445sm success but now in need of a better hunting bullet

[jeff223]

i shot a small 4pt buck on Nov 15th with my 445sm hand cannon.the buck came in on a doe and was moving right along after her.i swung up on him and when the cross hair hit his shoulder the gun went off.he turned and left the same way he came in.this was a 55 or 60 yd shot and i knew i hit him good.i shot him at 10 am and at 11:30am i tracked him down.there was lots of blood but after the first 100yds of tracking i wondered just where i had hit him.about 75yds later i came upon him stone dead.after checking him out i could see i hit him right in the shoulder area but alittle low where the knuckle is.his right shoulder was all blown up,it was a total mess with lots of bone and tissue damage.the 240gr Remington JHP bullet had blown up upon hitting the knuckle.there was also some damage to the lungs but just alittle,no big hole or rip in them.just little peaces of bullet and bone made it into the lungs.

now what i need to do is change to a better hunting bullet??

1.stay with the Remingtom 240 bullet but go with the jacketed soft point?

2.go with a big cast boolit if i can get one to shoot good?say the Lee 310gr flat nose with a gas check.

3.go to the Hornady 265gr flat nose?

4.shoot the Sierra 300gr JSP bullet.i talked to the Sierra Bullet Smiths today on the phone and they said i could shoot this bullet end to end on a deer with little bullet expansion.they gave me a load too that  will shoot 1800fps of out a 14inch barrel.

your thoughts on 445 super mag hunting bullets please

[fyrepowrx]

well you know my choice is the 265...a bit less recoil, flatter trajectory, & good penetration..if you were chasing stuff bigger than deer i'd go the 300 route...

Just for giggles what did Sierra recommed for a load on that 300 ? I couldnt get that thing to expand even out of my 445 Supermag 20" carbine, that thing is tough, and i bet it would shoot one stem to stern!

[Mikey]

jeff223:  I would go with a 300 gn semiwadcutter at about 85-90% of its velocity range.  You certainly don't need anything more than that.  A properly cast bullet with a large metplat and gas-checked will do anything you need it to do and does it with a lot of authority.  Try it, You might like it.  HTH.  Mikey.

[jeff223]

fyrepowrx,the load the guy gave me was 30.7gr of w296 and this was max.he said the FPS would be around 1800fps.the best accuracy came from a load about one grain under max,29.6 or something like that and the fps on that one was 1750.the Sierra man said he didnt think that 300gr bullet bullet would expand on deer but would shoot through them about any angle


Mikey the cast have been on my mind some too.i havent had very good with cast bullets so far but i have only tried them in my 357max.maybe the 445sm will really like them.i plan on shooting some in the spring just to see

[jar-wv]

You might want to look at the 270 or 300 gr Speer Gold Dot. Im using the 270 in 444 Marlin with good results. Once had a speer 240 sp blow up on a deers shoulder much like you did.

jar

[fyrepowrx]

jar..i wondered about those 270 Gold Dots also, and went out & bought a box to try in sabots in my .50 caliber in-line muzzleloader. never did get to try them, i shot the deer before i got to load them up & try them out...lemme know if you get to try any of those & how they perform...

[Daveinthebush]

I would think that a hardcast or the 300 SP would just blow right through little deer.  You might want a little expansion like the 300 XTP.  The 240 XTP just might blow up as it is designed for .44 mag velocities.

The 265 might expand OK if your reaching .444 velocities.

[jar-wv]

fyrepowrx, I have shot 3 deer with the the 270 Gold Dot at about 2100 fps. Haven't recovered a bullet, complete penetration, even after shooting through closest shoulder on one. Large exit hole. The runner of the group went about 10 yards. Three deer probably not enough to make any cast in concrete assumptions, but it's the bullet I would use again in my .444 Marlin. Your velocity with inline ml probably won't be anywhere near what I'm shooting them at.

jar

[jeff223]

i will never reach 444 speeds with the 445sm.with the 240 gr bullet and the load i have been using  the TC Loading Manual says 1900fps out of a 14inch barrel.the 265 and 270gr bullets  wont ever reach that but i might be able to hit 1800fps.you thinks either one of those bullets will expand at that speed on deer sixed game?

[swampthing]

I would take a look at a 280-300g LBT Hardcast with a LFN nose if you like to shoot them fast. www.beartoothbullets.com is a great source for these and he is very helpfull.   In your contender I would suspect a .432'' dia would be best but... measure the throat... just in case you've got a rare, short throated barrel, as if it is too oversize you will not be able to chamber it.  
                   I have taken a 280g WFNGC loaded to 1300 fps and watched it shoot clean through  30" of water soaked newspaper, 2 cow [moo moo kind] marrow bones and a 4X4 piece of lumber with a thumb sized exit hole from 50 yds. Gun was a .44mag Ruger, one ragged hole groups at 50 yds. Recoil is less than 18 ft.lbs. less than 14 ft.lbs. at 1200 fps with very simmilar penetration and wound size.

[David Carey]

I love the Hornady 265gr flat nose and 32.3 Gr W296, it has been the most accurate load in my DW with a 10" bbl.
David Carey

[fyrepowrx]

David..i was using 30 grains of 296 with the same bullet..that combo shot well for me in my 14" .445, looks like that bullet with 296 makes a good combo for a variety of guns...it also did pretty well in my 20" carbine .445.

my 12" VV liked lighter slugs with 1680 though...maybe a different twist in that tube, dunno cause i never checked...

[RicMic]

I used the 300 grain XTP in my 444 loaded to 2160fps and it shot though both shoulders of a doe at 60yds, complete penatration.  I use this bullet in my ML at 1525fps at also have great results.  Looking forward to trying it in my Redhawk at 1250-1300fps next year.