44 special velocity for deer

[cocopuff]

might not be in the correct spot..My question is how does one know if his load is good for deer hunting..I have read several articals about what one needs to kill deer..I am using 255 gr cast SWC bullets..Some articals claim that 1000 fps is needed..But then when I checked several loads of factory ammo I see some are as low as 700 fps..So whats the correct velocity suppose to be or ought to be..I doubt any of my shots will be much over 50 yards..Maybe 75 at the very most..My revolver is a Taurus 6.5 inch barrel and I have a red dot sight on it..Fast fire 3..I'm getting an average of 4 inch groups at 50 yards..Have not shot thru the chronograph..I think there are others out there who would like some information on this as well..I am surprised I haven't been able to find any information about this on the web any place..I have read several articles about the special and see some pretty hot loads but am not to sure about using them in my own gun..Any advice on this or places to look will be appreciated..Thank you..

 

[rogn]

Some states like PR of MD demand 700FP-KE at the muzzle with no mention of residual energy. Thinking pragmatically I would say that if you keep your shooting to within a distance that you can be within your 4" group(preferably less) a 0.430" hole bore through the heart or both lungs, then a deer will not travel very far if at all. The Kieth type bullets seem to cut clean holes and cut blood vessels bleed far better than torn ones.
On the other hand air rifles are now leagal in many states and the energy requirements are in the 44 spl range. Choose your shots carefully and you will have dinner. Become careless or overly confident and I can almost assure disappointment.

 

[Uncle Ed]

Any modern .44 Special should be able to take much higher pressures than the factory pressure of 15,000 psi.

I have two .44 Specials, a Ruger GP100 and a Ruger Blackhawk flat top Bisley. The warmest load I have fired in both is the Skeeter Skelton load of 7.5 grains of Unique with a 240 grain cast bullet.

Read the link below by Brian Pearce with three different pressure loadings. These loadings would be safe in the majority of modern made .44 Specials.

The link below is in Adobe .pdf format, so you need Adobe reader to see the link.

https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=1&ved=2ahUKEwiZyum12dDlAhXrmuAKHYEtAUYQFjAAegQIARAC&url=http://www.goodrichfamilyassoc.org/44_Special_Articles/Brian%20Pearce%20on%20the%2044%20Special.pdf&usg=AOvVaw1wCQygpoNWcznkyUKnljYP

Index of /44_Special_Articles
http://www.goodrichfamilyassoc.org/44_Special_Articles/

Below a .44 Magnum S&W model 29 cylinder.

Below a Ruger GP 100 .44 Special cylinder.

Below Ruger Blackhawk cylinders in .44 Special and .357 magnum showing how thick the .357 cylinder are.

 

[cocopuff]

interesting article..Learned a few things in deed..Appreciate it..

 

[SSL]

The real trick to all of this is to not fall prey to the "lighter and faster" mentality. Though many will report success using 210-225-grain hollow-points, more will have had bad results. Twice now I have had to help attempt to retrieve deer shot by my friend using 210-grain .44 caliber bullets at high velocity. Both times a long tracking session resulted in finding the deer, but field-dressing showed that, though well placed, the bullets had fragmented and failed to penetrate well. Bullets lighter than 240-grains are too short for best stability and lack the mass to go deep and straight.

You are on the right track with your proposed use of 255-grain SWC cast bullets. Pushed to 800-1,000 fps. (true, not "book"), they will cut full-diameter holes, penetrate deep and track straight. 250 (actually 265 from my alloy and moulds)-270-grain SWC or LNFP bullets from my .44 Magnums have never let me down even at moderate velocities and shoulder shots. My friend now uses 250-grain cast SWC and is much happier.

 

[cocopuff]

thank you very much..I am going to have too get my chrony out and see for sure what my loads are doing. But can't seem to locate my tripod now..Guess I let too many people borrow things..

 

[PWS]

There isn’t much to add that isn’t already in the links Uncle Ed posted but my personal take on hunting deer with a handgun is treat it like you would a bow but with a much better ability to break through bones.

You can DRT a deer with a hit to the CNS but the vast majority of the time, just poke a nice, fat, quick bleeding hole completely through the vitals, watch them run off, sit a spell, pick up the copious blood trail and follow it up to a nicely bled out dead deer.

You won’t generate enough speed with any 44Spl load to cause “shock” so use a flat nose slug and concentrate on punching the hole where it needs to be.

 

[Twicepop]

I don't have any first hand experience to verify, but I've read several articles that claim 950-1000 fps with the same bullet you list will cleanly kill a deer at moderate ranges. That Taurus is a closely patterned after an N frame Smith & Wesson isn't it, if so there shouldn't be any problems.

 

[SSL]

I don't have any first hand experience to verify, but I've read several articles that claim 950-1000 fps with the same bullet you list will cleanly kill a deer at moderate ranges. That Taurus is a close patterned after an N frame Smith & Wesson isn't it, if so there shouldn't be any problems.

Absolutely true. When I first got into .44s, there were no really tough .44 Special revolvers commonly available so I opted for Magnums. Even at that, I seldom load any of my .44s to full potential and never really feel the need. My "working" loads run just over 1,000 fps with 265 - 270-grain cast bullets and only get boosted to around 1,300 fps (depending on which gun/load I use) for deer hunting. Just an old habit, because my working loads can do anything really needed and I limit myself to no greater than 75-yard shots. In fact, my .45 Colt loads run 285-grain SWC at 850 fps for work and just over 1,000 fps for hunting and I guarantee they hammer game.