Hand gun for hunting

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boltaction

New member
I bought a Ruger Super Blackhawk 44 mag. back in November just befor our gun deer season here in Mich. I did'nt hunt with it because I really did'nt have time to sight it in or shoot it much to get a feel for it. Next year I would like to hunt deer with it so what would be some good bullet loads? I know that when I sight it in it should be with the ammo I hunt with but what about target shooting? If I go to the range and shoot 44 specials will I have to re- sight it in?
 
.44 Specials are plenty of medicine for whitetails. All things with a dose of common sense. Think bow range, if you can kill it with a bow and arrow, then you can also get it with a pistol. 40 yards or so is max for most people and pistols unless you are into long distance competition and know your gun and loads very very well.
 
.44 Specials are plenty of medicine for whitetails. All things with a dose of common sense. Think bow range, if you can kill it with a bow and arrow, then you can also get it with a pistol. 40 yards or so is max for most people and pistols unless you are into long distance competition and know your gun and loads very very well.
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This is probably very good advice. I prefer something a little stouter than a factory-loaded .44 Special, but my hunting handloads are about the equivalent of a .44 Special +P: a 265 grain cast bullet at ~1050 fps. It will punch through a deer at any angle that is presented to me.
 
Lots of good advice here. 240 gr hard cast lswc's or LBT's at 1000 fps or so won't recoil too bad in that SBH and are good deer medicine out to 60 yards. Another 200 fps will take it out to 100 yards - when / if you are comfortable and competant at that range under your hunting conditions.

Kudos to OP who is a good man for waiting and preparing to hunt with a new gun, 'specially a handgun.
 
Forget the load for a moment and do this.

Sit in a VERY quiet place with the empty gun in your hand. Now slowly cock it. Do it as quietly as you can. You will hear 4 clicks probably. Most likely a couple of those clicks will be louder than the others.

Work on it a bit and see how quiet you can make that gun cock. Some of them are quieter than others.

I used one for 3 seasons. No matter what I did it was like shaking a bag of rocks to get that thing cocked. Shot a number of deer and hogs with it but after spooking the second deer while trying to cock it quietly I sold it.

Of course we are hunting THICK woods and the deer were close so depending on your terrain it may not be a problem at all. I went to a Contender after the second deer, a nice SC buck that slipped up behind me, busted me as I tried to cock it.

As for a load. What someone said about +P .44 Spl is right. It'll do the job just fine if that's what you want to use. Same thing can be accomplished with the less expensive lead .44 Mag. loads if you do not want to reload.

On the other hand 44 Mag. XTPs are a very reliably choice..........
 
On the other hand 44 Mag. XTPs are a very reliably choice..........
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I must add that I have a Ruger Super Redhawk in .44 MAG. and never have tried it, but I will tell you one thing. The .44 MAG. XTP's are deadly on deer when used in my .50 CAL. muzzleloader. Never has a deer went more than a few feet when shot with one of those. I have always wanted to try and take a whitetail with the pistol. I think it adds a little more of a challenge.
 
I use W296 26 grains under a 210 gr Sierra JHC. This has been a very deadly and accurate load for my S&W 629. If you are going to use it here in Michigan, we seldom have greater than a 75 yard shot anyway. The great thing is that you can use it statewide. Good luck!
 
Target shoot with the hunting loads you'll ..

be using.

Max range is that which keeps a cylinder load group within a paper plate.

Take your time and be PATIENCE!

I'm Lenawee Cty., what be you?
 
Thanks for all the advice guys, lots of good stuff here. Hi jrothWA, I'm in Mecosta county north of Grand Rapids. Isn't Lenawee south of Detroit near the Ohio border? If it is your a good 3-3 1/2 hrs from me.
 
I use 240 gr SP in both 44 spcl and 44 mag out of my Super Blackhawk. Both shoot to same point of aim but the 44 spcl shoots about 1/3 the size group as the magnums, both will serve you well. As far as cocking, It doesn't take long to cock the gun, effectively 1 click, if your critter is between 60 and 100 yards you should be drawing a bead on him before he has time to react. Hasn't been a problem yet. Probably because I cock it and set it on the shelf in front and to my right when I set up on the stand. If walking I have to draw and cock and by then they already know where I am so the clicks don't mean a hill of beans I already have a target moving to someplace else and its no time to be subtle. Enjoy and practice with the special, its more fun, easier on the hands and the gun and still gets you that much needed trigger time on the gun.
 
If you reload, you can load "mild" .44 Mag for practice. This eliminates the worry of building up a crud ring in front of the shorter .44 Special cases.

(Make sure to mark your boxes...you don't want to try shooting a deer with powder puff loads. :) )
 
"...and shoot 44 Specials will I have to re-sight it in?..." Yep. Just like you would if you used a different .44 Mag load.
 
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