shooter for a packing gun but I'd probably never go beyond high end .44 special loads in it, I'm sure the gun could stand more than I could, even my Charter Bulldog can stand heavier loads than I care to shoot from it.

[Lloyd Smale]

the buffalo bore plus p stuff from my understanding is only recomened by them for use in a redhawk or super redhawk. It is to hot for a super blackhawk. My guess is the bulged cases in the tarus are the results of actually bulging the cylinder in that gun. Im about sure that he probably ruined the cylinder. Personaly i wouldnt even shoot full power factory 240s in a lightweight tarus. I havent bought a box of buffalo bore ammo in years. Not because it isnt good ammo its just i cant afford it and can make simular ammo alot cheaper but the boxes i had even had it wrote right on the box that it was ammo for a redhawk. About like smoking cigerettes with a cancer warning on them then bitching because you got cancer from them.

[mrussel]

the buffalo bore plus p stuff from my understanding is only recomened by them for use in a redhawk or super redhawk. It is to hot for a super blackhawk. My guess is the bulged cases in the tarus are the results of actually bulging the cylinder in that gun. Im about sure that he probably ruined the cylinder. Personaly i wouldnt even shoot full power factory 240s in a lightweight tarus. I havent bought a box of buffalo bore ammo in years. Not because it isnt good ammo its just i cant afford it and can make simular ammo alot cheaper but the boxes i had even had it wrote right on the box that it was ammo for a redhawk. About like smoking cigerettes with a cancer warning on them then bitching because you got cancer from them.

 Like I said,this was NOT the buffalo bore +P stuff. It was the 305 gr. At least it was not market +P on the box and had no warnings like the +P+ does. Thats what surprised me. Im have some of the +P+. It shoots just fine in my SBH. I'm pretty sure that he +P+ would have blown that gun apart in his hands like a grenade.

[Dill45]

the buffalo bore plus p stuff from my understanding is only recomened by them for use in a redhawk or super redhawk. It is to hot for a super blackhawk. My guess is the bulged cases in the tarus are the results of actually bulging the cylinder in that gun. Im about sure that he probably ruined the cylinder. Personaly i wouldnt even shoot full power factory 240s in a lightweight tarus. I havent bought a box of buffalo bore ammo in years. Not because it isnt good ammo its just i cant afford it and can make simular ammo alot cheaper but the boxes i had even had it wrote right on the box that it was ammo for a redhawk. About like smoking cigerettes with a cancer warning on them then bitching because you got cancer from them.

Well here's the quotes off BB's website: "Heavy .44 Magnum +P+ Ammo - 340 gr. L.F.N. - G.C. (1,478 fps/M.E. 1,649 ft. lbs.) - 20 Round Box

NEW HEAVY 44 MAGNUM +P+

This new load is designed for only certain revolvers that have the cylinder length to handle it. They are as follows; Ruger Red Hawk, Ruger Super Red Hawk, Ruger Super Blackhawk or Vaquero, Freedom Arms Model 83, Taurus Raging Bull, Colt Anaconda and Dan Wesson Revolvers. Suitable rifles include T/C Encore, "modified" Marlin 1894, Winchester 1894, any rifle with a falling block action and the Handi Rifle. "
http://www.buffalobore.com/index.php?l=product_detail&p=54

So you can put them in a SBH, but not in your run-of-the-mill Taurus.

As for the 305gr loads, quick google search didn't show anything in particular, other than "DON'T USE THE +P+ LOADS!!!"  I personally haven't heard anything.

It maybe that the cylinders were bulged or oversize from the factory causing extra sticky extraction.

[mrussel]

the buffalo bore plus p stuff from my understanding is only recomened by them for use in a redhawk or super redhawk. It is to hot for a super blackhawk. My guess is the bulged cases in the tarus are the results of actually bulging the cylinder in that gun. Im about sure that he probably ruined the cylinder. Personaly i wouldnt even shoot full power factory 240s in a lightweight tarus. I havent bought a box of buffalo bore ammo in years. Not because it isnt good ammo its just i cant afford it and can make simular ammo alot cheaper but the boxes i had even had it wrote right on the box that it was ammo for a redhawk. About like smoking cigerettes with a cancer warning on them then bitching because you got cancer from them.

