Nomercy

I'm just curious, how does a .44 mag do as a charge stopping knock 'em dead gun?? I think that "mag" isn't really a good name for it either, isn't it supposed to be synonomous with fast??? .44 only has like 1800-2000 fps at the muzzle, a little slow for what I'd call mag velocity. I'm just wondering how it would do on massive bears, or moose. She's got huge frontal area, so I figured that they'd hit hard, but they're so slow, how do they penetrate??
How long of barrel should I have if I wanted to take it hunting? My Marlin rancher is pretty short, I don't know if it's long enough to be accurate enough at any real distance?

XTP

Are you going to use it as your primary weapon or as a backup?? The velocity IS fast compared to other handgun calibers that were around when this round was developed.I dont think Elmer Keith envisioned the .308,.30-06 etc ever being used in anything but a rifle.

Nomercy

Oh heck, I forgot to point out that she's a rifle, not a pistol. I just overlooked the fact that .44 mag is a pistol cartridge. She has a 22 inch barrel, so it's about as bad as shooting out of a pistol though, I can hit well out to 150 with it, but I've never pushed it past that?

GOTTA LOVE THAT MARLIN MAGIC!!!!

XTP

I'm using Hornady's 300 grn XTP(of course!)in my muzzleloader.It is a .44 cal bullet and I'm sure I'm not getting 2000fps out of it.None the less,its goin' bear hunting with me this year.If ya' wonder what size bear we have here....check out my post under the "How big is big" thread in this forum...

445 supermag

If you are going to go after big stuff. I would find and use a good hardcast bullet with a big meplat. They will penetrate like no other and will bring down the big ones. Check out beartooth bullets they have some good ones.

brian

Hk45USP

In Craig Boddington's book "American Hunting Rifles" he says the .44mag is marginal at best when compared to other better "rifle" rounds out there. He even goes on to say that a 30-30 winchester round is better on a bear, than any .44mag bullet.

As far as normal hunting under 100 yard for the average black bear (200lb class), I'd say the .44mag is fine. I've shot two 200lb black bears with my .44mag in a handgun with ranges between 30 feet and the second bear at 40 yards. Both one shot-one kills with a simple 240 grain bullet.

I'd say on a large moose or bear, you better be really really close, like "point blank" if the thing is charging you and all you have is a .44mag.

Sure It's taken lots of big game over the decades, but from the scenario that you described, go with something bigger.

If I had a large bear or moose charging me, I'd want the biggest handgun round available, like a .454 Casull or even the .480 Ruger is better than a .44mag out of a rifle barrel.

Edited by - Hk45USP on 02/28/2002 08:38:18

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445 supermag

the 30-30 winchester being better for black bears than the 44 mag was a joke right? If not is sounds like it is. I would take it over the 30-30 any day of the week and twice on sundays

brian

ths78

Inside of 150 yds., when loaded with the right bullet, a 44 Mag. rifle will do anything a 30-06 will do. Those who doubt me have never hunted with one. Big, heavy, slow-moving bullets penetrate very well. Rifle Magazine's January print has a wonderful article on hunting with the 357, 44, and 45 Colt in rifles. All of these do really well on big game b/c they pick up about 400 fps from the longer barrels. For Black Bear, load your rifle with one of CorBon's or Buffalo Bore's expanding 44 Mag. Bullets. For grizzly, be sure to use either Buffalo Bore's or Garrett's heavy, FMJ loads. They discuss on their websites (www.buffalobore.com and www.garrettcartridges.com ) taking very large and dangerous game with their loads from handguns. Add the velocity from a rifle barrel to these bullets, and you have a real stopper.

Surestrike

In the for what it's worth catagory I'll throw in two real life examples of .44 mags on big game. Firat I'll preface it with this, I've shot a more than a couple of Black Bears with the .44 mag in a pistol and it knocks the stuffing out of them. I use a 240 Grn truncated soft point.
three years ago one of my hunting partners wife shot an absouloutly humongous hog at about 45 yds. The first shot hit him suare in the shoulder. The hog floped over and started to do the funky chicken on the shot. As my friends wife started to walk up to the hog he got up and started running at this she shot him three more times, got dust off of each hit they did not find that hog again for nearly a year. The next year this same hog was killed in the area where he was first shot with the .44. He was killed by a hunter with a .284 rifle. Upon inspection the hog was found to have lost an estimated 100lbs of body weight he was very emaciated and had a atrophied leg with a large healed over wound on it from which a 240gr .44 soft point was dug out. It never penitrated the shoulder.
This same rifle with a 300gr cast core or some other type solid has given full length penetraition on large hogs end to end. If your going to hunt tough stuff use solid bullets they really do work out of a .44 rifle.