.44 special 180's on deer

[geo57]

does anyone else use 180 gr. jhp's in their .44 specials on whitetail?....i use BLUE DOT and drive them to 1300 fps, and restrict myself to 25 yard broadside shots only. i;d love to hear from anyone who has used a recipe similar to this. thanks.

 

[griz]

That's a pretty warm load for a 44 special. What sort of gun are you using?

 

[Scarborough]

I'm interested in your results on deer. I was thinking of using this weight bullet in a .44 mag.

 

[geo57]

scarborough, as i said, i limit shots to 25 yards broadside, and place shots 6" or so behind the shoulder to avoid heavy bone and minimize meat loss. having said all this, results have been great. i have never recovered a slug and expansion runs about an inch and 1\2 on the outside exit hole. the only thing i would caution you about using this bullet in the 44 mag is not to push it to max speeds, as failure could occur. mine run 1250-1300. griz i shoot a ruger super blackhawk, 7 1\2 " bbl. 1 can ( and i do at times) use mag cases for heavy special loads, upping the charge a bit. hope this helps.

 

[griz]

I've loaded 180's with Blue Dot in a Taurus 44 special, but not that hot. Of course you should be fine in the Blackhawk.

I've thought about using it on our small whitetail, but it would have to be at least as close as you're talking about. I still lean toward the 240 for the task in case a shoulder gets in the way. Glad to hear they work though.

 

[Scarborough]

Thanks for the info geo57. I currently use the formula that griz employs. Just thought I might have to go lighter. Nice to know that a viable option exists.