Well here's the quotes off BB's website: "Heavy .44 Magnum +P+ Ammo - 340 gr. L.F.N. - G.C. (1,478 fps/M.E. 1,649 ft. lbs.) - 20 Round Box

NEW HEAVY 44 MAGNUM +P+

This new load is designed for only certain revolvers that have the cylinder length to handle it. They are as follows; Ruger Red Hawk, Ruger Super Red Hawk, Ruger Super Blackhawk or Vaquero, Freedom Arms Model 83, Taurus Raging Bull, Colt Anaconda and Dan Wesson Revolvers. Suitable rifles include T/C Encore, "modified" Marlin 1894, Winchester 1894, any rifle with a falling block action and the Handi Rifle. "
http://www.buffalobore.com/index.php?l=product_detail&p=54

So you can put them in a SBH, but not in your run-of-the-mill Taurus.

As for the 305gr loads, quick google search didn't show anything in particular, other than "DON'T USE THE +P+ LOADS!!!"  I personally haven't heard anything.

It maybe that the cylinders were bulged or oversize from the factory causing extra sticky extraction.

Yea,I have bought a couple of boxes and shot 18 of of them and kept 12. I only have a SBH myself and those work really well. The recoil is heavier,but not as crazy as I expected. The difference isn't that much more than the difference between UMC FMJ and the Hornady +P 230gr xtp I use in my 1911. Its of course greater in magnitude overall,but relatively speaking the increase in recoil is similar. The cylinders LOOKED smooth and strait. We actually looked at that. Still,that seems a little extreme even for that. I mean,there is hot and then there is what I saw there which looked to me like it was just short of coming apart. Its not even sticky extraction. They had to hammer them out of the cylinder with a metal rod,and the cases were bulged perhaps a half millimeter on one side,visible to the naked eye even without putting a strait edge on it. Ive been trying not to trash on Taurus revolvers,but the more I think about it,the more I think that the light weight ones are seriously weak. I looked at the web page and it does say its for steel frame revolvers,so I guess that was the problem. Still,you would not expect it to be THAT bad. Id expect maybe some tight extraction and general loosing of the revolver after repeated use. Im going to send an email off to BB and ask them what the pressure is on those and if they are above or below sammi specs.

[Lloyd Smale]

trash away on them. Personaly i think there just a small step above junk.

[SwampThing762]

My Taurus 44 Mag owner's manual says the max load for this caliber is a 240 grain bullet at 1350 fps.  The Tracker 44 mag model with 4 inch bbl and the Model 44 Taurus would not handle the pressure generated by BB or Cor-Bon loads.  Only the Raging Bull has a strong enough frame for BB ammo.

ST762

[coyotejoe]

That stuff may not be called +P+++ but a 305 grain bullet at 1325 fps has got to be hot as hell, there is just no way it be done at conventional pressures. I just looked on Ammo Guide and that is 200 fps faster than the hottest 300 grain bullet load listed, and Ammo Guide lists some pretty crazy loads. 
I don't think you can knock Taurus for that, I doubt an S&W M-29 would have been happy either.

[S.E.Ak]

Best to just call Tim at BB and ask,great guy

[mrussel]

That stuff may not be called +P+++ but a 305 grain bullet at 1325 fps has got to be hot as hell, there is just no way it be done at conventional pressures. I just looked on Ammo Guide and that is 200 fps faster than the hottest 300 grain bullet load listed, and Ammo Guide lists some pretty crazy loads. 
I don't think you can knock Taurus for that, I doubt an S&W M-29 would have been happy either.

 Guess Im just spoiled. Ive never owned a 44magnum before my SBH. While I know its built like a vault I never realized the difference was THAT dramatic. That was a 305gr at 1325 that it was nearly coming apart with and Im shooting 340s at nearly 1500. I had always assume that if for instance you were dumb enough to put them in a normal revolver,it would start hammering the frame loose and stress the cylider and that you would get through the box without a serious failure and a significant risk of a catastrophic one. Now I realize,one of these could be enough to blow it to pieces.

[coyotejoe]

Wow! I wonder why Mr. Casull ever bothered with the .454 if you can get equal ballistics from a .44 mag?

[S.E.Ak]

Wow! I wonder why Mr. Casull ever bothered with the .454 if you can get equal ballistics from a .44 mag?

You can't, the BB 454 load close to that 44 round is 300fps faster and 500fpe over it.

[mrussel]

Wow! I wonder why Mr. Casull ever bothered with the .454 if you can get equal ballistics from a .44 mag?

