Effective range of .44 mag shotshells?
- Thread starter Justin
- Start date
Edward429451
Moderator
Depends on the size of shot your using. Generally about 20 to 25 ft in my experiance.
I patterned my ruger 5.5 inch barrel 44 mag sort of like a shotgun.
Up to 8-10 foot is tight enough to make killing most things ok. When I drop it out to 30+ foot it does not always remove bark off a dead tree in one area. It is garbage can lid size and a minor deterrant while I cycle to what I should have been shooting for a round.
Each gun is a bit different, shot size, who made it, and what not change things. I settled on cci basic 44 special shot rounds and it does what I need fine. But a shotgun it is not and I have taken to not carrying the 44 mag lately anyway.
Within a few feet it makes nice holes either because it is that tightly together with or without the plastic shot holder, or who knows what.
But pattern it like a shotgun. CCI out of my 357 mag revolvers is sort of similar, but not really if you start messing with every 5 feet till you lose pattern and then bring targets in to find out where it gets unacceptable.
Up to 8-10 foot is tight enough to make killing most things ok. When I drop it out to 30+ foot it does not always remove bark off a dead tree in one area. It is garbage can lid size and a minor deterrant while I cycle to what I should have been shooting for a round.
Each gun is a bit different, shot size, who made it, and what not change things. I settled on cci basic 44 special shot rounds and it does what I need fine. But a shotgun it is not and I have taken to not carrying the 44 mag lately anyway.
Within a few feet it makes nice holes either because it is that tightly together with or without the plastic shot holder, or who knows what.
But pattern it like a shotgun. CCI out of my 357 mag revolvers is sort of similar, but not really if you start messing with every 5 feet till you lose pattern and then bring targets in to find out where it gets unacceptable.
about 1" per foot
My Ruger Blackhawk with shotshells prints about an inch per foot. 20 feet gives about a 20" pattern. The rifling and spin seems to throw the densest hits in the outside of the pattern or circle. The center of the pattern will have less hits than the outside. NOT for self-defense but good for snakes or close range pest control.
My Ruger Blackhawk with shotshells prints about an inch per foot. 20 feet gives about a 20" pattern. The rifling and spin seems to throw the densest hits in the outside of the pattern or circle. The center of the pattern will have less hits than the outside. NOT for self-defense but good for snakes or close range pest control.