arkjarhead

What is the best .44 Mag rifle ammo for hunting whitetail?

JagMagMan

I have not had too much experience hunting with my .44 mag yet. But from all I've seen, I'm going to try the 240 gr. Cor Bon's in my RSRH this season!

arkjarhead

You are talking about a rifle and not a handgun correct?

BigJ71

For whitetail I'd go with a hollow point expanding type bullet over the hard cast bullets that are known for their penetration more than their expansion. A whitetail is not a thick skinned or tough muscled animal by any stretch of the imagination. With a hard cast type bullet you will only get a small hole going in and a small hole going out....not conducive for a good blood trail. Will it kill? sure but I feel there are better bullet designs out their for Whitetails. With and expanding type bullet you will get a small hole going in but much more trauma to the soft tissue and organs as the bullet opens up, as well as a very large exit hole which is very conducive for a good blood trail. The expanding type .44mag bullets are plenty strong to punch through both shoulders and then some....even on hogs.

Whether shooting out of a pistol or rifle really doesn't matter except for the added fps you will get from the rifle. You will still want to stick with an expanding type bullet. Here is a list of some of the better ones on the market....All will do the job on a whitetail deer.

Hornady XTP300gr @ 1150fps
HornadyXTP 240gr @1350fps
Hornady FTX "LEVERevolution 225gr @ 1410fps
Hornady XTP 200gr @ 1500fps (about as light a bullet as I'd go for Whitetail deer)
Speer Gold Dot, 270gr @ 1270fps
Cor-Bon Barns DPX 225gr @ 1350fps
Proload 270gr @ 1285fps
Winchester Supreme Partition Gold 250gr @ 1230fps
Winchester Supreme Platinum Tip 250gr @ 1250fps

wis_bow_huntr

This would depend on what youre using the ammo for. I have a few different loads that I use for different things, I have a 240gr custom load with a hornady bullet for plinking, I have whats called Copper Cowboys which I use for deer hunting 250 gr hollow pointif i remember right, I havepin shooters240 gr, cant remember the bullet head, but it has a pin inside the bullet for quicker expansion, and then I have my customer 300gr bear loads.

rybohunter

I agree with BigJ71

Just to add, I've had good experiences with both 240 XTP's & the 270 Gold dots. The 270's aren't much for expansion though, especially compared to the XTP's.

Edcyclopedia

I shoot the cheapest ammo I can find and hasn't failed me yet... 240 gr. American Eagle hollow point out of my .44 mag pistol.

Statistics are a "lovely deterant" and up for debut with many individuals (so I'm not lookin for any arguments), as statistics are also part of that fancy American Marketing, so don't forget that part of the equation (marketing), when racking your brain trying to pick out a piece of Brass / lead / gun powder.
My bullets faster than yours is, blah-blah-blah, it's comical sometimes, isn't it?

How dead do you need your Deer, so long the bullet doesn't break apart and expands well enough?

All I can tell you is that it shoots straight out of MY gun, as different guns can vary with accuracy and supposidly travels (per manufacturer) 1250 FPS, I've never checked it to make sure their honest.

My experience is simple... 8 pointer @ 15 yards went two feet..... STRAIGHT DOWN! See my avitar that's the one I'm talkin about - yah-baby!

Jimmy S

I use factory load , Federal 240 gr when I use my .44mag. I have never had any issue with those rounds or even other rounds, I have tried over the years.

I am using that caliber for a reason and I understand my shots will all be less than 40 yds, most likely 20-30 yds.
I hunt in thick, nasty places where seeing a deer over 50 yds may be almost impossible.
When shooting a deer at that distance with a .44 mag round, I have never had the deer do anything but drop where he stood. Not one deer has even taken more than 1-2 steps. The deer dies a quick, humane death.

And I have taken more deer withy my old Ruger carbine than any other gun.When I decide to hunt those thick pieces of woods, it is still my 'go-to' choice.

KalamazooKid

Hornady 240 g XTPs out of my T/C Contender - great deer load!