You can't, the BB 454 load close to that 44 round is 300fps faster and 500fpe over it.

Actually the 360gr 454 is 1425fps/1649ft/lbs. The +P+ 44mag is 1478fps/1679ft/lbs The 300 is 1650fps/1813ft/lbs. The 340gr is probably best compared against the 360gr. It compares favorably. The 300gr has more velocity and more energy. That's true,but it does not have THAT much more. It has 170fps velocity and 134ft/lbs of energy difference. That's not that much. The BB bore 44 however is essentially a 44 super magnum when you look at the velocities it gets. In fact,that's a great deal of how they did it. Not only did they exceed SAAMI specs by a wide margin,they seated the bullet WAY out. Its not really a 44 Magnum anymore as it does not even meet the correct dimensions for one and wont even fit in most revolvers,and most revolvers cant take the pressure. Essentially,its something that someone found would work in a small number of revolvers. The question comes up,why not make a revolver that is MADE to handle those things instead of a 44magnum. That was in fact dont,again,its the 44 super mag. For some reason it just did not take off. For some reason,people prefer a magnum version of the LC over a more magnum version of the 44. In fact,they went one step further and made a more magnum version of the LC,the 44S&W. Really though,its not even surprising that you would see these similarities as you would not expect .02" of bullet diameter to make that much difference.

[Lloyd Smale]

yes a 44 mag can be loaded to run almost with a 454 in a redhawk. Ive done it myself. Mostly just to prove it can be done. Bottom line is i think the buffalo bore ammo is kind of silly myself. Its very expensive and gains you little in the real world of killing animals. a 300 grain 44 at 1200fps will kill any animal you put it in if shot placement is good. Anymore i rarely run even my 454 at top velocitys. Ive found to many times that running a cast bullet over 1300 fps will usually result in less penetration not more. most alloys wont hold up to hitting bone at higher speeds and the bullets deform when hitting and pentration suffers because of it. Plus your basicaly beating up a good gun and yourself for nothing.

[mrussel]

yes a 44 mag can be loaded to run almost with a 454 in a redhawk. Ive done it myself. Mostly just to prove it can be done. Bottom line is i think the buffalo bore ammo is kind of silly myself. Its very expensive and gains you little in the real world of killing animals. a 300 grain 44 at 1200fps will kill any animal you put it in if shot placement is good. Anymore i rarely run even my 454 at top velocitys. Ive found to many times that running a cast bullet over 1300 fps will usually result in less penetration not more. most alloys wont hold up to hitting bone at higher speeds and the bullets deform when hitting and pentration suffers because of it. Plus your basicaly beating up a good gun and yourself for nothing.

 So long as I can hit the target reliably with it,my thinking is,going back to the very tired "what do you want for bears" threads,if I need to shoot an angry (maybe starving and wounded) bear,Im going to want as much oompff as I can get. The "why do you need that much" argument is a slippery slope isn't it? If I no one needs those velocities in a 44mag no one needs a 454 either,or anything larger. For that matter,who even needs 44 magnum,when 45LC can be loaded to the typical velocities of the 44 magnum becuase if you dont need the higher end velocities,45LC can do everything 44 magnum can. But (as many say all the time) who needs those extreme velocities in a 45LC. It goes on and on and pretty soon your left with a 22BB Cap facing down a polar bear.

 I think those BB have a place. They are a very hard lead alloy,and should be fine on penetration. I dont even really consider them a 44mag becuase they just exceed the spec in so many ways and the real answer is you CANT put them in a 44magnum revolver,but instead only a very few that happen to be able to use it. Call it 44 Buffalo Bore or something,that's where the confusion really comes in.

 As for beating up a good gun,I dont know of anyone who feeds their revolver a steady diet of these things at nearly 2 dollars a shot. Its something you shot a box of once in a while so you know what to expect and know you can hit the target,then you keep six loaded up when your on the trail just in case a situation comes along that you REALLY wish you had a rifle for. I think of it the same way as I think of the +P premium hollow points I feed in my 1911. They beat up the gun more too and that's why I only keep them around for self defense and the obligatory practice. Thats what these are,they are premium special purpose ammo,its not something you take down to the range to plink (actually,we should coin a new term for these bigger revolvers,it should be called "plunking") with so "beating up your gun" isn't really an issue.

