.44 Mag vs .30/30 for deer

[1000yardstare]

Just got a chance at a "mint" Win M94 AE Legacy with pistol grip and a 24 inch round barrel in .44 Mag, no box. Paid the lowest price in the Blue Book noted at the bottom of page 1950 because no box. Very nice checkered plain walnut forend and buttstock. As usual for a lever, length of pull is too short from me and I will put a Pachmayr boot on the butt.

My long-dead uncle who took me deer hunting in the bush of Northern Ontario when I was in high school and University is probably glaring down at me from a fluffy white cloud for buying a lever action with no half cock and a tang safety. But the Japanese make nice rifles.

Will use a scope to determine accuracy loads but will mount a XS Ghost Ring and XS white stripe front sight for hunting.

Bought a box of Rem 180 gr JSP. Chronod them today at 2250 fps. Man, they are smoking!

A typical factory load for the .30/30 has a 170 gr bullet going 2150. The .44 Mag is driving a 180 gr at 2250. And the .44 has a wider meplate for added shocking power. To me this adds up to greater knock down power out to 50 yds anyway. Any deer I have shot in brush country has been well under 50 yds.

So my question to forum members is, have you used a .44 Mag out of a rifle for short range deer and what did you think of its knock down power?

 

[placek59]

I do not have a .44 mag, but I do have a .44-40 lever action, which is just a little behind the mag (no chrono data). I was not disappointed (she probably was) with the 1 doe that I shot with it, granted it was only about 30 yds, but she didn't make it far (10-15 yards). If you stay within the limits of the rifle/cartridge, which it sounds like you understand, you should be fine.

 

[rayjay]

Great 100 yd deer cartridge. I shot one from a treestand, the deer was quartering away with me the deer's left side. Distance was no more than 25 yds. I aimed for the opposite shoulder. The round did NOT exit. It entered high on the lh rib cage and ended up in the rh upper leg just below the shoulder.

DRT. Fell over, tail wiggled back and forth 4 or 5 times, dead. 240 gr Remingtons. I don't remember if they were HP or solids.

 

[M700]

Does a .44 mag 5" S&W revolver count?

It's done a very fine job on some smaller mule deer over the years, using simple 240 gr JHP factory ammo that clocks only about 1250 fps. Very effective at shorter ranges. Haven't taken any deer with it beyond about 50 yards. Complete penetration and lots of destruction in the chest cavity.

Guy

 

[bozo699]

1000 yardstore,
No comparison IMHO between 30/30 win and a 44mag for short range deer hunting,the 30/30 will kill them no doubt but I have found them to go quite ways before they die,not so with 44mag they usually drop in there tracks or maybe 15 or 20 yds @ most. I own a 454-45lc and 44mag lever guns. I like the 45lc w/300gr sierra's the best of the three. With that said I am about to say somthing that will make me sound like a liar.My best friend is in a wheel chair and is my hunting partner he is a very good shot but for some reason last year he blew the front leg off his white tail,legally I can take his deer for him,so when the deer ran off I pursued, when I finally caught up w/him he was hobbling along @ 228yds in a open field right @ the timber line I had no time,I adjusted for drop and lead and fired (total luck I know) when I got to him he made it about 30 yds into the timber and fell dead, model 92 palma 44mag 18" barrel 240gr flat nose bullet,put right behind left front shoulder. I doubt I could reproduce that shot again,and we have wondered why I didn't grab his .270 from him but the end result is that dave is eating his whitetail and not the coyotes.
Wayne.

 

[cmillard]

i tell you what. pair up some 225 grain barnes xpb with a heavy charge of h-110 and the deer should drop in their tracks. this is what i do with my ruger superblackhawk with a 10.5 inch barrel.

 

[bozo699]

cmillard,
I bought some of the 225 barns but havn't had a chance to use them but plan on it.My 240s have been a good 100yd or closer brush gun. Other than my one rediculisly long shot most of mine have been under 50yds. Have you killed anything w/the barns?What was the result?
Wayne.

 

[bheadboy]

The 44m wil do the job i believe to your satisfaction for shorter ranges I have taken deer with 45lc and simular bullets at 900fps out to yds

have no doubt the 30/30 will out do the 44, if you hand load. i and friends use the 125gr Sierra hp and they smoke deer out as far a 150yd from our experience, they just drop. It is real easy to get 2500 fps with 20" bbl, if yours is longer you get more.
Bob

 

[bozo699]

Bob,
You didn't say how many yds w/45lc.
I love my 45lc for close range in the brush gun,I know the 30/30 will out perform it but in the heavy brush a 45lc or 44mag is hard to beat. I also years age used a 120 or 125gr speer hollow pt. I think it was, and it worked great on coyotes @ the distance's you were saying. I don't think I ever killed any deer w/it but I bet it would have done a great job.
Wayne

 

[bheadboy]

Bozo699

Sorry about that , i was in a tree stand over a lumber yard crossing, he was between 45-50 yds out, i was using a Colt SAA, 7.5 " bbl. Fun, Fun he ran about 15 yds and dropped

Bob

 

[bozo699]

Bob,
WOW! That is good shooting for a pistol. I worked 19 years in a lumber/Planer mill and saw lot's of wild life there and often thought what a great place out in the log yard for a stand but it was port property and there was no shooting there.
Wayne.

 

[2506]

bheadboy hit the nail on the head about the 30-30 win. Most people use too heavy a bullet for the average deer. Yes a 170 gr bullet will and has killed a many a deer but anything that you shoot through a deers heart or lungs will do that eventually. The faster the bullet and the lighter the bullet the quicker it will expand and cause more trauma to the nervous system while expanding all it's energy inside the deer because these bullets seldom exit. The 125 and 150 gr bullets from a 30-30 Win have killed much quicker for me than 170's do. I have never used a 44 mag rifle but in a pistol 7 1/2" barrel in both a Black Hawk and a Red Hawk 28 grs H-110 and the 180 gr Sierra HP really kill deer quickly also.

 

[FryeGuy]

I have also killed deer w/ 5" s&w in .44 mag. in fact, the XTP bullets made up for a whole bunch of shooter error in one case. If you think about it, most in-line muzzleloaders use sabots, and I bet almost all of them use a .44 cal bullet, with the rest being .45cal w/ sabots. I have one of the new savage ml, and I think they are only pushing 250grn bullets around 2200fps to 2400fps. And how far are people shooting muzzleloaders these days??? I have heard several people shooting 200yds, and most wouldn't hesitate a 150yd shot, so I think the .44 mag, with the velocity you are getting is more than capable of deer at that range. I would highly recommend the hornady xtp bullets, they hit hard!! I have recovered only a couple, and they really expanded well. I have two I actually dug out of the ground after pass thru shots on the deer.

 

[Taildrag15X]

I used a .44 Mag. Ruger Carbine for a few years in the brush of the Adirondacks, great heavy hitter in my book, one shot and they would be down for good with 240 gr. RN factory Rem. loads.

 

[zcrackshot]

I've only had the chance at one deer with my Winchester 94 44 mag. I shot it at 45 yards with a speer 240 jacketed soft point over a max charge of H110. No idea what the exact velocity was but the deer ran 20 yards and piled up. I wish I has used an XTP as I have used these in sabots with my inline muzzleloader and they seem to work great! My father let me shoot a couple of mule deer with his old 30-30 when I was young and if I remember right I believe we used 150 Silvertips. All deer shot with the 30-30 were inside of 200 yards and all died very quickly if not instantly. Not sure if this helps but just a couple of experiences I thought I'd share.