44 Rem Mag
 

Just recently bought an H&R 44 Rem Mag handi rifle. Anyone else have this caliber or have shot this caliber? I have read that this gun is accurate up to 100 to 130 yards, depending on what cartridge you use and what grain. Just wondering what cartridge would best suit this caliber?

Accuracy is going to be up to you. Killing power on whitetails is all in, just gotta get it on target. Will anchor elk as well, assuming appropriate bullet selection. 100-130yrds is the tip of the iceberg with the 44mag.

The trajectory of slow flying bullets with poor aerodynamics (BC's in the low 0.2's) is what makes the 44mag and its kin difficult to manage at moderate ranges. Getting much downrange past 150yrds with the 44mag puts a lot of air under your bullet.

It's difficult to make load recommendations, since not all firearms like the same loads, but I've had pretty good luck on the cheap end of factory ammo with Winchester White Box 240grn JSP's and PMC Bronze TCSP's. Hornady 240grn XTP's do well, as do the 225grn Leverevolution FTX's. For a reloader, a Hornady 240 XTP seated in the cannelure over top 23.5grn H110/W296 has shot well in every firearm I've ever tested with it (over a hundred of them).

I also use W296 (22 grs as I recall) under a 240 gr Hornady XTP. This load shoots well out of my S&W 29 and my Rossi Puma rifle. Its a bit stout and unpleasant to shoot however in my Taurus Tracker even with the porting.
But on game (deer) its devastating. I've shot 4 deer with this load and I don't recall any of them taking a single step. But these were all 50 yards and closer.

I used the Winchester 94 .44 mag for 10 years. I felt it was a 125 yard gun.

Dead on with the H110/Win296!!!! I don't believe that I have loaded for a 44 yet including the 4 I have that don't like it at one point or another!!!! I currently load for 9 44Mags and 99% of them all are with H110/Win296 and either Horn XTP's or FlexTips.
I do load some with some hand cast 300grn for some hog smackers but not very many and those are loaded with 2400 or Lil Gun. When I start getting into the lead loads I lean towards the 2400, Blue Dot or Lil Gun to keep the leading down. And if I am going to be loading a bunch up for someone, I try to go gascheck just to stay on top of the leading issues with associated with them.

That's one thing I liked about this caliber. There are many cartridge options to choose from. I shoot Hornady SST's with my .270 win and have never been disappointed with them. But like you say, not all firearms like the same loads so Hornadys might not shoot well with the 44 mag. I'm not familiar with the 44 mag, but needed a rifle that I could use during MS' primitive weapon season. From what I've read, the recoil is not as bad as the other popular primitive weapons people use around here (45-70, .444 Marlin) and I didn't want to purchase a gun that I was going to dread to shoot.

I bought this gun new, so hopefully the problem has been fixed with the barrels. With my luck, who knows lol

The 44mag will recoil less than the larger case punkin' chunkers, but you might be surprised how much a Handi-Rifle or 1894 in .44mag will recoil compared to a standard sporting rifle. It's been years since I ran the numbers, but I recall my 300grn load out of my 1894 has a greater Free Recoil Energy than my 150grn load out of my .30-06!

It's all manageable - recoil pad on the rifle, or a recoil pad on the shoulder, you won't have any issue.

That said, I do have to plug this - the .45-70 and 444m really aren't as bad as folks might think. The throw big bullets, so the recoil is stiff, but it's very different than a bottleneck magnum.

More of a hard push than a kick. I own 3 .444m and 4 .45-70's. According to the loads, they really aren't all that bad to shoot. Actually with the .444, unless I'm loading it really heavy in bullet weight and powder, it's a fairly mild recoiling rifle. All my .45-70's are fairly heavy so that takes up a good bit of recoil energy. 2 of them are original Sharps so I don't load heavy charges in them. The other 2 are Modern repros and have very beefy action and chambers to withstand VERY heavy charges and I sometimes take them to the limits. THOSE loads dang well let you know you are shooting!

I agree NoMercy, I shoot leverevolution 325 grn ammo in my 45-70 and I don't feel excessive recoil from the bench and I don't notice it when shooting at an animal, they do, but I don't.:D