[Lloyd Smale]

it depends on what you consider power in a handgun. In my experience it isnt velocity that is the major factor in killing power of handguns. Handguns kill by there ability to drive a bullet deap into a large animal and hit the vitals. they dont kill like a rifle with hydrostatic shock. To increase handgun power you have two options a heavier bullet will penetrate better and a larger caliber will make a bigger wound channel. I have killed lots of game with hanguns and have seen no differnce between say a 300 grain 45 bullet going 1100 fps and one going 1600 fps and if really large game are being hunted the faster speeds can actually degrade penetration because of the bullet deforming on bone. In my opinion to step up in power from a 44 or 45 shooting a 300 grain cast bullet at 1100 fps you need to step up to say a 475 or 480 shooting a 400 grain .476 bullet at the same speed. Ive got a 454 but it isnt used a bunch. Why? Because when loaded to 454 levels it has miserable muzzle  blast sharp recoil and doesnt kill any better then a ruger 45 colt loaded to 1100 fps. Just my opinion and others may not agree but you will find that even John Linebaughs thoughts run about the same. As to the grizzly bear senerio, nobody hates those stupid posts more then me but ill say this. Id feel just as well armed with a 44 using 300s loaded to 1100 fps on one then i would with any buffalo bore load. I know a load like that will shoot lenghtwise through something the size of a large grizzly. Ive done it myself on buffalo that were larger and larger boned.

[mrussel]

it depends on what you consider power in a handgun. In my experience it isnt velocity that is the major factor in killing power of handguns. Handguns kill by there ability to drive a bullet deap into a large animal and hit the vitals. they dont kill like a rifle with hydrostatic shock. To increase handgun power you have two options a heavier bullet will penetrate better and a larger caliber will make a bigger wound channel. I have killed lots of game with hanguns and have seen no differnce between say a 300 grain 45 bullet going 1100 fps and one going 1600 fps and if really large game are being hunted the faster speeds can actually degrade penetration because of the bullet deforming on bone. In my opinion to step up in power from a 44 or 45 shooting a 300 grain cast bullet at 1100 fps you need to step up to say a 475 or 480 shooting a 400 grain .476 bullet at the same speed. Ive got a 454 but it isnt used a bunch. Why? Because when loaded to 454 levels it has miserable muzzle  blast sharp recoil and doesnt kill any better then a ruger 45 colt loaded to 1100 fps. Just my opinion and others may not agree but you will find that even John Linebaughs thoughts run about the same. As to the grizzly bear senerio, nobody hates those stupid posts more then me but ill say this. Id feel just as well armed with a 44 using 300s loaded to 1100 fps on one then i would with any buffalo bore load. I know a load like that will shoot lenghtwise through something the size of a large grizzly. Ive done it myself on buffalo that were larger and larger boned.

 One question I DO have is why do lead (or as BB likes to say,cast ,they seem to take offense when their lead alloy bullets are called lead even though I personally think if your mostly lead,your a lead bullet) bullets seem to be the preferred bullet instead of a jacketed bullet?

[Lloyd Smale]

for the same reasons i stated in the post. Handguns dont kill by hydrostatic shock. At least thats not a major player in the game. A jacketed bullet is made to expand (deform) they work fine on deer sized game or smaller where penetration isnt a major problem but when it comes to anything  bigger penetration with a hp or jacketed soft point can be marginal. Any time a bullet deforms in any way penetration suffers and so does the ablitiy of that bullet to penetrate straight. Most guys that hunt with handguns hunt with at least a 41 cal bullet. A flat nosed cast bullet of that size or larger with a good flat nose alleady hits an animal with a frontal area as big as an expanded rifle bullet so expansion isnt really nessisary and can be to much of a good thing if it does. A couple years ago we went out shooting buffalo with 500 linebaughs using cast hp bullets. What we found is that we go perfect mushrooms with them but ended up just turning a good bullet into a big parachute and got miserable penetration. A 440 grain hp at 1200 fps would only go 8 inches into a buffalo. Not that is an extream example of larger then normal game and larger then normal bullets but it does show my point. what a good flat nosed lfn or swc cast out of a alloy that is tough enough not to deform buys you is the ability to drive a bullet into the vitals of an animal at any angle. Another thing thats overlooked is guys look at the wound channel of a jacketed bullet and compare it to a cast and think the jacketed bullet does alot more destruction but fail to take into account that the cast bullet wound channel is twice as long. If all your ever going to hunt is deer a jacketed bulet will server you well but even on game that size a cast bullet will kill them just as dead

[Lloyd Smale]

one other thing that is a BIG advantage to cast bullets is with a little investment a guy can about make them for free. At the price charged for jackteted bullets its tough for a guy to go out and shoot a couple thousand rounds out of a gun and really get proficient with it. With cast bullets i make i can load 3 or 4 boxes of complete ammo for the price of one box of jacketed bullets and the ammo I can make that cheap is better to boot. It also gives you much more latitude when you make your own to vary alloy for the purpose and to vary alloy and size to get the most accuracy out of your gun. Its just like another option like switching bullets primers ect to tune a load to a certain gun.

[SwampThing762]

Lloyd,

Was that you in the "Buffalo Medicine" article a few years ago with the SW Mountain Gun 44 Mag?  I think it was Outdoor Life.  Killing a buff with a 4 inch 44 Mag and open sights from 45 yards or less takes moxy.  It is almost like killing a wild boar with a knife.  BTDT on the hog -- what a rush!!

ST762

[mrussel]

one other thing that is a BIG advantage to cast bullets is with a little investment a guy can about make them for free. At the price charged for jackteted bullets its tough for a guy to go out and shoot a couple thousand rounds out of a gun and really get proficient with it. With cast bullets i make i can load 3 or 4 boxes of complete ammo for the price of one box of jacketed bullets and the ammo I can make that cheap is better to boot. It also gives you much more latitude when you make your own to vary alloy for the purpose and to vary alloy and size to get the most accuracy out of your gun. Its just like another option like switching bullets primers ect to tune a load to a certain gun.

 That is my primary use of cast bullets. I cast them for cheap ammo,but I was more interested in the hunting uses of them,which of course you answered as well. I'm not sure I follow your explanation regarding expansion and lack of penetration in one respect though. Are you talking about only hollow point jacketed bullets or are you also talking about FMJ types as well? I have heard and accept the fact that cast lead alloy bullets are preferred ,and that's what I load in my SBH,but I'm curious why you dont seem to see FMJ bullets (non hollow point). Do they deform badly? I thought that they didn't really do that. (dont get me wrong,Im not saying "Jacketed are better",clearly they are not or they would be more popular in those applications,but I dont know the rationale behind it)

[Lloyd Smale]

no fmj bullets will penetrate fine IF your using a flat nosed bullet. A round nose will many times dive in penetration and cant be relied on . Not to many flat nosed fmj bullets on the market though and there to expensive for me. Dont confuse fmj bullets with the cheaper plated bullets. There nothing but pure lead bullets with a copper wash over them. About the only fmj bullets ive found that would do well on game are the ones that were desinged for silouette competition. there are now a few jacketed bullets id trust on game. One for sure is the nos partition. I dont know that i would use it on something larger then 500 lbs though as when animals get that big you need all the penetration you can get.

[Lloyd Smale]

nope not me. Ive killed them with a 4 5/8s super blackhawk though and watched my buddy put down a wounded one with his 4 in 629 using a punch bullet.

Lloyd,

Was that you in the "Buffalo Medicine" article a few years ago with the SW Mountain Gun 44 Mag?  I think it was Outdoor Life.  Killing a buff with a 4 inch 44 Mag and open sights from 45 yards or less takes moxy.  It is almost like killing a wild boar with a knife.  BTDT on the hog -- what a rush!!

ST762

[Ak.Hiker]

I have tested the 305 grain BB in my 4 5/8 inch Super Blackhawk. They are powerful and offer quite a bit of penetration and are no problem in a strong steel 44 Magnum. I have a Taurus Model 44 and the owners manuel does say not to go over 240 grain bullet loads so I never shot the BB in the Taurus. The Model 44 is all steel so I would think that a 2 inch light weight Taurus would not be up to the BB 305 grain load that is for sure. BB does make a loading for the 44 designed just for guns like the S&W 329. It is a 250 grain cast load. The real problem with heavy cast loads in light weight handguns is bullet jump. Not a good thing if a big animal is charging. I am with Lloyd as far as heavy 44 Magnum loads go. I have tested tons of 320 grain loads in the 44 Magnum. Starting at 19.5 grain of H-110 all the way up to loads at the top end of the loading manuels. I found that 19.5 or 20 grains of H-110 gave me the penetration with out the recoil when running heavy weight bullets in my Super Blackhawk or Redhawk. The same thing with the tough jackted 300 grain Sierra bullet. Running it to 1100 is plenty. I would think the only thing one may gain if you run these heavyweight bullets faster is more range. As far as quality goes I have tested many different BB loads over the years and they are a top quality product. 

[mrussel]

I have tested the 305 grain BB in my 4 5/8 inch Super Blackhawk. They are powerful and offer quite a bit of penetration and are no problem in a strong steel 44 Magnum. I have a Taurus Model 44 and the owners manuel does say not to go over 240 grain bullet loads so I never shot the BB in the Taurus. The Model 44 is all steel so I would think that a 2 inch light weight Taurus would not be up to the BB 305 grain load that is for sure. BB does make a loading for the 44 designed just for guns like the S&W 329. It is a 250 grain cast load. The real problem with heavy cast loads in light weight handguns is bullet jump. Not a good thing if a big animal is charging. I am with Lloyd as far as heavy 44 Magnum loads go. I have tested tons of 320 grain loads in the 44 Magnum. Starting at 19.5 grain of H-110 all the way up to loads at the top end of the loading manuels. I found that 19.5 or 20 grains of H-110 gave me the penetration with out the recoil when running heavy weight bullets in my Super Blackhawk or Redhawk. The same thing with the tough jackted 300 grain Sierra bullet. Running it to 1100 is plenty. I would think the only thing one may gain if you run these heavyweight bullets faster is more range. As far as quality goes I have tested many different BB loads over the years and they are a top quality product. 

 So what is the advantage disadvantage of the 300gr jacketed sp vs a cast lead? Certainly cost is one. I do agree that for instance my 240gr hollow point and cast lead hand loads using about 12 grains of accurate 5 (I hate that stuff,cant wait to use it up. I some slug recipes that should use it up fast.) are much more accurate than the heavier loads at my skill level,and I certainly cant argue that shots that miss have a significantly reduced stopping power.

[SwampThing762]

I used to shoot my 44 loads as 20.8 grains H4227 under a Hornady 265 gr FP, or 240 gr bullets over 24.4 grs  of ww296.   Both loads were a handful in a handgun, but shot well in a Handi-Rifle.  For a Taurus, I recommend the following load:  10.7 grains of WW231 for velocity of 1200 fps and an oal of 1.535 with 240 grain hardcast lead bullet.   This is a sufficient load for 95% of all North American game and exotic species.

ST762

[mrussel]

I used to shoot my 44 loads as 20.8 grains H4227 under a Hornady 265 gr FP, or 240 gr bullets over 24.4 grs  of ww296.   Both loads were a handful in a handgun, but shot well in a Handi-Rifle.  For a Taurus, I recommend the following load:  10.7 grains of WW231 for velocity of 1200 fps and an oal of 1.535 with 240 grain hardcast lead bullet.   This is a sufficient load for 95% of all North American game and exotic species.

ST762

 I dont have a Taurus,the Taurus belonged to some guy shooting next to me at the range. While It might be fine with lighter loads,I really think it was just too light,weight wise,for a 44 and if Im given a choice (which of course we all are) between something seriously strong like a Ruger and something that seems in my limited experience rather weak,I'm going to stick with the Ruger. All I know is,that guy bought a Taurus and was dissapointed with it,and I bought a Ruger and love it more every time I take it out.

[Ak.Hiker]

In the loads I have tested the Sierra 300 grain JSP penetrates similar to a 320 grain cast when both are run at 1000 to 1100. The Sierra is made with a hard core and a thick jacket. For the guy that does not want to shoot cast it is a good option. They are designed for large game. My Super Blackhawk likes both bullets so in my case their really is not an advantage other than I like to support small companies like Sierra and Hornady.   

[Mohawk]

Not a .44 but I killed a Whitetail  Saturday with the hot Buffalo Bore standard pressure load .38 SWCHP and it worked perfectly. They were a prayer answered by making a standard pressure load more effective without cranking up the pressure. to +P levels. And as far as Taurus..... I have one good one from the '70's but everything else has been marginal regarding their products. To me it sounds like the gun. And the SBH sticking sounds like a dirty cylinder. I have had a revolver so dirty with practice ammo that the cylinder dragged the forcing cone and would not turn....so....who knows.